What's up 986forum. I've been working on my car for quite a few months now. I thought I'd create a thread here as a journal of sorts, for everyone's entertainment (and for my own motivation). So you can see the car come apart, and HOPEFULLY make its way back together. I bought this car late last summer from a gentleman in Portland, OR.
To start, my old man brought up his 911 from 'back in the day' a few times while I was growing up. He's owned many collectable cars in the past, but this one was
the one. He didn't have any photos to show me, until I found one while cleaning the garage one day. He told me it was an unsightly boring color when he first bought it. I think it was a tan color, sorta like something grandma would drive (hopefully not offending anyone here.) He spent many many nights after work meticulously taking it apart and sanding it for a perfect yellow paint job. The color a Porsche really ought to be, he's always said. The photo shows a beautiful car completed with his own hands. I told him he shouldn't have sold it, but they weren't worth such a pretty penny back then. Who would've known. Plus, he needed money to start his family when I came around. Darn. Happy to be here though! Don't get me wrong haha. So yeah, there's some backstory behind my inspiration.
Dad's old 911
So a Craigslist ad popped up last summer for a stock speed yellow 986 in excellent condition with ~60k miles. It's got quite a few options on it too. What a find! I thought this was a great opportunity. I checked it out, liked what I saw, and bought it on the spot. I think my dad is more into the car than I am myself hahaha. Good! It's something we both can enjoy.
A few weeks after I had bought it.
The paint is in phenomenal condition for the age.
The PO stated that the IMS bearing was never changed. All the paperwork was in order otherwise. I took the gamble that this car was most likely in fine mechanical condition. I drove it around until February when the weather really started to get bad. I thought about having a shop install the bearing for me, but ultimately decided this was a great opportunity to turn some wrenches. This is definitely the most I've ever worked on a car. The IMS swap is no small feat. Fortunately my dad was a gas/diesel tech for a good portion of his life so I have his help at my disposal (and tools lol).
I started by putting the car up on jack stands and taking all the wheels off. I cleaned up all the brake calipers before calling it a night. There's some stuff I can't seem to get out of the paint. Maybe I'll repaint them one day. They look good enough for now though.
Shiny calipers!
Next, I put the car in service mode. The PO had thoroughly refreshed the top before I had bought it, so it's in excellent condition cosmetically and mechanically. I'm very happy with that. I then removed the carpet and the rear storage deck. I didn't know it had rear speakers until I pulled the deck off. Maybe if they weren't so quiet I may have realized they were there.
Rear storage space removed!
I took the engine cover off and gazed upon the 3.2L M96 for the first time. The engine was so well hidden I thought the car ran on magic up until this point. Man was it dirty. The papers say the first owner lived in Arizona. I believe it.
Dust everywhere.
I gave it a quick wipe down to ease my mind. How could someone let it get so dirty! It was like cracking open a thousand year old tomb. After my refresh, I moved onto removing the carpet behind the seats as well as the front engine panel.
Carpet and engine panel removed.
Nice and clean. At least from this perspective it is.
I then moved my attention to the washer reservoir. At some point in the summer I noticed that the low washer fluid level light came on. I thought that was weird... I never use the washers. Turns out the headlight washer pump was rusted and leaking. Great. A new one cost a fortune. I found one on eBay that looked solid for a good price and picked that up. I wanted to get rid of this light on my dash. Even if I don't ever use the washers.
Reservoir removed. Pretty easy job.
Then I moved to the front of the car and decided to clean out the radiators. They were packed with dirt. About 60k miles worth of accumulation. Very satisfying to see such clean radiators now that I've been through them.
Look at that pile of dirt!