Porsche Enthusiasts Club Forum

Didn't realise I hadn't added these pics. Got the seats in properly now, and dash and center console, and added a gear stick gator. I have put regular seat belts back in for now until I get the harness bar welded in. I've also put the glove box back in (was going to leave it out but didnt like the empty hole). I have also replaced the inner sunroof seal as most of it was missing.

Looking good, can't wait to hear it though!

Alan.

One of the issues with the car when I bought it (and was used as bargaining point) with very clunky rear suspension, particularly the rear left. I know the chap had recently installed a Spax coil over / adjustable damper kit, So I started the investigation there. Jacked up the rear and checked bolt tightnes on all the major bits, all good. So I stuck a jack under the damper cup and jacked it up, there was absolutely no compression of the damper it just lifted the car up. Checked the other side and the same thing. Best get the dampers off and check their settings, thinking he had installed them on max stiffness setting. Got them off and to my surprise I good compress them by hand, the action seemed fine and they slowly returned to full extension. I checked the settings and they were both on minimum stiffness (max soft). This is getting odd I thought, went back to the car and jacked the left rear trailing arm again without the damper, movement seemed ok but the range of movement a bit limited, after a bit of a struggle managed to adjust the spring plate. Before putting the shocks back in I revisited the installation diagram as I noticed that there are offset spacers on the bottom mounting, and yep they have to be installed in a specific orientation. With the orientation correct I decided to install the dampers on the opposite sides (as a double check). Installed and dropped the car down a) no clunking b) proper movement and dampers compressing as they should. So the root of all the rear end issues was incorrectly installed dampers, just getting the spacers the wrong way round had caused the dampers to lock fully extended so the only 'suspension' on the rear end was the tyres, bushes and mounts! Moral of the story, read and double check instructions, just a small difference can alignment can have a significant (and negative) effect!

I am pleased to report that the car is now significantly more pleasant to drive. Now I can start to tweak the suspension properly.

The highs and lows of classic sports car ownership. About a week ago I was chuffed to bits that the GT8 passed the MOT with flying colours. Great I thought, I can enjoy it for a couple of months before taking it off the road and getting into the meat of the project. So, I stuck 4 new tyres on and booked into a track evening for Monday. Then I took it along to a show on Sunday, where it got quite a bit of interest. On the way back from the show "oh bugger, why cant I change gear" - something in the clutch release mechanism has failed! So my hand has been forced and it's off the road and I've started tearing it down. Gutted....

So here begins the project thread in earnest. Next step, working out how to drop the trans out.

Long story short, it turns out that the car still has the original 2.0 924 drive line which uses 20mm shafts, not ideal when the engine makes 80% more torque and power than the original. So I am biting the bullet and upgradig it to a 944 drive line that uses 25mm shafts. The first of the replacement components arrived today, the transaxle.

Next mission is to drop the rear suspension so I can remove the torque tube. Think I might upgrade the torsion bars from the standard 22mm 924 ones to the 23.5mm 944 ones whilst it's out.

If you need a pair of 944 antiroll bars I have a set you can have.

Alan.

Very kind offer but not required thanks.

So, I have been battling on the past couple of days stripping down the rear end and removing the rear suspension assembly so that I could get the Torque Tube out. After a 2 day battle (casualties on both sides) fighting with one of the torsion bar carrier mounting bolts I finally managed it

Just a recap, this was all triggered by the need to a) install an appropriate clutch for the RV8 engine b) upgrade the driveline to a 944 one to safeguard against the 80% increase in torque. Whilst this lot is out I plan on a few upgrades
1) Short / precise shift kit
2) lightweight Flywheel and performance clutch
3) Increase the size / stiffness of the torsion bars from the 22mm standard 924 ones to 23.5 or 24mm 944 ones
4) reindex the torsion bars and lower by about 25mm ( really not looking forward to this)

I'm sure other things will come up as I go along, like replace the bushes I just wrecked lol

Great work ! hows it coming along ?

if you stop buying new projects I might pay you to finish the mechanicals on my car

I reckon you are now a fully time served 1980s porsche mechanic

Brian

Lol
Think I'm still serving my apprenticeship....

This project has been on hold for a few weeks whilst sorting the cooling system issues on the 944

Happy to come round anytime if you need some help. We could do a trade mechanicals for bodywork

That sounds like a great idea!

Finally gotten back onto this project

Safety first I decided to sort out the brake line routing that I wasn't happy with for several reasons
1. the front break lines crossed the twoo downpieps within about 2"
2. the rear line crossed between the exhaust and torque tube and into the cabin on the side of the tunnel in the drivers footwell to connect to the break bias adjuster. Didnt want it in my footwell in case of a leak.
3. all the lines were pretty poorly layed out

I have:-
a) lifted the 4 way junction from under the car to the top of the fire wall, allowing me to route the front lines around the engine bay and down the sides

b) moved the bias adjuster to the passenger side

c) routed the rear line in through the firewall on passenger side to the bias adjuster, through the cabin and out through the rear seat base

d) rear lines can no connect up to the factory hangers under the car so that I can use factory setup back to the rear calipers

The pictures are of the mock up, the zip ties and sticky pads will be replaced with P-clips

Been able to throw some more time at this car so managed to fettle a few more things.

First up tackled the dreaded task of getting the rear sub frame mounting bushes out. Wasn't as much of a fight as I had feared. Couple of top tips i) cut off the rearward rubber shoulder of the bush with a sharp blade ii) smack the bush out with a heavy hammer forwards towards the front of the car, the reason being is that the bush has a tapper and will come out far easier in that direction. It takes a few blows to 'release its bonds' then it just taps out.

I've gone for the powerflex replacements for several reasons
a) it comes in two halves so is extremely easy to fit (I think a factory replacement will need a press to fit it)
b) this car is mostly for track use so the extra stiffness is welcome
c) with a stripped interior the extra road noise is irrelevant and I probably wont hear it over the noise of the engine, exhaust and transmission anyway
d) they are a lot cheaper than Porsche ones


I refurb'd the gear selector on the transaxle, I had a spare so made up a best of both. Really wanted to add a short shift kit but the budget is restricted at the moment and it can be added at anytime. Instead I spent a bit getting the flywheel lightened (not something that can be done easily later so taking the opportunity whilst it out).

I have decided to remove the front fog lamps as a) there is no wiring for them so they dont work b) I dont need fog lamps or their weight on a track car, and most exciting of all c) the recess lends it's fantastically to becoming the intake for brake cooling ducts

1. I removed the lights and enlarged the wiring hole to the maximum I could


2. I then had to block the rectangular whole at the bottom. For this I cut some right angle sections off of an old wheel arch liner.



3. I bonded the patches and plastic hose end to the rear of the recess and surrounded with sealant and presto an intake was born.

4. I then made up a bracket to support the mid point of the ducting. For this I used an off-cut of an off-cut from a Golf sill repair panel, the shape was almost perfect. This is bolted onto the ARB hanger bolts.





Now all I have left to do is fab a bracket / outflow that will bolt onto the mount at the base of the coil-over.