Have you been hiding in the corner of my garage or something

Seriously, there are a lot of little parts and pieces that you wont think you need until you pull everything apart... a simple belts/rollers and wp change has turned into a pretty serious job. Age is a curse to everything, and it does not skip by these cars. You are going to need a bunch of new rubber pieces, and to change al the rubber properly you are going to have to pull the intake

 

Yep! I'm starting to think there are three kinds of 951 owners.
1. Young and excited types that own one until it has bent valves.
2. Any age that enjoys DIY and spending alot of money to make one a decent example of what it once was.
3. Any age that spends $25K or more making it faster than 99% of current cars on the road.

Group 1 makes acquiring a 951 possible at the $3000 mark. Group 2 will probably pass the car onto a relative in their estate. Group 3 provides entertainment (and cheap parts) for those in group 2.

There is a group 4, which is hard core racers, but many dont have enough porsche parts left for me to lust after.

Lex, forget all this rambling and order some parts.

 

Good points guys. I am not new to vehicles, or older vehicles. I however have mostly worked on Japanese imports (think Miatas and the like) and the biggest difference I see is the price of parts and the fact that Porsche has revisions for everything making it a bit of a PITA to identify what you need in the first place.

I am going to replace the fuel lines since I'm in the fender well anyways with the battery job. I am then going to put the interior back together with dynamat where I have taken out the insulation due to moisture. Finally, I will replace the clutch master that is leaking. I have all these parts on hand so these are priorities.

Then, I will move the 951 to the back of the garage since it seems like it will be spending some time there and start taking it apart. My budget for it this spring is rather limited and it does need tires amongst other things so I don't want to spend on things I don't immediately need. I don't want to track this car (just yet) and will be happy enjoying it on the streets this summer even if it's not completely up to the point where it's drip free and fully up to date. I just want it to be safe and reliable around town so I can enjoy it a little.

Pouring hours, parts, and money into a car I have only driven home from the previous owner and haven't enjoyed at all is a real drive killer for me. I have to be fond of it to justify the effort and even if it looks gorgeous a car to me is not stationary art.

 

BTW, yes I have visited ArnnWorx, Clark's Garage, 944Online, and some useful private sites showing repair jobs etc.

What is the best vendor to be looking for timing belt parts? I have heard 944Online although good is expensive.

 

I bought the Conti kit off of eBay...same parts you would by from Pelican or the like...and I understand how you feel about parking it, I have only driven mine a few times and it is up on stands for a few months. What you will be doing is a mini restoration. I will say that it will get frustrating when you start pulling everything off and lines tear and whatnot. Im telling you from my recent (in the last couple weeks) experience of going through this. Go ahead and budget for the vacuum lines. Replace all of them with the Lindsey silicon versions. Also, you will more than likely need a new intake J-Boot like I did. I can make you a list if need be of all the stuff I have bough and from where...

 

How do I identify which water pump I have (old or new?) Part number ... or is there something about roller diameter?

 

You have to pull the timing cover off and look for the metal belt guide that will be mounted to the waterpump.

It looks like this:


If you have that piece, you have the updated pump, if not, you have an old style pump and need to upgrade, which means cutting the rear timing cover... you can find the template on Clarks Garage I think..

 

In case you're curious, I've been pretty nearly exactly where you are.

https://rennlist.com/forums/924-931-...944-turbo.html

It's a long read, but hopefully you can find something useful technically.

Good luck!

 

I thought I'd save some typing and pull up one of my postings from a while back. It isn't meant to scare you off, but it might be useful while you're wrestling with a timing belt.....

I got bored after removing my oil cooler lines a little while ago, so I did a little shopping for some things you'll need in the first year or two.
Some of the stuff (WP, belts) you'll probably do right away, but thats only about 500 in parts. But while you're in there, order the 15 piece cooling hose kit. They're only about 150 or so.
Might as well do the cam housing gasket set so the headers dont smoke at stoplights, that'll be about 40 if if you catch it before fire consumes the car, which reminds me of the 3 fuel lines that should be replaced for about 150 or so, but you can sell the little pipe cutter to recover 1.50 The cap, rotor, wires, wires are already removed, so lets spend 250 on them. New intake gaskets will be cheap, but notice the old brittle vac lines and the venturi mess. Might as well get that leak at the AOS cleaned up with new seals, and dont forget the oring for the dipstick tube. Thats another 200 or more to get the intake bolted back on. Crap, the TPS reseal would fix that grime, do that too, but thats cheap. Oil cooler housing seal kit is only 40, but you could wait until it ruins your rod bearings to fix it, that way a new oil pan gasket could be installed. The front engine seal kit is much easier while the airbox, belts and WP are off, and its only 50 or so. Dont forget the thermostats, one is 15, one is 35. You'll need both. You'll notice the cycling valve is a broken joke, so get at least a manual boost controller and hook to the wastegate. Notice the wastegate is nasty, and searching the forum will tell you to order the Tial, Synapse, Lindsey. Thats gonna be 400, and you'll want to get the cat delete while all those fasteners are broken off. Thats only about 500, but make sure you get polished stainless for this item, since no one will ever see it, and it will need to outlast the AC compressor, which probably wont be working when you get the car, but the PO says it just needs a charge. A charge of new drier, new compressor, and possibly new hoses. They ARE 25 years old. It should blow cold for around 600 or so, if you do it all yourself. Dont forget ball joints and tie rod ends while its on the jackstands. The kit to fix the ball joints is 130 for a stocker and the install is fun, what with mixing epoxy and all. If you have $, get the new control arms with the joints installed. Tie rod ends are cheap and just like a ford. Rotors and pads are easy to do at this point, and if you get cheap zimmermanns you can do the front and backs for about 500, but the bearings and seal will push it closer to 600. The front struts are either worn or will be by now...so spend the 600 on them. If you're lucky (1986) you can use the koni inserts and drill/cut/paint your struts yellow, and it'll save about 200. The rear shocks are between 100 and 2000. If you want real handling, sell your M030 stuff on here and you can outsmart those german engineers by filling your wheel wells with 3000 or more of state of the art stuff. The 250 for chips will probably cause your clutch to fail. That'll cost 600-1200 if you do it all yourself, but it should get the car ready for 300HP, if a CV joint doesn't fail first. They're cheap, though. 200 should do it.
If its still leaving a stain on the driveway, its probably red. The PS rack is anywhere from 200 on up, but some of the leak will be from the line on the crossmember. Thats 130, but the other section is 160, at its 25 years old, the metal tag in the line says so. Those two will make buying to 40 hose that hooks to the 25 dollar reservoir on one end, and the 10 fitting on the pump you'll reseal for 30, seem cheap. Crush washers are extra. Make sure to use the nice clamps, not the pepboys clamps. You wont need that many unless you want everything to look nice. Add 75 for clamps and you can do those cooling hoses, too!

Great news! You'll need alot of these items again in about 50,000 miles. The skill and knowledge gained will make it seem less painful the next time, but the parts prices will have gone up by then.

Obviously this is a lame attempt at humor, mostly because it reminds me of what I've done and spent on a weekend driver.

Crap, I forgot bushings.....

 

Seems a lot of people on here are bittered by a love-hate relationship with these aging cars and their costs. Yet a $400 1986 Mazda 323 still rambles on with 250k miles and maintenance consisting of $10 worth of oil every 3k miles.

Yes I understand it's a Porsche but in the end still a car and an old one. Sure it may leak here and there and I don't envision it will ever run like new so I won't step into that 30k hole because 30k can buy a lot of newer car.

 

Indeed, but a 86 mazda with nothing but oil changes still drives like an 86 mazda with nothing but oil changes. Shocks, struts, bushings, TR ends, engine mounts, etc are all acceptable in a worn condition on an 86 mazda. If they are acceptable on a 951, its a group 1 owner.

My pickup has 270K. My DD has 220K. They both get what they need, but I don't demand the same "feel" from them.

BTW, I'm not bitter. I'm lucky to have the resources, and vendors carry the parts.

 

^ Completely agree. I have a 2008 Mazdaspeed3 as a daily and I honestly don't expect the 86 951 to match its modern touches and refinement. The 951 is a fun car but I understand and accept its limitations related to age and design. No, I don't want it to feel like a 1986 Mazda but I want to land somewhere in the middle where the vehicle is enjoyable and safe in spite of having some "character flaws." This is where I'm struggling with what should be done now, what can wait, and what I can live with.

I know there's no formula as everyone is different - however - I do want to drive this car in the summer and do so safely while spending more than $1.5k in parts between now and then including new summer performance tires (Hankook Evo12s are what caught my eye).

 

You shouldn't have any trouble getting it back on the road for the $1500. The "character flaws" are part of the experience. The >$50K rebuild in the 944 area is the big daddy, and even that car will probably have "character flaws". Mine just came in a whole lot cheaper, with a few more flaws....that and I don't have THOSE kinds of resources.

Now hurry up and start the TB/BS belts.

 

Just a couple of unstated items, besides doing belts and vacuum hoses and fuel lines, the Motor Mounts are on that list of fix now or be sorry later. That vibration you feel is also felt by many much more expensive parts - from oil pick-up tube to any of the aluminium brackets that hold A/C, Alternator, Pwr steering pump ... ad nausium. Do them now, a stitch in time. And I know you said you have not driven the car much, but these are no Mazda commuter mobiles, you WILL be pushing the envelope with this car, and all of a sudden, the wheel bearings [for example] become a life and death issue. And any burst coolant hose can empty the system in 30 seconds, and at X mph, my eyes tend to focus ahead rather then behind. Just saying...lipstick on a pig only impresses other pigs, you want to fly with the Angels, you have to have a foundation that starts in hell. [Garage]