hawk911

Well, not much going on Porsche-wise. Saturday I went to a photogs/models meetup group meet and greet. About 20 people of varying degrees of experience, but I was one of the people with considerable experience compared to the group. I also brought my lights, as the idea was we'd take pictures of each other, since as photogs we're traditionally behind the camera, not in front of it. So you'll get to see me ugly mug, but luckily enough there was a model to help offset to muggyness

I really want to shoot a few car & model sessions, and there are a few others willing to shoot the same concept. Found out there's a few other Porsche owners in the photog group, so it could be REALLY cool. One guy has a 993 Cab that's getting engine work done. Could be really cool to have 2 cabs available for a shoot

so here's my mug. After you finish cleaning up breakfast off your keyboard, what did you do this weekend?

Wachuko

That is a very nice photos Geoff.

What are you up to on lenses? Any recommendations?

My weekend? Let's see... how should I put this... A photo is better:





Just wanted to work on a Fiat and learn their internals... hope to get a good car later, for now this will allow me to learn and will be a great parts car. Interior, wheels, engine, tranny, and dif are in good shape. Body is a pile of rust as far as I can tell.

hawk911

Jaime, I used 3 lenses primarily; 50mm f1.4, 24-70 f2.8, and 70-200 f2.8. I'd like to get a nice wide angle lens, but they are $600 or so for the 10-20 or 11-18 range. And then they aren't even fast; like f3.5-5.6 usually. Don't forget- I'm a Canon shooter, not Nikon. I use sigma lenses though, and they can be had in the Nikon mount also. Well worth the money, which is half the branded lenses.

Wow- what a difference from the outside to inside on the Fiat. Looks to be a pretty cool project. Are you ever going to finish the SC?

jimq

So what happened to the SC project? Are you still working on it?
I spent the weekend working on my '57 Ferguson tractor. I pulled the distributor out to rebuild and add a Pertronix electronic ignitition to it. I am tired of constantly dealing with points and timing issues. I also took off the carb and am rebuilding it again since the float apparently is sticking. i drained out as much of the old brown water/oil mix as I could from the transmission. About 6 gallons came out. i threw a couple gallons of desiel fuel in there to break down the rest of the sludge. Next weekend I will put it all back together and ride around to slosh around and heat up the transmission and PTO gears and drain off the desiel and rest of the gunk. Wasnt any Pcar work since they are both running great. It was nice finally being able to wear short and a tee shirt and ride around with the top down this weekend.

Wachuko

Still working on the SC. Decided to continue doing most of the bodywork myself, so it will take time... building brackets, measuring, cutting...

'57 tractor? Something like this? Cool. I wish I had the John Deer that we had in the hardware store, my Dad still has it, sitting there in the back of the store, not $ wise to ship it over here to restore it... fond memories.

etom

The Fiat brings back memories . . . I had 3 Fiat Spiders at different times (a white one, black one, and chocolate brown one) when I was a poor student, mainly (I was a student for way too long). Kind of gutless, but a little cute, nice leather seats, and VERY easy top to get up and down--you can reach back even when driving and snap it on! I did lower one and put on some aggressive wheels, and it did not look too bad.

What kind of sports cars did the rest of you drive when you didn't have P-car-cash?

Wachuko

meek

Spent the weekend finding any excuse to drive the 964 and sniff the new leather. Had a minor hissy-fit when a few drops of rain fell on the seat bolster when opening the door Had to give myself a smack on the side of the head and promise myself not to be one of those kind of car enthusiasts; you know, too much polishing and not enough driving. Mind you, friends tell me I should really grow a beard and start smoking a pipe.

Old sports cars? See those previously owned below. Always liked the Spider, but went with the MGBs as they were more common in the UK and I was being patriotic. The Spider is supposed to be the sweeter engined and better handling. Always fancied owning one for Summer kicks. Looks like a real project, Wachuko. The interior looks really clean. Would like to see updates on the forum, even if not 964 related.

The Lotus was a great car. Wish I had kept it, despite the poor build quality. I think it is one of the best sports cars ever made, meaning sports car in the true sense of the word; nimble, cheap giggles. Wonderful, neutral handling and super light, plus the Lotus Twin Cam was so free reving and strong. Mr. Chapman leaning on an Elan +2 .

DWS964

I got hooked on the music of a flat-six early in my driving career. Corvairs - 13 of them. First car. "American Porsche" somebody said. Back in the 70's I had all kinds of them. Mostly because they were cheap, and I liked the idea of being a bit different. They handled great (well, better than equivalent American iron). My buddies couldn't keep up with me in their Mustangs when we played chase. They all wanted rides from me in the winter. We just had to drive with the windows down because of the burning oil fumes coming through the heater (leaking o-rings on the pushrod drain tubes). I owned a couple of the Turbos - had a nice one jazzed up a bit, which surprised many muscle cars at stoplights. I also owned Yenko Stinger #YS066 for a while, but sold it before I could enjoy it. I recently found it again - now in vintage racing trim. I would love to buy it back.
But always dreamed of owning a Porsche, and never thought I would get one. Then a fateful day in Feb 2006 while looking at the company classifieds.... "honey, this red one is cute. can I have it?" History took a turn that day when she said Yes.

Rocket Rob

I had a good ending to a frustrating week. The previous weekend, I was working to replace the oxygen sensor while I have the engine out for winter repairs. The oxygen sensor was stuck and was refusing to loosen. After lots of heat and banging with a wrench. I stopped and decided to soak it with penetrating oil for another week. I also ordered a new wrench specifically made for oxygen sensors. On Saturday, I tried the new wrench and I heard a pop as the breaker bar moved. Horay! But I then realized that the oxygen sensor didn't move and I had snapped the new wrench. On Sunday, I decided to get more aggressive. I applied lots of heat, then I used a 22mm deep socket with my 1/2 impact gun. The good news is that the oxygen sensor came off. The bad news is that the threads on the sensor are severely galled. Worried that the threads on the cat may be iffy, I looked up the thread size to use a tap. This week I need to find a 18mm x 1.5 tap or thread chaser.

Anyway, I'm relieved to have the sensor removed and I can proceed with the rest of my projects. I also replaced my engine mounts. I was surprised to see how in bad shape the old ones were as compared to the new ones. Next weekend, I need to remove the steering tie rods to replace the rubber bellows. While the car was in the air, we noticed that the existing bellows were cracked in multiple places.

The weather was nice this past weekend (almost spring like). Its put me in the mood to get the car reassembled and start driving it again. Unfortunately, winter isn't finished yet. The weather forecast is for snow for the next 4 days. No matter, I'm energized to finish the car.

jimq

They are cheap to buy jaime. I think the kids would really like one of these to play with. The wife? Probably not so much You can get nice older ones for $1500-$3500. Its easy sitting in a chair to work on the inline 4 without even opening the hood The worst part is if you have to split the tractor in 2 pieces to refurb the clutch.

DWS964

Get a spark plug thread chaser - it is the correct thread. Cheap at auto parts store, about $5. I had the same result. You might also (first) try using a sharp awl to pick the threads out of the bore of hole in the cat, then follow with the thread chaser.

have fun with the project!

DaveK

Am I the only one who wasn't looking at Geoff in the photo?

I've not had a very positive Porsche weekend. It looks like it will be me paying to have the turbo fixed this time (new accumulator + slave) - I'll find out tomorrow.

In addition, I discovered that the 964 no longer seems to have a working alternator. The good news is - the guy over the road who does a lot of second hand car repairs / dealing told me there is a local electrical guy who can refurb alternators for about £40. I was debating whether I could be bothered to remove the alternator myself or whether to just take it to the mechanic - however, if it really will be that cheap it will have to be a DIY job. For some reason, I don't want to get into sorting the 964 out until the turbo is back but I may go and have a word with the electrical expert and see what his view is.

Steven C.

Jamie,

You know I am the Fiat guy around here, right? Here is my vintage racer pics so if you need anything just let me know as I have been doing Fiat's for about 10 years now. And my newest racer the Alfa which may force me to sell the Fiat this Summer? Lack of space.

Oh, I wasted time this weekend stripping and painting barke calipers for the new turbo. As the paint came out of the can brick red instead of bright red! Wrong color from DupliColor in the can so now I get to do it all over again!@#$%^^^

Rocket Rob

Thanks for the tip. I'll look for a spark plug thread chaser. I was planning on inspecting the threads carefully prior to running the thread chaser.