07Oct2011
Shop Updates
Shop is coming along. We have been cleaning (a lot of cleaning), painting, and trying to knock some work out at the same time. Val has been busy painting walls and floors. We got half of the upstairs floor painted to cover up years of clutch dust, etc, LOL. Then she painted some unpainted walls….. And got some really dirty walls painted…… Meanwhile, my buddy Tim from Learntech Inc. has been by setting up our computers and interwebs. He got …
07Oct2011
74 914 Fuel System
Behind on posting already! We finally got our internet running at the shop (more on that later), so hopefully that will leave me more time to update the blog as it will be more convenient during the day. Wes and I picked up this 74 914 from a local hanger to do some troubleshooting. Another shop had gone through the fuel system after the car kept dying, but didn’t solve the issue. We picked up the car and hauled it …
29Sep2011
993 Seat Motor Cables
Had one left over car in the shop that I need to take care of. A common issue with the 993’s is that if you put the seat in the rear most position, often times it gets stuck there and will no longer slide forward. If you know this, usually repeated tapping of the switch or giving it a bit of a nudge from the back of the seat will jar it loose and it will slide freely. Someone started …
29Sep2011
Boxster Coolant Leak
Ok, obviously we are having a glitch in the system. This is the 2nd time I have created an entire post, only to hit Publish, and it posts a blank entry and deletes my written post. Grrrrr….. This Boxster came in this week with a slow coolant leak the owner couldn't find. The coolant expansion tanks in the 996 and Boxsters are known for cracking and causing a slow leak. On the 996, it will leak down off the …
20Sep2011
The Little Bastard
Hey, I didn’t come up with the name, the owner did! Had a little issue with an 88 911 that was rubbing the tire on the fender under certain corners. My buddy Mark had heard a POP from the front left corner one day, then started hearing the rubbing. While simple and quick to diagnose, this is something I have not seen before, the steel contact washer that the torsion bar adjustment bolt rides on shattered, dropping the suspension almost …
20Sep2011
996 C2 Suspension Upgrade
Knocking out a little suspension upgrade on a 996C2 this week. We are installing Bilstein HD shocks/struts with Eibach lowering springs, which will give the car a little lower stance, and a firmer ride which will help in the corners. We got tied up slightly due to not having new bump stops/bellows for the fronts, so that has set us back slightly. Old front struts and springs Old rear struts and springs. After a little work, we have one rear …
31Aug2011
Dragon Part II:
Figured I’d make the rolling chassis a little lighter: Out she comes 🙂 I’ll put this thing on a stand at the shop and go through the bottom end. My guess is the head is warped, so a trip to the machine shop will confirm that. If so, then I know the bottom end is good. Once I get my other charlie arm back, I can button up the suspension and load it back on the trailer for it’s journey …
31Aug2011
951 Coolant Leak
Got a call Sunday night on the way back from Hastings about a stranded 951. Car lost all it’s coolant and started to overheat. Monday morning the tow truck showed up to the house with it and I checked it out. Pretty typical failure, the plastic coolant port on the radiator had broken and coolant had sprayed out of the radiator under pressure. You can just make out the piece that is broken on the end of the small hose. …
19Aug2011
996 IMS Upgrade Part II:
Parts came in this morning for the 996 project, so I was able to knock out quite a bit of work today. Started out by installing the secondary air valve, oil/air separator, oil cooler seals, waterpump, and also was able to button up the intake manifold. Water pump on, and the front engine carrier back in place. New LN Engineering ceramic IMS upgraded bearing and center shaft installed. And the bearing flange installed along with a new RMS. Then it …
18Aug2011
996 IMS Upgrade
Starting tearing into the 996 project today to see what we were looking at. The first thing was to go after the intermediate shaft bearing which is the weak part of these motors. Then was the waterpump and a few other misc. items while the engine is out. I had to get the exhaust out of the way, so I pulled the headers/mufflers/cats (pulling cam covers later). Someone had upgraded the headers at some point (and mufflers) and replaced the …