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Ok, so I expect we'll have ol' Gramps doing some short drives in a couple of days. Looking forward to that.
Yesturday morning I mounted the broken OE exhaust manifold & tube extension & last night I get notification that something is in the mail. I expect it is my long tube headers (made in USA). If so, you know what I'll be tinkering with today. The butchers did a crappy job of mounting the exhaust (and the fact parts of it are 38 years old), so I have my work cut out for me. But I'm actually "alright" at exhaust tinkerin' nowadays.
I am regretting not removing the rust from this replacement TT, but no worries, it'll be there for me at a later date.
Engine is full of oil & ready to fire up, but I will bleed the brakes first, as I lost a lot of fluid removing the rear suspension. Am hoping I can remove the "sponginess" in the brakes that I originally felt in the car.
Order of things:
-fabricate exhaust
-bleed brakes
-bleed coolant system (is this a factory is the lack of heater performance?)
-wash car
-sort out heater
-put the shifter and boot together
-drive, drive, drive
It's a crappy deal learning the angles & tricks for installing headers into a 924.
So much for my new paint job. Oh well, I saw this coming...
My left hand has more scratches than ever before... and I HAVE 5 CATS!
This happened last night. Gramps is his name. This is the reason why I downgraded my white car and sold off desirable parts from it. 1978 bottom of the barrel Porsche 924 non turbo with 4 speed trans. It's been a very very very rocky start. But I hope things are turning for the better now.
-This has been the greatest sensation (as a mechanic, not as a driver), with this car so far:
Bleeding the brakes... I mean, just look at that dark fluid coming out of the line. I really feel like I'm making the world right... like giving the car medicine, bleeding the brakes and introducing fresh fluid.
-Then there was another good feeling (although I dislike the type of work in general)... repairing the excessive play in the wheel bearing. found the driver's side steer hub loose (repair: inspect bearings. found good, replaced with fresh grease & adjusted the bearings) and the pass side steer hub had a LOT of play. Found bearing shot. replaced bearings with new, applied fresh grease & adjusted for no play. I gotta say, this car is a JOY to replace bearing on compared to a late model 944. Similar, but better.
-Surprised Ol' Gramps with a BRAND NEW hatch seal & my 944 (Wilson)'s old sunroof seals. Much better now!
-Here's a random shot of things to come. Gramps has minor rust and some dings... perhaps in one or two years we will deal with that. But before that Ol'd Gramps has to perform!
I hope so Morghen, it would be preferable vs. coming from the underside.
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Driving in the country just now (not too for from home) and snap. No clutch. Fun drive hope.
The funny thing is, I'm really liking Ol' Gramps. The interior is comfy. The heater is good enough for mild winter days. I have some concerns... #1 on the list is why does the oil pressure gauge drop to zero at idle once the oil is warmed up?
Diagnosed the failure was caused by the pedal side cable end being worn to about half. Also, ummm, being plastic might have SOMETHING to do the failure.
Oddly the clutch fork side was nearly new looking.
This took me a few hours to come up with something. Using a motorcycle chain roller & a nut & strip of steel I made a lightweight & functional end. It worked perfect on the test drive. For now on I might consider carrying clutch & throttle cables for long road trips.
I think the PO might have installed some odd stuff on the car yet again (that part should have been white not black)...its a pain to see you go trough debugging all the stuff that is bad but i hope you'll be able to enjoy it very soon.
Yea...you probably wont get your money back with a/this 924...if you want to make it about money you have to look somewhere else. 924s are about fun and little money
"from Las Vegas to Salt Lake City in about 3 hours" and how much fuel? If you go that fast you wont be able to enjoy the road
Thanks brother but honestly you wouldn't compliment my welding on the exhaust. Normally I enjoy exhaust work, but i grew impatient working with the pieces that came with the car. But, you know it sounds good & is supported enough & aligned enough to be good enough for a couple of years. And down the road I will replace the muffler at bare minimum. I had to fill gaps of 15-25mm with the mig where the muffler was torn from the pipe. Not pretty
MSDS http://www.msdsinc.com/ made the headers and included the adapter extension. Top quality American service from Marty (the owner) & I will deal with them in the future.
Regarding the O2 tube that went to the original exhaust to the engine... I was able to easily remove the diaphram at the engine with tube in take for possible future use. Then make a very simple steel block off plate & paper gasket.
I think the PO might have installed some odd stuff on the car yet again (that part should have been white not black)...its a pain to see you go trough debugging all the stuff that is bad but i hope you'll be able to enjoy it very soon.
Thank you. At this point the previous owners are off the hook. Though I might go out of my way to drive by and mention my experience dealing with the dude to his manager.... anyway, yesturday was alright... merely an experience to get to know the ins & outs of the 924. I like to drive cars a lot... expose weaknesses and repair them until the cars are super reliable. I'm talking Salt Lake to Vegas & back in a day type reliability.
01-16-2016, 10:54 AM
