Yogii

Well I got back from Bellingham. LOVE the car!!!!!
Turns out I am the 4th owner. Pretty good records back to new. Last owner had the car 15 years and used it moderately the first 5 and then pretty seldom.
Everything works! The rear wiper wipes, the sunroof opens and closes. Dash has no cracks. Rear hatch shows no delamination. Headlights work as they are supposed to.
I like to think of the work to be done as deferred maintenance.

Surprises are:
Brake rotors have been replaced with drilled hats, did not measure the size.
At some point, the sway bars have been replaced, did not measure size.
Clutch and Pressure Plate were replaced about 6,000 miles ago.
At some point something hit the car slightly underneath. Both side valances, the plastic part that forms the door sill before ending at the rear fender, are bent from their mounting points. Exhaust has a dent and muffler shows a scrap scar.
Even found a car cover in the boot!

Passenger seat just shows anticipated wear. Drivers seat side bolster is cracked in several spots. The trunk cover shade is faded badly.

Not sure if the plastic pieces can be straighten with a heat gun. The brackets need to be straightened first. The replacement parts are $675 each! Ouch. + painting. I have seen some in fiberglass that are "only" $3 something...+clips.

While the car is being worked on, I'm now thinking about having them put on a strut brace and an after -market exhaust. Any suggestions on either???????

Please give me the part numbers for both the bumperette and the bumperette cover. Will consider the Euro lights but have not seen them anywhere. + I kind of like the orange turn signal with the blue.
Similarly, when I replace the front hood struts what other parts hardware do I need? My car has no hood struts or mounting hardware what-so-ever.

Boy is that car fun to drive! Very torquey . I once over-shifted into 5 gear and it pulled like a freight train even at 2,000 rpm's.

Thanks again guys for all your help,

-Yogii
AKA 968 virgin

jsheiry

Congrats on the new car, love the color.

Those plastic valences will probably get back to shape when you straighten out the metal supports. Cant say for sure depending on how long they have been that way but I would straiten out all the supporting hardware and then give them a little heat to help the process. Most that I have felt seemed fairly soft and plyable.

I would take the money for the strut brace and join the local PCA club and drive in a few autocrosses or Drivers Ed events. Save your money until you feel confident that your driving the car at its abilities, then you will have the butt-o-meter dialed to tell when you add that brace or solid bushing or new struts or whatever to see if it was money well spent. Otherwise it may just look cool in the interim.

Unless you just need more noise Im not sure that aftermarket exhaust will do much for the car in a performance way. Conversely, if you added a chip, hotter cam, and did not change the exhaust then you may not get the performance they promise by slight restriction.
The airbox mod/K&N filter which is well documented here and other places will get you more sound and HP than the exhaust IMO of course. Easier to do and should be much cheaper. Consider buying another airbox so you have one stock to put back if you ever want to return to complete stock.

I think the biggest upgrade these cars get in looks is getting a set up CupII or CupI factory wheels. The best money spent in visual improvement on a great looking sports car. Somehow the 16's dont do the wheel wells justice IMO. These are not cheap these days either but I would spend my piggy bank on these long before exhaust and strut brace.

Send me an email if you cant find the airbox mod info and I will send you the PDF file.

John

jeff968

Part numbers for the bumperettes:

944 505 357 00 01C
944 505 358 00 01C

For the bumperette caps:

944 505 763 00 01C
944 505 764 00 01C

I seem to recall all 4 pieces are around $30-$40.
Jeff

thomasmryan

Yogii

Thanks for the reply John,

It has 17inch cup wheels on it! I have taken 2 Skip Barber 3 days courses, raced a vintage Formula Ford, done dozens of Auto crosses in a slightly modified Miata.
I'm pretty sure the airbag mod(had one on my Miata, K&N) is not CaliLegal. I'm hoping for a great spirited street driving car, even on rough roads. Hopefully one that will turn in sharply.
I do not want a race car, nothing lowered for me. Have thought about a chip, maybe down the road. If I could get 96 octane fuel it would make more sense, NA in Cali.
Exhaust is already dented and scrapped. Dent is at least 1/2 inch deep, so I am pretty sure it is restrictive.

-Yogii
AKA 968 virgin

Yogii

Thanks Jeff!

-Y

Yogii

Going to bookmark that for sure!
Thanks,

-Y

thomasmryan

Jeff has a good write up and parts list for replacing the fasteners and rubber trim for the plastic cladding. odds are the tabs need to be bent back into shape. there is an eight inch support that mounts to the rear torsion bar carrier that you can adjust a bit.

Yogii

Realizing that I have a lot more to learn than I thought. Will have to do a search for Jeff's post, sounds very helpful.
Thanks again for all your suggestions,

Yogii
AKA 968 virgin

Paul Waterloo

Yogii......we want to see more pictures of the exterior and interior!!!

Yogii

Sorry not going to happen for awhile. the car is still up in Bellingham Washington. I have decided to have a local dealer up there do the deferred maintenance.
They have a mechanic up there who used to work in SoCal that I trust.
Then I leave the country for awhile

At least a major something to look forward to return to! I will post pictures then, I promise.

-Yogii
AKA 968 virgin

Yogii

All photos sent from dealer as part of PPI.

More noticeable when you are under the car than standing next to it.

-Y

thomasmryan

jeff968

Send me a PM with your email and I'll send you a PDF document on this.

Jeff

thomasmryan