MY1997 C2S Arena Red 993 Gets Rehabed

                                      My Latest Porsche

                                                                                                                                                                Absorbing vitamin c from a vintage targa. The arena red widebody is center right in the photo

It all started with my friend Alex and I making a trip to Rivard competition just past Trois Riviers Quebec, almost to Quebec City. There were lots of Porsche's to admire but our attention was focused on the very low mileage 993 C2S I had come to see. I always wanted another widebody since owning a 1985 option 491 years ago. We got it up on the hoist and checked it out. No question , the mileage was original. We then both took it for a test drive. Later that week my brother Terry drove me down to pick up the car. Just in time as it snowed that night.  It then got safely tucked into the garage and within days the engine was out. Thankfully Alex and JJ helped me with the task. The days of pulling 911 engines on my own are behind me.

Here are the pre delivery pic's

Nice rear end photo

          

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                                                        The Ride Home

A nice picture, It's too bad I had left the door open. No washroom for miles, had to use the field.

                                        Just a teaser

                                           The plan

Ok ,so time to get some work done. The plan is to go over everything. Restore the whole car to better than new. Replace all seals and gaskets, Shocks, spark plug wires , plugs,detail engine and engine compartment ,transmission and underneath of car, replace sound pad with a better one, glass bead and coat aluminum suspension parts, caps and rotors, dismantle and clean brake rotors and much more. I want ultimate reliability and years of trouble free driving,. It's not the mileage it's the time.

                                     First Things First

Get the engine and transmission out

Next Detail the transmission

Started inside but the weather warmed up

Easier to clean outside

Because of the low mileage the yellow zinc is still perfect 

I decided to inspect and replace the drive shaft  and cover seals due to the low mileage and time

Alex doing an inspection 

Waiting for the Porsche gaskets to complete the Job.

Next back to the body and suspension

Wow!

With the rear sub frame removed it was time for some thorough cosmoline and dirt removal.Alex could take credit for most of this.

Who was that cosmoline man?

On to the rear suspension cleaning

I hate cosmoline  

Before==============After

Glass beaded and high temp clear coat

New shock and back together on one side

On to the engine compartment and the heat pad

I did not get a picture of the top but because of the age it was as usual a mess. Dried up and wrinkled.

Lots of dirt. Best to cut the tie wraps and replace them with new ones after you have cleaned. 

The old pad being removed. Make sure to clean all the glue residue off to ensure proper bonding. I used 3M spray on the back and 3M adhesive paste all along the top ledge.

Not a bad idea to use the buttons when sliding in the new pad (just don't forget to remove them ALL).

After installation

Back to the engine

Magic

After  a bit of work the wiring harness and spark plug wires are removed. Although they both have low mileage the wires have still hardened slightly and will receive a custom set of Beru red wires. The harness will be replaced with a new replacement as I have a new boxed factory replacement in stock. This engine will get only the best as it is the final build for personal use. Fortunately the cosmoline sprayer at the factory does not cover the top of the engine. I will flip this over and get at the cosmoline mess below.

The cosmoline is thick and has to be removed with lacquer thinner. A tedious job but necessary.


After 6-8 hours with everything from plastic scrapers to Qtips

Voila, more magic

More to come later  new lifters and gaskets to be replaced

PLUS Gold Zinc plating!!!

  TIP  Best results if you clean in muriatic acid first and remove the old coating.

A few  pictured of the tappet seal replacement. Even with the low mileage on my car I elected to replace them while the engine was on the bench. Time in use I find erodes the plastic seals and the new ones are better materials.

A few of the many seals that were carefully replaced. Actually every seal and gasket was replaced. I don't want any leaks.

The completed engine ready to go back in

                              Back in placewith all four brake calipers also renewed.

993 Brakes

Lots of new parts. Coated Zimmermans/Textar's pads and all sensors.

Two before pictures  front and back

 I decided to pull the Calipers off to inspect and properly clean. It was time to replace the brake fluid anyway. It has been said that the fluid absorbs 1% of water per year. It has been three years.

 I decided after much research to reuse the Spiders Porsche installs. They are easily removed with a razor blade . Lacquer thinner does a great job of removing the original silicone adhesive. Just use new silicone to apply to new pads.










The most critical cleaning step is to get the sliders surgically cleaned and polished with emery paper,. This is best done by removing the sliders first. They are installed with Locktite. Go slow and use the right tool. Re install with Locktite.

Here is a before and after polishing


I like to use WD 40 for cleaning . It is a poor lubricant but great safe cleaner. Here are some completed caliper pictures.

Front brakes ready to reassemble. Tomorrow perhaps. Still have the rear hub and shields to clean.

Rear brake hub and parking brakes being inspected cleaned and re lubed as necessary. The pads look in excellent condition. 

A before and after rear heat shield. The brake dust sure does a number on the aluminium shield. I tried all cleaners and ended up using a mild acid ,then polished with autosol. Next a coat of clear high heat paint for future protection.

Add caption

 The calipers are all assembled with the spiders and open to receive the new rotors.

This is the process of de greasing the rear hub. I put a tray underneath and use a soft brush to apply the non toxic solvent. It takes lots of brushing but the results are worth it.

Continued 

Here is how you get the clips off the calipers. Squeeze them in the center and pop the right side out ot the lock.The pliars have a short piece of tubing on the end to protect from scrstches.

A thing of beauty really

Here is the correct Moly  product for the 993 brake sliders

After  I used a contact cleaner on the connections  Alex is using a silicone grease paste on the rubber seals before connection.

Completed front with new wear sensor

Alex torquing the calipers to the 63 lb required factory spec.

The rear ABS and sensor connections completed

Next ...Bleed and testdrive