Suggestions for Modifying a 1977 Porsche 911s

September 5, 2008

A new reader contacted us the other day looking for suggestions on how to modify his ‘77 911s. In his own words he would like the Porsche:

“to look like a ‘77, but have the ability to hang with a modern ‘vette or anything else that might take it for granted.”

As the pictures below show, the car is in nice cosmetic condition (we love the Minerva Blue exterior) and currently runs well. The owner is looking for suggestions that will give him the best bang for the buck while meeting his stated goal(s).

Personally, we’re not huge fans of modified Porsches (we’re purists by nature) but have no problem with what others want to do to their own cars.

Manufacturer’s Specs for a 1977 Porsche 911s

The 2.7 liter, normally aspirated, motor produced 157 hp and a top speed north of 130 mph. Curves were carved using a combination of MacPherson struts, shocks and anti-sway bars while stopping power was applied via vented disk brakes. Outside of the common problem of “pulled” cylinder head studs known to plague these magnesium blocked cars the ‘77 was a great car for the time and one that still represents a good bargain today.

Before getting into possible mods, let’s start with some basic information regarding the car itself:

Engine Displacement and Type: (all 50 States) - Typ/911/85; 2687 cc (163.9 cid) SOHC, Bosch K-Jetronic fuel injection (CIS), air pump, thermal reactors, EGR
Maximum HP: 157 SAE net @5800 RPM
Maximum Torque: 168 ft-lb @ 4000 RPM
Weight: 2470 lbs + 90 with Targa
0-60 mph: 7.5 seconds (factory)
Max Speed: 134 mph (factor) subtract 1.2 seconds Sportmatic
Brakes: Vented disk brakes. Power assisted w/M590 Comfort package and Sportmatic
Steering: ZF rack-and-pinion
Suspension Front: MacPherson struts with telescoping shock absorbers, wishbones, torsion bars, antisway bar. Optional softer Bilstein shocks in M590 Comfort Package
Suspension Rear: telescoping shock abosrbers, two-piece trailing arms, transverse torsion bars, antisway bar, Optional softer Bilstein shocks in M590 Comfort Package
Transmission: 915/61 4-speed

Suggested Mods

Normal suggestions for most modification generally include:

increased hp (possible motor swap)
improved suspension
transmission upgrade
new wheels and tires (handling of the normally aspirated ’77s can be greatly improved by increasing to the 16″ tires that came standard on the Turbo/930)
improved braking (a lot of people forget that when you increase hp you need to increase your stopping power too)
interior and exterior cosmetics including paint, seats and electronics

The owner of this car is looking for specific suggestions from other early 911 owners. Have any of you modified your cars? If so, what have you done? Are there things you’ve done that you now wish you hadn’t? Conversely, are there things you didn’t do you wish you had included? Let us know by commenting below or using the contact page to get in touch with us.

[Tech Spec Source: Randy Leffingwell’s Porsche 911 Buyer’s Guide]

Written by 993C4S · Filed Under Advice, Porsche 911 2.7 | 12 Comments

Question on Porsche Suspension Options from a new Owner

August 15, 2008

I receive a lot of email from readers of 993C4S. I do my very best to respond to each one in a timely manner. A lot of the email comes from one of my previous posts where I owned up to the fact that “I’m not a Porsche expert, but I play one on the Internet.” In this post I offered to answer any question you may have, so long as it was Porsche related. You know the saying “be careful what you wish for.” Does that ever fit in this situation. The fact is, I have a pretty long back-log of questions to answer and I’m doing my level best to get to each of them. For most of you, I will answer directly via email. For others, such as Greg, a new Porsche 993 owner and whose question is the subject of this post, I will answer on the site.

Greg recently purchased a 1996 Porsche 993 C4S. Those are pictures of his new baby below. Greg’s purchase brought him a beautiful example in Arena Red (one of my favorite colors for a Porsche 993, second only to Forest Green which we all know is the fastest color) with 19k miles, and a multitude of upgrades including: HID headlights, Euro-front bumper, factory wing, Eibach springs (to lower from SUV ride height) and RSR mufflers. All in all a very well configured Porsche 993 C4S.

On Greg’s car, the previous owner had simply installed the shorter Eibach springs and did nothing else to the suspension. As a result, Greg wanted more information on PSS9s. He was familiar with most of the upgrades on my best upgrades for the money list, but not the PSS9s. After a brief email exchange, we were able to distill the question down even further:

“What is the ideal Porsche suspension set-up that provides a lowered ride height and still offers a compliant ride?”

As my car is still at stock ride height with no plans on changing it (I like the supple ride as my wife and I take long road trips as often as possible) I didn’t feel I was the best person to answer the question. I did explain that the PSS9s are probably the most common option, that I was aware, of and the reason people liked them was their ability to be adjusted. So, instead of just publishing one opinion, I wanted to open the floor to all of you, the readers.

Don’t let the URL of this site fool you, we’re not all about 993s. I hear from the onwers of plenty of other models (911 SCs, 930s, 964, 996) with similar questions. Let’s hear your opinion. What suggestions would you give to Greg for lowering his ride height while still keeping a supply/compliant ride? Use the comment field below to let us know or email me at suspensionsuggestions@993C4S.com

Written by 993C4S · Filed Under First Time Porsche Owner | 4 Comments

The Correct Way to Pronounce Porsche

August 13, 2008

porsh-uh-not-porsh My blog puts me in touch with Porsche owners the world over. Lately, what used to be as rare as an original 550 Spyder seems to be as prolific as a Honda Accord (and this from amongst the anointed few.) What blasphemy is this that I speak of? None other than the incorrect pronunciation of our beloved brand. If you’re new to the marque then the confusion is understandable. However, if you are a long time Porsche owner then there really is no excuse. No, it’s not the end of the world it you don’t pronounce it correctly, you just risk sounding like a sheisskopf to those in the know…

Let’s review. The Porsche brand is of German origin and a family/surname. These two facts combine to provide an easy and definitive pronunciation.

Fact 1: In the German language, the “e” at the end of Porsche is pronounced. IT IS NOT SILENT. Very similar to the the word Deutsche. It’s not DOYTSCH. It’s DOYTSCH-UH.

Fact 2: Forget about Fact 1. This is a family name. If you listen to discussions with, or about, any of the founding family members, they all pronounce the name in one way and one way only.

This means that Porsche is never pronounced PORSH and should always be pronounced PORSH-UH.

The only correct pronunciation of Porsche is Porsh-Uh

Someone actually wanted to debate this with me the other night by suggesting there is no correct pronunciation. Their argument was that PORSH was just the “American” translation of the German word. I’m sure you can imaging my response, “Nein, nein, nein!! Das ist nicht richtig!” (not correct) The fact is Porsche (PORSH-UH) is a family name. You don’t decide how you want to pronounce it. You pronounce it as it was meant to be. Verstehen Sie (understand)?

By the way, Porsche (you should now be pronouncing it correctly) is not the only German brand or name to suffer this fate. Take a look at the table below for other familiar examples. At the bottom is a link for the correct pronunciation of each name including PORSH-UH!

Frequently Mispronounced Terms
GERMAN in ENGLISH with correct phonetic pronunciation
Word/Name	Pronunciation
Adidas™	AH-dee-dass
Bayer™	bye-er
Braun™ Eva Braun	brown (not ‘brawn’)
Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel)	soyce
Goethe German author, poet	GER-ta (’er’ as in fern) and all oe-words
Hofbräuhaus in Munich	HOFE-broy-house
Loess/Löss (geology) fine-grained loam soil	lerss (’er’ as in fern)
Neanderthal Neandertal	nay-ander-tall
Porsche™	PORSH-uh
Gerhard Schröder German chancellor	shrer-der (’er’ as in fern) not shro-der!
Phonetic guides shown are only approximate. Terms marked with the ™ symbol are trademarked brands. Hear MP3 Audio for these words!