'86 Porsche 944 Lux - Turbo

[Darryl H]

Well I've been browsing on here for a while so thought I'd post up a few photos of my little project.

(This has all been copied from my project thread on another forum so sorry for it not being straight forward!)

The Ad photos:






After looking at a few nasty 944's I found this little (soon to be) gem on car and classic. It was up for £1700 with a power steering leak, no MOT and Sorn'd.

I decided to bite the bullet and go visit under the impression that it might be a dog like the others but was cheap. I knew it would need work as it was half my budget but for a car that was potentially good I thought it would be worth going to see.

Saturday my Dad and I went to visit a lovely couple in their 60's, they were running around flapping around the car trying to get it to start again. It was all hot so we knew it had run but we couldn't get it running after.

Looked round it with my Dad, both pointing out faults with the car. This I think then scared the woman into thinking it was better off scrapped which made her say "take it away for £1k" We carried on looking around and ended up snapping it off them as the faults we have aren't crazy bad and £1k is an offer we couldn't refuse!

So now have £2K to sort the thing out!

So Sunday we picked it up:




Back home:




So that's it so far, we are now in the process of trying to get it to run. We are vaguely in the right direction as the tacho isn't bouncing which it should so this can point us in the right direction in terms of ECU/Sensors.

Now to get it started and whack it in for its MOT!!!

---

We then got it started!


It was misfiring to start with so a clean of the dizzy and some new plugs sorted that!




New Steering rack which got fitted






Also a few photos of it when I moved it on the drive.





New lights:









Bit of an update...

Taken it out quite a lot in the last couple of weeks! Been driving it every day and clocked up quite a bit of mileage considering it only gets used in the evenings

So here are a few photos of it out and about!







I also fitted some new mirrors to the speedo and new LED bulbs to give the dash a bit more light!




and fitted my headunit from the corsa to replace the pooe radio and tape player  :lol:


Then today I gave it a much needed clean!






















Then took it to show my dad where I recieved a large knocking coming from the rear...



I think my Dad was happy to look at something other than a Vauxhall for once.  Got it on his drive and next thing I know he's got the jack out and got it up in the air!


It seems like the Outer CV or Bearing has eaten itself as it is knocking A LOT from that area. So got it back home and will be taking that all apart during the week!

Sorted the CV and bought new seats





Out with the old in with the new





A few mates and I went out last night for a bit of a drive.

We went to a tunnel in the middle of some lanes so thought it would be rude not to see what the cars sound like in one...

Mine is the second car. The first is a 328 E46 and the last a Focus ST.




Not the best update but at the start of the month I bought some mats for the car which have now arrived



and my Dad gave the leather a bit of a clean up today as he wanted to try out some Auto Glym he'd bought




Well this week end the car got a clean and clutch bled.















Yesterday we got it in the air and bled the clutch...



Unfortunately old braided hoses don't like it when you put an Easy bleed on them! The hose went pop from the master cylinder and chucked clutch fluid everywhere!

Whacked a new bit of braided line on and it was good as new


We went to brooklands and got some photos on the old bends!













Pictures aren't the best and the car is pretty dirty but better than nothing!  


These were also picked up:


and then put on...










So now the car needs a little bit of lows on the front which might happen tomorrow evening...

Probably play with the rear as well but may need to work on that a bit more when I get better rear shocks.


Got a few photos yesterday whilst the weather was nice and also fitted porsche badges to the wheels  


























So that's it to now, got a turbo front end for it ready to be sprayed up after we do Nurburgring in August!

Thanks for reading (If you got this far  ;) )

Woops...





This came up cheap locally so snapped it up!

Wasn't planning on getting the bits soon at all but my step dad spotted it so picking it up sunday. Still got bits to sort but it won't be in until late next year when I'm happy it's exactly how I want it

     UPDATE     

Taken from another forum...

Well as some of you may know I went to the Nurburgring last week. We left Saturday and came back the early hours of yesterday.

The car was literally fantastic. It drove there and back and got a good pounding whilst there with no issues!

On the way we stopped off at Spa to see the GP Track and then carried on to Germany on the Sunday. We then spent the week roaming around parts of the ring, karting and generally site seeing.

Whilst at subway and karting we bumped in to OJC (Ollie) off here which was funny!

Before we left a Mate and I had decided we'd sticker some helmets up for a laugh and whack some names on the car.

Right enough talking here's a few photos of the car and some bits. (I can't be arsed to post up how many thousands of photos I have so only put a few in)











































     UPDATE     

Finally a Car update!

As some of you may know/remember I bought a Turbo front end ages ago that I hadn't got round to fitting/spraying.

The time has finally come to get it sorted. So yesterday I set about getting the old stuff off and the new stuff on!

The photos do the talking...


New indicators front and wings.















Intercooler hole....










Redundant parts when swapping to a turbo front end!


Placed on.




Lining up


First Cut




Giving it some shape






Cut wing



The old wiring was a bit tatty as you can see so I bought some new Kit car connectors and made up a new bit of loom.









It was dark when I finished tonight but got all the lights working just need to attach the bumper properly then I can take it for paint so they can finish off the edge on the wing and obviously sort the colour out :lol:

Slowly coming along though




Should be sorting Paint over the next couple of weeks

     UPDATE     
I got some better photos of the interior...





Oh yeah...



Well after a week away she's back from paint!



So next task was fitting the bumper with the lights and new clear lenses















So then I went out to get some better photos with the whole car with a couple of mates.









Just need to get the back down a bit now when I get my Coilovers after Xmas.

Well I got these:



Off for powder coating with the backs in Jan



Boxing day the clutch master cylinder decided it was no more.

So bought another one which arrived yesterday:


I've also got a few extras ready to go on the car:


Quickshift Gear Linkage as my old linkage was worn

Also going to be making a rose jointed bar for the linkage arm using this track rod end from a Go Kart:


I've also had a bit of play in the steering column for a while.

The bearing I tried to get from Porsche a while back but they had discontinued it. Luckily on one of the forums I was able to get hold of one a guy hadn't fitted to his after buying it from Porsche a while back.

The white bush is for the bottom of the gear linkage so hopefully the whole mechanism will be brand new once I've sent the linkage at the bottom of the stick off to be reconditioned.


The car's off the road for the next few weeks. It's up in the air on stands at the moment. I've got the callipers off and getting the new ones powder coated over the next week.

Hopefully have the new parts on over the weekend if I can brave the rain again.


Well its that time again.

Quite a few more bits have come. Only waiting on one more bit then I can get the car road worthy again :nod:

So...


New braided lines


New discs and pads in these boxes...


New genuine Porsche calliper seals



and the best bit...

Callipers back from powder coating!













and then after some stickers...







Should have some more updates on the car after the weekend.

Now it's up to date Enjoy!

     UPDATE     

Well last weekend I got the old girl back on the road.

I didn't take many photos as a lot of the time I've spent working on it has been after work in the evenings.

Here's what I have done and a few photos:

I changed the lower bearing in the steering column which was a right pain in the arse. To do this you need remove most of the dash


I also changed the whole rear linkage setup for the gearbox for the rose jointed stuff and made an adjustable bar to replace the horrid old one.
Refurbed gear lever:

Old support bar for the linkage:

I cut down a Go Kart track rod end and re tapped the bar with the rose joints to replace the old one:


I then rebuilt the callipers:




I also got the brakes new pads and discs on.







I then took it for a drive to a mates last sunday:


It was great to drive and everything was so much more precise! Great to see my hard work had paid off :thumbs:

Today I drained the old gearbox oil and put some new stuff in.

This definitely hasn't been done since it left Porsche in 1986.
Then filled it up:



So that's where it is now. Going to roll the rear arches tomorrow and lower the back down a bit.

     UPDATE     

After doing some minor jobs that needed sorting I washed the car today.

Took it out for a late afternoon blast with a mate so got some photos during a stopping point.























It's booked in to a Porsche Specialist on the 27th to have the rear arches rolled so I can bring the back down with some new suspension

     UPDATE     
Well the coilovers arrived Thursday. After opening the box I realised there was a mix up with the rears so they've been sent back and are getting sorted free of charge thanks to the guy who's helped me get them.

Whilst still eager to see what the fronts looked like and the fact I'd sold the existing setup I began to strip it down yesterday...

We got it in my mates Garage/Massive Gazebo!


Said new front coilover


We then got the front stripped down for re-assembly


After we had the coilover in the top mount we then ran into an issue with it not mounting to the hub.

We're now waiting to contact GAZ monday to see how they suggest to sort it. So currently it's sat like this


We decided not to waste time and crack on with getting the rear torsion bar ready for the rears so after some adjustment we got some lows...






And an overall shot of my mates garden... I'm so jealous of the space he has!

• ***UPDATE*****

I rang GAZ monday and they gave me the good news that the coilovers were ready!



So last night I went round to my mates where the car has been for the past month.









Instagram "I'm finished" photo


Also yesterday my rear valance arrived:




Today I spent most of the day sorting some brake ducts which were basically left over bits off of my Step dads Cobra so was a slight make it up as I go along job....




Quite well hidden, you can't see it at all when you actually look at the car.






It's not quite settled yet and we've got to play with the torsion bars on saturday so not quite the final height yet but you get the idea!

• ***UPDATE*****

Came back from the 'ring yesterday after 10 days and 7 laps over there with a bunch of mates.

The car performed brilliantly and the suspension and brakes have made it 100% better than last time!

Any way a couple of photos I've found so far...









Will post more photos and videos when I get on a PC

• ***UPDATE*****

So I thought I should probably update this...

I fitted a turbo rear valance just before Germany once it was painted, theres a couple of photos from Germany and also I got a 996 GT3 Cup Car steering wheel fitted in there.

I've been busy working on the trip video which will be up soon :thumbs:

...and also might have got the engine stripped down for it's rebuild...

Anyway enough of the boring stuff, here's a few photos!

























So a few photos to update this:

The engine has continued being stripped and put on the stand:

That will be being stripped fully this week so next month it can be rebuilt.

I've had a knock coming from the front since I got back from Germany, it looked to be top mounts so replaced it with these that appear to get good reviews on the Porka forums:




New front tyres should be coming wednesday so I'll get them on and get the geometry checked/adjusted accordingly. Hopefully it's not thrown it out too much!

I hope it to then be ready for Combe where it'll be out on track

[Darryl H]

• ***UPDATE*****

I got the engine stripped down more yesterday:





And obviously needed to show the size of the pistons by fisting it... :lol:


A few photos from going out this evening













Also the engine is coming along nicely! Its starting to go back together... I've been pretty slack on photos. I'll get some when I'm next out working on it.

• ***UPDATE*****

So a bit of work and purchasing has been happening.

I got the sump off to get to the big ends and crank:



With the girdle set up these cranks don't tend to wear much. I decided I'd see if it needed a regrind.

Using a plastiguage I measured the cranks tolerance. The factory specs are between 0.038-0.07. as you can see below mine was better than that. Each one actually measured 0.025

It's safe to say only shells/bearing will get changed.

I got the engine cleaned down and painted.



I also bought 2 more goodies


Yup a new gearbox and Diff.




I bought an S2 gearbox as it has hardened gears like the turbo box but is closer ratio than the turbo so should make it a bit quicker through the gears. The standard gears feel slightly too long for track/acceleration as it's really made for autobahns.

I've now got the full rebuild kit, exhaust and various other parts I was missing so it won't be long now.

• ***UPDATE*****

So the parts have been building for the engine.

I went to Trax a few weeks ago. Was a good show as always. On the drive home I found myself pulling over down a random road to lots of smoke and what I thought was going to be a fire :0



After getting it home it was clear the water pump had given up the ghost and an oil leak on the Cam housing.

Normally I'd simply replace these parts and carry on but as I knew the engine was so close I thought I'd just start getting it stripped down a bit earlier.

So got it on some ramps at my mates house and started pulling it apart the day before combe.



Gearbox out















Got all the crap off the underneath of the bonnet



Got the gearbox back from having the LSD fitted to put some paint on it (It's a tad lairy )





The clutch on the car has never been fantastic since I've had it and it's always felt like I have driveline shunt.

I read on the internet a year ago about the rubber in the clutch giving way over the years which is why you get the driveline shunt. Lots of people carry on driving them as a clutch job is an expensive job. I was always changing the engine out so thought I'd use it until it went bang.

Well as you can see from the following photo my clutch was well and truly ruined! It's still the clutch that was fitted in 1986 as the clutch got updated to no rubber after a few years of its release.

So 2 ring trips, lots of abuse from me and 134k on the clock I don't think it did too badly...



The amazing thing being that it still has a tiny bit of meat left on it :lol:

So that's almost where it's at.

Currently waiting on a few parts then I can get the engine back together.

Hopefully won't be off the road too long, I just want to get back in it :nod:

• ***UPDATE*****

So I've spent this weekend getting the engine built up so it can be moved to the car.

Not got too many photos but this weekend has consisted of lapping valves, reassembling the head, adding pistons to the block with new rings, new bearing on the crank, head gasket, head put on to the block, cam housing put on to the head and then some tarting up of parts and refitting with new gaskets.

Anyway a few photos:





























Hopefully more to follow through the week.

• ***UPDATE*****

So this is an update I've been waiting for.

Got the engine to my mates house where the car is:


Had a few minor hiccups involving it going in and coming straight out but now she's in to stay:












Now as some of you may know, I've had a few tricks up my sleeve regarding the setup of this engine. I've gone for a quick ratio S2 gearbox which is now full installed.

I've gone for a K26/6 hybrid turbo which will help with a super quick spool and make decent power with the perks of a smaller turbo charger.

I've also bitten the bullet and gone for a full ECU setup from Augment Automotive which are starting to make more updated, better products for these cars. This will allow me to have full logging capability, 3D mapping and able to bluetooth to my phone to use as gauges - This function won't be used on my car.

From what I've read it really is quite a bit of kit. Currently just waiting for the final bits to be sorted for it to come.

Here's a few photos Tom (the guy who runs the show) has sent me:
Old Vs New Turbo and new waste gate.




So hopefully will receive these bits this week.

• ***UPDATE*****

So we've been working on the car most nights this week and all weekend.

Unfortunately we've had a lot of reworking due to not remembering which bits came off first :facepalm:

The turbo arrived so we set about getting it sorted, it got mounted up then had to be taken off and put back on due to some pipe work that had to be bolted up first.

Over the week we've got the following done:

Turbo mounted up with pipe work
Intercooler piping fitted
inlet and fuel rail etc fitted
alternator, air con pump and belts
gearbox filled with oil
manifolds and exhaust system finished
bonnet back on
badge panel back on
wiring finished apart from the turbos water pump
sorted the dash out

lots more I've forgotten about.

Any way here are a few photos, unfortunately have been pretty slack so not got any of the current state.















So that's almost where we are, looking to get some more done over the next week.

• ***UPDATE*****

So the last few days have been eventful.

Got the ECU and last parts for the car Friday. Got the car all fixed up and ready to start bar fluids.

Topped it up with oil and put some water in, immediately had water pouring out the block. After a horrific amount of cursing and a very late friday night we had found the leak on the water pump due to me not getting all of the the ol gasket off the block :facepalm: :facepalm:

So got that all that back together and had it fire up yesterday... for 3 seconds. Hasn't started since but currently being helped with the mapper Tom to try and sort it out. The ECU logging shows that everything seems right that end so only time will tell. We've got spark, fuel and compression so must be a spark timing thing or overfueling I guess.

Anyway here's a few photos:





then it was like this:



Thankfully now looking more like the top photos.

• ***UPDATE*****

So felt I should probably update this.
After getting it back together last friday and saturday it took its first drive saturday afternoon
Not much to report other than it was pretty fun taking it out for the first time!

So I've been desperately trying to rack up the milage to get it run in. Up to 400 miles now but half broke it today so going to fix it tomorrow and finish the 500 tomorrow.

It's going for mapping sunday then I can see what it really feels like

a few photos:

Clutch release bearing was our fault :facepalm: a slight installation error but appear to have sorted it now.


Was nice to get it home



So after driving it and gradually upping the revs it developed a bit of a boost leak.

Turns out it was from the bottom of the inlet so had to reseal that Tuesday


I drove in to work the next morning after sorting it and it scared me stless :lol:

Boost came in hard and heavy at half throttle and got the back twitching :0 ... Yeah this is going to be a bit of a monster...

So the running in has been going well and really making me grin. Today I set off to get a boss welded in the exhaust for a lambda for sunday. On the way there a coolant hose decided it didn't want to hold water again so had to get a friend to tow me the rest of the way and home again :lol:



Got the boss welded in and will have a new hose tomorrow. Hopefully will get it ready for mapping and then I can see it's true potential!

• ***UPDATE*****

So I sorted the water hose that had split and got the final 100 miles done. Did an oil change and put some proper coolant in it.

Then I got it mapped sunday. Got there with no issues. Took it for a gentle drive with Tom (the mapper) and he started ironing out the uneven bits of the map. We then got it on a long bit of private road where we were able to do it's first pull of the rev range. Immediately ran into our first issue. It was over boosting as the map was set to a 1 bar boost limit.

After upping the limit we did another run where we achieved a steady 1.2 bar of boost.... I ended up bottling the end of the pull because it was climbing rapidly in 3rd gear like it was 2nd

After a few issues like boost hoses popping off and losing alternator tension we went for a last pull.

Now we had connected the vacuum hoses properly we were now not losing any boost, achieving a lot more than both of us were expecting... This is now too much for the injectors. We've maxed out the injectors for a full rev range at 0.8 bar of boost - it starts to run lean on more boost.

Tom had a look online and people are claiming the standard injectors are good for 270WHP but we're not sure it's quite making that power.

So now we've left it on a safe map at 0.8 bar with the intention of upping it after xmas with new injectors and a lambda sensor which should see it making some really good power.

Delivery is pretty good at the moment but the trouble is I know what it's capable of now...  

So got it home after a few issues and then I broke it right outside my house :facepalm: It's managed to loosen the power steering pump bolts and shims which have fallen off. So now got new ones on order from Porsche. Hopefully should be here in the week.

I'll get videos on the weekend :thumbs:

• ***UPDATE*****

So after the last update we had a few issues.

We took it out and broke it, the wastegate had worked itself loose. We'd also noticed it was also blowing from the turbo... Great.

This meant taking off all the ancillaries to get the turbo off to change the gasket/work out why it was blowing.

Whilst dismantling it we'd found a few bolts also loose. After a long think we decided to check the timing of the balance shaft belts as we were thinking it may be rattling itself loose.

After discovering that the balance shaft belt had worked itself slack and had moved timing we were sure this was causing our issues.

After a few nights work we had it running again. It was running sooo much smoother. Since then I've been just giving it a bit of st and it seems to be taking it quite well. I had a problem with the starter motor but that appears to have been sorted now as we had discovered a leaky slave which was leaking on to it.

So sorted the slave and have just been driving it to see how it lasts.

I've now got an issue with a CV joint but that's kind of expected seeing as it was probably the original one on the car....

Anyway enough text. Here's a quick video of it.

We hooked a mic to the outside of the car and used the onboard sound as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk4jPnUB02Q&fe...

I hope that has made some vague sense…


Ok, been using the car a bit over xmas and had some fun in it. Developed another blow at the turbo so have bought some decent gaskets from germany to sort that hopefully!

As you may remember I needed to change a CV as it had started clicking. I set about doing that last weekend and ended up changing them all.

Got it all together sunday:


Took it out for a good drive monday evening to make sure all was well. It was perfect for a while and then a couple of hours in after a little bit of abuse I ended up stranded with the following :lol:




So just ordered 2 new shafts and CV's this time uprated ones and am in need of a gearbox mount as we suspect that to be the cause of the shaft snapping.

Going to strip the exhaust off the turbo later in the month ready for it's MOT in Feb. Then will be looking at getting the last parts sorted over March/April providing I don't break anything else!

New gearbox mount and driveshafts fitted today!

The power steering bracket has managed to shed some weight again. I'm thinking of changing to manual rack as I like the feel of manual rack on the move. But going to sort that after mapping.

Here's a few photos:

New mount:






Didn't get any other photos but it wasn't too bad of a job. Was expecting it to be much worse! Hardest bit was getting enough clearance for the brace to slip through between the body and gearbox.

Well after some farting about with the Powersteering and it continuously breaking I bit the bullet and got a manual rack for it.

The best bit being this part number:


These racks are a rare find. They're whats known as the "sport" option which was only found on specially optioned cars and the 944 Turbo Cup cars.

Set about fitting it yesterday





I took it for a well earned blast in the evening and I can safely say I am very pleased with it! The feel is a lot better and it feels really nice and tight.

So as the cars MOT runs out this week I've not finally got to sort the blow coming from the turbo.

This means another strip down of the inlet and turbo:



I didn't manage to finish that today due to needing a couple of gaskets and studs to get it back together so will hopefully carry on next weekend.

Well the car passed its MOT the week before last. Had an issue with it being really high on emissions and the washers for the windscreen weren't working... So I took it back home and gave it a look over that evening - It turned out to be a loose hose on the inlet :facepalm: and a bit of plastic had got in to the pump and was jamming it up. Sorted those 2 issues then it went straight through with one advisory which was handbrake needs adjustment so happy days!!

So far I'm loving having it back on the road. I'd forgotten how fun it was

Here's a couple of photos (still got to clean it):



Also I've realised that I should probably run a boost gauge now as a friend is having issues with his car overboosting yet I wouldn't know if mine was until it hit the boost cut so thought it might be wise just to put one in just incase especially with the colder weather.

So this is my idea:
Take one of these


Do some cutting and then plonk it in this hole (Still need to neaten it all up was just trying it in there to see how it looked)




The boost gauge isn't the final one. That's just a cheap one I used to set the car up with. I'll be getting a VDO gauge in the future which will match the dash.


Well this is an update I've been waiting for!

After the MOT I started having starter motor issues - mainly due to poor starting because the map wasn't 100%.

I whacked on a new started motor:

That did the job a treat!

Then it was time to sort the fuelling. First off I put new fuel lines up the front (forgot to get photos) and put in a new walbro pump rated for 400bhp.


Prior to mapping I needed a Lambda sensor put in (Again no photos) and an air temp sensor for the intercooler pipe work:




After all that was done, I took it off to Tom (Augment Automotive) friday for mapping on saturday. On the way up I experienced a fuel cut... I was unsure why it was doing it but assumed it might be something to do with the new sensors added. Got it to him and he sent me this photo saturday:

Arse. I'd pinched the pipe doing the pump back up.

Luckily he was able to sort it after draining out the full tank of petrol :0

Then it was put on his rollers:

Unfortunately I don't have a print out of what it produced due to his rollers not reading correctly at the moment so it was more just trying to get the fuelling right and sorting out then boost pressure.

On the whole I'm very happy with the new map, it drives so smooth and the power is a bit more aggressive. Unfortunately the injectors are still hindering the performance so will need to be changed in the future.

I got spotted by a mate on the way home


and here's a quick video of it in action:
http://vid267.photobucket.com/albums/ii301/daz1492...

So as some of you may know, the car was supposed to be out at Combe last weekend.

Naturally it decided to rain on my parade just before!

The Cam tower decided to piss oil over the manifold :facepalm:

So after some research I found out the Cam out of my old engine and cam tower would be a little upgrade for it. So sunday I set about fitting that after spraying it Gold







I've not got a final photo as it got dark but you get the idea.

The last few evenings I've just been checking up on it and giving it some abuse. All seems ok *touches wood* and the AFR readings are still in spec.

I treated the car to a boost solenoid so I can run electronic boost using the built in functions in the ECU and also got some Siemens DEKA 60lb injectors to get it running full power.


Naturally before I'd even fitted that the car decided to give me some struggles


After some looking through the ECU log files yesterday we've narrowed it down to a faulty MAP sensor when the engine gets hot. So a quick phone call to Augment Automotive has got me a replacement in the post and the old one sent back for inspection. As always great help from Tom.

Here's a photo of it clean a few weeks ago:


I've also treated it to a custom half cage from the Rollcentre which should arrive in 4-6weeks.

On the whole up to now the car has been great fun. I'm really looking forward to getting these last engine bits on to see the true potential of it Hoping to get it reliable for another trip to the 'ring in September. I'll keep this updated over the next few weeks

[Darryl H]

• ***UPDATE*****

Well I've been a bit quiet recently as I've been pretty busy.

My mates and I are all getting ready for Nurburgring again next month so in between helping others sort their cars I've done some playing with mine.

Firstly I fitted the electronic boost and injectors and then took it out for some road mapping. It's making 1.2 bar of boost which is probably where I'll leave it as that's quite conservative on these engines.

It's definitely packing a punch now though. AFRs are spot on all the way through the Rev range and as I've done it myself I've learnt a lot about it which to me is a win. After Germany I'll get it dyno'd to see what it's making but I'm not really fussed on numbers as it feels great.

I've also got some bucket seats out of a '92 Clio cup car, rear cage and some Harnesses as well. I didn't like the Renault sport logo on the seats though so I've unpicked that.

Here's a few photos to get you up to date:










The car is in need of a clean and tidy which I'll do on the weekend. Just got to bleed the brakes and do pads then hopefully it's ready :thumbs:

• ***UPDATE*****

At the start of september we set off to the Nurburgring for the 3rd year. Before hand I chucked in some new pads (Ferodo DS2500) and changed the fluid to some ATE super blue.

Their were 8 of us this year, we had a cracking time. Everyone has improved on last year and the Porsche held up very well.

I managed 140mph on the autobahn and it was still pulling like a train but got held up with traffic. I also did 14 laps this year, a couple were consecutive laps and a GP Session. I managed a 9:51 BTG - I know this isn't amazing for my bhp/setup but I really haven't grown the balls to chuck the car in on those fast corners :lol: The plus side is I've learnt a lot more about the car and know where I can improve myself and the car.

First up I need to keep it cooler. So I'll be needing a much bigger oil cooler and probably a bigger intercooler. Water temps seem to be dealing with it fine.

Some form of brake upgrade again... Unfortunately the 4 pots on their own aren't able to cut it for the new power upgrade. They're really struggling to slow it down from 130+ so definitely bigger discs and probably going to get some bigger front callipers and shift the boxster brembos to the back.

The MAP sensor gave up to the heat once again so have got Tom sending another one for tomorrow. Luckily this time it will still run with the odd cut out. We're certain this is failing due to heat and this is the hottest I've ever got the engine since the rebuild. He's contacted his supplier to see what the problem is and if they can't sort it he'll be sorting me with a future proof solution later on.

Finally, the gearbox is getting very hot so going to have to put an oil cooler on that as well as get some synchos sorted as it was popping out of 3rd when it got warm/hot.

Anyway here are some photos:



We did a session on the GP circuit which was manic to say the least









There's more trip videos and photos to come but I'll do them when I've uploaded the videos.

• ***UPDATE*****

Well I've been pretty quiet recently so thought I'd just whack something in here.

Bought a few more photos:




Also one of the biggest things for me this year was lacking in confidence in the brakes. I've done quite a bit of reading up now and have decided to go a bit all out on this so I don't have this issue again. First off I've bought a set of these:


They're 996 GT3 front callipers. I'll be moving my current fronts to the rear to give me a 996 gt3 set up effectively, my rears will be able to take a slightly thicker disc which is the only real difference.

I'll be using the 993 320mmx32mm floating discs with a custom hat up front with 330mmx28mm gt3 rear discs. I'll also be using Pagid RS29's up front, and RS14's on the rear. Obviously this setup isn't very cheap so it's going to be a build it up over christmas thing. The callipers will get the rebuild treatment the last had.

In other news I've been sorting out a leaky boot/roof. Bought new seals for both and fixed my electronic boot switch:


I'm also waiting for my 30row oil cooler to arrive which should be more than efficient to keep the engine cool. Then once the brakes are done all I'll have left is the gearbox rebuild.

Happy days! :thumbs:

Here's a link to our trip video if anyone is interested:
https://youtu.be/RAqoOsIkm_U

It's mainly just us being tts and having a good time.

• ***UPDATE*****

Well I've been continuing over the Xmas period with the car. Aircon has been removed to clear space for the bigger oil cooler. I've left the air con fan in as it aids cooling in the hotter months in traffic etc.

Here's a few photos so far:
Took the bumper off to make access to things a bit easier.






In removing the aircon compressor you need to change the alternator mount as the compressor was used to tension the bolt.


Difference in brackets.


Stuff now spare

Unfortunately the mount for the alternator uses a smaller bolt on the older 944's so I drilled it out to the same as my previous mount.


Then got it all back together and checked it worked with its new belt and various removals. All seemed good but forgot to get photos.

Next job is tackle the oil cooler, lines and sort the leaky housing for the oil cooler.


I made some lines up using 10AN fittings


New cooler.

So things are still happening. I'm gradually collecting parts and trying to sort the new brakes and gearbox.

• ***UPDATE*****

Ok more little jobs have been done.

So after getting it all running I decided it was probably best to make it not work again :facepalm::lol:

So ever since this engine has been in I've had a smell of coolant occasionally but I've never been able to visually see it or catch it underneath.

So after a bit of digging on the internet it would seem that my oil filter housing may be the issue. The bummer here is this is the only thing with the balance shafts that I didn't take apart during the rebuild. Sods law dictates that I was asking for it to bite me in the arse all along :nod:

Soooo I decided to set about resealing it. Unfortunately it's in a really awkward place so you need to remove the ARB, oil cooler and lines, power steering pump (which I don't have anyway now) and a few bits above out the way.

So off came all of that:


After getting it out you can see that this was definitely due new gaskets a little while ago:facepalm:


Now after cleaning it up and having this out I can now add my new adapters for the new oil cooler lines like so:




I've also added a new master cylinder from a 7 series E39 due to my new calipers - I'll need to make up a couple of lines to get everything in place but shouldn't be too difficult.


Ok now a bit that I like.

I've finally sorted myself out on a disc/pad/caliper setup.

It's going to be the following:

MTEC custom Floating Discs (330mmx32mm) - Front
GT3 Calipers and RS29s - Front
944 Turbo Rear Discs - (300mmx24mm) - Rear
Current Boxster Calipers and pads - Pads will be changed to RS29's

so Rear discs arrived:


I then decided it would be best to use these to work out the measurement for the MTEC discs so I could get them ordered.

It's tight...






There's about 2mm-3mm clearance there so should be plenty of room :thumbs:

• ***UPDATE*****

Just a quick one whilst I'm here.

Put oil filter housing back on (no photos unfortunately)

I then mounted the oil cooler and started sorting the hoses although one needs a different fitting now so that will have to wait until next week


This evening I stripped out the new callipers ready for powder coating tomorrow




That's still up there in amongst my least favourite jobs on a car. Done now though so get to do the fun bits

• ***UPDATE*****

Discs have arrived!!



Adapters arrived and fit too!

• **UPDATE*****

Sorry I've been a bit quiet on here recently. Here's a few updates in one

Put oil filter housing back on (no photos unfortunately)

I then mounted the oil cooler and started sorting the hoses although one needs a different fitting now so that will have to wait until next week


This evening I stripped out the new callipers ready for powder coating tomorrow




That's still up there in amongst my least favourite jobs on a car. Done now though so get to do the fun bits

Discs have arrived!!



Adapters arrived and fit too!


I've made adapters to mount the GT3 Calipers:


Built up the callipers 

Mounted up on the car (excuse how dirty it is)




I then used it for a bit to bed everything in. I have an issue with the master cylinder side of things. Moving the fronts to the rears has made it very spongey.

I knew this might have been an issue due to the piston sizes but thought I'd try it anyway. So now I'll need either rear boxster callipers or just put the single pots back on now with a bias valve in place just to temporarily sort this issue.

I took it on a track day to try it all out. It's definitely better braking force but as mentioned spongey.







Otherwise the car was spot on. Oil cooler is keeping the oil so much cooler which in turn is keeping the water temps down. I ended up being able to do 45 minutes sessions at a time.

Only issue I found out after the day was this


The calliper is really that close that when it gets hot it touches the wheel. So to cure this issue I'm purchasing new wheels. I've got a set of BRAID Competition Fuchs in the same dimensions as the Azev's that are being made for me.

A photo from Castle Combe Spring Action Day



and then last nights antics...



After popping out for some food, on the way home the driveshaft decided it wanted to loosen itself off the gearbox. I'm not sure why this has suddenly happened - I was driving very steady at the time. I assume it is related to the track work but they were new bolts and torqued up correctly.

My new Braid Fuchs arrived after over a month of waiting:

17" ET15 10/8.5






I really love these new wheels.

• ***UPDATE*****

So sorry I've been a bit quiet again, Photobucket hasn't been uploading my photos so didn't see the point updating the project without some pictures for you to all ignore the boring stuff

So I decided I needed to get rid of the cream interior. I've had some black door cards since I bought the sport seats but never got round to doing the whole lot.

My step dad kindly gave me use of his garage for a few weeks whilst his Cobra was away getting paint. Here's what I got on with:

So I stripped the interior out and got it ready for dye/paint:





I used VHT Vinyl paint which came up great, it looks a bit shiny to start with but it does dull down. The reason for using my original dash etc is because finding a non cracked dash is getting difficult and it made more sense to me to use the stuff I had. If I end up changing my mind I will get this dash re-trimmed.















So all was well until the first run after having the car back on the road where it decided an opportune chance to split a coolant hose. Luckily I was out in the sticks with a friend who could tow me back to my other halves to repair it enough to limp it home.



and back home



Seeing as it was coming back into the garage I got it up in the air and finished a few odds and ends that needed sorting, one of which was the install of a M030 968 adjustable rear ARB.



The ARB was a noticeable difference on the road and has really tightened up the rear end. I had a track evening booked at Brands Hatch on the 12th July which I took this along to. Unfortunately there was no real opportunity to try out the newly installed ARB properly as the track was drenched and the people who were on with us seemed to think it was a Touring car race. I promptly got off track after almost getting run off the track 2-3times.



With my friends Supercharged S2K - This thing is awesome, RR'd at 425bhp. It does look a bit unfinished at the moment but I can assure you he has good plans for it.




So that's pretty much up to date. The car seems to be OK at the moment although I really don't like to jinx that...

Here's a couple of photos of it out on the wheels. It does have genuine centre caps now but I haven't got a good photo on them yet!







Feel free to speak your mind

[Darryl H]

• ***UPDATE*****

Well it went to the 'ring as shown in the video from Kev :thumbs:

I did quite a lot beforehand which I have lots of photos of but they're struggling to upload so will put them in when I can.

Basically the gearbox really was on its last legs. So I bought one off a Porsche specialist, stripped it to the gearset and then put it in mine with my nice LSD. Then drilled a few holes, tapped some AN fittings ran some line and mounted a pump and cooler to it to keep it cooler as it was getting too hot previously.

These are the only photos I've got uploaded on my photo bucket of the trip so far - At least they are nice ones













The car has really come along the last year. It felt like it encouraged so much more confidence than any of the other times since the turbo.

I managed a 9:24 this year which I know is breaking no records but it is an almost 30 second jump from last year. I've just got to improve a bit more as a driver now the car is at a much higher level than me.

Here's a video for those interested (They never look as fast/feel as dangerous as they feel)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qA3dxhsECT8

Will be at bedford back in it on the 5th November :thumbs:

• ***UPDATE*****

So still no photos of the gearbox cooler setup but I have got some nice photos of it out at Bedford a couple of weekends ago.

The car drove absolutely spot on. I was so happy with the way it was driving all day. I've got to sort a new steering intermediate shaft as my one is showing up as quite worn now but apart from that I was very happy!

My laps were so much better than last time we visited bedford, I played around with tyre pressures a bit and got it feeling really good when hot, cold tyres proved to be a bit sketchy on the first few laps :lol:

The gearbox has definitely helped lap times just due to the fact I'm not worried it's going to pop out of third of shifting to 2nd to make sure I'm safe. Brakes were once again spot on.








Hopefully all of that makes some vague sense.

[daemon]

Absolutely amazing!

Jaw droppingly brilliant!

I thought on the first pic "oh no a tired old beige 944", but that is just fantastic. Loving the fact you've embraced the gold paintwork and really made it work!

Absolutely A1.

[drdino]

Love the car, love the thread. Excellent!

[RC1807]

Sunday morning: just read from start to finish
Great work, and you're pretty handy with the spanner so, too!

[TR4man]

Well done!

It's almost a pictorial readers car thread.

Is that a Healey in the garage in a couple of the photos?

[JonJon2015]

Thoroughly enjoyable read on a Sunday morning. Love the car

[Darryl H]

Thanks all for the great feedback

daemon said:

Absolutely amazing!

Jaw droppingly brilliant!

I thought on the first pic "oh no a tired old beige 944", but that is just fantastic. Loving the fact you've embraced the gold paintwork and really made it work!

Absolutely A1.

Haha, thanks! Yeah the gold was never my first choice, in fact it was quite low on the list. I'm glad I got that colour now though.

drdino said:

Love the car, love the thread. Excellent!

Thank you

RC1807 said:

Sunday morning: just read from start to finish
Great work, and you're pretty handy with the spanner so, too!

Thanks! I like to just give things ago to be honest. I'm not a mechanic. I just like taking things apart and finding out how it works

TR4man said:

Well done!

It's almost a pictorial readers car thread.

Is that a Healey in the garage in a couple of the photos?

Thanks! Yeah I try and get as many photos just so it's a bit more enjoyable.

It's actually my step dads Cobra:

JonJon2015 said:

Thoroughly enjoyable read on a Sunday morning. Love the car

Thank you I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Darryl H]

• ***UPDATE*****

So I've had an exhaust blow for a while and after wanting a bit more noise now this isn't a daily driver, I decided to sort that out.

Spot what's wrong with this:


Original system:


New system being made - As some will be able to tell, I am NOT a welder. I'm merely "having a go" and learning as I do it:





So I've deleted the back box and added a centre silencer.

Exhaust on the car:

[Carlson W6]

Well done on the huge effort.

Loving the new wheels.

[Darryl H]

Carlson W6 said:

Well done on the huge effort.

Loving the new wheels.

Thanks Yeah I think they're a bit more in keeping with the car

[SebringMan]

It's interesting that a few people from a certain camp are heading over. Welcome aboard Darryl .

You know what my thoughts are on the project and I have to say that I do like it. Reading it again has made me think of a few questions however!

What tyre pressures have you found best to work with the NS-2R tyres?

I suspect that rear valance is the only part of my now sold Turbo that lives . It's showing up as untaxed and MOT'd at the moment .

[Darryl H]

SebringMan said:

It's interesting that a few people from a certain camp are heading over. Welcome aboard Darryl .

You know what my thoughts are on the project and I have to say that I do like it. Reading it again has made me think of a few questions however!

What tyre pressures have you found best to work with the NS-2R tyres?

I suspect that rear valance is the only part of my now sold Turbo that lives . It's showing up as untaxed and MOT'd at the moment .

Hi Chas!

Yeah I read on here a lot now so thought I might as well post.

Currently running 30psi all round hot, I found it was gripping well there at Bedford last and to be honest I didn't really play with it much more after that.

Oh that's a shame! I hope it's only getting some TLC

[holmefield]

what a good read i had a 944 S16v many years ago and loved it..

[helix402]

Super 80s goldeness! A great read and great work. The new wheels are spot on.

[Darryl H]

holmefield said:

what a good read i had a 944 S16v many years ago and loved it..

Cheers! Both engines have been fun and the car is definitely a good platform

helix402 said:

Super 80s goldeness! A great read and great work. The new wheels are spot on.

Thanks, very happy with the wheels.

[The Nur]

Fantastic stuff, OP. Loving this car.


Those new wheels are sex.

[ScottJB]

Cracking read - really enjoyable.