sooner964

I purchased my 964 in July 2014 and have been around the forum since 2015, but I've never really introduced myself or my car. My car is a 1991 (September 11, 1990 build date) 964 C2 manual coupe finished in Guards Red over Cashmere Beige. I've been a Porsche fan most of my life, but I never really thought I'd own one because they seemed out of reach. Many of my favorite Hot Wheels were Porsches and I still have them - a silver 356 coupe, a 959 finished in what looks to be Arena Red, and several different 911 turbos and RSRs. I probably have my dad to thank for my car passion. He is a lifelong car guy and grew up building American muscle cars (mostly Camaros), but he has always had the Porsche bug, too. Growing up, dad had several cars that I thought were pretty cool including a 1991 Pontiac Formula Firebird and then a 1987 Buick Grand National. My dad coached our little league baseball teams, so we were always the last to leave because we had to clean the field up and turn off the lights. This meant that we had a big, empty parking lot to ourselves so dad would let me drive the GN around the parking lot. I remember one time in high school he picked me up from a band rehearsal after I'd gotten my learner's permit and I got to drive the GN home. Dad always kept up with the latest 911s and always said he'd get one some day.


My first "Porsche" as a kid and the day I bought my 964.

Sometime in 2013 I started kicking around the idea of getting a fun sports car and thought maybe I could get a first generation Boxster. As I started to research and look at what was out there, I realized that air cooled 911s were actually rather affordable at that time, excepting the early long hoods and the 993s, so I began look at SC's, 3.2's, and 964's. To me, the 964 was the Goldilocks air cooled 911 - it still had the classic silhouette that the 993 started to move away from, but it had more modern technology compared to the SC's and 3.2's, so I started to look for one to call my own. Crazy as it might seem now, at that time a nice 964 could still be bought for between $20-40k. I briefly considered a 996 C4S or 40th Anniversary because they were slightly cheaper, but ultimately I wanted air cooled. I found mine at Victory Motors in Houston for sale in July 2014. Dad and I went down to look at it on a Wednesday afternoon and we took it for a test drive. We certainly did not put the level of scrutiny that most would, especially now. There was no PPI of any kind. We looked the car over and it looked nice cosmetically and it felt mechanically sound, so I decided to buy it. Probably many people would say that I did not do things correctly but I knew I was getting an old car that regardless was going to need some TLC. A price was agreed upon and the car was mine.

When I bought it, my 964 had 17 inch Boxster twist wheels (which it still wears, although I don't really like them), a sunroof, a rear window wiper, comfort seats, cruise control, and an aftermarket Pioneer radio which looked horribly out of place. The car also came with an official Porsche car cover.

(A quick aside - my dad had been looking at 997s for several years, but after I bought my 964, he decided he, too, wanted an air cooled 911 and bought his own 964 a month later. His car is identical to mine, except his is a 1990.)

My car had around 104k miles on the clock when I bought it. Part of the purchase agreement with Victory was that they would perform a top end rebuild and reseal. This work included replacing the rings, machining the heads, replacing the valve guides, cylinder head gaskets, fuel filter, rod bearings, and complete reseal. A new RS clutch and new flywheel were also installed, although I didn't realize it was an RS clutch until several years later. I should add that this was my first manual car and I had virtually zero experience driving a manual. The first few weeks were a little rough, but I got the hang of things pretty quick.

I would drive my 964 to work when the weather was nice and rain was not forecasted. After a few months of just getting to know the car, I started replacing items that I could tell were a little worse for the wear: tail lights, CCU buttons, the hood crest, and wheel center caps. My dad and I started attending our local PCA chapter Saturday morning Get Togethers (GTGs) to meet other owners. We met Rudy Mancinas at the very first one we attended and he made us feel like we had been members our whole lives and were old friends. He was always so friendly and welcoming and meeting him that first time really made a great experience. Rudy had brought his Krystal Green Metallic 1 of 1 993 that day. Little did we realize what a collection he had at that first meeting. Rudy is definitely still missed by all. I'm glad I got to meet him.


Driving to Round Top, TX with Lone Star Region PCA for July 4th parade

As I attended GTGs, I started hearing about some of the performance oriented upgrades that were "recommended". Over the next several years (2015-16), I had Bilstein B6s with H&R greens installed to bring my ride height out of offroading territory, and the FD Motorsports Goldenrod and short shift kit installed to improve the shifting feel (my bushings apparently disintegrated during removal). At the home garage, dad and I installed a Rennline cup pipe and cat bypass, a Steve Wong chip, and a Rennline front strut brace. We also replaced my stock steering wheel with a Momo Prototipo.

One morning in 2016 on my way to work on I-45, I was changing lanes when disaster struck. An entire piece of tire tread from a semi was stretched out between two lanes and I ran right over it on the right hand passenger side. The damage luckily was mostly superficial. The turn indicator and parking lamp were busted and I lost the right side shark fin. The front right corner of the bumper was busted up, and the light bulb from the parking lamp found its way into the oil cooler. I got the car out to my parents house and dad and I got it up on jack stands. We removed the front bumper cover to assess the damage which overall was surprisingly minimal. I ordered a new bumper cover and right side shark fin which I picked up at Porsche West Houston and then took for paint. Once the pieces were ready, we got to work re-assembling like new. I added the RS-look front splitters at that time. After a weekend of work, the car was good to go.

During one service with my indy, I had both coils replaced.

In November 2016 I had the AC system converted to R134a at a local HVAC specialist Rudy had recommended.


My car in April 2017.

In 2017, my wife and I got married, so much of my time was focused on wedding prep! The car got driven and routine maintenance, but I don't recall any big projects. I think I replaced the motor for the rear blower and also got new tires. I replaced all of the interior, trunk, and frunk bulbs with LEDs. This followed suit with LEDs for the front & rear turns signals, front parking lamps, and the rear brake lights using a kit I bought from Bergvill F/X. I also purchased and installed his T-Lock system which is awesome. I replaced the distributor caps and rotors which were totally worn.

In 2018 I switched out my pedal assembly with a 993 unit. For "fun" I took the car to Porsche North Houston for an oil change as they are a certified classic dealer. The clutch slave cylinder was replaced. It was really cool seeing the car in their garage. They gave me a Macan as a loaner which was fun. My brake rotors were worn so they got replaced then, as well. My wife and I took the car for a road trip to Hot Springs, AR for a friend's wedding over Labor Day weekend. That was a really fun drive, and the last stretch as you enter Hot Springs from the west has some very nice roads with good curves.

In 2019 my AC compressor died so I had a new unit installed. I also had the alternator belt snap so that needed to be replaced.

In 2020, I had a new alternator installed as mine was done and also installed a new fan. Several of the blades on my fan were starting to shows signs of early separation, so it made sense to do as a "while you're in there". For several years my indy had told me that he was surprised I was driving an RS clutch around in Houston traffic, and I'd finally decided he was right. The RS clutch is great for track day abuse (which I don't actually do), but not so great in stop and go (which I do a lot). So, I had him install a standard clutch and dual mass flywheel as I had a single mass unit. That was very transformative and has made the car much more comfortable in traffic. Spark plugs were replaced, too, and valves adjusted. My wife and I road tripped to Waco, TX for a few days in October to get away from Houston. The car performed admirably, once again.

To the best of my recollection, this brings me to the present. Not much happened with the car in 2021 - we sold a house and bought a new one inside the city to be closer to our jobs in downtown. We are now just 10 minutes away and don't have to get on a highway, so I'm determined to make my 964 a daily driver if I ever get back to working in an office.

My current plans for 2022 include:

1) Basic maintenance - oil change, etc.
2) Overhaul the AC system: the system has lost its charge, and I think it might be time to also investigate replacing the evaporator and possibly the condenser. For a few years I've been using the RS bypass for the rear blower motor, but I've never gotten the wiring bypass to work to retain heat which has been a constant annoyance. I've tried every method and nothing works. I actually just put the rear blower motor back in today after hooking it up to my new bench power supply to confirm the motor still works (it should as I replaced it in 2016 or 2017)
3) Coupled with the AC overhaul, I want to get ceramic window tinting for heat rejection. I'm not looking for dark privacy tint, but something to help keep as much of the Texas summer heat out so the AC can do its job.
4) Update the stereo system: I typically drive with the windows and/or the sunroof open and listen to the car, but there are times (such as road trips) where it would be nice to have a good sound system. I want to install a new head unit that looks correct (currently the Blaupunkt Bremen SQR46 is in the lead) as well as a new amplifier and speakers. Tangentially related, I installed the Rennline phone mount that goes around the clock today, as well. That's a nice solution they've made and I think it looks better than something on top of the dash. It doesn't really obstruct the CCU or radio controls that much, either.
5) Cosmetics: Replace the inner door sill covers as mine look like junk, rejuvenate the leather seats, repair or replace my cracked spoiler, possibly install aero mirrors, and maybe some new wheels. I'm also considering putting the stock steering wheel back on. I love the Prototipo, but I've been moving back towards an OEM+ look after going slightly outlaw with the 2016 repairs. If I do, I think I would purchase a new airbag as I don't know that I necessarily trust my 31 year-old airbag.

I'll add more pictures soon, and use this thread to update as I complete projects.

Thanks for reading, and nice to finally say "hello"!

- Ben

John McM

Nice read. +964 on the DMF vs RS Clutch. I did the same change last year.

964Luftballoon

Great intro! Rudy is definitely missed!

Funny you also mentioned the RS clutch in traffic. I work in the City Centre area and Beltway 8 traffic is terrible. So far I've lived through it but going back to a dual mass is a thought. Or...964 prices come back from the stratosphere and I can afford another for a daily...LOL

I usually attend the 1st and 3rd (Sugar Land) GTG's Haven't had the pleasure of meeting you but hope to sometime. It's nice to meet other 964 owners.

Goughary

Great intro Ben...we will have to do a Rennlist gtg sometime when I'm down there in Houston...
Ryan...get on that!!!
Would love to see the cars and talk shop. I have been thinking about maybe driving mine down this spring...would be a fun road trip...

964Luftballoon

Approved for another 964 as a daily? NOTED! Hahaha

Yes, you need to drive down here with your 964...Or next time your down here you can drive mine and tell me how terrible it is and what needs fixing LOL

sooner964

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed reading it!

Yes, Rudy definitely is missed! I just saw the announcement that a number of his cars are going to be auctioned at the upcoming Amelia Island auction. Whomever buys his cars will be very lucky.

That is definitely a terrible area for traffic. The traffic lights around the Beltway are short with long line-ups. I think switching back to a dual mass flywheel and standard clutch was personally a great decision. Driving in traffic is much less of an effort. As much as I love the RS-mentality, my car is honestly never going to be that type of car for how I want to use it.

It would be great to meet at a GTG! I honestly haven't been to one probably in 3 years now. Before my parents moved back to Oklahoma a few years ago, dad and I would meet up and take both our cars quite a bit. When we went, it was usually to either the NW or Woodlands as those locations were more convenient. Now that my wife and I are back inside the loop, I'm going to start attending the Central (1st Saturday) more often, I hope. The new Central location looks pretty cool.

sooner964

Thank you! That would be great to meet and chat when you're down here sometime. It really is fun getting to meet other people that share the same interest and learn from them. You have learned and shared so much already here!

sooner964

I'm glad that I'm writing this all out. As much as you think you'll remember things, you don't. I've been going back through photos on my phone to post and realize I need to edit some of the dates.

sooner964

Thanks, John! I've really enjoyed reading through your refurb thread. How have you liked the switch back to the DMF?

sooner964

My run-in with the semi tire tread happened in 2015, not 2016. Funny how years can start to run together.

Initial inspection of the damage upon arriving to work that morning. Sun wasn't even up yet, so it was a great start to the day. We did all the work at my parents' garage in Katy since it was nice and big.


RH park light obliterated

Somehow lost the bumperette plug cover

Bye-bye RH shark fin

RH front undertray was ripped away

Ensuing tear down for further inspection



Up on jack stands using lift bars

Front under trays removed revealing that the spoiler lip was totally busted, dad checking under the LHS

Lights removed, you can see where the tread left its marks

Looking up at the underside of the oil cooler, it needed to be re-seated

Oil cooler slightly out of position

Some leaks under the oil cooler

Took the chance to inspect the lines, lowered the car back down, backed it out, and cleaned the oil cooler

Lowered the car back down, backed it out of the garage to clean the oil cooler and watch for any new leaks

After cleaning

Putting it all back together


Mine (on jack stands) and dad's 964s

Before painting the new bumper, I wanted to cut holes for the RS brake ducts

Test fitting

Using a dremel tool to cut slots

While waiting on paint, we did Carrera script on the doors

Not a bad job, but definitely helps to have two sets of hands

Done, just waiting for the pieces to come back from paint.

Putting the new honeycomb grille insert in

Starting to go back together after paint

New front bumper cover on with RS-style front splitters


New shark fin installed, all good as new!

Shop dogs supervising the work

Completed!

All smiles now, but I certainly didn't feel like that when I hit the tire tread

All in all, it wasn't a bad job and we enjoyed learning about the car as we tore down and put it back together.

964Luftballoon

How cool is that. You and your father both have a 964.

The new Central GTG location is pretty cool. Best to get there early so you can park inside the lot. Otherwise, you're on the street.

Yes, i saw that some of his cars were going up for auction i'm bummed about his turquoise blue 993 though. every time I saw him he was in that car

sooner964

The missus and I took the car out for a nice night drive tonight. The cooler weather we get in Houston this time of year is perfect for it. Re-installing the rear heater blower motor last weekend kept the cabin at a comfortable temperature. For those of you local to Houston, we started out on Washington Ave headed into downtown snaking up and down several blocks before heading back out on Memorial Drive. We followed Memorial all the way to 610 and then switched over to 59 briefly to hit the Westpark Tollway. We took this all the way out to Katy, switching to the Grand Parkway to head north to I-10, and then back into the city. The car drove perfectly and ran cool. There was barely any noticeable heat radiating off the rear decklid or the right front wing where the oil lines run back and forth to the oil cooler. We covered around 60 miles doing that loop.

Now for some more pictures from 2015-2016 ...

Replacing the rear tail lights:


Original (assumed) RH tail light

Original (assumed) LH tail light

Removing the old LH tail light

LH tail light removed

New LH tail light installed

Removing old RH tail light

Comparing old versus new

RH tail light removed

Cleaning up! Notice the small paint chip on top of the rear bumper cover where the RH tail light and reflector meet. This came off with the old gasket.

Good as new!

This was purely cosmetic but made the rear end look so much better. I was annoyed that when I removed the original RH rear lamp that some of the paint on the top of the bumper cover came off with the gasket. That is a spot that still needs a touch-up.

Fabspeed cup pipe, cat bypass, & Steve Wong chip:

New Fabspeed Cup Pipe

New Cat Bypass

Driver seat removed to pull ECU for chip swap

ECU removed

ECU opened

New Steve Wong chip installed

Primary muffler versus Cup Bypass

LH rear wheel removed to aid removal of catalytic converter

Removing the cat

Cat bypass installed

Cat bypass viewed from under the car

Primary bypass (Cup pipe) installed

Cup pipe installed

Cup pipe installed

This was a fun project, and the improvement in sound was much better! Has anyone tried the combination of cat bypass, primary bypass, and FD Motorsport's new secondary muffler? I'm curious to know what that sounds like. I've heard Fister Stage II and III exhausts on 993s and those are incredible.

Installing the Rennline Strut Brace



Moving the frunk carpet to reveal the strut towers

Strut brace backet installed

Slits cut in the frunk carpet for the strut brace brackets

Rennline 2-point strut brace installed

This was a simple project that yielded immediately noticeable results. The front end felt "tied together" and steering became instantly more direct. I know there are some fancier versions available, but the 2 point was perfect for me. Now Rennline only lists this under 911, so if you go directly to 964, you won't find it.

FD Motorsport Goldenrod, Forward shift rod, Rothsport billet short shifter, & Wevo engine mounts



FD Motorsport Goldenrod, forward shift rod, & Rothsport short shifter for retaining stock shift boot.

Original shift cup bearing totoally gone

New Wevo black engine mounts

Original engine mounts removed

Wevo engine mounts installed

All I can say is WOW. I had my indy do this for me and when I got the car back, it felt incredible. Shifting was suddenly very precise. Combining the FD Motorsports goldenrod, forward shift rod, Rothsport short shifter, and new Wevo black engine mounts, a ton of slop in the drivetrain was eliminated. I would highly recommend this to someone looking to improve the shifting performance of their car.

That's all for tonight, be back soon with more!

sooner964

Moving forward to 2017 projects ...

Replacing distributor caps & rotors:

I completed this task as part of annual maintenance which included an oil change and new air filter.

Overall, this is a fairly straight forward procedure as I remember. As you are working on the electrical system, I think it's a good idea to first disconnect the battery negative lead. It's also important to ensure that the replacement rotors point in the same orientation as when removed, and that the plug wires are returned to the correct cap. I did not elect to replace the distributor belt.



First, back up on jack stands for an oil change and then on to the main attraction - distributor caps & rotors!

The distributors are located on the left hand side of the cooling fan. The rear heater blower motors is in the way, so first it needs to go.

Rear heater blower assembly removed. Much better!

Here's the twin distributors. The Image is looking down and towards the left side of the engine bay. Kinda looks like Medusa.

Removing the plug wires. It's important to first note which plug goes to which cap as the order does matter. I used some electrical tape to keep things tidied up as I removed the wires.

Just before starting to remove the plug wires, a view to see several of the screws that need to be removed to free the cap.

Same, but from the side.

One of the distributor caps removed to reveal the rotor.

Comparing the old (above) to the new (below) distributor caps. The old ones were clearly worn and ready to be replaced.

Both caps removed and one rotor replaced.

Comparing the old and new rotors. The old rotors showed quite a bit of wear along the blades.

Reattach the new distributor caps & plug wires to complete the job.

Replacing the rear heater blower motor:

While I had the rear heater blower out, I needed to replace the motor. I had previously tested whether it was functioning using the DIY steps on @ToreB 's website. The test procedure is as follows. Turn the key to ignition to energize the system, set the CCU temperature dial to maximum heat and fan speed to 1. You should hear the rear blower running on low. Turn the fan speed to 2 and now it should run in high. Mine did neither. I then confirmed the issue was not a bad relay or blown fuse, so I figured the motor was bad and needed replacing.


Rear blower fan assembly on the work bench.

To replace the motor, start by opening the assembly. Remove each of the screws from the tabs around the circumference and it opens up.

The fan and motor assembly come right out. The motor does not look happy.

I don't know what happened here, but I'm pretty sure this motor is toast.

The new motor for comparison. Looks much happier.

Now we need to separate the motor from the fan. To do this, place the assembly in a vice.

If memory serves correctly, the motor shaft is press-fit into the fan housing. Several swift blows from a hammer and it comes free.

Dirt that came off the fan housing!

Old and new motor. The old one looks kaput.

Press fit the new motor into the fan and then reassemble the blower housing.

Back together.

It was a good time to replace the temperature sensor and the resistor switch.

Old versus new resistor.

Rear blower fan back in situ awaiting new temperature sensor and re-attaching the distributor vent hoses.

Momo Prototipo steering wheel:

There have been plenty of write-ups on installing a Momo steering wheel. I followed most of them! Instead of using the Porsche Airbag Tester to overwrite the airbag circuit, I used a 2.8 Ohm resistor with the wire leads inserted to both prongs of the airbag plug. As stated in all the other tutorials, it is necessary to disconnect the battery for at least 30 minutes before attempting to disconnect the airbag from the steering wheel or else there is risk of accidental discharge. It is also important to note where top-dead center (TDC) of the steering column is so that the new steering wheel goes on in the proper orientation. A year later, I purchased a steering wheel offset adapter to raise the steering wheel up vertically to improved visibility of the dash gauges.


Hmm, there should be a steering wheel here, right?

2.8 Ohm resistor inserted into airbag plug

Attaching the new Momo Prototipo!

Quality control inspection

Approved!

Interior LED bulb swap

I first replaced the interior dome festoon bulbs with LED replacements, as well as the light in the frunk and engine bay. The original incandescent bulbs can get pretty warm to the touch pretty fast so I recommend disconnecting one of the leads to the light when swapping the bulbs. I followed this up by replacing the bulbs in each of the dash gauges, CCU, the rear defroster pull switch, and the fog light pull switch with LEDs. Overall this is pretty easy to do and I think worthwhile! A note: if both the seatbelt and airbag bulbs are replaced, the resistance in the circuit is not enough and both lights will stay on, so only change one of them.


Incandescent festoon bulb and LED replacement.

Interior illumination after replacing with LED bulbs. The dome lights pop out pretty easy. It helps to use plastic interior trim removal tools to work them loose. Notice also Rennline aluminum non-adjustable pedals installed with foot rest.

Interior illumination

Interior illumination

Trunk illumination is much improved, too. Use a flat blade screwdriver to pop this one loose.

Frunk illumination is improved in the corner, but otherwise about the same. Its less of a lumens brightness issue and more of a light placement location.

Mostly improved lighting in the dark!

Before






The iPhone pictures definitely are over-exposed and don't really do the gauge LED bulbs justice. In real life, I think it is a big improvement.

I also replaced the front and rear turn signal, front park lamp, brake, and reverse incandescent bulbs with LEDs. I bought these from Bergvill FX. This requires a smart ballast tapped into one of the brake light circuits to retain cruise control.

T-Lock remote door lock module:

The final project of 2017 was installing the Bergvill FX T-Lock remote door lock module. This installs underneath the passenger seat as it taps into the central alarm module. I think I also remember there being a replacement relay for the turn signals.


Passenger seat removed.

Wiring in the T-Lock module.

All done and ready to re-install the seat.

Videos show the T-Lock in action!

sooner964

Top End Rebuild (2014)

I found some photos from the top end rebuild & reseal done in late 2014. Not as many as I wish I had, but it's something.

The following was replaced:

• Exhaust valve guides
• Intake valve guides
• Valve stem seals
• Cylinder head gaskets
• Piston rings
• Rod bearings
• Crankcase gasket set
• Fuel filter & spark plugs

Engine out of the car



Intake runners, cooling fan etc. removed for cleaning the engine

The cylinder heads (well, everything, really) were pretty grimy.




Pressure washing under way


Starting to look cleaner.

Camshaft housing, valve covers, & cylinder heads removed. Timing chain case removed, too. The heads were sent to the machine shop.


I had several broken head studs that were replaced.

Right side crank case

Wish I had more to share, but that's all I can find at the moment.

sooner964

We had a fun morning at Porsche North Houston! They hosted a cars and coffee together with the Lone Star Region PCA. Pretty light on classics - 4 air cooled 911s, a 944, and a 968. I had the only 964 there. I think Porsche classifies the 996 as a classic now, too. It was chilly at the start but was a beautiful morning.






Griott’s spray on wash made the car look really nice. That stuff works really well!