Time For Some Rubbers

The long awaited door seals had arrived some time ago, but I just got around to installing them and removing the foam insulation that had been temporarily in place for a few years ;-) With new seals, the doors are harder to close, but they should make the car closer to airt tight on the road. Unfortunately, the recent snowstorm and the first application of salt will delay a test drive for some time...time enough to address several other needs on the car.

 

Castrol Cologne

Photo by Mark MorrisseyThere is nothing like an event to get you motivated to sort out a few things. In this case, the Early 911 breakfast club was going to join the local Reisentoter PCA chapter breakfast. Since they were starting at 9:30am, which is practically midday for the breakfast club, Lee Giannone had the brilliant idea of an earlier scenic drive to arrive at the chapter breakfast. What does this have to do with the 914 ? Glad you asked. Since this was to be a more leisurely drive, and I needed an extended shakedown run, I decided that I would take the 914 on its longest journey yet. The starting point was about sixty miles away, and then with the drive and the return home it would be about a 200 mile day.

The full story on this adventure is in the Fragrance of Castrol post on the main blog.

Power Pings

The 914 is very reliable at this point, and I have used it on longer errands, and on a few late afternoon rips through the leaves. It is because of this, that I have discovered another item to track down. It likes to live above 3 grand on the tachometer and will happily fly along up there for sustained periods of time. This is the sweet spot on the cam, and it is probably the same reason for the flat spot down below. However, it pings a little when under full load. At first I thought it was gas, and it was better with the next tankful. But not gone. I rechecked the timing which was almost dead on. I added some octane boost, and it got better yet. But not gone. I'm going to drain the oil and check the valves, pull the plugs, and perhaps dig out the pertronix unit that I have laying around somewhere.....stay tuned (pun intended).