Here's what I have been up to! Have a look. If you've never read any of this, the beginning is at the bottom.
6/11/03: Lots of progress, very little of which can be seen from the outside. New shocks in the rear, new struts up front. I replaced the old door plugs with fresh ones and added the rubber boot to the passengers side some light switch. A second ignition key has been cut and a buzzer added as a headlight on reminder. A brief compression test reveals that the #3 cylinder is still hovering around 100 for compression. The front end has been aligned successfully. Current plan is to get the rockers replaced and start prepping for paint. I plan to do a DIY paint job in the garage by fall... we'll see how that goes.
4/13/03: The fuel tank is back in, the bumper on, and the car is running again. The car now has much more of a solid feel to the steering but it is in dire need of an alignment.
4/12/03: Kevin Weldon came down from Dallas and helped me weld in some structural support to the front suspension pan. I also replaced some of the dash wiring to clean up the POs hacked in repairs.
4/9/03: The seats are repaired, mechanisms tightened, and installed in the car. They look good.
4/6/03: Soundproofing installed in the floor in anticipation of installing the new seats. This should make the car quieter overall. The material is covering the entire floor and tunnel. I also attached a piece to the inside of the shift coupler cover.
4/5/03: The bottom of one of the new seats has some seam and material failure which I repaired from the inside by removing tthe cover and sewing it up. There are also some small tears in the sides of the seat bottom that I will repair with a Permatex vinal repair kit. Much better than leaving holes.
4/4/03: My "new" seats are here. This is a trade from a fellow in New York who wanted original seats and had a set of early 70s buckets in good condition. We traded for the cost of shipping, a mutual good deal.
2/25/03: replaced the square tranny mounts with a good used pair. Mine were cracked about 30% through and these look good.
2/23/03: Tuning, Tuning, Tuning. I got my 050 disty so it produces about 30-35 degrees of advance at around 3300 RPMs. This helped my power output considerably. My idle is now up to around 1200 RPMs, so I need to back that off and resync the carbs. I also removed the slack from the throttle linkage. Previously, you needed to depress the gas pedal about an inch before it affected the carburator linkage. Now it's closer to 1/4 of an inch, and the car feels much more responsive. The clutch is now adjusted to my liking also, with a low engagement point and still no grind between gears. I have a worrysome whine in my tranny when the clutch is down that's probably throw out bearing going out.. hopefully that Swepco 201 helps it hang in there. We also stuffed the seats to raise the driver elevation by using a small square pillow in the middle and stuffing batting material around it. The increased height definately makes for a more pleasurable driving experience. It's starting to feel more and more like a real car.....
2/9/03: I lowered the front end to where I think it should be. Looks much better but I need to bring the rear down also. This is more complex and I want to replace some bushings and repack the wheel bearings while I am in there. I also adjusted the clutch. In this process, I discovered another weak point on the car's design I was not aware of. The cluch cable is attached to the clutch fork by a plastic part that can break and leave you disabled. I pulled the worn part from my car and made a steel one from a 60 cent part I got at the local hardware store. I saved the old plastic part as it would still work and would get me going in an emergency.
Finally, I discovered that my inner generator pulley wheel is failing again. This is the third one for me and I can see now that the issue is a worn hub. I will attempt to get the old hub off and renew it along with what I hope will be my last inner pulley half for a while.
1/31/03: Seals on front wheel bearings, reinstall. Lower front end (1.5 turns each bolt), bleed prakes.
1/25/03: Pulled front hubs apart to pack front wheel bearings. Bearings appear to be in very good condition so I just ordered seals. Should have them by next weekend. Also working to address a seeping connection on the brake master cylinder.
1/21/03: nstalled correct blower to heat exchanger hose, replacing the blue RV drain hose I have been using for the past year.
1/19/03: Pertronix Electronic Ignition installed, along with a 40KV flamethrower coil. The car now starts much better and idles down quickly. Thanks Santa!
1/17/03: The Window is back in and works well. Ready for tomorrow's rendezvous! I also have a new rubber strip on the outside of the passengers side window.
1/7/03: Drivers side window regulator failure. 70 bucks in parts from Tweeks on the way. Glass okay, regulator failed. Ordered new felt for channel and other parts to renew mechanism. Hopefully will get before the weekend.
1/5/03: New 050 Distributor, 009 is out. Dash has been covered in felt to hide the uglies and I am recalibrating the clock. That should go back in next weekend.
12/13/02: I installed a new muffler to replace the hacked in Dual Exhaust. It is now much quieter and looks more stock. Also looked at the general performance of the engine decided to address some of the spark issues as a possible source of my performance issues. A new 050 distributor, coil and electronic ignition are in my near future.... or at least once I get the exhaust work paid off. They did ok aththe shop but the bill says they saw me comming....
11/29/02: I added a radio to the car. The dash had already been hacked past original dimensions so I used a cutting wheel on a dremel tool to make a DIN size opening and slid a discount CD player in the opening. A couple of 4 inch 70W pioneer 2 way speakers are mounted just above the storage pouches in the front foot area. No noticeable engine interference and sounds acceptable.
11/20/02: FINALLY got an air compressor for the garage. A 6HP 21 Gallon with an upright tank. Have an impact wrench, air chisel, tire inflator, and blower nozzle so far.
11/15/02: 2 new tires to replace the old dry rotted ones on the car. 195 65 15 s seem to be a nice fit. The car will sit a little lower than the Metrics that were on there would allow and these are slightly wider too. Need a couple for the rears but $$ will pace that....
8/18/02: Well, the tank is sealed, painted, back in the car and full of fuel. No leaks so far so hopefully we're done with that for a while. I have driven the car some and the only performance issue appears to be a fuel starvation issue after a period of hard acceleration which leads me to believe that either there is an improperly adjusted float or floats in the carbs from my rebuild or that the mechanical fuel pump can't keep up. I leaned out two cylinders slightly which showed some of the telltale black greasy residue on the plugs indicating they were running rather rich. I also did a compression check which yielded a cylinder on each bank with low compression. My noisy valves leads me to hope that its still gunk and not rings- 2 of the 4 are in the 145-150 range and the other two are around 100-120. So, I changed out the oil, which came out like tar after only an hour or two since the last change and added some Marvel Mystery oil to the crankcase and a fresh fuel and oil filter. Will pick up some MMO today and add the prescribed 4 oz to the gas today. Next is to drive it a little and see if it cleans itself up. I'll attempt to get 100 miles or so on it, change the oil again, and then see if the compression rises. If not, I need to make plans to pull the engine and start on the overhaul.
8/4/02: Well, yes, I still have the car. Haven't been working on it since mid April due to some other things taking precedence, but have gotten back into it a little over the past few weeks. A nagging pinhole leak in the fuel tank has been fixed by a local radiator shop and we are now in the process of stripping the rubberized coating from the tank so it can be properly rustproofed and painted. The coating is difficult to remove, using chemical strippers and elbow grease. Once complete, it will go back to the radiator shop for a thorough cleaning and a final check for leaks. After that, its rustproofing, prime, and paint, then back in the car.
The pedal cluster has also been rebuilt and reinstalled in the car. New pedal rubber and bronze bushings should make for a vast improvement in functionality. A broken and welded / repaired clutch actuation lever worries me - it seems solid but mark my words, this will probably be the first thing to strand me by the side of the road. :-)
2/24/02: Well, this weekend, I adjusted the valves. The process is pretty straightforward and I was able to figure out everything without any difficulty. The first cylinder to adjust, #1, is the one that wouldn't fire. I started with the exhaust valve, set the gap, and rechecked the gap. Next, I went to the intake valve. The valve was sitting back slightly. When I moved the gap adjustment set screw, there was a "ping" and the valve seated. Now, the car seems to run on all 4 cylinders. I have yet to do a compression check and the carburetors still need alot of work, but things are looking more promising.
The Fuel tank is still holding, no troubles with leaks. The fuel gauge sending unit is a little intermittent, I'm hoping it's just sticky and will loosen up with use.
Today I reinstalled the safety belts and front trunk carpeting. The safety belts are really clunky. They do have shoulder belts and lap belts, but no retracts and adjustment is difficult and manual. Still, it will keep me legal for now and safer than without.
Coming up next is the carburetors. I have kits for them and need to find the ambition to dig in. I am sure they have plugged jets, bad seals, etc.... At a minimum, I will put in the new parts I can without major disassembly and try to clean the jets.
Its fun to be able to drive the car finally. Now, each change I make can be measured against previous performance, or lack of it. I'll let you know.
2/21/02: I've been failing pretty badly here at keeping up with my list of activities over the last month. Here's a list of what's gotten done since the 6th of January:
We patched the hole in the floor of the front trunk with new steel but after looking at another local 912 here in Austin, I see that there may be issues with a structural brace that was also damaged by leaking fuel. A repair panel is available, at a price of course, and should be installed before any significant driving is done.
New fuel tank is in the car and working. I had the inside sandblasted clean and have scraped the loose rust from the outside and treated it chemically. I repaired a pinhole on a seam with some JB Weld and sprayed the whole thing with truck bed liner, along with the under hood area, which also had its fair share of surface rust. The fuel sender in this tank works and I now have a functioning gas gauge.
I was able to get the new fan belt on the car. Tension is regulated by adding or removing shims from between the generator pulley wheel halves. After a bit of operation, I see the belt tension needs to be increased so I will need to adjust that before too long.
Floor boards have now both been scraped down, treated for rust, and the seats are back in on both sides. Floorboards are not structural on a 912 and these seen solid, so I am done with this for a while. I also got a coat of black oil paint on the wooden floorboards so they are done now too. These boards sit at an angle up by the firewall and hide the pedal cluster and some of the wiring.
The engine is next. I have it running on 3 of 4 cylinders. The 4th one worries me. I have spark and fuel but the cylinder does not fire. This leaves compression, or lack thereof. This weekend, I will check the valves in the hopes that there is something dramatically out of adjustment or maybe a broken valve spring. After the valves are adjusted I'll do a compression test and we'll see. It might be time to start thinking about an overhaul......
1/6/02: I decided to try to get the thing to run a little better. I set the breaker point gap, and adjusted the timing as per original specs. I think it is interesting to note that the manual recommends setting the timing with the engine off. This is accomplished by aligning the timing mark on the block and the flywheel and backing off by 9/64 of an inch or 3 degrees, marked by me with a steel rule and a pencil. The distributor is then loosened, the cap removed and a 12V test light placed between the contacts. The distributor is then set to the exact point of contact and tightened down. I also put new plugs and plug wires on the car. The old ones didn't look that bad, but with no maintenance records, its hard to say when (or if) they've ever been changed. With that done, I bolted the rear tires on it and after a small battle with the sick old carburetors, was able to get it to start. We took our first drive, just to the end of the block and back in first and briefly second gear. Performance is still awful but it was still great to drive it again, it gave me hope for things to come!
1/5/02: The brakes are done. My rear brake lines turned out to be the wrong part. The inside fittings needed to be male threads and the ones I was shipped were female. Today I now have the correct lines. They installed with little to no difficulty, especially when compared to the removal of the originals. With a little help from Cindy, I was able to bleed the brake system and get sufficient pedal firmness and solid grip/release action on all four corners. I then was able to bolt the front tires back on the car and drop the front back on the ground for the first time since October.
1/1/02: I sent the check off to a spare parts reseller for a used fuel tank to replace my old one. For now, its running off of 2 gallons of fuel in my lawn mower can strapped to the side wall under the hood. My neighbor has a welder and a plasma cutter and has volunteered to help me with the rust hole in the front where the leaking fuel ate through the floor of the trunk over time. This will be done before the tank is installed so there is no risk of fire. After that, I'll clean up all the surface rust under the hood and apply a coat of rust inhibitor and black paint to preserve the remaining metal.
12/30/01: The floorboards that sit at an angle in front of your feet are made of plywood. Over the years, moisture has gotten to these and the glue between the layers of wood has come loose, leaving them weak, separated, and flimsy. The drivers side boards are rather difficult to reproduce as the wood is bent in a curve as it goes up towards the dash. By gluing and clamping these over the last two weeks, I've gotten these back in pretty good shape. When the weather warms a little, I'll sand them and soak several coats of oil paint into them and they should be serviceable again.
12/29/01: I decided from the amount of particulate matter deposited behind each of the pistons in the rear calipers that I needed to get the rear lines off one way or another. To get the old ones loose, I resorted to some relatively drastic measures. I took a tin snip and cut the rubber lines off where each met up with its inboard fitting. I then was able to slide a deep well socket over the end of the metal fitting and break them loose. The passenger side, where it feeds into the tee box, was relatively easy. The Tee is securely mounted to the body of the car so I was able to apply a great deal of force without worrying about damaging the car. The drivers side is a little different. The steel line can turn behind the flexible line so I needed to enlist the help of my friend Russ Minnick. I laid under the car and held the steel line still with a box end wrench while Russ put the socket over the cut off line. With both of us using about all the strength we had, the line finally came loose.
12/16/01: Right rear brake is done and I have a good start on the left one. Its looking like the rear brake lines are going to be a nightmare. I can't get the drivers side one loose at all and getting a wrench on the passenger side is not possible where its at right now. I'm told I can loosen a bracket on the passenger side and the drivers side may require a vise grip and some heat from my torch. We'll see. I may be forced to wait until the engine comes out so I can access it from the top and take my chances with the old lines....I'd rather not do that.
12/7/01: Front brakes are done. The car's up on jack stands all the way around now, with the tires leaning against the garage wall. I applied a dose of WD40 to the fittings/bleeder valves and mounting bolts on the back to soak overnight. Status of the front: Apply brakes, wheel stops spinning, release brakes, wheel spins. What more do you want!
11/29/01: I got the outboard piston back in the caliper and the inside one loose and ready to clean it up. Maybe there is hope. Also cleaning up corroded chrome here and there along the way. Discovered that the engine is running on less than the required 4 cylinders. No time to look further at this point but could be plugged carburetor jets, bad plugs/wires, or something simple like that. For now, that's what I am hoping anyway.
11/18/01: I'm up to my elbows in the drivers side front brake. Caliper off... replaced flexible brake line with new stainless steel line. I've got one of the pistons out of the caliper and am now discovering the same problem many other folks have had with the "spring" in the piston. I need to hit the 912 Registry and get some help. Brake pads look really good so I can save some dough there, assuming they are good on the other side too.
11/16/01: Installed a new Brake Master Cylinder. Added fluid to the reservoir and the system holds pressure. Cool. Next step is to dig into the first caliper.
11/3/01: Stripped out the insulation from the floorboards and went after them with a wire brush. After a thorough cleaning of the drivers side, where most of the rust was, I gave it a liberal dose of rusty metal primer and black paint. Now need to get replacement insulation for the floors. Also cleaned and repaired the upholstery on the drivers seat while it was out. Doesn't look too bad.
10/27/01: A friend and former mechanic comes over to help look at the brakes. We put a little fluid in the reservoir and out it comes from the lead in hose to the master cylinder. Decided seeing as a brand new Master Cylinder can be had for under a hundred bucks, this one should be written off. We remove it with little difficulty and set it aside.
Next project was to get some fresh fuel in the gas tank. As we began yo pour in fuel, we note a dripping sound..... turns out the tank has a major rust out at the top of the spare tire hump. A huge mess follows and the dat ends with about 7 gallons of stale fuel in buckets and the tank pulled out of the car, As a side note we see that the fuel sender is shot too. All part of the game.
10/21/01: Sunday morning, out back doing some painting on the house. Phone rings. Truck transport driver calling from about an hour out with the Porsche onboard. Reality time. Today we find out what I really have.... and don't have. Pretty soon the guy arrives, have to give him directions several times via cell phone but he gets there. The pictures on the Porsche Pictures page show the story.
10/18/01: The transport picks up the car late in the day. John comments that he has to load the car himself which is a challenge because the car has no brakes. This is the first I've heard of the no brakes comment so I am a little concerned. Hit the internet and price out brake parts...... all are pretty cheap so I figure that rebuilding brakes will be the first task.
10/17/01: On the phone most of the morning. Making arrangements with Lone Star Auto Transport. Yes, they will have an auto transport in the Bay area this week. Yes they can deliver the car to my doorstep. Yes, they take only cash or money order. Yes, this is getting expensive. Also, Fedex on line tracking confirms that my check has been signed for in California. They now have bunches of my dough, and all I have is a few pictures and some promises.
10/16/01: Off goes the Cashiers Check to John in sunny California. The shipper also calls and says he wants to pick up tomorrow instead of Thursday. I quickly conference in John and arranged the pickup. Should be here by early next week.
10/15/01: Frantic exchanges of cash take place, all of it flowing away from me to people I have and will never meet. Shawn in Arkansas gets his broker fee wired to him and he puts me in touch with his partner in the San Francisco Bay area. I get the last of my questions answered about the car and agree to send a cashiers check ('t Ask$) FedEx to him. I also get in touch with a shipper out of Dallas who can pick the car up on Thursday or Friday of the same week. Money moves from a Money Market account at a financial firm to our bank so I can get a cashier's check in the morning. Shawn also closes down the auction on E-Bay. He has me bid the reserve and closes bidding. That way I now have a feedback rating of "1" instead of "0". This will help assure other sellers as I go hunting for parts in the future.
10/14/01: I send this seller a couple questions about the 1967 912 he's got listed on E-Bay. It looks pretty straight and original. I figure I'll check it out and maybe place a bid. I lost a '66 in the last 10 minutes of an auction a couple weeks back so I'm a little gun shy of the whole thing. About an hour later I get a reply. He'll sell directly to me and end the auction if I give him below his reserve price. Cindy and I talked about it in great detail. She must be even more nutz than me because she agrees to let me go for it. I send him a reply agreeing to his terms and an hour later we're working out details on the phone.
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912 Bulliten Boards
Registry Improvement Suggestions Corkboard
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