pbeezy

Hi everyone. Just bought my first air cooled 911 - really enjoying it. It's an entirely stock California car with 220k on original engine/trany/etc. It's been repainted Guards Red but otherwise pretty much as it came. Drives great and came with a book of service records. Last owner was a real winner and treated it well. Compression and cold leakdown numbers were in the 140 psi/10% range. I've attached a few glamour shots below....

I'd like to get the rennlist collectives' wisdom on two questions....

1. This is a stock car. It runs great. I'm content as is. One mod I was considering, however, was SSIs and a sports exhaust. I'd like to hear the groups pros/cons of making the change. Here is what I came up with....

Pros
- more HP
- better sounds
- possibly a little safer from a CO coming into the cabin perspective than the current stock exchangers which show a little rust

Cons
- don't mess with a good thing, I'm not driving this car to set land speed records and HP may not change the experience considerably. I also already own a fast car so I'll drive that if those are the thrills I'm looking for
- bolts which hold exchanges in place may be locked into place which could make seemingly simply job get complicated
- $2-3K when all is said and done

What else am I missing?

2. Shifting from 1st to 2nd is quirky. If I do it slowly, its fine. If I try to do it quickly, it grinds for a sec. I'm no mechanic but I'm guessing the synchro is jacked up. What are the downsides to leaving things as is? If I shift slowly and avoid the grind, can I get more life out of this transmission?

Thanks everyone and sorry if I've said something "newby" in this post and don't realize it.

Best,
PB

pbeezy

pics...

pbeezy

There we go!

myflat6

Great looking car! The SSI with a sport muffler is a great mod for these cars. Adds noticeable power and great sound while removing weight from the rear end. As long as you live in a state that doesn't require emissions checks you should consider this mod. Shifting a 915 can require some getting used to but replacing bushings, aligning the shift rod and replacing the motor and trans mounts can make huge improvements. There is plenty on this topic if you search. My 915 shifts very well and in some ways I like it better than my G50. Enjoy the car - SC's are great cars

JCP911S

Have a stock 1984 Carrara and a 78 SC PCA D Stock racer.

1. SSI/Headers is a great "bolt-on" mod... no brainer.

2. I'd go over the suspension... not mods, but stuff like bushings, tie-rod ends, wheel bearings, and shocks wear, and just bringing them up to factory spec will make an enormous improvement. While you are at it, lowering the car to Euro height, and a "street/performance" alignment.

3. Tires make the car... good performance tires are your best upgrade.

4. Tune the "driving environment"...

Adjust the shift linkage... they can get sloppy on these cars.

The throttle pedal is too low to do a proper heel-toe downshift... I just tape a piece of wood to the throttle pedal, but you can buy a fancy add-on.

A smaller diameter steering wheel... (Momo is best)... totally changes the handling feel of the car.

5. The 1-2 upshift really, really stresses the synchs on the gearbox... a slight pause is required.. this is normal...

Enjoy.

grgallo

good looking car, appears it is " badged" Carrera... does it have a Catalytic? SSI heat exchanger and sport muffler would be nice mods. If has a catalytic consider a bypass. i did the Brombacher cat by pass on my '87 and it gave me some deep low end sound and improved throttle response, also should reduce heat generation. problem is if require emissions testing you'll have problems. also when doing mods keep original equipment (assuming in good shape), in case you go to sell and in case buyer wants original parts.

GTgears

Hello PB,

Welcome to the board and ownership. I'm going to skip the exhaust question because it is extremely subjective. I'm an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" guy since there's always something else on these cars that needs to be done. Always about balancing budgets for me.

On the gearbox, always shift your 1-2 between 4000-4500rpm. It is perfectly safe to rev your engine up to that in the first minutes after you start it. The best way to warm it up is to drive it. And the best shift, given the rpm drops between 1 and 2 is at higher rpms than you are likely using. Also look for Pete Z's wiki and the idea of the 2 stage shift on the 1-2 shift.

But more importantly don't baby and bog this car. The engine doesn't even wake up until 3500rpm. Unless you are just cruising, why would you spend any time driving it anywhere but between 3500 and 6000rpm? It's what it was designed to do. And doing so may answer your exhaust question for you.

pbeezy

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Good stuff...

myflat6 and grgallo, yes, it is badged as a Carrera with a big whale tail. I'm guessing it went that way during the repaint. But it's definitely a 79 with no catalytic converter. And in Texas, we don't have to pass inspection. So all pros for the SSI + sport muffler. Still open to ideas against it too.

GTgears and JCP911S, thanks for the reassurance about the 1-2 shift. I'll do some more reading. Good to know that this is normal.

So much knowledge, thanks again...

PB

tpd83911

pbeezy, As above, the 1-2 shift is slow but should be smooth. Would seriously consider external oil cooler especially if frequently driven in Texas heat. I had my mechanic install a Billy Boat external oil cooler with thermostat-driven fan. It is well made and was pretty much bolt-on unit. Probably other good products out there. The difference in engine temp during summer driving is substantial and likely good for long-term engine health as well as cooler driving. Love GTgears driving suggestions- 4000 to rev is definitely the fun zone.

tgil

Great purchase and enjoy your 911.

dwight45

I must comment on the statement that you should start up and drive hard. 4-4500 rpm shifting 1st to 2nd from startup is not recommended. The owners manual states that the rpm should be under 4k until full operating temps are reached. That makes sense to me. Cold oil is not as good a lubricant as warm/hot oil. Maybe I am wrong but with 150K on my 82, I have great compression and leakdown figures. Some SC's have rebuilds at or before 100k and some go to 3-400K, How do you explain this?? Treat your car like you treat your wife. Enjoy your SC.

theiceman

one note on the exhaust replacement.

You break off a couple of those exhaust studs ( they are studs with nuts not bolts ) trying to do an upgrade that wasn't really necessary, and now you are in a world of hurt.

Being a cali car there may be no issue but you may want to do some research first.

n8kruger

If you choose the ssi route, expect to break a stud or two (or all--for the northeast). Stomski racing makes a nice jig that allows you to cut off, drill, tap and replace with new hardware. Use new brass nuts. All can be done with engine in the car, but preferably on a lift. My old threads from the studs came out of the head like a little spring. The heads required almost no clean up.

pbeezy

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Before ordering the SSIs and exhaust, I wanted to assess how interested those exhaust stud/nuts were in moving so I gave everything a gentle torque. Surprisingly, 5 came off with relative ease and the sixth brought the stud out with it. Luckily, the stud did not break - it was fused to the nut.

I think I'm in the clear to move forward with the SSIs and the Dansk 70 mm 2/1 sports muffler. I'll let y'all know how it goes.

theiceman

Fair enough but I think you are 6 nuts away from being "in the clear" . Does look promising though .