New to me 1981 Porsche 911 SC

[DRA911]

Hi everyone,

I thought now would be a good time to introduce myself and my "new to me" 1981 Porsche 911 SC.  Light Blue (Hell Blau) Metallic is the colour.

I've been on the look out for a "in decent shape" 911 of this era for some time now.

After a few I passed up on (too many problems from the get-go) I finally found the right one for me last week.

The car is not without it's issues (*), but at least it's not rusting to pieces and the engine is quite strong.

I would like to document my journey with this car... Is there a right place on this forum to do it?

Daniel

(*) Issues that could be turned into opportunities for improvement, but my aim right now is just to set the important things straight!

 

[Mike D'Silva]

nice work!

Welcome to the forum.

For uploading photos, I find that using a Photobucket account works best.. upload them to Photobucket, then click the IMG link.. then paste it in your post here on the forum...

[Harvs11]

Welcome, Daniel.  You could continue your 911 story right here or get a journal going in the Air Cooled section.  Either way I'm looking forward  to seeing what you get up to.

Photobucket is ok for photos, also Flickr's not bad if you can get your head around which link/code to copy.

[DRA911]

Thanks for the welcome guys!

For some reason, I'm also having trouble using Firefox for replies.  It could be one of the many plugins I have installed.  I'll try and debug that later.

I notice now with IE I can see a button to upload images.  Oh well.

Anyway, here is an initial shot of her in the garage:

I will definitely post some much better pictures later, after I give her a good wash

Also, I'll continue posting here, if the mods don't mind!

[DRA911]

(Ok, my posting issue appears to be related to AdBlock plus.  Even disabling the plugin for the Porsche Forum website doesn't do the trick, you have to turn it off completely to get the forums to work!  Bummer.  Easy enough to work around though, so no drama.)

Back to the topic at hand.  I drove her home on Thursday night.  Not being entirely familiar with older 911 switch gear (despite having studied everything about them for so long) made things a bit stressful in the dark.  I printed a few diagrams before hand, but you know how it is.

The first thing I noticed, was that the parker lights weren't working.

This is a great way to get introduced to a new car isn't it?  Start disassembling things!

Strangely enough, when I took off the body-coloured covers, one of the many owners before me must have changed one of the covers underneath, as one is chrome and the other is black.  I have a decision to make, keep the black or keep the chrome.

It's actually very difficult to see the chrome in that picture.  I'm inclined to pick the black, as it probably goes with the rest of the trim a bit better.  But the chrome does match the body colour.  Hmm...

Anyway, both parkers were goners.  Should be an easy fix, I will have the bulbs tomorrow.

[f40-r]

Welcome onboard! Although I'm still sort of new myself ?

[P-Kay]

Nice job, enjoy th new ride!

[Stew F]

My 81 SC has body colour headlight trims, with chrome ones underneath. I think that's how they are supposed to be ab-werk.  Someone else might be able to confirm either way.

I don't think you'd find many without issues.  I was a bit concerned when I got mine because it has a few small spots of rust on the LH fender.  Since seeing a heap of other cars up close I've realised that mine is no orphan in the rust department.

 

[KBGr4]

Always good to see new people in the forum, enjoy the car. SCRS avatar ?

[DRA911]

My 81 SC has body colour headlight trims, with chrome ones underneath. I think that's how they are supposed to be ab-werk.  Someone else might be able to confirm either way.

I don't think you'd find many without issues.  I was a bit concerned when I got mine because it has a few small spots of rust on the LH fender.  Since seeing a heap of other cars up close I've realised that mine is no orphan in the rust department.

 

Thanks mate.  I still haven't decided what I will keep.  I'm inclined to keep the body colour headlight trims off, I like the look.  I'll keep the covers for safe keeping through.

Re: Rust.

Yep, I am certainly prepared to deal with some rust problems.  What I didn't want was major structural issues.  I saw a yellow 77' with a US 3.0 Motor in Melbourne that not only had the whole Battery area rust issue (which is common) but the under body between the wheels was all banged up.  It looked like someone drove it down a rocky hill side. 

Admittedly he wasn't asking for a fortune, but I wanted a car I could still safely drive, without needing to dive into a full blown restoration!

I think he eventually sold it, so maybe someone took it on as a project ... Or they just didn't care (notice?) about the condition it was in.

 

 

Always good to see new people in the forum, enjoy the car. SCRS avatar ?

Yep, it certainly is.  I'd love to ultimately aim for something like that, in the long run.  I admit to being a total sucker for the Porsche 911 3.0 RS/RSR motorsport era.

Of course, the car is lovely as it is, so we'll see

My priority right now is to slowly clear-up all the small faults which I've spotted (I am eagle eyed!), and gradually renew the critical components, e.g. Brakes, Suspension, Wheels/Tyres, Wiring, etc.

I will also try and clean up my pictures a bit and link/embed them properly.  They don't seem to be linking properly to imageshack (my normal hoster) but that might be due to the resolution of the image.

[Dreamr]

Congrats on the new ride ....

Just so you know ... they ALL have minor (and major) issues to deal with.

You will love it just the same ....

[Stew F]

And if you're free in November for a week there is a PFA Tasmania trip.  It should be a blast.

[DRA911]

And if you're free in November for a week there is a PFA Tasmania trip.  It should be a blast.

Sorry for the late reply.  That sounds interesting, but it does depend on me getting this car into the sort of state I'm comfortable with.

It's not that it's in bad shape or anything, but there are a number of things I need to sort out (you'll see on these pages...)

I'm also pressed a bit for annual leave, as my partner and I are taking almost a month off to visit her parents overseas at the end of the year.

Is there a link on this forum about it?

P.S.  Is there a way of stopping my replies merging?  I would like to respond to you guys, but then continue my adventure in a separate post...

[DRA911]

Quick update.

One of the things I knew about when I purchased the car, was there was a very small leak from the pressure fed chain tensioners (it has the upgrade.)

I asked on the Pelican Parts forum about how easy (or difficult) it is to swap out, and the answer I got was that it's definitely in the realm of a DIYer job.  So my father and I will tackle that this today

I'll post some more pics when I'm done!

Daniel

P.S.  What is the policy here for linking to other sites?  Can I link to Pelican Parts without upsetting people?  I am being a bit careful here, because I've been pinged on other forums about this...

[DRA911]

The removal of the old line is pretty straight forward.  The key is to hold the bolt to the right of the oil sender unit steady when you loosen it.

Some time later, the new line is in:

I tried to clean up the engine bay a bit, where it was leaking oil.  The flash on the Camera picks up all the worst things!  It actually looks decent in person.

After that, I couldn't help myself, I had to wash the car.  The wheels were particularly bad, with the brake dust having really eaten into the wheels.

She looks a lot better now...

Not bad eh?

Otherwise, I replaced the parker lights and the oil/fuel level guage ... And there's still plenty to do!

 

 

[Rod C]

My 79 sc had chrome light rims under white covers to match the body.

[DRA911]

Today, the car went through the Road Worthy inspection.

I took it to my trusted mechanic.  I've known him for years, and while not a Porsche specialist, he's done a lot of good work for me in the past (on my VY SS), including brake upgrades and even a transmission conversion (auto to manual.)  I'm no stranger to fiddling with cars

When I spoke to him on the phone (prior to the inspection) I think I must have talked the car down a bit, because he was absolutely pleasantly surprised to see it in person

It's true, the hellblau paint work still looks pretty good (repainted around 97', the advantage of knowing the service history) but I knew that it had a number of small and some not so small problems that needed to be addressed.  It pays to go in, eyes wide open.

The verdict?

It's in fine working order and it will receive the RWC, but the brakes and the suspension will need some refurbishment in the near future.  You probably wouldn't want to do a track day with it, but nothing dangerous for the street.  He knows me well enough (OCD has it's up side) that it's not something I would leave as-is anyway. 

Having anticipated this outcome, I already took the time to look up the relevant costs for new discs, pads and brake lines before hand.  More on this later.  I think I will also look into redoing the seals on the front calipers, a rebuild kit not being outrageously expensive.  We'll see.

Suspension is a more tricky topic for me, potentially a very slippery slope.  Who hasn't spent some time on the elephant racing suspension builder?

http://www.elephantracing.com/suspension/packages/911packages.htm

Fascinating stuff, but oh my, does it add up fast! 

My intention is refurbishment (new bushes, etc) but with some additional refinements for more sporty handling.

But the next order of business is, getting club registration... Stay tuned.

[DRA911]

Time for another update.

I finally organised my club registration.  I'm a member of Infini car club:

http://infinicarclub.com/about/

It's just a general car enthusiast club - I knew about it through a friend of a friend, $100 dollars a year to become a member.

I did look at the Porsche club, and I know the contacts would be useful, but it's just a tad expensive to join for the likely benefits I would derive from it.

I'm not much of a joiner anyway.

Once that was organised, I made may way to Vic Roads in Burwood.

How many of you have been there lately during the working week?  Talk about chaos...

I'd missed some information about the compliance plate on the form, and after a short scolding, the lady behind the counter gave me the plates and I was on my way!  (She was actually very helpful, esp. considering the pressure she was under.)

Now ... the next problem ... How to mount the plates?

The front bumper/valance is a bit out of whack and the existing bracket is ugly and corroded.  It's too big for the Club Registration plates anyway (37cm x 13cm.)

I'm now working with Philip from Lakin Plates to sort out some nice brackets front and rear.

https://www.lakinplates.com.au

I'll then need to pull the front bumper apart (it seems) to straighten out the valance.  Will post another update when that has been completed!

 

[LeeM]

Nice one on the roady mate

Do you know if this car was originally from Adelaide? Looks very familiar

[DRA911]

Nice one on the roady mate

Do you know if this car was originally from Adelaide? Looks very familiar

The car is in fact, a UK import.  The same guy who imported it, is as far as I know, the sole owner since that occurred (so it has spent it's life in Melbourne.)

Before you have visions of a completely rust-ridden chassis, it is actually remarkably clean for it's age.

There is however, surface rust on many of the suspension components, and I will straighten all of that out in due course

[Stew F]

Nice one on the roady mate

Do you know if this car was originally from Adelaide? Looks very familiar

A fellow I know has a 3.2 in that colour.  Maybe you're thinking of his.

[LeeM]

A fellow I know has a 3.2 in that colour.  Maybe you're thinking of his.

Not sure mate. I just remember a car the same colour for sale at Mt Barker a year or so ago. He also had a 928

[Stew F]

Not sure mate. I just remember a car the same colour for sale at Mt Barker a year or so ago. He also had a 928

not the same one then.

[DRA911]

So, while I wait for the custom number plate brackets to materialise, I have started to give some more thought as to what I want to do with this car, in terms of modifications.

In the immediate future, I have already mentioned the renewal of brake and suspension components (to get me rolling and just enjoying the car) but ultimately I have bigger plans in mind - it may take a number of years, but so what!  Who doesn't dream anyway? 

You see a lot of people turning SC's into 2.7 RS or RSR/IROC replicas and that's not a track I want to head down.  But I am still infatuated with "RS-like" 911s.

My avatar gives some hint towards my ultimate ambition.

I also think it's easier to say I would like to bring the SC to a "RS spec" than doing an outright tribute or replica of a halo model.  Mental gymnastics, I know.

To get me started, and as a small token towards my willingness to "mod" I am replacing the steering wheel with a Momo Monte Carlo - era correct for the SC.  With blue stitching, it should really look the part!  I'm still waiting on the hub to arrive in the mail.

Since I have to replace the Tach anyway (I have a replacement unit handy) I will kill two birds with one stone and replace the wheel at the same time.

[Orion03]

I could have CADed up and gotten custom brackets made for you