Old Newbie
- Thread starter blease
- Start date
The spring plate is easily adjusted - loosen the bolts, re-set and re-tighten. I don't think there is more to it than that.
Torsion bars failing? I guess it is possible that the splines at the end have become damaged and hence it has moved. I don't know. However, while there are no helper springs, the dampers will have springs in them (or will be able to support some weight). You problem may yet be damper-related. One way to test would be to take both dampers off (two bolts each - easy), and then put the car back on its wheels on a level surface. Move it around a little to allow it to settle, and see what it looks like then.
Oli.
Torsion bars failing? I guess it is possible that the splines at the end have become damaged and hence it has moved. I don't know. However, while there are no helper springs, the dampers will have springs in them (or will be able to support some weight). You problem may yet be damper-related. One way to test would be to take both dampers off (two bolts each - easy), and then put the car back on its wheels on a level surface. Move it around a little to allow it to settle, and see what it looks like then.
Oli.
Yeah, thanks guys. Found a rear ride height adjustment article on Clarks Garage pages and I'm much more reassured. Oh, and Oli, just found your blog on PH....useful reading. Glad to hear you got your belts done. Think I may entrust to an indie for the first time. Useful tip about the half price dizzie cap from a volvo 740 but it still looks like much money for the rotor arm. Will probably go for the Promax tune up kit that throws in cap, rotor, plugs and leads for £182 (unless OPC can beat this!)
Talkin' to myself but more thoughts from a new owner from the perspective of previous 3.2 carrera and current 996 ownership.
Well, the 996 is in a different world and no way compares. Hugely fast, fantastically comfortable, a genuine continent gobbler. I know. I proved it with a cross continent thrash from lake Garda to home in South Wales. Left at breakfast and was home in bed by 1am. Stunning. BUT..............well, its all a bit anodyne and somehow uninvolving. The car is soooo good that you constantly feel like you are the weakest link.
3.2 Carrera. Ace, cool. You feel like Biggles. It smells of hot oil and leather. It looks DDG. BUT.....there's the constant battle with the tinworm, the gearbox is a dog and, in the heat of battle, if you lift off mid-corner, it spins faster than a rattlesnake strike. Expensive to buy.
944 S2. Looks, which impress at first, grow and grow until you can't stop walking around admiring the beast from every angle. Feels like it is built from a solid billet. Paint thick enough to drown in. Its put together in a way that invites you to get your toolkit out and have a fiddle. Drives well but I haven't fettled it yet so don't want to be definitive. But you can feel the quality there. Even at 185,000 miles the gears are a joy to use. BUT....the whole occasion is ruined by the anaemic 4 pot sound track. Its like dating the most beautiful woman only to find she speaks with a flat nasal whine. Something will have to be done!
But I cannot believe how much car you get for your money. I'd agree with other sentiment out there. Snap one up while you still can!
Well, the 996 is in a different world and no way compares. Hugely fast, fantastically comfortable, a genuine continent gobbler. I know. I proved it with a cross continent thrash from lake Garda to home in South Wales. Left at breakfast and was home in bed by 1am. Stunning. BUT..............well, its all a bit anodyne and somehow uninvolving. The car is soooo good that you constantly feel like you are the weakest link.
3.2 Carrera. Ace, cool. You feel like Biggles. It smells of hot oil and leather. It looks DDG. BUT.....there's the constant battle with the tinworm, the gearbox is a dog and, in the heat of battle, if you lift off mid-corner, it spins faster than a rattlesnake strike. Expensive to buy.
944 S2. Looks, which impress at first, grow and grow until you can't stop walking around admiring the beast from every angle. Feels like it is built from a solid billet. Paint thick enough to drown in. Its put together in a way that invites you to get your toolkit out and have a fiddle. Drives well but I haven't fettled it yet so don't want to be definitive. But you can feel the quality there. Even at 185,000 miles the gears are a joy to use. BUT....the whole occasion is ruined by the anaemic 4 pot sound track. Its like dating the most beautiful woman only to find she speaks with a flat nasal whine. Something will have to be done!
But I cannot believe how much car you get for your money. I'd agree with other sentiment out there. Snap one up while you still can!
Interesting description. Given that you wrote this for a 944 forum, you will be (understandably) dwelling on the good points!
Quite agree about the engine. You don't buy a 944 for the mill; you buy it for the handling and driving experience. Snag is that doing something about the engine is a seriously big job - particualrly if you are trying to make it sound better. Have a word with Promax - they'd be delighted to find their first customer for a V8 conversion. But you will need to have a word with your bank manager very soon after ... (not to say that the Promax conversion is anything less than lovely, just that it is a bit pricey!)
Oli.
Yeah, this is all so true! Funny thing is, I have had a bee in my bonnet about this for years. Back in 2005 I visited Renegade Hybrids in Las Vegas who were the first commercial enterprise offering Chevy V8 conversions on the 944. Actually saw (and HEARD) a beast running.....Awesome! And the engine fits very neatly. There's some great youtube footage of street and track v8's in action. So, I'm interested in what Promax are up to and have made contact with Andrew. There's is a high cost/high quality option. Thing is, seeing as the car cost so little to buy, there is no depreciation to worry about....so, why not put a sum aside each year in lieu of depreciation. Quite soon you would have a fighting fund to do it yourself. I reckon 10-12k should do it.
Interesting time trying to piece together some history for the car.
Originally supplied by Waldron Specialist Cars Ltd in Maidstone. Porsche GB has records of 2 warranty visits in 1990.
Waldron is now long gone with the business transferring to OPC Kent in Tonbridge. They have no further records.
Lancaster Porsche in Colchester PDI's the car for re-sale in 1992.
And thats all I can get. The person I bought the car from only had it for 10 months. The address of the prior owner on his V5, which I noted before he sent it to DVLA, does not exist.
So I think the trail has run dry. At least I know I have a car with matching front and rear ends and there are no VIC markers against it!
Originally supplied by Waldron Specialist Cars Ltd in Maidstone. Porsche GB has records of 2 warranty visits in 1990.
Waldron is now long gone with the business transferring to OPC Kent in Tonbridge. They have no further records.
Lancaster Porsche in Colchester PDI's the car for re-sale in 1992.
And thats all I can get. The person I bought the car from only had it for 10 months. The address of the prior owner on his V5, which I noted before he sent it to DVLA, does not exist.
So I think the trail has run dry. At least I know I have a car with matching front and rear ends and there are no VIC markers against it!
Suffolk944
Moderator
I have found that a decent exhaust, MAF and a bit of dump valve woosh rather increases the drama of the driving experience, at least for those of us with the inferior turbo charged model...
Still enjoying myself getting acquainted with the car. As I say, there is NO comparison to current generation cars. But this car is fun. It's not intimidating to work on. It drives in an involving way. I'm still not convinced about the handling but I'm waiting for my new Koni's and I will have to do something about the Wanli tyres its sitting on. What do the track day boys prefer? I sense a good vote for Toyo.
Now I can push the engine, the main character seems a big fat torque band. The harder you push it, the better the gears change! For me the biggest kick is how good it looks....and this from an avowed air-cooled 911 fan.
Now I can push the engine, the main character seems a big fat torque band. The harder you push it, the better the gears change! For me the biggest kick is how good it looks....and this from an avowed air-cooled 911 fan.
One of the things I like about taking on an old and rather negelected car with no history is the feeling of 'bringing it back to life'. With its new chain, belts, idlers, ignition system and sitting on fresh rubber the car is already transformed. As I am using it, things that were not working or working intermittently are now sorting themselves out....things like courtesy lights. It's clear that this car has sat for some time over the last few years, possibly SORN'ed given the lack of MOT evidence older than 2 years.
As you work through the service items you also discover some anomalies. Like when I had the tyres done it turns out I have Design 90 8J rims front and back instead of 7J front/8J rear. And that one of the front rims had tyre pressure senders in it meaning that it could only have come from a 928? Because the car has been modded for track day work, is this a well known 'improvement' for track action? Or perhaps it reflects the HPI history of an insurance write off in the past...perhaps due to theft and then any old rims were put back on. Who knows?
I really would love to talk to previous owners if only to fill in the blanks in the history. It has a PCGB sticker in the side window so someone must have loved it once!
As you work through the service items you also discover some anomalies. Like when I had the tyres done it turns out I have Design 90 8J rims front and back instead of 7J front/8J rear. And that one of the front rims had tyre pressure senders in it meaning that it could only have come from a 928? Because the car has been modded for track day work, is this a well known 'improvement' for track action? Or perhaps it reflects the HPI history of an insurance write off in the past...perhaps due to theft and then any old rims were put back on. Who knows?
I really would love to talk to previous owners if only to fill in the blanks in the history. It has a PCGB sticker in the side window so someone must have loved it once!
Yeah, I am SO curious about previous owners. Someone must have enthused about it and put little details like the S4 logo on it (I'm keeping it for the day when I fit the V8 i.e. 2x4 cylinders!!). Any one recognise this car? By non matching interior are you referring to the seats or the roll cage?!
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You're right. It's just such an odd thing to do. Along with the 8J wheels on the front, I wonder what other non-spec 'enhancements' I will find? She pulls so well I wonder whether she has been chipped already.
Now I have had the engine work done and a set of toyo T1-R's all round I have been pushing her a bit harder and found that she pulls to the left under hard braking. The front discs and pads are brand new so I'm left wondering whether the rear brakes are working unequally or whether the lower ride height on the off side rear is having an effect? I will reassess again once the new dampers are fitted (just waiting for the spax lowering spings on the front to arrive).
Now I have had the engine work done and a set of toyo T1-R's all round I have been pushing her a bit harder and found that she pulls to the left under hard braking. The front discs and pads are brand new so I'm left wondering whether the rear brakes are working unequally or whether the lower ride height on the off side rear is having an effect? I will reassess again once the new dampers are fitted (just waiting for the spax lowering spings on the front to arrive).
Pulling to the left under braking - any plate lift? How long since the calipers (front and rear) were last rebuilt? You could have a jammed piston in one of the RHS calipers.
Alternatively, odd (unequal) geo can have a similar effect. Worth having it checked.
A useful diagnostic would be to put it on a brake testing machine - as is used at MOT stations. It may be worth tripping along to your local tester and slipping him a fiver to check it for you. That would pinpoint the problem (front or rear, and whether it is braking-related.)
Oli.
Alternatively, odd (unequal) geo can have a similar effect. Worth having it checked.
A useful diagnostic would be to put it on a brake testing machine - as is used at MOT stations. It may be worth tripping along to your local tester and slipping him a fiver to check it for you. That would pinpoint the problem (front or rear, and whether it is braking-related.)
Oli.
My thoughts exactly. When I had the tyres fitted I had a good look at the brakes. The front discs and pads are new but I'm not sure whether the calipers were reconditioned. I did notice that the swept area on the rear discs seemed to be only 50% of the disc so I have put a brake recondition on my to do list.
The plan is to get the new suspension and a geo check before the Goodwood track day on Nov 10th. Apparently, the spax springs are made to order, not off the shelf, hence the delay.
The plan is to get the new suspension and a geo check before the Goodwood track day on Nov 10th. Apparently, the spax springs are made to order, not off the shelf, hence the delay.
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