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I washed, clayed, and waxed my car, and finally installed the new stone guards on the fenders behind each front wheel.
I had removed the old, cracked ones last year sometime with an eraser wheel.
It’s amazing how such a small item freshens up the fender.
I have heard about weak front shock towers due to the unibody. Does this help that?
Did you have to remove the hood insulation(if you had any)? I do. Any idea about clearance?
Is it a DIY job, or do you need to get a new alignment after? Looks Great.
I diagnosed my convertible top issue (skewed operation) and ordered the part to fix it (911-561-107-66 Shaft Assembly $29.02) before I switch over to manual mode. The end of the cable had broken off and was barely grabbing the square drive of the motor. The drive arms were out of sync by about 7/16" with all of the adjustment used in the gear drive mounts. The last person to work on it had to have known because they fished the broken cable end out of the square drive. It's a $30 cable and they didn't bother to replace it.
Here's how I plan to sync my drive arms. This is the measurement that was out 7/16". My driver side door window wouldn't seal along the vertical edge so that led to all this.
I have heard about weak front shock towers due to the unibody. Does this help that?
Did you have to remove the hood insulation(if you had any)? I do. Any idea about clearance?
Is it a DIY job, or do you need to get a new alignment after? Looks Great.
-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice
Hey Yogii,
This won't strengthen the Shock Towers, that requires a bit of Extra Metal and Welding..
I have no Hood Insulation..
Defo a DIY Job..
So long as the Car is on a level piece of tarmac, the wheels are pointing forward and you have a 1/2" Socket for the Shock Tops.. You'll need a coupla 17mm spanners for the Brace Bar Bolts.. No alignment required..
I diagnosed my convertible top issue (skewed operation) and ordered the part to fix it (911-561-107-66 Shaft Assembly $29.02) before I switch over to manual mode. The end of the cable had broken off and was barely grabbing the square drive of the motor. The drive arms were out of sync by about 7/16" with all of the adjustment used in the gear drive mounts. The last person to work on it had to have known because they fished the broken cable end out of the square drive. It's a $30 cable and they didn't bother to replace it.
Here's how I plan to sync my drive arms. This is the measurement that was out 7/16". My driver side door window wouldn't seal along the vertical edge so that led to all this.
Great work.! If you don't mind please document the whole process of aligning roof mechanism, as I am sure many cab owners will be interested in seeing pics of how its done and what to check/replace..
Oh, and I finally got around to replace the old alternator cable with the snazzy high quality harness you built..! SO much better both in terms of quality, safety and looks..
Excellent! Alex, I was hoping that you'd have the same result with the alternator cable that I did. I have put about 160 miles on my car since doing all that work over the winter and my charging system and gauges etc. have been rock solid so far. I'm taking your endorsement as proof that it's ok for me to build some more now.
I will start a new thread when my new cable for the top arrives. I took quite a few photos during the disassembly already, including internals of the swivel gear, because I couldn't find much on the net regarding this and wanted to make sure others would have a resource. I appreciate whoever it was that provided the CabTop.pdf that I found in one of the threads. That provided the info on final adjustment following sychronization.
Bit by bit, I am sorting the various problems this car had under previous ownership. I find the more I drive this car, the more I like it. Comparing it to my S54 Z3M is like comparing a scalpel to a meat cleaver! Both are great in their own ways. The Z3M will easily outrun my 968 in a straight line, but the 968's handling on corners is completely in a different class. The only car I've ever driven that was so sticky in the corners is a Boxster.
Excellent! Alex, I was hoping that you'd have the same result with the alternator cable that I did. I have put about 160 miles on my car since doing all that work over the winter and my charging system and gauges etc. have been rock solid so far. I'm taking your endorsement as proof that it's ok for me to build some more now.
I will start a new thread when my new cable for the top arrives. I took quite a few photos during the disassembly already, including internals of the swivel gear, because I couldn't find much on the net regarding this and wanted to make sure others would have a resource. I appreciate whoever it was that provided the CabTop.pdf that I found in one of the threads. That provided the info on final adjustment following sychronization.
Bit by bit, I am sorting the various problems this car had under previous ownership. I find the more I drive this car, the more I like it. Comparing it to my S54 Z3M is like comparing a scalpel to a meat cleaver! Both are great in their own ways. The Z3M will easily outrun my 968 in a straight line, but the 968's handling on corners is completely in a different class. The only car I've ever driven that was so sticky in the corners is a Boxster.
Sounds great, I will be looking forward to your soft top repair findings..
Here is how my new quality alternator to starter harness looks like, compared to the old and crumpling stock harness. Which actually didn't look to bad initially, but as soon as I started messing with it the insulation just crumbled at the ends exposing naked hot wire..
Here is how the alternator end looked like..
And the starter end.. The old insulation in generel was quite hard and brittle and it didn't take much to make it separate from wire..
The stock plug (to the solenoid I believe) is being reused, and its a simple matter of prying the old pins out with a small screw driver and insert the pins from the new harness..
And with a few cable ties to organize the harness its ready to go back in, ready for many years of safe and problem free service..
So thanks a lot to Z3M&968 for putting in the time, effort and skills to make this great replacement harness and keep our cars on the road..
Sounds great, I will be looking forward to your soft top repair findings..
Here is how my new quality alternator to starter harness looks like, compared to the old and crumpling stock harness. Which actually didn't look to bad initially, but as soon as I started messing with it the insulation just crumbled at the ends exposing naked hot wire..
Here is how the alternator end looked like..
And the starter end.. The old insulation in generel was quite hard and brittle and it didn't take much to make it separate from wire..
The stock plug (to the solenoid I believe) is being reused, and its a simple matter of prying the old pins out with a small screw driver and insert the pins from the new harness..
And with a few cable ties to organize the harness its ready to go back in, ready for many years of safe and problem free service..
So thanks a lot to Z3M&968 for putting in the time, effort and skills to make this great replacement harness and keep our cars on the road..
Alex
You are welcome and thanks for posting the photos. It's amazing how bad these old wires are on these cars! I'm surprised there aren't a lot more cars taking off by themselves when these wire short. Were the pins I sourced exactly the same as the originals? I think they are, but you are the first one to compare them side-by-side since I didn't have new pins when I did mine and had to reuse my old ones.
Yep Z3M my other current main car is a fully modded BMW135. 400Hp at the wheels, but if you think you Z3M handles differently than a 968, try a 1 series. I've never tried an Acura NSX or other car that I might like as much as a 968, but so far 968s are my favorite cars.
Yep Z3M my other current main car is a fully modded BMW135. 400Hp at the wheels, but if you think you Z3M handles differently than a 968, try a 1 series. I've never tried an Acura NSX or other car that I might like as much as a 968, but so far 968s are my favorite cars.
400hp in that car has to be fun. What a sleeper. Nobody expects to see a 135 act like that would.
The 968 somehow connects me back to when I was 18 (34 years ago) and had put a Mazda RX7 12A rotary in my 1969 Triumph GT6+. Even when I wasn't going fast, I felt like I was going fast.
If you’ve never assembled lines like this fire away with any questions when/before you get there. There’s definitely a curve to it. Trashed some hose, it’s expensive, if you mangle the braid at the end which is almost inevitable for a beginner then the cut length is toast.
04-04-2020, 10:20 PM
