New addition to the fleet (non BMW)

[Karl Grau]

I was going to say "this is proper P-car guy type maintenance", but then I noticed only 1 cotton swab had been used.

That was from me cleaning my ears before starting on the detailing. Us P-Car guys only use these special foam swabs. Philistine!

[oldskool]

I still think you should have sponsored that poor child from el salvador instead of all this. poor, . . . poor little Moco.

[Karl Grau]

Moco is a busboy at Applebees in El Cajon and he's doing fine.

[Karl Grau]

So out of the blue, I had an email from the P/O saying he found some parts that he forgot about and wondered if I wanted them. Of course I said YES without asking what they were.

One of the items was a Tequipment wing that he bought new when he first got the car. He had it painted and then decided he didn't want to use it after all. It was wrapped in a moving blanket, stuck up in the garage rafters and forgotten.





I'm not sure how I feel about it. I kind of like the Q-Ship aspect of the retractable version.







If I decide not to keep it, I should be able to get a couple of bucks for it on Craigslist or Ebay.

[tig]

Show some profile pics. I kinda like it from the rear.

[Karl Grau]

Show some profile pics. I kinda like it from the rear.

I already put it back in garage but I'm going for a drive tomorrow so I'll get some profile pics. I do think out of all the different wings, this one is the best of the bunch.

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

I like it. Makes for a good place to rest a pizza.

[wkohler]

I like pizza.

[Karl Grau]

The promised profile pic. Please excuse my feeble attempt with an 'artsy' background.

[tig]

The promised profile pic. Please excuse my feeble attempt with an 'artsy' background.

Never been much of a fan of fins on 911s, but I think it really works for this car. I say keep it.

[oldskool]

Ferry Porsche shall visit you tonight 3 times in your sleep.

[kzolee]

Not as cool as a Rauh-Welt one, but looks like what the early Turbos had. So I vote for keep.

[Karl Grau]

The wheels help the car no doubt, definitely more exciting but they really need more of a lip on them to be perfect.

Much better.






Monday is a holiday for me so I'm going try to do the brakes and suspension this weekend.




My homemade jacking bar was a big fail. Not enough clearance to crank the jack handle.

[Karl Grau]

Monday is a holiday for me so I'm going try to do the brakes and suspension this weekend.

Quelle douler dans le derrière Batman!

I'm waaay behind schedule as this is all uncharted territory for me. The rear is done and I got started on the front. Porsche uses a lot of 18mm and 16mm nuts and bolts. I can't believe I was driving to the store this morning to buy some combination wrenches at this stage of my life.


Rear sway bars. The new Sport bar is only 1mm thicker.



The links seemed fine so I just cleaned them up.



The Sport suspension isn't a Yuge drop but I think it will improve the looks and definitely the handling.







The original brake hoses were hard as a rock.






I'm hoping to finish tomorrow but it's not looking good.

[tig]

Nice work. Excited to get to drive it St Paddy's day weekend. That's real kind of you to offer Julie and I to use it as transport that weekend.

[Karl Grau]

Nice work. Excited to get to drive it St Paddy's day weekend. That's real kind of you to offer Julie and I to use it as transport that weekend.

I'm afraid you might find it a little cramped. I put you down for a nice roomy M5 instead.


I finished the brakes and suspension and just need to put the wheelz on. I ran out of daylight and energy at about the same time. If I didn't suck so bad at bleeding brakes, I might have got it back in the garage today.

I also installed this factory engine skid plate thingy since the car is lower and the roads completly suck here.

[Karl Grau]

I was all set to go for a drive today and then I realized I had no recollection of doing the final torquing of all the nuts and bolts on the rear.

So, back up in the air and of course, everything WAS torqued to spec.




Then I realized that I didn't put these phone cord looking thingies (chafing protection?) back on the new front brake lines so the front had to go back up in the air too.







The only casualty of the suspension and brake work was this stupid little clip that holds the ABS wire to the strut.







I was pleasantly surprised to see that the original cover fit over the new wing pretty well.

[wkohler]

So where are the photos that show off these new wheels?!

[muleskinner]

Then I realized that I didn't put these phone cord looking thingies (chafing protection?)back on

What? Phones have cords?

[Karl Grau]

So where are the photos that show off these new wheels?!

They have yet to be taken.
I went for a drive yesterday and even took my fancy camera that I barely know how to operate. I was more into feeling the new suspension and never got around to pictures. I'm planning an epic shoot early Superbowl Sunday though.

[wkohler]

So how did it feel?

Or do I have to wait until after "The Large Match" to find out?

[Karl Grau]

So how did it feel?

I didn't really push it. I was more listening and feeling for signs that I f'ed something up. For the relatively tame driving I did, it didn't feel that much different.

Or do I have to wait until after "The Large Match" to find out?

I think it's "The Big Price".


The replacement ABS wire clips came today too. Only one was broken but I'm replacing both. That's how I roll.

[waynet1]

[quote="Karl Grau"]
So, back up in the air and of course, everything WAS torqued to spec.

quote]

Charles,
How do you like the Race Ramps? Which ones do you have? Are they a good size for the e39 as well?
I really need to get some.....

[Karl Grau]

How do you like the Race Ramps? Which ones do you have? Are they a good size for the e39 as well?

I've only used them twice but I love them. I forgot how convenient ramps that you can actually drive on are. They're also super lightweight which I really like. I have the 56" two piece versions and they work fine on the Porsche. I haven't tried the e39 yet but worst case scenario is, I have to buy the 'extenders'.

So where are the photos that show off these new wheels?!

My planned photo shoot didn't happen but I did get a few quickies.



Michael Jackson tribute shot

[Das_Prachtstrasse]

Although I think it would benefit from a smidge more of a ride height drop, they look lovely.

The same can't be said about the two black hemorrhoids attached to the rear bumper, though. 'MURICA!

[Adam W in MN]

Great wheels and attention to detail as usual!

[Karl Grau]

Although I think it would benefit from a smidge more of a ride height drop, they look lovely.

I've only put about 10 miles on the new suspension and I'm hoping it 'settles' a bit more.

Great wheels and attention to detail as usual!

Thanks for the kind words. I'm really trying not to do anything too stupid with this one.

[Karl Grau]

Today was the first time it's been below 80° in months so I got some more checklist stuff done.

I was looking through the binder of receipts again and two things stood out. I didn't see any mention of transaxle oil being changed and no mention of new motor mounts. The car has only 39k miles but it's still 19 years old so these were two things I wanted to address.
I could tell by the paint dabs on the drain and fill plugs that the trans oil was original. It didn't seem too bad but now it has fresh Redline.

The motor mounts were sagging 1-2 centimeters which isn't yuge but definitely candidates for replacement.





I went with mounts from a 993 RS which is considered an upgrade.



Whenever I have the airbox out, I try to do a little cleaning.

Check and clean out the front radiator air ducts when you have a chance, debris, leaves, small birds etc really build up in there and will hinder your A/C and cooling system efficiency. See if you can beat my record of 7 cigarette butts.

When I first responded to you, I thought I had inspected the radiators. After reading more stuff on the interwebs, I saw that there's no way to know what's in there without taking the bumper off, so I did.




Pulled the ducting off.



It wasn't horrible but I'm glad I went in.



Separating the condenser from the rad.
You've probably read/heard about the world's vanishing bumble bee problem. I found them...







Diver's side.






I also popped the black grill out of the bumper to see if it would clean up or if it needed a spray of SEM trim paint. It cleaned up fine.
Coming off my experience with the e39 bumper, I made sure I had 500 Porsche plastic rivets on hand for the reinstall.





I rerouted the Ipod cable through a hole I drilled in the console cubby.



I also removed the CD storage thingy and installed the factory second cubby. I think I'll use the CD storage more than the second cubby though.







After finishing the day by cleaning the wheels, I realized I made a horrible mistake with my choice of brake pads. I bought the ones that stop the car instead of the low dust versions. I are an idiot.

[Kyle in NO]

Are you liking the shifter?

[tig]

I admire your dedication to stewardship, sir. Well done.