968Forums.com

<b>The world needs rational people, I am not one of those people. Here is my story.</b>

I previously owned a 1987 944. Had a lot of fun in that car and drove her all over the west coast from Mexico to Alaska. She died in Alaska and was buried in Oregon.



<b>December 2007</b> - I purchased a 1992 968 with 85,000 miles. black on black with some basic options. WPOAA2960NS820353
<i>Cost: $12,000</i>







<b>February 2008</b> Nail in tire. Tire replaced.
<i>Cost: $200</i>

<b>May 2008 </b>- Clutch blows up on me, luckily only 5 blocks from home. This will lead me to RSBarn.com for the first time. Work performed by a local shop in San Francisco, CA.
Cost: +/- $2500

• RS Barn Motorsport Flywheel
• RS Barn Clutch Disc
• Stock Pressure Plate
• Stainless Clutch Hose
• Rear Main Seal
• Fork
• Throwout Bearing
• Misc bearings and bolts
• Slave Cylinder
• Brake system check and bleed

<b>March 2009</b> Time to get ready for my first Paso run.
Cost: +/- $10,000



Suspension

• Bilstein Turbo Cup Struts
• Eibach 375Lb/IN Front Springs
• Eibach 250LB Tender Springs
• Bilstein Turbo Cup Rear Shocks
• Eibach 6" 225Lb/IN Rear Springs
• Eibach Helper Springs
• M030 Sway Bars
• Delran Sway Bar Bushings
• Stainless Front Sway Bar Support
• Rear Sway Bar Mount Kit and Drop Links
• Design 1 Strut Tower Brace
• Design 1 Lower Chasis Brace
• Sealed Monoball Castor Blocks
• Racer's Edge Camber Plates

Exhaust

• RS Barn Ceramic Coated Headers
• Ceramic 2 Stage High Flow Catalytic Converter
• RS Barn Cat Back Exhaust with Resonator
• RS Barn Stage 2 Chip

Maintenance

• Timing/Balance/Accessory belts
• Front Engine rollers/seals/gears/tensioners/races...etc
• New Water Pump
• Valve Cover Gasket
• Timing Chain
• Thermostat
• Updated Power Steering Reservoir
• Fuel Filter
• Cap and Rotor
• Magnecor Plug Wires (Blue)
• Some New Coolant Hoses
• Alignment
• Stainless Brake Lines

Misc

• AVIC-f700bt Head Unit with GPS, IPOD and Video
• Professional Detail with a few tiny dings rolled out.

<b>April 2010</b> Coming Soon!
<i>Cost:+/- $15,000</i>

Terrific! I bet it's a blast to drive ... great job. I respect the fact that you're not afraid to spend the $$$ on her and enjoy the car.

That is an excellent photo of you with the car! I am very curious to hear what you will be doing to it next.

I've got the same suspension, and I'm sure you'll love it! Since you're already halfway down the slippery slope, Racer's Edge front control arms might be a good safety investment. Best of luck!

Man am I glad my wife never reads this forum.


Nice mods. your suspension work is sick! I'm jealous.

Smokin! I am now changing my password.

Not sure I understand the title of this thread, I've had a lot of this stuff done too [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/cool.gif[/img]

Its what i tell my wife is "Standard Maintenance"

Can't wait to see your car again, with all the goodies..

Jay

lol - don't get me started

pure&simple - Did you notice any difference before and after the Racer's Edge Control Arms? What are we talking as far as safety is concerned? Looks to be about 2 grand for those things by the time all is said and done.

Jay - I may have a strange sense of humor [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img] What I am about to do in 2 weeks should solidify the "looney bin" title. I will be posting more details later, but here are the basics. I am driving from San Francisco, CA to Newtown, PA to visit RSBarn. The car will be receiving an engine rebuild, limited slip differential, Design 1 Supercharger, and some other odds and ends before making it's way to Hershey. Then she will be coming back home to California.

Johannvb - Thanks, I am a photographer as well as a looney. [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

I applaud your efforts, there is Horsepower and Cold Beer at the end of the rainbow.

Jay

The car made it out to RS Barn without any problems. Ended up driving about 4000 miles with all the stops and bouncing around seeing clients. Just rolled over to 100k on the last leg to the barn. Pete is going to do some fun stuff to her but unfortunately the project will not be ready until after Hershey. Too bad, I am sure I would have been in the running for the longest drive to Hershey! Flash doesn't count, he is trailering [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif[/img]

Awesome! You're really going to love the handling (and the POWER!) when you get it back. Just saw your question about the Racer's Edge control arms... I would say these are a must for track events (several folks have had OEM control arms break with bad results) but I'm sure OEM is fine for the street. I definitely noticed quicker, more precise turn-in, and the harshness I picked up in the ride is barely noticeable.

Postcards from The Barn.

Looks like everything is starting to come back together. LSD installed. Engine about ready to be put back in the car after getting a bath and a run through. Beefier rods put in...etc. Engine should be back in this week, supercharger installed next week, and some final touch-ups. Hopefully can get her back to the west coast by the end of the month. Will have plenty more info on what was done when get the car (and the bill [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.gif[/img] )

Pete said "Waiting for your motor to be finished at machine shop. To use stronger heavier rods we have to rebalance the crankshaft to work with all the rotating mass. They need to clean and weigh pistons with rings and pins attached, pulleys on front of motor and clutch assembly at back of motor. rebalanced parts are due back today. Bottom end assembly should be completed by Monday. then we will start adding cylinder head, cams, balance shafts, belts,etc. Then we can install."

So upgrading the rods entails pulling the crank, which means, I assume, pulling the engine?! Yikes!! Are the early rods really THAT bad...?

On my way to try to figure out how to get an eyeball on my engine number - according to the manaul, it's located way back at the right rear of the engine, buried behind the exhaust manifold and a bunch of other stuff. Maybe I could read it from below. Unfortunately, even if I can read the number, I don't know whether we've had confirmation as to which range of engine numbers corresponds to the earlier thinner rods.

I have heard mixed reports on if the early rods can be used or not. I am going the "better safe than sorry" route and having it beefed up. Probably cost a few grand or more just to replace the rods but I will sleep easy at night after getting everything done right.

I can't see any way to read the engine number on my car without pulling the head. Look up the word "ridiculous" in the dictionary, and the above sentence would serve as a perfect definition. I can't even see the spot where the engine number is supposed to be stamped, so I'm not even convinced my car has it in the spot indicated in the manual. Anybody have any success reading their car's engine number? Thanks.

I never looked. I just assumed since I had a 1992 that mine were the early rods. Hopefully someone else can chime in.

What I was told when I was in the shop was that this was one of the earliest 968 blocks cast. I asked if it could have come from a 944S2, but was told that it couldn't have been because of the oil squirters.

Regards,

Jay

Mine was one of the earliest? I will have to ask which number.

I'm planning to freshen my engine this fall by rebuilding the head, and installing new rod bearings. I thought I might as well upgrade the rods while I had "everything apart," but after reading this thread, my enthusiasm for the rod upgrade has sunk pretty much to zero (as would my bank account balance [img]style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/ohmy.gif[/img] ). My car's VIN is WPOAA2964NS820386; anybody have any idea if this makes it a late or early '92? Sure would be nice to know the likelihood that I might have squeaked by and gotten the later rods, but I realize how difficult it is to find that kind of informaton on a car that's been out of production for a decade and a half.