1986 951 restoooo and what have you
12-03-2017, 02:04 AM
#16
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Well I had a few other threads going on but I got it running, set it on fire, etc etc...I should have let it burn (can ya tell im over this project? haha) Owning a 951 is a passion project, man. Anyway. Oil ended up in the heat shield of the exhaust manifold at some point and well, fire...after 2 hours of starting it, letting it smoke and shutting it down to cool it stopped smoking. Got it back on the road, 2 weeks now. Its got an oil leak I found today (wasnt that the point of taking the GD motor out??) Front crank seal or that stupid oring behind the oil pump drive piece...gonna replace both, but before I do gonna make sure that crank bolt is torqued properly.
Got the interior half torn out to repair the rubber/foam pieces falling off the roof for the headliner, and to repair the sunroof. I replaced the gears years ago and it ended up all outa sync and messed up a bunch of stuff. So Ive got new gears. Gonna make sure the microswitches are working and get that all repaired. Also have all new vacuum hoses and washer tubing and a new cap
New stereo is in, rockford fostgate 4" speakers in the front. Had to modify the speakers just slightly to get em to sink all the way in the door, I could have notched the door slightly too. Fits behind the factory grills perfectly with the little black spacers. Had these Hertz 6.5's lying around with no tweeters. So I put em in the rear and mounted the cross over inside the opening. Gonna get some inexpensive soft dome tweeters to go with em. Im a huge pioneer fan, for my $$ you cant beat their headunits. This is a mechless one, no CD player. Bluetooth streaming, hands free, USB AM/FM etc etc...all the stuff you want in a single din headunit, with 4v preouts and 3 pair to boot. Im happy with it and it sounds way better than the stock setup ever did. 4x6 speakers are a joke. I was suprised to find fat 16ga wire to all the speakers factory though.
New clock bulb and LED bulbs in the instrument panel. Warm white 194 LED's just swapped the bulbs out, helluva difference. The color is good, they arnt too bright and because the rest of the bulbs are still incandescent you still get a little dimming, not that you need it.
And finally the drivability...it sucks. This car runs horribly. Found the throttle switch, which is adjusted correctly fails when it gets warm. The idle will hunt and you can feel it kicking in and out on decel, its frekin annoying. I popped it open and I got the wrong micro switch for it, so gotta order another. Im not spending 300$ for a 2$ part. Next weekend ill pull the DME and KLR and send em to ECU doctors so they can check em. The low boost issue has to be an internal fault. Everything else it new and the stupid cycleling valve works if you goose the throttle, no blink codes. The thing also feels lean or the timing is all over the place, which would be a KLR issue. Its got no power when its cold, like its lean or there is no timing in it. even light acceleration its not smooth, like the timing is off or its lean. I checked the O2 and its biased slightly lean which is gonna drive the system rich, (min and max voltage are 0-.85, averaging .46) I always remember the car being sluggish when cold, but i dont remember how smooth the light acceleration was. Hopefully there is an issue with an ECU that is causing it, but I wouldnt be surprised if its part of the stock tune.
Oh and the cooling fan never turns off low speed. I thought I had an 87 thermostat in it so I swapped it for an 83 today, but it was an 80 I took out, so its gonna get a 95/102 stock fan switch. And the resistor wiring is toast, cause why the F wouldnt it be right??!! Gonna trim it back far as I can and repair it
So thats where its at, been a long long road but its getting there. The oil leak upsets me and every time I go deeper into a place I havent been its something else. What I really need is for it to start running right, once the drivability issues are taken care of ill really be much happier.
Oh and yes I have some heat sleeve to replace the foil I put on the fuel lines haha
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
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After
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by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
by https://www.flickr.com/photos/103785479@N08/, on Flickr
Got the interior half torn out to repair the rubber/foam pieces falling off the roof for the headliner, and to repair the sunroof. I replaced the gears years ago and it ended up all outa sync and messed up a bunch of stuff. So Ive got new gears. Gonna make sure the microswitches are working and get that all repaired. Also have all new vacuum hoses and washer tubing and a new cap
New stereo is in, rockford fostgate 4" speakers in the front. Had to modify the speakers just slightly to get em to sink all the way in the door, I could have notched the door slightly too. Fits behind the factory grills perfectly with the little black spacers. Had these Hertz 6.5's lying around with no tweeters. So I put em in the rear and mounted the cross over inside the opening. Gonna get some inexpensive soft dome tweeters to go with em. Im a huge pioneer fan, for my $$ you cant beat their headunits. This is a mechless one, no CD player. Bluetooth streaming, hands free, USB AM/FM etc etc...all the stuff you want in a single din headunit, with 4v preouts and 3 pair to boot. Im happy with it and it sounds way better than the stock setup ever did. 4x6 speakers are a joke. I was suprised to find fat 16ga wire to all the speakers factory though.
New clock bulb and LED bulbs in the instrument panel. Warm white 194 LED's just swapped the bulbs out, helluva difference. The color is good, they arnt too bright and because the rest of the bulbs are still incandescent you still get a little dimming, not that you need it.
And finally the drivability...it sucks. This car runs horribly. Found the throttle switch, which is adjusted correctly fails when it gets warm. The idle will hunt and you can feel it kicking in and out on decel, its frekin annoying. I popped it open and I got the wrong micro switch for it, so gotta order another. Im not spending 300$ for a 2$ part. Next weekend ill pull the DME and KLR and send em to ECU doctors so they can check em. The low boost issue has to be an internal fault. Everything else it new and the stupid cycleling valve works if you goose the throttle, no blink codes. The thing also feels lean or the timing is all over the place, which would be a KLR issue. Its got no power when its cold, like its lean or there is no timing in it. even light acceleration its not smooth, like the timing is off or its lean. I checked the O2 and its biased slightly lean which is gonna drive the system rich, (min and max voltage are 0-.85, averaging .46) I always remember the car being sluggish when cold, but i dont remember how smooth the light acceleration was. Hopefully there is an issue with an ECU that is causing it, but I wouldnt be surprised if its part of the stock tune.
Oh and the cooling fan never turns off low speed. I thought I had an 87 thermostat in it so I swapped it for an 83 today, but it was an 80 I took out, so its gonna get a 95/102 stock fan switch. And the resistor wiring is toast, cause why the F wouldnt it be right??!! Gonna trim it back far as I can and repair it
So thats where its at, been a long long road but its getting there. The oil leak upsets me and every time I go deeper into a place I havent been its something else. What I really need is for it to start running right, once the drivability issues are taken care of ill really be much happier.
Oh and yes I have some heat sleeve to replace the foil I put on the fuel lines haha
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12-31-2017, 01:31 AM
#17
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Well got the ECU and KLR sent to ecu doctors in florida, both have issues, im not surprised. Solder joint issues in both of em, and the KLR needs a recap, so I just told em to fix em both, jebus its pricey, 5 year warranty so they much do good with to stand behind it like that. I just hope when I put them back in the problems are gone. Had an oil leak after a few days from the front crank seal. So thats apart now too, Im putting a new porsche crank seal and oring in, along with a new oil pump drive gear. THe old one you can see the polished section where the seal was but you can bearly feel the grove. I think the leak was from teh o-ring. The Porsche one is orange, the victor reinz one was black, may not have been the right material. I also got the crank holding tool, what a frekin lifesaver haha. Probably will only ever use it this one time too.
Glued the foam pieces back into the roof for the headliner with some locktite caulking gun type adhesive. Permanently bonds almost many material, so that should hold it in haha. I still have to reglue int eh headliner and all the side panels and crap. And like everythign else I get into the shofter linkage needs help. So im gonna do the bolt modification at the shifter, removing the pin that get worn out into a barrel shape, cause ya know metal on metal as the wear point in the shifter was a fantastic idea. Gonna replace the rear link too with the one from 944online, with the heims in it. Im lookin forward to getting this one done so I can get back to my turbo bugeye sprite project. And then maybe I can hit a cars and coffee with the 951.
Glued the foam pieces back into the roof for the headliner with some locktite caulking gun type adhesive. Permanently bonds almost many material, so that should hold it in haha. I still have to reglue int eh headliner and all the side panels and crap. And like everythign else I get into the shofter linkage needs help. So im gonna do the bolt modification at the shifter, removing the pin that get worn out into a barrel shape, cause ya know metal on metal as the wear point in the shifter was a fantastic idea. Gonna replace the rear link too with the one from 944online, with the heims in it. Im lookin forward to getting this one done so I can get back to my turbo bugeye sprite project. And then maybe I can hit a cars and coffee with the 951.
12-31-2017, 10:56 AM
#18
Race Car
...."turbo bugeye sprite project?"... hmmm. You aren't your average home mechanic are you?
Are you a mechanic by trade?
Job well done on this car by far, man! This car appreciates all this love you've been giving it. You have tackled some large jobs, and the 951 is not an easy car to work on in many aspects.
Shoulders back and head high, mate. Also don't forget to take a break from this project now and then.
This car is a real head turner... did Grandma give it to you?
Are you a mechanic by trade?
Job well done on this car by far, man! This car appreciates all this love you've been giving it. You have tackled some large jobs, and the 951 is not an easy car to work on in many aspects.
Shoulders back and head high, mate. Also don't forget to take a break from this project now and then.
This car is a real head turner... did Grandma give it to you?
01-08-2018, 01:19 AM
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Heh no im not just a home tech. Ive been in the industry for near 20 years, and currently i work at Icon 4x4 in chatsworth california. I know some of you have heard of em 
We build the Icon Broncos, the Icon FJ's, we do the sweet restos and v8 upgrades on all the Toyota land cruisers and we build the derelicts and reformers. I know some of you saw the Rolls Royce we just did, that was one I worked on, im the electrical/drivability guy.
The car has not been gifted to me. It started as a fuel leak and exploded into everything you see in this thread. Grandma will not be driving anymore, and I honestly don't want to the car. I grew up with it, learned to drive stick with it, went on my first dates in it, and wanted to do right by it for when the inevitable happens with my grandparents, so its ready just to be sold quickly and easily and had no idea it would go this far when I got into the repairs. I want to finish it and get it back in their garage. Im very familiar with the mushroom factor, but holy geez man. And Im a bit of a euro **** ill admit it, my daily for years were volvos, 200s, 700s, an 850 for years, now I have a 95 w124 benz wagon with an AMG 3.6 swap. But this by far is the most german car ive ever had to work on, and i worked on german stuff for years haha.
Ive walked away from it for a few weeks, mainly cause im waiting for parts. Got a new shifter and linkage to go in it, and got the front of the motor back together. But while rolling around under it noticed oil seeping from the new rear main, and after doing some reading looks like I should have pushed it in deeper than I did because the new rear main seals are not as thick as the original. So looks like im pulling the damn trans and all the bits to replace it again. Im so frekin stoked!! Oiyvey...and after taking a bath in coolant replacing the fan switch, its obvious why it would never turn off, 83 deg thermostat with an 85 deg fan switch, yeah thats a good combo...I should have the DME and KLR back this week too, resoldered and new caps, so hopefully I get my boost back. The car will be 100% mechanically sorted, but someone can decide if they wanna do the seats in the correct leather or vynal and deal with the paint how ever they want. Its those things that people can differ on greatly and i hate to put the $ into em to see them torn out or changed
As far as my sprite, its a 1959 austin healey bugeye sprite. Bought it as a roller and long story short I dont wanna build a 4-5k$ 1380, which is a bored over 1275 BMC A-series. Makes great power in the 100-120hp range with tons of torque as a 1380. But there was a turbo charged version of the 1275 in europe that made 95hp out of the box. So with some little tweaks ill have as much power, using mostly factory parts keeping the proper BMC engine and if its done right will make way more than 120hp, though all i want is 100 at the wheels, and it wont effect the value of the car. In a car that weighs 1300lbs wet, thats a pretty sweet number. Other projects on the table at my wifes 73 mini, my moms 74 Fiat X1/9, and my dads 82 Oldsmobile custom cruiser, totally restored with an LQ4 6 litre V8 swap (2003 chevy truck). So this 951 stuck in the middle is screwin with my mojo haha. In the end I wont be doing any interior repairs, leaving the seats as they are.
Here is a link to the latest album for the sprite build if you wanted to see
https://flic.kr/s/aHskZmBqG7
We build the Icon Broncos, the Icon FJ's, we do the sweet restos and v8 upgrades on all the Toyota land cruisers and we build the derelicts and reformers. I know some of you saw the Rolls Royce we just did, that was one I worked on, im the electrical/drivability guy.The car has not been gifted to me. It started as a fuel leak and exploded into everything you see in this thread. Grandma will not be driving anymore, and I honestly don't want to the car. I grew up with it, learned to drive stick with it, went on my first dates in it, and wanted to do right by it for when the inevitable happens with my grandparents, so its ready just to be sold quickly and easily and had no idea it would go this far when I got into the repairs. I want to finish it and get it back in their garage. Im very familiar with the mushroom factor, but holy geez man. And Im a bit of a euro **** ill admit it, my daily for years were volvos, 200s, 700s, an 850 for years, now I have a 95 w124 benz wagon with an AMG 3.6 swap. But this by far is the most german car ive ever had to work on, and i worked on german stuff for years haha.
Ive walked away from it for a few weeks, mainly cause im waiting for parts. Got a new shifter and linkage to go in it, and got the front of the motor back together. But while rolling around under it noticed oil seeping from the new rear main, and after doing some reading looks like I should have pushed it in deeper than I did because the new rear main seals are not as thick as the original. So looks like im pulling the damn trans and all the bits to replace it again. Im so frekin stoked!! Oiyvey...and after taking a bath in coolant replacing the fan switch, its obvious why it would never turn off, 83 deg thermostat with an 85 deg fan switch, yeah thats a good combo...I should have the DME and KLR back this week too, resoldered and new caps, so hopefully I get my boost back. The car will be 100% mechanically sorted, but someone can decide if they wanna do the seats in the correct leather or vynal and deal with the paint how ever they want. Its those things that people can differ on greatly and i hate to put the $ into em to see them torn out or changed
As far as my sprite, its a 1959 austin healey bugeye sprite. Bought it as a roller and long story short I dont wanna build a 4-5k$ 1380, which is a bored over 1275 BMC A-series. Makes great power in the 100-120hp range with tons of torque as a 1380. But there was a turbo charged version of the 1275 in europe that made 95hp out of the box. So with some little tweaks ill have as much power, using mostly factory parts keeping the proper BMC engine and if its done right will make way more than 120hp, though all i want is 100 at the wheels, and it wont effect the value of the car. In a car that weighs 1300lbs wet, thats a pretty sweet number. Other projects on the table at my wifes 73 mini, my moms 74 Fiat X1/9, and my dads 82 Oldsmobile custom cruiser, totally restored with an LQ4 6 litre V8 swap (2003 chevy truck). So this 951 stuck in the middle is screwin with my mojo haha. In the end I wont be doing any interior repairs, leaving the seats as they are.
Here is a link to the latest album for the sprite build if you wanted to see
https://flic.kr/s/aHskZmBqG7
01-18-2018, 11:14 PM
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Well gonna hit it again this Saturday. Gonna be optimistic and see if I can change the rear main, again...and have it back together...maybe not running yet, but trans and all back in saturday. 10 hours on a rack with a good tech supposedly. Exhaust was just out in one piece so gonna do that then its unbolt and hang the axles, yank the trans, torque tube etc etc. This was the reason I took the motor out to reseal heh. We will see what happens.
I did get the ECUs back, im chompin at the bit to get this other crap done to see if I get the boost back now they have been repaired.
I did get the ECUs back, im chompin at the bit to get this other crap done to see if I get the boost back now they have been repaired.
01-21-2018, 10:38 AM
#21
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Well I must applaud you... you have a lot of heart & must have a lot of dedication to your family, because most people would have shrugged and said "I did what I could"... I feel for you re-doing the rear main. Replace it with a proper Victor or Porsche seal. Press it in about 1/8 deeper than the face of the block (so that the block "bevel" is seen on the circumference. I tapped mine in gently with a 6mm bolt (10mm head). Been working for 3 years now.
01-21-2018, 03:20 PM
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Well i.jumped right in. 1.5 hours trans was out. 6.5 hours total and 90% of the parts are back in. I didnt think id get that far. Pics are pretty self explanatory. Rear main leakin..Porsche seal had rubber much farther down. The one I put in first was a Victor reinz, the other one you see in the pic. I still sunk the seal a few mm farther down then added a quart of oil and waited. No oil leaking..so started reassembly. Still have to stab the starter and tighten the exhaust go over all the hardware make sure I didn't miss anything. Boy am I sore today rolling around on a small creeper on my back all day wrestling it. It was easy for the most part...hardest thing was the 2 bolts on top of the trans for the mount, and dealing with uneven concrete and a small crappy creeper
I also put in a 944 only shift link and got one of their shifters with the side bearings. I'm curious though as to how much slop there will be cause of the slop in the shift arm assembly on the trans itself. Oh and got the new front crank seal in and oring, all porsche parts, and a new oil pump drive gear and fan switch...notwI know why the fans would never turn off. I went with a factory 95 102 switch, should work well with the 83 deg thermostat
I also put in a 944 only shift link and got one of their shifters with the side bearings. I'm curious though as to how much slop there will be cause of the slop in the shift arm assembly on the trans itself. Oh and got the new front crank seal in and oring, all porsche parts, and a new oil pump drive gear and fan switch...notwI know why the fans would never turn off. I went with a factory 95 102 switch, should work well with the 83 deg thermostat
01-22-2018, 01:02 AM
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It's not a short shifter at least I don't think it is...i didn't order a short shifter that i know of I just wanted the slop gone. It's one or those pet peeves i cant stand. Every bulb in the car needs to work weather I see it or not, and the shifter slop...i can't stand it haha.
01-22-2018, 10:57 PM
#25
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You're doing an awesome job with that car! Would really be a shame to sell it after all you and the car have been through. Seems liek you practically grew up with the car and given all of the work that you've recently done, the car should be ready to go for many years.
01-25-2018, 01:53 AM
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You're doing an awesome job with that car! Would really be a shame to sell it after all you and the car have been through. Seems liek you practically grew up with the car and given all of the work that you've recently done, the car should be ready to go for many years.
Last edited by autocomman; 01-29-2018 at 12:08 AM.
01-27-2018, 10:49 PM
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Ok, back on the road, new shifter in and fan relay repaired. Geebuz this has a complicated fan setup. 5 frekin relays in that dumb little box. But what im stuck on is my lack of boost still. This is with the DME and KLR fresh from ECU doctors. Wastegate disconnected it will boost just fine but its still only boosting .2 BAR. I started another thread...Im at a total loss now. Every sensor, wire and all has been repalced, checked, verified and rechecked. Anyway, last few pics before I burn this car to the ground at this point
01-28-2018, 01:37 PM
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I need to borrow a KLR from soneone, but when i tried to do that the one local guy that i was gonna borrow it from sold it before I could borrow it. And yeah every hose clamp wire connection has been doube and triple checked at this point. Im gonna put a gauge on the CV to see what its doing and a little led so I can see if its triggering the valve at all under heavy throttle...it will click over 60% like its supposed to just revving the engine but i dont know what its doing driving it.