Mrmerlin

before you plug in the new computer do you have any idea what caused it to fail in the first place?

You should track this down before taking a good part and testing it on a suspect machine

mcpheatauto

The MAF and ECUs came back today and went in the car right away. I was pretty sure that the car hadn't blown the ECU with a fault, I'd been through most of the wiring and found it all to be in perfect condition. John at JDS suggested the fault might have been the reason it was taken off the road back in 1986, although it doesn't explain why it wasn't fixed at the time. I could tell it was fixed as soon as I fired it up, the exhaust hadn't barked before. The test drive went very well, everything else has been done so it really drove like a 2 year old car. Thanks to all on here for the help and advice.

Red Flash

Beautiful interior! Any idea why the exterior suffered so much corrosion? These cars have pretty much indestructible paint, so it is surprising.

mcpheatauto

Red Flash, you are right, the interior is amazing, no wear and the seat is as firm as when new. The right side of the car is worse than the left as far as the paint and the aluminium panels but I've no idea why it has reacted this way. I know where it's been for the last year but not before that. There must have been some damp involved but the rest of the car is so good there can't have been much. At least I can see that it hasn't had any bodywork, it's not often you get to look under the paint.

BRB-83-911SC

I like this car, and the interior is beautiful. If only it could talk and tell us what it has been up to for the last 30+ years. How close to ocean was it stored? Certainly looks like it has been near salt water - damp salty air. I would guess it was stored outside under a cover for a long period of time, without the cover being removed to allow for it to dry out. The corrosion under hood indicates poor air circulation to allow any dampness to ever dry out. The upside is the well preserved interior, and probably minimal deterioration of the rubber/plastic bits. I wonder what you will find in terms of corrosion throughout the electrical systems. This looks to be the opposite of what we see when a car is stored outside baking in the hot sun for years - cooked interiors and brittle rubber and plastics.

I look forward to seeing your progress with this - it should be very rewarding to get it all sorted.

mcpheatauto

BRB-83-911SC, in the UK there is nowhere more than 72 miles from the sea but I don't think it can have been outside as there would be nothing left of it. I think some of the time must been undercover but on dirt rather than concrete. All of the rubber and wiring on the inside is excellent but the plastic behind the door speakers turned brittle and the speakers had fallen out. The only rattle is the crappy aftermarket speakers I put it just to fill the hole (there's no radio anyway). The strips that seal the door windows have cracked a bit but not terribly. I don't intend to paint it, I am mostly an old car mechanic but I have to buy and sell stuff to keep the workshop side going (I need a massive 'shop). The interior needs nothing (apart from speaker blanks). I'm not happy with the tyre fitters job so will have them all moved to line up the yellow dots (picky) and balance from the back. The wheels are perfect. I drove it home tonight and apart from a few more oil and filter changes I don't know that it needs much else. The brake pad warning light is on but it's got new pads and new sensor wires so I don't know what's going on there. I'll see what I can find out about the storage over the years but I think the story has breaks as a storage debt was involved at some point. The guy I got it from is an old school dealer who started out in the 1950s and has tons of contacts in the trade. Fortunately he's a pal.