My 1988 944 Turbo S

[Marky911]

Wow, sounds stressful Dave. Reminds me why I stopped modifying cars. :frustrated:

On the plus side, that steering wheel is cool. I'm liking the Porsche script in the rim. 8)

 

[Eldavo]

Thanks Marky - it was a birthday present back in September, it's the reissued Clubsport wheel from the Porsche Classic catalogue. Wasn't cheap but was cost comparable with buying a used one and having it recovered.

The bodywork was something that I'd always wanted to do right but I was surprised once we got digging just how bad things can actually be. Probably no different to a 964 or similar. As the values of these things have risen so has the chance that people will restore them properly.

A lot of what I've done with the car has been choice rather than necessary maintenance - I don't shy away from the fact that I see it as a hobby and enjoy tinkering, upgrading and the inevitable spend that comes with that. My neighbour commented that I spend more time underneath it than sat in it - but I like tinkering on.

Depending upon how i end duo mapping it, should be good for 350-370 bhp which is more than sufficient for something with 255 tears and no traction control. Plan to drop the back end next year to rebush and rebuild it, after that - maybe adapt the mountings to run a more modern turbo.

Bought these QuickJack ramps at the beginning of the year and they've been ideal for my needs - been on long term loan to Al Satch for the past few months and he's loving them too.

 

[Marky911]

I'd thought the wheel was a custom retrim job. The fact it's genuine is even better. Great item. If I find myself back in a 964 anytime soon, I'm going to get one.

A lot of what I've done with the car has been choice rather than necessary maintenance - I don't shy away from the fact that I see it as a hobby and enjoy tinkering, upgrading and the inevitable spend that comes with that. My neighbour commented that I spend more time underneath it than sat in it - but I like tinkering on.

Amen to that. It's what we do as petrolheads/tinkerers.
I've had many a similar conversation with neighbours when they ask 'What's broken now?" and you try to explain you're just making improvements. Hard for non-petrolheads to get, as a lot of folk just need their car to start up and get them to their destination.
I'm living in a 'normal" street at the moment and I must admit I can't wait to move back to a more secluded plot so I don't have to explain why I'm painting the brake calipers on my 23 year old £800 Volvo. :grin:

Those ramps look great. Definitely on my list when I build my dream garage. 8)

 

[dt4]

I like the look of the car lift, what make is it?
Does it give enough clearance to drop and remove the transaxle?
I have a 924 that needs a clutch and the previous owner has left the transaxle unbolted but held up with rope and I need to drop it to do the job properly and fix other stuff
cheers

 

[Eldavo]

It's a QuickJack BL-5000SLX.

I couldn't say whether you could drop a gearbox on it, you'd have to work it out - manufacturer bumf says it lifts 53.3cm so you'd have to account for the height of the lifting blocks on top of that and see whether it's enough.

 

[Eldavo]

As I've said, the engine is currently being rebuilt.

Original block has been sleeved with Westwood steel liners. Running uncoated Wà¶ssner pistons, BW forged rods, ACL rod bearings, crank and rotational assembly has been polished and balanced, TTV lightweight flywheel with a 60-2 trigger ring machined into it.

Also got a new head to go on, it's a NA head (no ceramic port liners and higher flow rate), with sodium filled Turbo exhaust valves, new +1mm Ferre la intake valves with a multi angle valve cut job, head has been ported and opened up here and there, new valve guides, seals etc. and new Isky uprated valve springs ready for when I inevitably change out the cam at some point.

 

[Eldavo]

Rebuild coming along nicely, had a new 2.75" downpipe made by AAS locally. Same as the Fabspeed one, but less than half the price. Had to make my own gaskets though, a bit more of my DNA in the car as those metal gaskets are sharp :lol:

Delay is the Head Gasket - getting a Vulcan Cut Ring gasket made by Athena gaskets in the States, should've been here by end of November, now will be Jan 'due to Covid" (catchall excuse). Looks like the engine will go back in with the head loose and we can then fit the HG and all the top end ancillaries next year.

 

[Wh1t3Kn1ght]

Hey Dave - didn't realise you had a thread on here as well

Really like you car... one day may mine be worthy of the upgrades currently being installed on to yours :mrgreen: :worship: :thumb:

 

[Eldavo]

Don't get me wrong - after the debacle of the pistons last time I'm absolutely bricking it to even think about starting the engine again.

Given how much work is done on the head it didn't take much convincing to think about a new camshaft, and with the old one removed it didn't take much thinking about before I was choosing powder coat options for the cam tower. :thumb:

 

[Eldavo]

Hey Dave - didn't realise you had a thread on here as well

Really like you car... one day may mine be worthy of the upgrades currently being installed on to yours :mrgreen: :worship: :thumb:

Did you ever get a group buy discount code for those fire safety sticks btw?

 

[Eldavo]

I purchased a fancy dan head gasket from a group buy in the states in September for delivery end of November. It's still not been manufactured so I sold on my deposit slot and bought another Cometic. Calculated the piston protrusion over the decked block at 0.25mm so went to a 1.29mm HG to keep the 1mm Quench/Squish the same. Turns out that the group buy HG would've dropped my compression ratio more than I wanted anyway as it will be 1.6mm thick.

Big shout out to Paul at Co-ordsport/PartBox who got me the Cometic HG I wanted from the States to my door in a week for under £115. :thumb:

Dean got to work torquing it down with his fancy Calibrated Digital Snap-On torque wrench, serious wants for one of those!!!

And then lots of messing on with running wiring harnesses, replacing vacuum lines and getting all the ancillaries in place. Coolant lines and everything else up top should be done tomorrow. Cam is being finished in the morning and sent out tomorrow/Wednesday so it should all be buttoned up and belts all done, etc. by the end of the week . . . hopefully. :?:

 

[Eldavo]

Slight delay as the camshaft needed to go back for a bit of machining.

All buttoned up now after the usual minor teething issues (dead HT lead that caused a violent misfire, ECU config changes, me forgetting to plug things in :?: )

Started and runs like a dream, run the camshaft and lifters in and now to get some cylinder pressure to break the rings in plus an MOT next week and we're all systems go. Should be good for about 360-370bhp on the current map and hybrid Turbo but I have a spare turbo mount in the garage to modify to mock up a bigger and more modern GTX unit in the next year or two, that will see me north of 400bhp and will be quite sufficient.

 

[jkeith]

Well done David!

You must be very pleased that your engine is working again. Your dedication to keep going is a credit to you, particularly after the many set-backs over such a lng period of time.

Amazing looking car, hope it is reliable for many miles.

Cheers, Keith.

 

[infrasilver]

Lovely engine bay, 400bhp, I struggle to stop the wheels spinning with a measly 190

 

[Eldavo]

Thanks for the kind words.

I have all the bits sat here ready to go Wasted Spark - so will do that as soon as the car is back in my garage.

It was a bit stressful when I saw you Keith as I was trying to work out the configuration issues on the laptop - turns out that my mapping knowledge was sound, I was just a bit rusty in the uploading!