Resurrecting a 90's 3.0L 951
Nice story. Great to see these cars being resurrected. Even better that it once belonged to John of Vitesse racing. Wonder if that's one of his early modified turbos? Good luck on the rebuild. Plenty of helpful people on this site.
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Bagelgarage
- Posts: 8
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Hey! Thanks for convincing me to start a thread! Hows your car been running since the rebuild?four0four wrote: Wed Jan 31, 2024 11:12 am hmm, I think I recognize this car too! probably means I ran into you out climbing relatively shortly after you got it?
Also quite surprised at how dry it is. I have to imagine if you'd run it a bit that might've changed...
in any case, very glad to see you drop by here
1987 951 (Red)
1988 951 (Ocean Blue)
1988 951 (Ocean Blue)
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Bagelgarage
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Once I got the engine out all of my attention went to the inside. I went back and forth so many times trying to decide if I wanted to keep the full cage or not and eventually decided it would be worth cutting out the front half. Two of the main factors being that it rubbed on the roof and squeaked the whole time I was driving, and if I cut it then I'd be able to pull the dash and clean it up along with all the wiring. So I went to town with a sawzall and theres no going back now!
Sorry @Fast951 but it had to be done, maybe I'll try and find a way to re-mount the original boost gauge in there once it's all together again. I left the door bars and welded on caps to cover the holes so that they don't look too weird. Apparently I didn't take any shots until after I took the dash out but at the end of the day this is what I was dealing with.
There were hours of fun finds under the dash, this car had the holy trinity of aftermarket wiring to sort through between old sound systems, alarm systems, and having had multiple ECU's. Whoever installed the alarm system drilled a hole in the center of the cowl drain to ground it which caused a decent bit of water to get in. It was incredibly satisfying to rip out all of the stuff I'm not gonna need. Also cleaned up the exposed wires at the backside of the ignition and went ahead and pulled the engine harness all the way out. I'm not sure which ECU I'm gonna use on this but it's probably going to be something a little more modern than the Vipec.
The dash was also in rough shape. The vinyl was peeling up and it only took about 2 minutes to completely peel the top layer off. I've always wanted to try flocking a dash so I figured this was the perfect candidate. I dremeled out all of the cracks and used expanding foam to fill all of them. I also pulled the passenger airbag and foamed over the airbag seams. I then sanded down all the foam and coated the whole thing with a layer of clear urethane coating for boats which will hopefully add some UV protection (I'm not sure how well this is gonna hold up so I'll report back if it starts cracking again).
The flock is amazing at hiding imperfections! It's super easy and I'm actually really happy with how it turned out. It's not perfect but overall huge improvement from where it was. (And MUCH cheaper than buying a new dash)
Sorry @Fast951 but it had to be done, maybe I'll try and find a way to re-mount the original boost gauge in there once it's all together again. I left the door bars and welded on caps to cover the holes so that they don't look too weird. Apparently I didn't take any shots until after I took the dash out but at the end of the day this is what I was dealing with.
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There were hours of fun finds under the dash, this car had the holy trinity of aftermarket wiring to sort through between old sound systems, alarm systems, and having had multiple ECU's. Whoever installed the alarm system drilled a hole in the center of the cowl drain to ground it which caused a decent bit of water to get in. It was incredibly satisfying to rip out all of the stuff I'm not gonna need. Also cleaned up the exposed wires at the backside of the ignition and went ahead and pulled the engine harness all the way out. I'm not sure which ECU I'm gonna use on this but it's probably going to be something a little more modern than the Vipec.
The dash was also in rough shape. The vinyl was peeling up and it only took about 2 minutes to completely peel the top layer off. I've always wanted to try flocking a dash so I figured this was the perfect candidate. I dremeled out all of the cracks and used expanding foam to fill all of them. I also pulled the passenger airbag and foamed over the airbag seams. I then sanded down all the foam and coated the whole thing with a layer of clear urethane coating for boats which will hopefully add some UV protection (I'm not sure how well this is gonna hold up so I'll report back if it starts cracking again).
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1987 951 (Red)
1988 951 (Ocean Blue)
1988 951 (Ocean Blue)
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Bagelgarage
- Posts: 8
- Joined: Mon Apr 03, 2023 12:44 pm
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While doing the dash it occurred to me that the worn out carpet wasn't gonna cut it, so a quick trip to Plyhammer parts produced set of Can Can red carpets! only the fronts though. This spiraled into scraping all of the sound deadening out of the rear half of the car and giving it a fresh coat of paint. Also rolled on a fresh coat of paint for the cage.
Overall for a budget interior refresh I'm pretty happy with it. It is offensively red now but I'm hoping once the seats are in it will tone it down a little.
For the door cards I got some 1/8" hardboard at home depot and cut it to size to fit the lower portion of the door. Then went to Joann's and found some red fabric I liked. Wrapped the panels and used a bunch of spray adhesive to hold it all together long enough for me to bolt them to the doors. I filled the old tweeter holes with some Acrylic plastic I had and cut them to size. I'm not super happy with how that portion came out but if it really bothers me I'll buy some new door cards down the line.
Also realized after the fact that I'm going to need some kind of pull handles or straps for the doors but I'm really tired of doing interior stuff so that might be awhile.
While painting stuff in the rear I also replaced the busted tail-lights with a good set and resealed them, and added a harness bar thats at a better angle for where I need to have the seat.
I really appreciate all the feedback! This has been a fun project so far, I've started to dig into the engine and trans so I'll make another post soon with more updates.
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For the door cards I got some 1/8" hardboard at home depot and cut it to size to fit the lower portion of the door. Then went to Joann's and found some red fabric I liked. Wrapped the panels and used a bunch of spray adhesive to hold it all together long enough for me to bolt them to the doors. I filled the old tweeter holes with some Acrylic plastic I had and cut them to size. I'm not super happy with how that portion came out but if it really bothers me I'll buy some new door cards down the line.
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While painting stuff in the rear I also replaced the busted tail-lights with a good set and resealed them, and added a harness bar thats at a better angle for where I need to have the seat.
I really appreciate all the feedback! This has been a fun project so far, I've started to dig into the engine and trans so I'll make another post soon with more updates.
1987 951 (Red)
1988 951 (Ocean Blue)
1988 951 (Ocean Blue)
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Jay Wellwood
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Is that Can-Can red carpet?
Jay
Several Krauts and a Rice burner
...looking for a Meatball
Proudly qualified in Submarines
USS Casimir Pulasksi (SSBN 633)
Several Krauts and a Rice burner
...looking for a Meatball
Proudly qualified in Submarines
USS Casimir Pulasksi (SSBN 633)
Lots of work, you'll be happy when it's all done. I personally did not care much for the cage (no place for it in a street car), but the original owner wanted the best of both worlds, street and track.
A few items I remember the car having, and to watch out for when rewiring:
- ABS ON/OFF switch to reset ABS.
- Shift light with pills (yellow tab in the dash vent)
- Digital sound processor, stereo.. original owner had a stereo shop. I noticed some of which were taken out.
In the engine bay, the car had an oil filter canister with removable cartridges. It had an Accusump connected to it. I strongly recommend adding a large oil cooler, especially if you intend to track it..
The turbo on it now is a different unit.
I do recall installing a 60-2 (or maybe 36-1) trigger wheel behind the crank pulley (covered with the plastic belt cover). The VR trigger sensor was the small electromotive unit. Motec was not happy with it. I would replace it with something else if you intend to use the crank trigger wheel.
As I recall, the engine had high compression. Be careful with the tuning!!!!
Lots of memories, plenty forgotten (easy to forget after 24 years). I really disliked the old Motec, it's idiosyncrasies and the customer support (or lack of it). One of the main reasons I started messing with the Motronic. (Maybe it was a curse? LOL).
This car had many unique and custom suspension pieces. Some of which where one off factory race parts. The mechanic that put it together had connections with the factory Motorsports dept, Brumos, and race teams.
The transacle was reworked by the same mechanic. I recall it had 80% limited slip. It pops when slowly making turns on hard surfaces.
The ABS was added, big reds front & rear, Fabcar A-arms, Racing Dynamics strut brace, upgraded sway bars, Speedline wheels (I should have kept them).
The original owner stopped at nothing. An interesting and sad story.....
I always wondered what happened to this car. I'm glad it landed with someone who will take care of it.
A few items I remember the car having, and to watch out for when rewiring:
- ABS ON/OFF switch to reset ABS.
- Shift light with pills (yellow tab in the dash vent)
- Digital sound processor, stereo.. original owner had a stereo shop. I noticed some of which were taken out.
In the engine bay, the car had an oil filter canister with removable cartridges. It had an Accusump connected to it. I strongly recommend adding a large oil cooler, especially if you intend to track it..
The turbo on it now is a different unit.
I do recall installing a 60-2 (or maybe 36-1) trigger wheel behind the crank pulley (covered with the plastic belt cover). The VR trigger sensor was the small electromotive unit. Motec was not happy with it. I would replace it with something else if you intend to use the crank trigger wheel.
As I recall, the engine had high compression. Be careful with the tuning!!!!
Lots of memories, plenty forgotten (easy to forget after 24 years). I really disliked the old Motec, it's idiosyncrasies and the customer support (or lack of it). One of the main reasons I started messing with the Motronic. (Maybe it was a curse? LOL).
This car had many unique and custom suspension pieces. Some of which where one off factory race parts. The mechanic that put it together had connections with the factory Motorsports dept, Brumos, and race teams.
The transacle was reworked by the same mechanic. I recall it had 80% limited slip. It pops when slowly making turns on hard surfaces.
The ABS was added, big reds front & rear, Fabcar A-arms, Racing Dynamics strut brace, upgraded sway bars, Speedline wheels (I should have kept them).
The original owner stopped at nothing. An interesting and sad story.....
I always wondered what happened to this car. I'm glad it landed with someone who will take care of it.
John, was this the car that was stolen at one point and belonged to Rob?Fast951 wrote: Sun Feb 11, 2024 10:59 am Lots of work, you'll be happy when it's all done. I personally did not care much for the cage (no place for it in a street car), but the original owner wanted the best of both worlds, street and track.
A few items I remember the car having, and to watch out for when rewiring:
- ABS ON/OFF switch to reset ABS.
- Shift light with pills (yellow tab in the dash vent)
- Digital sound processor, stereo.. original owner had a stereo shop. I noticed some of which were taken out.
In the engine bay, the car had an oil filter canister with removable cartridges. It had an Accusump connected to it. I strongly recommend adding a large oil cooler, especially if you intend to track it..
The turbo on it now is a different unit.
I do recall installing a 60-2 (or maybe 36-1) trigger wheel behind the crank pulley (covered with the plastic belt cover). The VR trigger sensor was the small electromotive unit. Motec was not happy with it. I would replace it with something else if you intend to use the crank trigger wheel.
As I recall, the engine had high compression. Be careful with the tuning!!!!
Lots of memories, plenty forgotten (easy to forget after 24 years). I really disliked the old Motec, it's idiosyncrasies and the customer support (or lack of it). One of the main reasons I started messing with the Motronic. (Maybe it was a curse? LOL).
This car had many unique and custom suspension pieces. Some of which where one off factory race parts. The mechanic that put it together had connections with the factory Motorsports dept, Brumos, and race teams.
The transacle was reworked by the same mechanic. I recall it had 80% limited slip. It pops when slowly making turns on hard surfaces.
The ABS was added, big reds front & rear, Fabcar A-arms, Racing Dynamics strut brace, upgraded sway bars, Speedline wheels (I should have kept them).
The original owner stopped at nothing. An interesting and sad story.....
I always wondered what happened to this car. I'm glad it landed with someone who will take care of it.
Right, thanks John. It's been a while and some of the things you described made me thing of Rob's car which had quite the history as well. Seems a lifetime ago on those old Rennlist days.Fast951 wrote: Mon Feb 12, 2024 2:29 pm Hi Patrick,
No this is not Rob's car. This car is MY87 and was built in the 90s. I had it late 90s to early 2000s.
Rob's car was MY89, it was built around 2006 or 2007.