Discussion
raymanh said:
Thought I never knew such a clean exterior could hide all that rust. But congrats for fixing it all up.
Turd polish has been applied to many old 911s! 
I got bored with hitting the front suspension today so got back inside the and made up a mounting face plate trimmed in vinyl for the period Blaupunkt.
Almost like it was meant to be there by Suggs, on Flickr
Plans for an engine refit tonight seem to have been overcome by apathy!
The radio install is now complete so it's back to greasy bits!
All fuel lines replaced with decent Goodyear hose to replace the cracked motor factor rubbish:
Then onto the front suspension...
Whilst stripping the strut the brake line on the RHS didn't survive being undone from the hose, so that prompted replacement. With true 'while you are there' mentally I spent last night making up new lines for the whole car. I still need to do the internal one down the tunnel as by 11:00pm I'd lost enthusiasm for that fight!
I spent a couple of hours on Friday trying to make a decent flare with a Sealey tool I borrowed from a friend. What a waste of time! There is no way I'd put that on my car. So I borrowed the proper job tool from work yesterday and the difference in quality was clear!
Sealey nasty v Sykes Pikavant pro Can you tell which is which?
Tonight I'll be carrying on with stripping the front suspension and trying to get that pesky ball joint out the bottom of the strut!
All fuel lines replaced with decent Goodyear hose to replace the cracked motor factor rubbish:
Then onto the front suspension...
Whilst stripping the strut the brake line on the RHS didn't survive being undone from the hose, so that prompted replacement. With true 'while you are there' mentally I spent last night making up new lines for the whole car. I still need to do the internal one down the tunnel as by 11:00pm I'd lost enthusiasm for that fight!
I spent a couple of hours on Friday trying to make a decent flare with a Sealey tool I borrowed from a friend. What a waste of time! There is no way I'd put that on my car. So I borrowed the proper job tool from work yesterday and the difference in quality was clear!
Sealey nasty v Sykes Pikavant pro
Can you tell which is which?Tonight I'll be carrying on with stripping the front suspension and trying to get that pesky ball joint out the bottom of the strut!
Edited by gary71 on Thursday 3rd August 19:24
Well despite my best efforts the ball joint remained firmly embedded into the strut...
Blow torch, PlusGas, and a fork splitter just wouldn't shift it. If I had hit it any harder then I would have bent something...
So plan B was sacrifice the ball joints (which were of unknown heritage anyway) but that means tackling that horrid looking castle nut underneath the wishbone.
After a tentative hit didn't shift it I decided to make another ghetto tool from a steel plate and four M6 bolts. Whilst I wasn't expecting much it worked!
Now awaiting parts again for the suspension and I can't put the engine back in until I've done the central brake pipe so I've (almost!) run of excuses to get on with the fuel tank internal refinishing.
New fuel and brake pipes in place:
New sound deadening panel:
Blow torch, PlusGas, and a fork splitter just wouldn't shift it. If I had hit it any harder then I would have bent something...
So plan B was sacrifice the ball joints (which were of unknown heritage anyway) but that means tackling that horrid looking castle nut underneath the wishbone.
After a tentative hit didn't shift it I decided to make another ghetto tool from a steel plate and four M6 bolts. Whilst I wasn't expecting much it worked!
Now awaiting parts again for the suspension and I can't put the engine back in until I've done the central brake pipe so I've (almost!) run of excuses to get on with the fuel tank internal refinishing.
New fuel and brake pipes in place:
New sound deadening panel:
Edited by gary71 on Thursday 3rd August 21:36
The engine went back in the hole tonight and I fired it up, albeit briefly as an integral garage and starting a long dormant 911 with two kids asleep upstairs may not go down well...
I then had to stop as the garage was full of smoke
The joys of classic motoring
MOT is booked for Friday week so I've now got a deadline.
Front 3.2 Carrera brakes now done:
Still plenty to do!
I then had to stop as the garage was full of smoke
The joys of classic motoring
MOT is booked for Friday week so I've now got a deadline.
Front 3.2 Carrera brakes now done:
Still plenty to do!
Edited by gary71 on Thursday 3rd August 21:37
Evidently I'm supposed to be sociable or something? davepoth said:
I think that may actually be the hub. My Triumph Dolomite has the same arrangement (disc bolts to the back of the hub rather than the front) which is quite annoying when the discs need to be changed.
Sounds like the Dolomite is the same setup. I've changed the wheel bearings twice since I've owned it and this is the first time for the discs. That must say something about my driving style 
Curborough 2 by Suggs, on FlickrI've now got the brakes bled up despite finding a leak at the one union you can't get at with the engine in...
So hopefully tomorrow night will see it finished one way or another so I can get it on the ground and find out the rear torsion bar is indexed all wrong
It drives!
Well out of my garage and around the close anyway. A lack of brakes and MOT prevent further exploration! It has all the gears, the reversing lights now work, and hopefully the next brake bleed will actually get the air out now it's been sitting a few days.
It even sat there and idled cleanly with no set up or adjustment whatsoever on the carbs, so that is promising.
Luckily the rear ride height appears to have come back to the same place, although I'll have to drive it a but further before I can really confirm that.
So a little more fettling, side trim rivetted back on and all ready for Friday morning MOT
Well out of my garage and around the close anyway. A lack of brakes and MOT prevent further exploration! It has all the gears, the reversing lights now work, and hopefully the next brake bleed will actually get the air out now it's been sitting a few days.
It even sat there and idled cleanly with no set up or adjustment whatsoever on the carbs, so that is promising.
Luckily the rear ride height appears to have come back to the same place, although I'll have to drive it a but further before I can really confirm that.
So a little more fettling, side trim rivetted back on and all ready for Friday morning MOT
Done by Suggs, on Flickr
Six months of dormancy and plenty of angle grinder usage had taken it's toll on the shine so it desperately needed a wash.
It's going on the Hunter at work next week to make the wheels point in the right direction (assuming it gets a ticket in the morning), but it will do for now!
Thanks for the positive comments
It now has an MOT! Depite the place I take it being understanding to old cars, and decent people, it still feels like taking exams all over again every time.
Even the brakes all worked properly despite the fronts having a total of 12 miles on them from new.
Time for a drive out this afternoon!
It now has an MOT!
Depite the place I take it being understanding to old cars, and decent people, it still feels like taking exams all over again every time. Even the brakes all worked properly despite the fronts having a total of 12 miles on them from new.
Time for a drive out this afternoon!
Time for a quick update now it has a few miles on:
All the work over the winter has come good, almost too good as there are no more pops and bangs from the carbs, no more crunching gears, a lot less noise, so now I need a louder exhaust! Maybe working out all the problems has taken away some of the 'character'
The steering and handling is just sublime now with the stiffer rear arms and new front balljoints. Braking is much improved, both response and fade resistance.
The last couple of jobs before the alpine adventure this summer were to replace the rusty fuel tank and repair/replace the oil tank.
So I sourced a good used larger capacity later fuel tank, stripped the old coating, cleaned it up and had it painted with stonechip by the local Audi garage.
New tank topside by Suggs, on Flickr
A quick clean, underseal and a minor rust repair (not particularly well finished!) and I had the front compartment ready for it's new tank.
The hole by Suggs, on Flickr
All neat and fitted. The shock of being able to put £100 of fuel in it will take some getting used to though!
Plumbed in by Suggs, on Flickr
Next job was the leaking oil tank, I'm going to need all the oil cooling capacity on those passes so not being able to get the last two litres in is not a good idea.
So I bought a 'good rust free' tank from the US, but have I've just cleaned it tonight and found rust patched up by chemical metal... I've already got one of those so I'm currently in discussion with the vendor. The oil system on this car is unique to the model (9 months of production) so the tanks are like the proverbial rocking horse droppings. You can still get them new, but the £1000 bill takes some deep breaths.
s
t by Suggs, on Flickr
Guess I'll be getting the chemical metal out again! Which was not really the plan...
All the work over the winter has come good, almost too good as there are no more pops and bangs from the carbs, no more crunching gears, a lot less noise, so now I need a louder exhaust! Maybe working out all the problems has taken away some of the 'character'
The steering and handling is just sublime now with the stiffer rear arms and new front balljoints. Braking is much improved, both response and fade resistance.
The last couple of jobs before the alpine adventure this summer were to replace the rusty fuel tank and repair/replace the oil tank.
So I sourced a good used larger capacity later fuel tank, stripped the old coating, cleaned it up and had it painted with stonechip by the local Audi garage.
New tank topside by Suggs, on Flickr
A quick clean, underseal and a minor rust repair (not particularly well finished!) and I had the front compartment ready for it's new tank.
The hole by Suggs, on Flickr
All neat and fitted. The shock of being able to put £100 of fuel in it will take some getting used to though!
Plumbed in by Suggs, on Flickr
Next job was the leaking oil tank, I'm going to need all the oil cooling capacity on those passes so not being able to get the last two litres in is not a good idea.
So I bought a 'good rust free' tank from the US, but have I've just cleaned it tonight and found rust patched up by chemical metal... I've already got one of those so I'm currently in discussion with the vendor. The oil system on this car is unique to the model (9 months of production) so the tanks are like the proverbial rocking horse droppings. You can still get them new, but the £1000 bill takes some deep breaths.
s
t by Suggs, on FlickrGuess I'll be getting the chemical metal out again! Which was not really the plan...
Now the car is well and truly fixed I went off around Wales tonight with no purpose other than because it is there
Bwlch Y Groes pass by Suggs, on Flickr
Bwlch Y Groes pass by Suggs, on Flickr
Edited by gary71 on Sunday 24th July 00:48
I've just returned from a little 2600 mile trip with the family around what felt like most of Europe... just to show you don't need a Zafira and roofbox to go anywhere with kids! It came about after a drunken conversation last year were I was asked what I wanted to do for my 40th... 911 to the Alps was the only answer! So I'll share our little adventure!
The car was faultless, so no stories there! Only high temperatures, high altitudes and a heavy load revealed the weakness of carburation relative to a modern engine management system. I reckon a 25bhp shift between the coldest, low level days and the highest temp, high altitude passes. No misfires or anything, just a loss of power and and an idle speed that dropped enough to require hand throttle occasionally.
We started our trip with the long run to the south coast to stay overnight with my old college friend. From there an early Newhaven - Dieppe ferry over to France.
That day didn't start well when my wife 'quietly' pointed out I'd booked the ferry for the day before...
Ready for the off by Suggs, on Flickr
Leaving England by Suggs, on Flickr
After the ferry trauma was resolved the first day was a long drag across France to Nancy, dinner and a fantastic light show in the centre of town.
The car was faultless, so no stories there! Only high temperatures, high altitudes and a heavy load revealed the weakness of carburation relative to a modern engine management system. I reckon a 25bhp shift between the coldest, low level days and the highest temp, high altitude passes. No misfires or anything, just a loss of power and and an idle speed that dropped enough to require hand throttle occasionally.
We started our trip with the long run to the south coast to stay overnight with my old college friend. From there an early Newhaven - Dieppe ferry over to France.
That day didn't start well when my wife 'quietly' pointed out I'd booked the ferry for the day before...
Ready for the off by Suggs, on Flickr
Leaving England by Suggs, on Flickr
After the ferry trauma was resolved the first day was a long drag across France to Nancy, dinner and a fantastic light show in the centre of town.
Edited by gary71 on Thursday 3rd August 21:40
Then to our apartment in Lauterbrunnen in Switzerland. This excellent recommendation came via DDK and was a spot on location near a spectacular waterfall, overlooked by the Jungfrau and Eiger, and even had a garage!
Staubbachfall in Lauterbrunnen by Suggs, on Flickr
Not a bad view by Suggs, on Flickr
Staubbachfall in Lauterbrunnen by Suggs, on Flickr
Not a bad view by Suggs, on Flickr
Once in Switzerland we barely had to use the car as everything was within a walk or train ride away.
A few highlights:
The view from Grindelwald:
Grindelwald by Suggs, on Flickr
errr...:
Traditional (read odd) dancing by Suggs, on Flickr
Our apartment was down there somewhere near the waterfall:
The valley by Suggs, on Flickr
A few highlights:
The view from Grindelwald:
Grindelwald by Suggs, on Flickr
errr...:
Traditional (read odd) dancing by Suggs, on Flickr
Our apartment was down there somewhere near the waterfall:
The valley by Suggs, on Flickr
The following day was a little damp, but we thought a blast around the Grimsel, Furka, Susten pass loop would be a good way to spend it!
Tunnel exiting Interlaken by Suggs, on Flickr
Grimsel Pass:
Grimsel Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
Approaching the Rhone Glacier and the Hotel Belvedere on the Furka pass made famous by the James Bond film Goldfinger.
Furka Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
A little video of the approach with a variety of suicidal bikers...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=omkCGSsu-dg
Furka Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
The Susten Pass:
It's fair to say that the new set of tyres I fitted before we went looked a good investment at this point...
Susten Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
Susten Pass tunnel by Suggs, on Flickr
We did have to stop once to prevent the rear seat passenger travel sickness getting to the point of needing to valet the interior...
At the end of the Susten Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
It was clear (well really cloudy!) that we missed half of it due to the weather so I planned to return alone later in the week.
Tunnel exiting Interlaken by Suggs, on Flickr
Grimsel Pass:
Grimsel Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
Approaching the Rhone Glacier and the Hotel Belvedere on the Furka pass made famous by the James Bond film Goldfinger.
Furka Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
A little video of the approach with a variety of suicidal bikers...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=omkCGSsu-dg
Furka Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
The Susten Pass:
It's fair to say that the new set of tyres I fitted before we went looked a good investment at this point...
Susten Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
Susten Pass tunnel by Suggs, on Flickr
We did have to stop once to prevent the rear seat passenger travel sickness getting to the point of needing to valet the interior...
At the end of the Susten Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
It was clear (well really cloudy!) that we missed half of it due to the weather so I planned to return alone later in the week.
If you are ever in the area then the train ride to the top of the Jungfraujoch at 11000ft is worth every very expensive Swiss Franc.
Bite the bullet, flex the credit card and get on with it, as it is truly amazing to stand near the top of the Eiger with no more effort than sitting on your backside for 2 hours...
Jungfraujoch Station by Suggs, on Flickr
The Eiger by Suggs, on Flickr
You can even go tubing and sledging on the top!
Snow Park by Suggs, on Flickr
Bite the bullet, flex the credit card and get on with it, as it is truly amazing to stand near the top of the Eiger with no more effort than sitting on your backside for 2 hours...
Jungfraujoch Station by Suggs, on Flickr
The Eiger by Suggs, on Flickr
You can even go tubing and sledging on the top!
Snow Park by Suggs, on Flickr
The next day was looking clear as well, so I was released from family duties for another run at the passes and my goal of recreating the iconic Bond v Goldfinger shot on the Furka pass with a silver 911 blagging it's role as a DB5!
The Susten pass on the way there was incredible. You could spend a lifetime driving and photographing it and never really get it done. Stunning.
Fairly Scenic by Suggs, on Flickr
This is a 27 photo 360 view stitch of the same scene:
Susten Pass Panorama by Suggs, on Flickr
Larger version here:
www.suggate.co.uk/sustenpanorama2-1.jpg
Back onto the Furka pass and driving back and forth to nail down the iconic (for me anyway) scene from Goldfinger I was after. After some time I found it!
An unreasonable level of time, effort (and mountain climbing...) went into recreating it, so it was a real shame the shame the camera and sensor overheated in the sun after 300+ exposures and made the end result underexposed and grainy. This was the best I could recover from the original!
A Goldfinger Moment by Suggs, on Flickr
Heading home:
Tunnel on the Susten Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
The Susten pass on the way there was incredible. You could spend a lifetime driving and photographing it and never really get it done. Stunning.
Fairly Scenic by Suggs, on Flickr
This is a 27 photo 360 view stitch of the same scene:
Susten Pass Panorama by Suggs, on Flickr
Larger version here:
www.suggate.co.uk/sustenpanorama2-1.jpg
Back onto the Furka pass and driving back and forth to nail down the iconic (for me anyway) scene from Goldfinger I was after. After some time I found it!
An unreasonable level of time, effort (and mountain climbing...) went into recreating it, so it was a real shame the shame the camera and sensor overheated in the sun after 300+ exposures and made the end result underexposed and grainy. This was the best I could recover from the original!
A Goldfinger Moment by Suggs, on Flickr
Heading home:
Tunnel on the Susten Pass by Suggs, on Flickr
Another must see, but no where near as expensive is the Trummelbachfall inside the cliffs near Lauterbrunnen draining the Eiger glacier: Imagining the sound of a 747 at take off will give some idea of the noise!
Trummelbachfalle in Lauterbrunnen by Suggs, on Flickr
Trummelbachfalle in Lauterbrunnen by Suggs, on Flickr
That was our last day in Switzerland. Tomorrow Italy!
Trummelbachfalle in Lauterbrunnen by Suggs, on Flickr
Trummelbachfalle in Lauterbrunnen by Suggs, on Flickr
That was our last day in Switzerland. Tomorrow Italy!
Unfortunately I had to abandon my plans for the San Bernardino pass as rising oil temperature and dropping power were causing engine paranoia! You need an oil cooler for this one when it's 35c outside and you are fully laden
As it was my birthday we pushed the budget out of the Novotels and into this lovely place in a walled town just off the Stelvio pass:
Gasthof zum grunen Baum by Suggs, on Flickr
Bizarrely everyone spoke German and drunk Weiss beer... I'm assured I had crossed the correct border...
As it was my birthday we pushed the budget out of the Novotels and into this lovely place in a walled town just off the Stelvio pass:
Gasthof zum grunen Baum by Suggs, on Flickr
Bizarrely everyone spoke German and drunk Weiss beer... I'm assured I had crossed the correct border...
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