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I used to hang out on the 996 forum but I'm new to transaxle cars, so this is kind of an 'intro' post. It may also turn into something of a build thread. Having sold my 911 Millennium Edition a couple of years ago I'd been feeling a Porsche-shaped hole in my life, so this weekend I took delivery of a '93 968.
It's very much a project; 150k miles, multiple owners, and has served previous duty as an autocross car (and a championship-winning one at that). So it needs some work, but for me that's all part of the fun. I found the car over on Pelican and took a bit of a chance, buying it sight-unseen from half way across the country. But the PPI didn't reveal anything too horrendous, the seller sounded like a good guy and had feeling it's got good bones. The LSD and suspension goodies are a nice bonus, too. I've only driven it a few miles but my gut tells me I'm going to like it.
First step will be getting it inspected and registered, and then I'll take care of the timing and balance shaft belts - they were last done six or seven years ago so, even though they only have 5k miles on them, better be safe than sorry. After that it has a few other bits to fix, it has a torn CV boot and at least one steering fluid leak, plus more things I'm sure. And once I've got it mechanically sorted I can start on the cosmetic aspects of turning it into a ClubSport-esque "tribute".
Why? It has a 944 S2 interior, so it's part way there. I grew up in the UK and salivated over the CS when I was a kid. And, well, it's red.
It's already thrown me one curve ball in the short time I've had it: Friday we had some of the worst rain in a long time, and Saturday morning I discovered the rear footwells were distinctly damp. So I'll be cleaning out the various drain tubes and looking for cracks ... here's where I ended up yesterday
This is an odd car. Is this a rest of the world (ROW) model that was imported to the US? It has a non-airbag dash and steering wheel, which certainly would not have been the case in the US in 1993, and as you say, the interior is not typical 968 either.
it will be interesting to follow this project as it develops.
Nothing so exotic as a ROW car, I'm afraid. I'm told that the guy two owners ago had bought it with the intention of turning it into a dedicated track car. Stripped out the interior but then decided to go a different direction. The guy I bought it from fitted the 944 dash, door panels, seats and steering wheel because they were easier to come by (and cheaper?) than the 968 items but then he, too, moved on to another project.
It does still have the options sticker, so I can close my eyes and imagine how it looked nearly 30 years ago ...
Speaking of drains, I just cleaned out two on my Mercedes. I found a single strand of copper from one of these 5 strand (green) ground wires worked great.
After separating it out, I bent over one end (so it wouldn’t puncture the tube) and gently worked it up and down about a 1/2” as I spun the wire between my fingers, rotorooter stylee. Only one was clogged, and it was pretty evident when I hit the clog and when it cleared.
Didn’t have much time today but I managed to get some weed whacker wire down three of the four sunroof drains. But the back left one, I can get it in maybe an inch and a half and it hits something. More investigation tomorrow - I fear I may be pulling various bits of trim to get this figured out - and to fix the left sunroof lifting arm thing, which is non functional.
At least removing the seats was easy, thanks in part to there only being two bolts holding the passenger seat
Looks like a nice project. As for water in the rear, mine had that too but my drains were clear. Turns out the hatch is so delaminated there is a gap at the top that water runs right in and soaks the carpet.
Also really like the ROW turn signals in front. So much better than the shorty signals and the black bumper pads.
Looks like a nice project. As for water in the rear, mine had that too but my drains were clear. Turns out the hatch is so delaminated there is a gap at the top that water runs right in and soaks the carpet.
Also really like the ROW turn signals in front. So much better than the shorty signals and the black bumper pads.
Well maybe.
Those little bumperettes have saved me scraping my paint more than once...
Rained all day today so no real progress; during a brief lull I got my license plates fitted and established that the left rear turn signal is out. Looking on the bright side, the rain will establish whether my drain-clearing exploits were productive or not. Instead of working on the car I've been reading about re-gluing the hatch glass. Sounds fun. Not.
I promised myself that I'd save frivolous and / or cosmetic purchases until I'd got the car sorted mechanically. But these arrived in the mail today ... they've been on backorder for a while, and I've read that they fit the shallow door panel openings perfectly:
I used RetroSound products in a restomod '74 Charger I did a while back and was impressed with the quality.
As for bumperettes ... if I still had them I'd keep 'em. No idea what happened to the front driving lamps but I guess I'll stick with the 'extra cooling' look for now. As and when I get around to paint I'll try doing the rear bumperettes although I gather they're not the easiest due to the porous nature of the material. But that's a loooong way down the road anyway.
Tomorrow, if I have time, I'll replace that turn signal bulb, bolt in the driver's seat and see if we can get through inspection ...
10-31-2021, 04:23 PM
1993 968 - Rehabilitation and ClubSport-ification
