Blowing cold...(part 2)

I heard a nasty whirring sound from the air-con unit when blowing cold. But those Denso compressors cost a small fortune from Porsche so went to Andy at A.C.R. in Chertsey to have the unit refurbished for a fraction of the cost - £150, which is a bargain! He said that the black oil wasn’t a good sign and that the entire system would need flushing to ensure there's no debris left in it. He also recommended changing the filter drier / accumulator, and to check the expansion values. Off to Northways to refit and regas :-)

Short Shift + Shift Rod

The gear shift on the 993 is okay, but not great, and I've always liked the idea of upgrading to an RS short shift, so I went ahead and did it. I stumbled across this great write up from The Jackel here. 

I spoke to Gert about it and he said that the RS shifter will only reduce the throw, so for more precise shifting it's best to install new bushings in the shifter mechanism and change the shifter rod to one with a steel joint like the one from the 993RS.

Worth noting that the RS shift lever is longer downwards from its pivot point, so it can protrude below the underside of the car - but by simply turning the plastic bush through 180 degree (see pic below from Jackel's post), everything lines up again, avoiding any cutting of the transmission tunnel undertray. Paul at Northway opted not to do this, as he knew I didn't want the gear shifter to sit higher inside the car - for me it feels nicer to shift when it's squat. That's why some people like to cut approx. an inch off the gear shifter to retain the original height and not mess up the look of the leather boot. But instead of cutting the shifter, we left it as is and had Tyrone modify the undertray to cover the exposed ball joint, making it less vulnerable to being struck, and to help keep the water out. Neat job!

As expected, it feels good - it's subtle, but it definitively makes a difference to the precision, feel, throw (approx. 20%) and overall feel you get from the shifting, and in the grand scheme of things isn't that expensive to do. Below is the part list from Carnewal...

P93104-C2 short shift kit C2/C2S : 145 euro4x  999.924.002.40 Bush : 2 euro/ea = 8 euro964.424.020.82  Gear shift rod RS : 600 euroP93012 Cup strut brace : 225 euroShipping  ; 15 euroTotal : 993+21%vat = 1201,53 euro

Oh, and I took the opportunity to get a Cup Strut Brace too, so had that fitted at the same time :-)

Bad boys...

Jamie's new toy. 9 6 4, 3 . 6, T U R B O in B L A C K. Say no more...

Spacers...

...I started to wonder if my front wheels could do with some spacers...just to nudge them out a bit. Having investigated, my front wheels are actually 18" X 7.5" (ET 50mm) - so likely to have been taken off a 996 as the standard width for a 993 from factory was 8", and my rear wheels are 18" X 10" (ET 50mm) which are as they should be. I spoke to Gert and Chris at Centre Gravity and the general consensus is not to exceed 5mm spacers without having to change the studs. Some are happy to run 7mm, but apparently not advisable as doesn't leave much on the thread. Anything more than that, then you're looking into changing studs, which means you'll need to remove discs and calipers - obviously a bigger job, which I wasn't keen on doing. So to keep things simple I gave the 5mm spacers a whirl and they worked out pretty well - a small nudge but definitely noticeable!

4x 5mm spacers at 40 euro each  = 160 euro

Shipping is 15 euro

Total : 175+21%vat = 211,75 euro

Damn you Singers!

Those Momo Prototipo steering wheels just look too good. And makes for a better drive for sure, smaller diameter, tighter grip, plus they probably make you feel like you're driving an RSR - I couldn't resist.

So, here's what you'll need (well, not all those parts were right!):

I got these parts from Design 911:

Obviously for a 993 (911) C2 1994-97

Prototipo - Black LTH / Black - Momo

Code: M11111525211

£167.99

Boss Fitting Kit

Code: ML7004

£57.99

Horn Contact

Code: 96465210400

£15.95

Classic leather embossed crest horn push button

Code: HORNPUSH002

£55.95

This horn button is the closest you'll get to the Singer one - theirs are bespoke and you can't get hold of one unless you spend north of half a million dollars!!! 

Even though the site says so (and they confirmed it), this part IS NOT compatible for a 993 modification:

Airbag Bridge Plug. Resistor for air bag warning light.

Code: 92861222000

Price: £33.78

Having consulted Gert at Carnewal (who literally knows everything about everything when it comes to 993s) he sent me one of these little guys (a 2.6 ohm resistor), that did the job! That said Paul needed to use the diagnostic computer to then disarm the air bag warning light so not a DIY job. Next time the trick is to fit the resistor before you turn the ignition back on, which means you won't need that fancy diagnostic kit (good tip!).

And the RothSport Steering Hub Adapter isn't the same one Singer use as it mounts on the underside of the boss, not the top side, so I decided against it and sent it back. 

The RothSport Steering Hub Adapter

Code: RS-095
£95.00

And one last thing, you'll probably want to change the steering column cover, top and bottom, otherwise you'll be able to see an unsightly galvanized steel plate (pic below) - the 964 parts do the job to conceal everything - see before and after pic below. 

Switch Housing 911 Carrera 94-98

Code: 9645522750001C
£36.26

Switch Housing 911 Carrera 94-98

Code: 9645522730001C
£19.37

(I also ordered these bits, but think I ended up using the originals so not necessary; Speed nut; 99959188802, Screw; 99907304702, Screw; 90014300207) 

Thanks to Paul at Northways for fitting!

Before (original 993 Column Cover) 

After (964 Column Cover - fits straight on and covers galvanized metal plate) 

Final touch...

So, even though the car had just been fully resprayed, minor defects in the paint can and do happen (super annoying for somebody like me who loves for things to be just so, but hey-ho), especially if the car hasn't been stripped back to bare metal, which mine hadn't. A conscious choice - it's hard to justify on the 993 unless it's in a really bad state, as you'll end up removing the protective galvanized from the steel and the cost of the job could be as much as double. 

Blemishes like orange peel, sanding marks, fish eyes can be sorted with some good paint correction, which any good bodyshop will do before handing the car back. That said, I still recommend going to a detailer for the final touch - as they can take the finish of the paint to a whole new level. So I booked in with Dariuz at DSR Perfection for a two stage correction.

I also opted for a protective Ceramic Coating, in form of Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light, which basically creates a super hard protective layer over the paint, adding high-gloss, resisting swirls, contaminants and dirt. Then, topped that off with some Gtechniq EXOv4, a 'hydrophobic' finishing coat to further repel water and dirt - so water just flies off it, and it makes annoying things like tree sap, tar, and hard water spots, easy to remove.

So, all and all, protecting the new paint and making cleaning the car a breeze, which is always nice. :-) 

The PPF doesn't require the ceramic coat and only gets protected with the EXOv4. And Gtechniq G-Wash has been designed to work with their range of coating so worth getting some of that too.

Here are the results. Nice job Dariuz!

Restoring the faith...

Leather connolising tends to get a bad rap - that's because so many claim to be experts, and the results can be quite poor, if not done correctly - so avoid those 'smart repair' guys! The alternative, re-trimming, can get super expensive and really isn't necessary unless the leather is that far gone, which mine wasn't. That said, my Marble Grey front seats had been previously badly restored, with bad cracking and overspray, so it was about time to have them done, and this time properly. So, today I had the privilege of having my front seats connnolised by one of only a few surviving Connolly Leather trained renovation specialists, Mark Slade of Benchmark. He turns up in his van and all he needs is electricity for his compressor and a driveway to work from - within a few hours the job was done. Thanks Mark for doing a sterling job!

And there's definitely something to be said about preserving the original leather and the car's heritage - after all that's the same leather that was put into the car at the Stuttgart factory all those years ago. I feel pretty good about that. (Just don't tell anybody that I'll soon be changing the standard airbag steering wheel for a Singer-esque Momo Prototipo, sorry!).

BEFORE:

AFTER:

And a little tip: the sudds of some standard liquid soap (mixed a bit of water) on a microfibre is great for maintaining a freshly renovated interior.