Half Way To Break In

After around 500 miles logged, we're halfway through engine break-in. I went to see SJF to change the engine and transmission fluids. I've been running Joe Gibbs Driven BR40 break-in oil and it's recommended this oil gets replaced at around 400-500 miles so I did one more round of BR40 to complete the break-in.

Scarlett on the familiar SJF lift - 5-30-2020

Since the transmission was also rebuilt, we replaced that with some fresh Motul Motylgear 75W90 gear oil (recommended for the Wavetrac diff that's in the car) so we could clear out any bit of debris there as well. There's a very tiny bit of oil leak towards the front of the engine by one of the seals. That's pretty normal on these engines. It's not enough to leave drops on the ground so I'm not particularly worried.

Engine looking pretty clean - 5-30-2020

Before I went to see SJF, I took care of putting on some of the other bits that have been waiting in the garage for the car to return to me. I really love how the old 911s have this little hole on the side you insert a jack pad into so you can jack up the side without having to worry about finding a good spot underneath. Makes wheel changes super easy.

Love these jack points

16x7 16x8 Fuchs with RSR finish wrapped in fresh
Continental Extreme Sport 205/225 - 16

Stealthy black Titanium lug nuts

I also got rid of the old sun visors that had seriously deteriorated over time. Not sure why but they're extra puffy so I got a new pair from Sierra Madre collection. Now I don't have to stare at that sagy visor anymore every time I drive.

Old sun visor left, New right

The final touch for today was the matte black magnetic stone guard from Magnagrafik. They're highly functional, easy to remove for cleaning, and gives it that classic look.

Looking good from 10ft away

We took the car for a nice long drive today to just rack up the miles to get this break-in period over and done with. I even got to experience the anxiety of being stuck in heavy traffic, in hot weather in an aircooled car while watching the temperature gauge go up. That was not fun but I'm glad to say it didn't overheat despite probably being stuck for at least an hour on the FDR drive. I did shut off the AC because I didn't want to risk it. The temps stayed right in the middle so that was comforting. I don't think I'd want to attempt that in the middle of summer though.

We almost got through the day incident free but alas going into the driveway to the garage the curbing is pretty high and at full lock, the tires hit the lip on the fender. I guess I should roll my fenders with these "wider" wheels. It's not too bad and thankfully it's the fender that already needs work anyway so it's just one more thing to add to the list. This is another reason why I haven't gotten any bodywork done yet. You really need to work through all these issues before you do that.

If you ain't rubbing, you're not wide enough

Got more thumbs up today. Cool seeing people really appreciate these older cars. The tune might also need some adjustment. At hot start it sometimes hunts for idle for a minute before settling down. I can't really pinpoint the conditions for when it happens. It seems to just happen about 20% of the time. The car runs great every other time though while driving. Maybe it just hates sitting around and going slow because when you give it that go pedal, she's eager to get moving every time.

Also got a chance to put in the brown Coco Mats and the brown front trunk liner from car-bone. The front trunk mat is still a bit stiff so doesn't confirm as nicely as I'd want right now but I think given time it should fit better.

Coco Mats

Car-Bone front trunk mat

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 164,733
- 10.5 quarts Joe Gibbs Driven BR40 + new Mahle filter
- 3 liters Motul Motylgear 75W90 Gear oil

911SC Back on the Road

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!

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.

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.

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.

OEM decklid and Luftgekuhlt emblem on - 5-29-2020

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.

Oil Analysis - 1 Year - Bumblestook

I mentioned when we did Bumblestook's oil change a few weeks ago that it'd been over a year since her last oil change. Including one track day and sitting around for most of the Winter, I was very curious what the oil analysis was going to look like so I sent it off to Blackstone labs to get tested. Well, Amsoil continues to work great, providing plenty of protection. At least from an oil perspective, the engine continues to stay nice and healthy ready to tackle NJMP next month.

Bumbelstook's oil analysis - 5-28-2020

Pagid Yellow RS29 - Track Prep

Well it seems like more and more tracks are starting to re-open so it's time to get the Cayman ready in case I can find one that works with my schedule. Kay's pretty much sorted so the only thing she needed were track brake pads and fresh fluids since the last time we changed the oil was before Nationals last year (eek).

Getting ready for maintenance - 5-24-2020
SJF Performance

I wanted track pads that I could easy swap back and forth with the Porsche stock pads and from my research the only solution here are Pagid Yellows (RS29). I know what you're thinking it, but no, I didn't buy them because they were yellow.

New pads and oil - 5-24-2020

Pagid RS29

They work extremely well with very good initial bite but man they squeal harder than a pig in a slaughterhouse when low speed braking. We had a little trouble with the rears. These pads are pretty thick so you have to remove the brake pad damper or there's simply no room for the pads to go in. Once that was sorted, everything was nice and smooth.

Front pads in 

Rear pads in

Brake pad dampers that had to go

We also put in fresh Joe Gibbs Driven DT-40 just because the oil was too old coming up on a year in the car with just about 5000 miles. I'll likely put in Driven XP9 oil before an actual track day. Took her for a 200 mile drive and had no issues so I think she's good to go.

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 41,067
- 8.5 quarts Driven DT-40 oil, NAPA gold oil filter
- Pagid RS-29 track brake pads all around

Fixing the Broken Lock

Last week, one of the very common S2000 failures finally happened to me. The lock switch broke! There doesn't seem to be a rhyme or reason why and when these fail but the design is a bit flawed in that the plastic switch that engages the lock seems to get brittle and snap even if you just unlock it with your remote.

Broken Lock - 5-17-2020

Thankfully, this is an easy enough fix. I got a new replacement door release/lock from my friend Jon (as well as en extra one as future spare including one for the passenger side from @socal_s2000_parts  - Alan Lee). After you remove the panel it's 3 bolts, reconnect the hooks and you're done.

New door release/lock installed - 5-23-2020

Maintenance Update:

Mileage: 57,105
- New driver side door lock switch

South Bend Stage 2 Endurance Clutch + Fixed AC

When I bought the GTi, it already had an uprated RS7 (Sachs Performance) clutch kit which was overkill for the Stage 1 tune the previous owner put on the car but I did like the fact that he cared enough to put in some good stuff. Well that clutch was good for up to Stage 2 power but when I turned the wick up with the IS38 turbo and Stage 3 Tune well, let's just say it wasn't going to cut it anymore.

South Bend Stage 2 Endurance Clutch - 5-18-2020

I couldn't use the power. It simply wouldn't hold. Clutch slip was pretty bad if I really went into boost. The limit of the RS7 clutch is just around 400ft/lbs of torque which is roughly around with an IS38 with tune at full boost can generate at the flywheel. To give myself a little extra headroom while still having streetability, I dropped off the GTi when I picked up Scarlett last week so the Euro specialist team at Speedsport Tuning could install the clutch kit for me which includes everything (flywheel, throwout bearing, etc). This clutch is rated to 465 ft/lb so it should hold sufficiently but just in case I'm going to make sure to properly break it in before I give it a real test. The pedal feel with the new clutch setup is actually a really nice improvement. In fact, it's much lighter and more streetable than the RS7 clutch which required quite a bit of leg muscle. It's closer to what a stock clutch would feel. It's pretty cool South Bend was able to do that while having a stronger bite. There was a bit of clicking in the clutch pedal initially during engagement as it broke in but now it's perfectly quiet.

Dropping off the GTi - 5-15-2020

While they had the car, I had them look into why my AC suddenly wasn't working. It was definitely working last year so I figured maybe the AC compressor or relay failed. What they found was when the IS38 was installed with the Wagner intercooler, the bolt for the front bumper going into the hood latch release went too far and actually punctured the AC condenser because the condenser sits more forward now due to the thicker IC.

That looks close - 5-18-2020

Yea, that screw should not be going into the condenser - 5-18-2020

A new condenser, shorter screw, O-ring and more R143A refrigerant later and the AC is now fully functioning, ready to provide ice cold air for the hot summer months and beyond.

Maintenance Updates:

Mileage: 56,219
- New South Bend Stage 2 Endurance Clutch and Flywheel
- New OEM condenser and refrigerant refill

Broken Lock and Regular Maintenance

I seem to be having a string of bad luck with my cars recently. Even the most reliable of my cars, Bumblestook, made her presence known by having the lock switch snap when I tried to unlock it via the remote this morning. This is a very common failure in S2000s and is an easy fix. I already picked up a replacement and a spare so I'll get this sorted when I get

Broken Lock Switch - 5/17/2020

I also finally changed the oil and diff fluid after realizing I hadn't since April of last year. I only did one track day and a bunch of miles but still, one year is more than I want oil to sit in a car.

Dirty oil - 5/17/2020

Fresh Oil - 5/17/2020

Maintenance Updates:
57,058
- 6 qt Amsoil 10W-30
- 1 qt 80W140 Redline diff fluid