993 Engine Drop: Prework

After reading others' experiences, I realized I would have to upgrade my 993 jacking and jack stand procedure for the engine drop.  The engine drop requires a lot of clearance at the rear!


Click for more photos and my lifting procedure.

What's in a name? Part II

In a recent study from the UK, guess which name topped the list for "naughtiest girls names"?

Yep, "Ella" took the gold.  On the boys side, "William" scored the bronze medal.  I guess we make quite a pair ;-).

Ella to get a top-end rebuild

Ella's oil consumption has increased to burning about 1 quart every 400 miles.  Unfortunately the symptoms suggest valve guide wear as the culprit which means Ella needs a top-end rebuild.

After reviewing the excellent documentation available online and getting spousal approval, I have decided to tackle it myself.

Stay tuned for the adventures (and mishaps!).  First step: remove the engine.

Porsche Hood Crest

A quick and simple little project - replacing the hood crest with a custom colored one from "intrepidagent" on rennlist.

The Original Crest.
  It's in good shape, but it's the only gold color on the entire car.

Porsche Photography Class

Our local PCA chapter hosted a fun and educational photography class last month.  A big thanks to Charlie for running the class and to Park Place Porsche for hosting the event.

For me, the highlight of the class was the live photo contest.  Here were the contest constraints:

• 45 min to shoot in the Park Place Porsche parking garage
• Photos must the interaction of people and cars (in keeping with PCA goals)
• 15 min to choose your single favorite photo

The contest presented a number of challenges.  We were shooting mid-day on a Texas summer day -- harsh sunlight!  Inside the parking deck, this meant very bright light at the periphery with low light on the cars.  It was also a bit challenging trying to figure out how to work people into the photos as we were all busy trying to shoot.  The photos entered in the "contest" can been seen on the Maverick PCA website here:  http://mavpca.org/photos/MRPhotoGallery/Technical%20Events/Tech%20Seminars/2014/index.html

Thanks to a generous interpretation of "people", my photo won second place!  Click past the break for the prize winning photo.

FD Motorsport SSK and Goldenrod Install

FDM Goldenrod

Over the Easter weekend, a friend and I installed the FD Motorsports Goldenrod and SSK.  Despite having read many glowing reviews, I was somewhat skeptical that the setup would live-up to the hype.

Wheel Refinishing

Wheels have been Ella's weakest link ever since I purchased her.  The original equipment 17" wheels were, in my opinion, too small for the 993's wheel arches and their finish was also in poor shape.  Almost immediately, I began searching for replacements.  In January 2013, I bought a used set off eBay.  While the size and style were perfect, the wheels were beat-up.

Click past the break to see the before and after photos.

Bilstein HD + H&R Spring Install Revisited

Over a year after installing the H&R springs with my existing Bilstein HD struts, I finally measured the car's ride height (original install thread here).  The numbers confirmed what I had always suspected (and ignored) since the car came off the jack stands:  the front of the car was very low.  How low?  Way below RS low...

Garage Renovation: Lighting

With the garage floor done, the next major issue with the garage was the poor lighting.  One 2-bulb fluorescent does not light 500 sq. ft. well!

Click past the break to see how I upgraded the garage lighting.

Key Fob Replacement

Skiing, business trips and a baby made for a very busy winter season and left little time for Ella, but I still managed to squeeze in a little "project" - replacing the key fob and key head.  My excuses were crack in the key fob and a key-head light that didn't work.

Part numbers, pricing and photos after the break.

Garage Renovation: The Floor

When we moved into our first house last year, I was more excited about owning a garage than the rest of the house :-).  The garage was nothing special, but after years in apartments, I was thrilled to have it.

The floor was dusty when we moved in, and I thought no problem; I'll sweep it.  When I swept it and it was still dusty, I thought no problem; I'll hose it out.  When I hosed it out and it was still dusty, I learned that it would always be a bit dusty unless I specifically addressed the problem.  Our car interiors are black, so having light colored dust on our shoes every time we get in the car was not something I wanted to live with.

I did a ton of reading, mostly on http://allgaragefloors.com/ and the Garage Journal forum, and here's what I eventually decided to do.

A "Racing" Helmet

My six-month old unfortunately developed a woefully lopsided head (positional plagiocephaly) and the doctor prescribed a head molding helmet, aka DOC band.  Given the price of this piece of plastic, it only made sense to adorn it with Porsche logos. ;-)

Review: Concrete Oil Stain Removers

When we moved into our first house, I decided to tackle coating the garage floor.  Unfortunately, the previous owners and I had vehicles leaking oil that had already stained the cement.  Many small oil spots and a few large oil spills littered the garage floor.

I tried three different oil-stain removers:

1. Pour'N'Restore
2. Pull It Out 
3. Rejuvenate Concrete and Paver Stain Remover

Cars of CES

Last week work sent me to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES).  While I worked most of the time, I escaped for a bit and found a few special automobiles.  I guess I'm not the only geek that loves cars :-)B-).

Ken Block's Ford "Fiesta ST"  - He was on hand too...

DFW 993 Meet - January 2014

A simple request to hear some modified 993 exhausts led to quite a 993 meet in Dallas this January...and I missed it.  Fortunately my sister and brother-in-law drove Ella over took some photos for me.

The whole story can be found in this Rennlist post:  http://forums.rennlist.com/rennforums/993-forum/785079-looking-for-fister-users-in-dallas-north-dallas-area.html, but here's the short summary:

1. Dallas rennlist forum member rsabeebe wants to hear some exhaust setups
2. Area 993 enthusiasts get excited and join-in...nearly 30 of us
3. A raffle gets started
4. An ice storm covers North Texas, event gets postponed
5. New date selected when I'm out of town :-(, but at least now Darin from FD Motorsports can fly in.
6. More that 30 993's show up at RAC in Addison

Click past the break for some photos.