I'm a pretty positive guy so when failures happen I have a "wait and see" mentality because sometimes you look back and realize it's a blessing in disguise. That's what happened when Scarlett
broke down during my first attempt at picking her up two weeks ago. But first let's just enjoy the sight of Bumblestook, Scarlett and Kay finally all together. That's front engine rear wheel drive, rear engine rear wheel drive, and mid engine rear wheel drive all in one shot. Gotta love diversity!
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| Bumblestook, Scarlett and Kay - 5-29-2020 |
Now back to the reason why Scarlett broke down on her maiden "long drive". The 37 year old CDI finally failed. This a known failure mode for the 911SC and it probably only lasted 37 years because the previous owner barely drove the car for a decade. The fix, of course, is to replace it but with what? A new original CDI or remanufactured CDI has the same weaknesses and frankly there are better options.
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| Failed CDI - 5-17-2020 |
We first went with a newer style CDI unit from Partsklassik but that was DOA so we ended up getting the
Permatune Gen5 CDI which has the look of the original unit but is actually packed with modern electronics inside that's sealed from vibration, heat and oil. Not being one to like piecemeal upgrades, we also upgraded to the new Permatune SC012 ignition coil that looks like an original unit but has been improved for better heat, vibration and leak resistance. Using a new ignition coil would also make sure I don't fry the new CDI with old electrics. That not only took care of the ignition issue but also made the car run even better. It's ridiculous how fast she starts up now.
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| New Permatune CDI unit - 5-29-2020 |
Now comes the story of why having this failure turned out to be a saving grace. During the subsequent test drive of the car, they noticed a fuel smell and sure enough there was a fuel leak by one of the fuel inlet pipes. If I wasn't paying attention, this could've been a bad thing, maybe even resulting in a fire. I had punted on updating the fuel system since I wanted to get the other changes on the car tested first but it was clear this needed to be addressed now. I had them drain the tank and inspect the inside. The tank was in good shape but the fuel sender basically fell apart. I had them put in a new OEM sender, fuel pump, fuel filter and replace all the fuel lines. The new fuels are also made of newer materials less susceptible to damage caused by ethanol present in modern fuels. The heat autocontrol unit (yes, this car has that in addition to AC....fancy for 1983) also seemed to be broken so that entire unit was replaced with new parts as well. Finally, I had them temporarily put back the OEM decklid while I figure out what I want to do with the ducktail (I have a plan there) and put on the Luftgekuhlt brass emblem that I got powder coated satin black. I think it looks snazzy and slealthy.
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| OEM decklid and Luftgekuhlt emblem on - 5-29-2020 |
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| The pain is actually quite nice....in the rear - 5-29-2020 |
The other good news is that she's now run 400 miles since leaving the shop the first time 2 weeks ago so it's time to drain out the Joe Gibbs BR40 break in oil and do one more fill of fresh BR40 to finish up the break in process. 1000 miles can't come fast enough. Also, now that I have the car back, I can start fitting in some of the exterior and interior pieces I've been collecting for months.
