Designation:

Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet

Engine

Type:

3.6 Liter I6 (Flat 6-cylinder)

Horsepower:

247 bhp

Torque:

228 lb-ft

Performance

Top Speed:

164 mph

0-60 mph:

5.5 seconds

0-100 mph:

14.0 seconds

Standing 1/4 Mile:

13.9 seconds

Dimensions

Weight:

3196.7 pounds

Size:

13.94 feet x 5.42 feet

Seating:

4 persons (2 + 2)

 

1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Cabriolet (964 version)

Diamond blue metallic exterior (silver), black interior with ivory white leather.

Powered sport bucket seats, power windows, power mirrors, powered locks, powered top, locking wheel nuts

Dual front airbags, climate control, all-wheel disk brakes

 

Why a 964 Carrera Cabriolet?

I wanted the classic Porsche 911 look, but with more modern technology and the bigger 3.6L engine. You can't put a price on character, and you can’t really get more character than with a 964 Carrera. I chose to go with the all wheel drive version, because I tend to drive like my hair’s on fire, and want to lessen the chances of ending upside down in a ditch somewhere. As for the soft-top, well, I’ve always had this dream of living in California and driving a convertible down a street filled with palm trees, so I really had no choice.
And 6th avenue by Balboa Park is lined with palm trees...

Save the Flash!

Steven Schlotterbeck

“Because when life gives you lemons, you give those lemons the middle finger
as you blow past them at 160 mph in your Porsche 911.”

 

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Done:

• New Alpine SPX-17REF front speakers

  Took apart the front doors and removed the old speakers and mounting to replace with a high-end Alpine speaker kit. Required enlarging the current speaker opening by 1/4-1/2 an inch and drilling new mounting holes. Used new speaker grills that closely resemble the factory ones, thus keeping with the stock look. Took the opportunity to clean the leather, test all the electrical connections in the door, and tighten up all the connections in the door. Sound quality has vastly improved in the cabin.

• New Cross Drilled Front and Rear Rotors (Coated)

  Installed a set of cross-drilled rotors on the front wheels to combat the squealing that was coming back, and also to improve braking performance. The coating protects the rest of the rotor from rust and other such problems.

• New 80 GB iPod (5th Generation) Under Dash

  I mounted an iPod Classic with my entire music library (only took up half of the space) under the dash, so I have full access to any music I want, without having to fumble with anything or have the iPod in view where it could get damaged or stolen. Since all the iPod controls go through the stereo head unit, there’s no need for it to be visible, and it can easily be taken out to plug in another one, or load more music onto it.

• New Ignition Coils

  Was noticing some hesitation, especially when the car was cold, and just recently it stumbled a few times while driving. Replacing the coils did the trick, an holy cow, I must have put 30 horses back in the stable. Much more power after a cold start and when moving from a stop, not to mention smoother driving and power in general. Would recommend doing even if you aren’t noticing a problem.

• New O2 Sensor and Fabspeed Sport Cat

  The old oxygen sensor was pretty much welded to the exhaust pipe with rust, so I took the opportunity to replace both.

• New A/C Belt, New Fan Belt, and New Alternator Belt

  Belts were getting worn, so I swapped all three (didn’t want another one breaking as they did with the distributor, better to swap them out now). Found that less-expensive equivalents to the special Porsche tool can be used to hold the shaft in place and break the nut that holds the pulleys on. Used a tension gauge to measure the tension of the belts.

• New Spark Plugs

  While checking compression during the distributor rebuild, figured I’d put in new spark plugs, as it was on my to-do list.

• Rebuilt Distributor and new Distributor Belt

  Had a troublesome misfire when starting the car, and found the the secondary distributor rotor spun freely: meaning the drive belt had broken. First owner had neglected teh vent kit, and by the time I installed it, it was already wearing down. Use the instructions from p-car.com to rebuild the distributor. Had to drill the pin that keeps the drive gear in place, then pull the whole shaft out and insert the new one. Took the opportunity to clean the whole thing out, blow some canned air inside it, and re-lubricate the bearings. After some fiddling with the timing and checking compression, got it up and running again.

• New Rear Spoiler Drive Motor

  While driving to the gym my [!] light came on, along with the rear spoiler indicator on the main instrument panel, and when I stopped I confirmed that something was wrong with the system. Since the warning came on when I reached 55 mph, I figured the control circuit was ok, so it must have been a problem in the mechanics of it. The drive and gears were ok, but when I pulled the motor out of its housing and gave it some juice, nothing happened. Turns out the bearing on teh end of the worm gear had corroded over time, and eventually the extra strain on the motor burned it out.

  Found a replacement on ebay for 1/4 the price of a new one, and so far it works great.

• Re-sealed Canopy

  Used some official PORSCHE canopy water-proofer to re-seal the canopy to fight all the rainy weather we’ve been having. Also re-polished the polyglass rear window.

• New Tires

  Got a puncture that went into the sidewall, but thankfully happened at home so I was able to get new tires within the hour. Also had alignment redone.

• New Brake Pads, Stainless Steel Brake Lines, Brake Fluid, and Anti-squeel Pads

  Didn’t have space or time to work, so I took this project in to a shop to have done. Definitely notice a difference, both in response and noise reduction (finally!). Next job is to replace the rotors with cross-drilled type. Current rotors aren’t in the best of shape (not warped, but getting grooves in them), and are going to start squeeling again before too long.

• iPod “Dock”

  My iPod Nano has a plastic clip on the back that I use to clip to an arm band when I exercise. To make a similar place to clip it in the car, I took a 1x1.5-inch piece of hard plastic, wrapped a black elastic band around it and used epoxy to glue the back on, then screwed it into the passenger’s side of the centre console. Since it’s black and flush with the carpet, it’s unobtrusive and blends seemlessly, but is easy to then slide the iPod clip over the elastic, plug in the stereo head unit from the USB wire under the dash, and have my whole music library to listen to.

• New Distributor Caps and Rotors

  Not too difficult, main hitch is getting the wires off the distributor caps. Cut myself a few times working in there, but got it done fairly easily.

• Transmission fluid change (front diff and rear trans)

  Changed to Redline gear oil. Had lost a slight amount of fluid in the front, though the back was completely fine. Also didn’t fint any metal shavings on the plug magnet, so that’s reassuring.

• New Rear Reflector, Tail Lights, Driver’s Side Fog light

  My rear reflector and tail lights were all cracked when I bought the car, most likely over time moisture got inside them and froze, cracking the plastic and making them appear very dull. Also changed the tail lights to get a matching rear, and replaced the cracked fog light lens in the front.

• New Hood Pull and Power Window Switch

  I accidentally pulled on my hood release too hard, snapping off a piece of plastic that held the wire in place. Found a replacement one at a Porsche/BMW scrap yard, and combined pieces to make a new working unit with the same lock as the original. As for the window switch, it had gotten sticky with age, but turned out it was easy enough to pop the old one out and put the new one in—no need to remove the whole door panel as I originally feared.

• New center caps from Ralph T. Boothe Designs

  The ones that came with the car I originally though were the black/white kind...then when I checked closely they turned out to be color, just so old and worn out you couldn’t tell. I ordered some high-quality ones from Boothe Designs, and I have to say, I’m very pleased with them. They feel very solid, and look extremely slick.

  Pictures to come...

• Install stereo with iPod/HDD input, HD Radio Receiver

  Previous “new” stereo had great specs online, but in real life failed with, in my opinion, some of the basic design aspecs. Mainly, tactile feedback. The buttons were horribly unresponsive, and a simple matter of changing songs would require 3 to 5 presses of the » button before one of them registered. The HD radio tuner, while great for some stations, for some reason made NPR so full of static that I could barely stand it. I also discovered that when I'd remove the faceplate, the reception improved...turned out the faceplate created RF interference with the HD tuner. (The same way a speaker goes crazy when you put a phone near it while it's sending data.)

  Luckly, I was able to return it, and purchased an Alpine iDA-X305S. I wired the USB input to the feet of the passenger, and it interfaces with my iPod, iPhone, and portable HDDs. Also has great radio reception. Only downside is no disc player (CD or DVD), but since most people have some sort of MP3 player these days, I just put all my CDs on the HDD, and I'm good. It also matches the interior amazingly well. So far, no complaints. Bluetooth and Satelite radio to come next, along with a better amp and speakers.

  Even the after-market stereo the previous owner put in is out of date, so I replaced it with a Clarion VZ309 unit and satelite radio link. It also features auxiliary video out, video input, and an iPod input which is wired to my glove box. Also comes with a remote. Haven't figured out what to do with the auxiliary video/audio, but could be fun to fiddle with. Next step will be speakers and a new amplifier...

• New Windshield

  After an epic battle with my insurance, I got them to authorize a replacement windshielf from the local dealership using OEM parts. Figured with the deductible I had, might as well go right to the source with someone who is used to working on the car. Finally got rid of that crack that happened when a perfectly-placed pebble nailed me on the freeway.

• Canopy Rubber Gaskets Replaced

  The rubber gasket that goes on the canopy and meets with the driver and passanger windows has a fabric covering that was coming apart after years of wear, so I replaced both of them (the top ones were good enough to keep), and it now has a clean look and seal.

• New DME Relay

  Still trying to track down a voltage leak...so I put in a new DME relay as it seemed to be a common culprit for others, and isn't an expensive fix. The old one will be kept on-hand as an emergency replacement. I have yet to go through the entire fusebox and track down the voltage leak for sure though.

• Fixed Trunk Carpet

  The carpet in the trunk had a few snaps pull through the fabric, but I was able to find a canvas-like cloth that matched the bottom of the carpet lining almost exactly, and used that for a small patch. I was also able to find perfectly matching snaps to replace the old ones. While I was at it I also cleaned the carpet and used a leather cleaning solution, followed by oil, to clean the leather trim. Looks like new.

• Installed Aluminum Door Pulls

  The OEM interior door pulls were a bit faded from time, and looked dated. So I replaced them with some aluminum ones with a black powder-coated finish (I think it matches the enterior better and isn't as obviously after-market as the brushed aluminum ones).

  Getting the lower pocket off to access the pin wasn't much of a problem. There are five screws along the bottom and sides, and then it simply pops out. Once that's out of the way (and this was a good time to clean the pocket and leather too) remove the clip from the top of the pin, slide that out, and replace the pull with the new one.

• Installed Aluminum Gauge Bezels

  Bought the kit from Rennline at the same time I got a battery mounting kit. I have to say, I'm happy with both. The gauge bezels were very nice, fit snug, and looked professional. Definitely bumps the interior up a few points in my opinion.

• Installed vent kit

  After inadvertantly blowing the radio/blower fuse during the stereo update, I realized that the PO hadn't installed a vent kit. Just to be safe, I think new belts all around will have to be one of my next projects.

• Odyssey 925 Battery and kill-switch

  Decided to go with a ligthweight Odyssey 925 battery, mounted with Rennline's mounting kit. This is partly to reduce weight, partly to avoid eating batteries if the car sits too long and drains to zero (killing the battery), and to short-cut tracking down any voltage leaks associated with the new stereo and the amp/speakers soon to come. Right now the switch is in the trunk by the battery (with the mounting kit), but in the future will be relocated to the cockpit, once I determine the best way of doing it.

• Titanium/Aluminum replacements

  I've begun the process of reducing weight, step one of which was fitting some titanium bolts in place of the stock ones. Not much of a gain, of course, but they look good and resist corrosion, and I plan on swapping out a few other parts for aluminum equivalents, as well as carbon fibre where suitable. No, carbon fibre will not be placed all over the car. I'm not going to rice a Porsche 911. Next in line with be drilled aluminum floorboards.

• Replaced AC mixing servo

  I pulled this out myself in an attempt to fix it, but unfortunately the motor was already fried, so there was nothing I could do. Found a cheaper used one from a guy on Pelican, and was able to get it put in without too much trouble. The only trick is to make sure the lever for the vent is set to the same angle as the servo shaft before you screw it on. Otherwise, you may have a servo set to one side and a lever set to another, only to snap it when the survo moves even further.

• Replace hood shocks

  The first time, it's a bit tricky, but now that I've done it, I don't know what I was worried about. It looks hard to reach, but just take a long flathead screwdriver and pop the bottom of the piston off (it's a ball and socked connection). You'll want to do the bottom first, and have the hood proped open at this point. Pull the clip off the top, remove the pin, and grab the next one.

  Now here's where I messed up the first one. Make sure and put the top of the new piston on first, otherwise you'll get the bottom popped on (and it's really tough to get off), and you won't be able to get the top part on without taking more of the hood off. Put the top piece in, replace the pin, replace the clip, and then pop the bottom point on. There! You're done! Repeat for the second one.

• Rewire/replace cabin light

  My interior cabin light was busted, so I got a new one from Pelican Parts. Not too big of a job, I pulled out the old wiring, tested with a different bulb to find the problem, then reconnected the new light and snapped in place.

• Replace engine compartment lid shocks

  This one, believe it or not, was actually easier than the front hood. Although they look hard to reach, you can squeeze your arm back inside the engine compartment, where as with the hood, you had to rely on a screwdriver or other prodding device to do it for you.

  Simply prop the hood open to begin. Remove the air filter from the right side, and, reaching your arm all the way back, remove the clip from the pin that holds the piston in place. Set this aside. Then, pushing the hood as far up as it will go so as to fully extend and loosen the piston, slide the rear pin out. Be careful! If you drop it, you'll never see it again. Now that the piston's loose, follow the same procedure for the front clip and pin. Be careful to keep track of the pins, as the longer one is for the inside end.

  To insert the new pison, I first put the pin in the front, so it was being held up, then reached back with one arm and felt around until I got the pin in place. I then replaced the clips for each pin, replace the air filter, and moved to the other side. On the left piston there's nothing to remove, which made it a bit more difficult, but if you're careful and take your time, you can do the same as the previous one without too much trouble.

• Oil change and air filter change
  
• Metal valve stem caps with Porsche crest

  Yeah, I'm one of those guys that buys these things... Attention to detail counts!

• Update center console holder

  The center console came with an outdated casette holder, which was all the rage in the '90s (I'm guessing). Previous owner hadn't replace it, so I did.

To Do:

• New spark plugs

  As part of a general tune-up, probably a few other replacements as well.

• Performance intake

  I promised myself no performance upgrades for a while...

• Aero mirror kit

  A bit more modern look couldn't hurt.

• 993 Steering Wheel

  Looks a bit slicker and more modern than the 964-style wheel. The airbag cover has better curves.

• Rennline Aluminum Strutt Brace

  Improve handling on sharp corners.

Wish List:

• 993 Tiptronic steering wheel (tiptronic controls wired for use with radio)
• Dual Exhaust
• 964 Turbo (3.6L) or 993 Twin Turbo (Already have a “fund” started)
• Turbo S tail

• Pelican Parts (good for anything under the sun, and excellent technical forums)


• Porsche's USA Website (always nice to look)


• John's Porsche 964 Website (found some good info here for DIY projects)


• P-car.com (lots of good info on DIY maintenance and the 964 in general)


• Wikipedia's Porsche 964 Article (gives a basic overview of the model)


• Auto Atlanta (A Site with easy-to-navigate diagrams of your 911, making it easy to find parts)


• Save the Flash!
  

Our First Road Trip

September, 2009