The Semi-Unofficial Pistol-Forum Car geek, gearhead, hot rodder, and vehicle thread

[rob_s]

Maybe it’s because I’m a child of this era, but the car that appears at 1:41 of this clip will always be what I think of when I think “Porsche”.

[rayrevolver]

It...could be.

The 987/981 Caymans are not exactly blessed with torque. The 3.4l NA engine on my 981S had to be kept on the boil fairly constantly, in order to make significant progress. On a track (I am not a track guy) I am sure it'd be a lot of fun. As a DD, eh, I dunno.

The new Pilots are a plus. 107K is a bit long in the tooth, but AFAIK, the flat sixes in these cars don't seem to come with yuge bugs like the infamous IMS bearing.

Have you driven a base 987 before?

Edit to add: The main reason I sold my 981S was lack of space - there is room for you, your super-model girlfriend, and *maybe* a couple sheets of paper behind the front seat - that's it. You do get a pretty big frunk, and the hatch while at first seems useful is actually about the size of a child's suitcase. Now a lot of guys like them, and they are swoopy cars, to be sure, but you REALLY have to like the driving experience...

My only high HP car was a 405hp/405ftlb Z06, so I do have experience with that level of performance. But I think I have said in other car threads I had a SVT Focus at the same time as the Z06, and while the Z was a beast everywhere, the SVT was ultimately more fun to drive because the limits were met on the street without having to go crazy fast. But yeah, I do miss the acceleration in that Z. The SVTF is gutless compared to any flat-6, you have to work for the speed.

The 2001 Base/Auto Boxster I drive now would be very similar to that Cayman, with 20 less hp. There were times early on when I wish it had more power but those thoughts have passed. 219hp is enough for my "I'm a dad now and don't want to die" driving habits. I enjoy energy management and this thing is perfect for that mission. I think it reminds me that I would rather have the Miata than the muscle car.

Maybe it’s because I’m a child of this era, but the car that appears at 1:41 of this clip will always be what I think of when I think “Porsche”.

Yeah Rob, that is a 964. Its funny those cars were looked down upon back in the day and now people are coming around. My friend has one in San Diego and they are classics.

I am partial to the next generation after the 964, called the 993. Its the last of the air-cooled cars and something I would own if I won the lottery. And a 1991 BMW E30 M3 as well.

EDIT: I guessed that car is a 964 RS America, but I am not sure. I know that it has a Turbo tail (or whale tail) but I don't think the Turbo body. Regardless, a very cool car. My buddy is turning his 964 into a "RS" type replica, which is like a stripped down RS America.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/19...rs-america-21/

[Welder]

I always wanted a 959; I still remember reading about it in a Motor Trend in my school's library. Same reason I've lusted after a C4 ZR1. Have been close to buying a ZR1 a couple of times, but always ended up with a regular C4 instead. One day maybe. The C4 gets crapped on enough that eventually a ZR1 will make enough financial sense to be in my garage. But a 959? LOL, I'm not *that* good of a welder.

[RJ]

The 2001 Base/Auto Boxster I drive now would be very similar to that Cayman, with 20 less hp. There were times early on when I wish it had more power but those thoughts have passed. 219hp is enough for my "I'm a dad now and don't want to die" driving habits. I enjoy energy management and this thing is perfect for that mission. I think it reminds me that I would rather have the Miata than the muscle car.

Rats I'm sorry I forgot you had a Boxster. Strike all after "good morning" then. To be honest I've never driven a PDK P-car. Several loaners from the dealership, yes, but they were either Cayenne's or Macans (with a torque converter? I'm not sure; but I don't think they had a PDK.) The only MT 911 I was able to find to drive while looking was a 4WD S; the sales manager at the dealer here in Tampa is a buddy, he had one and he let me take it out for a quick drive to see how the Sports Chrono option worked with an MT. It was quick. I'm still pretty happy with my poverty-spec '17 991.2, it gets me through traffic speedily enough, and is still enjoyable to drive 18 months after I bought it used last June.

Back to that Cayman - it has a 5MT, right? Would that be a bit more appropriate gearbox for that engine than an AT, of whatever flavor? I'm definitely not a track guy, but I "get" the fluidity of motion of getting from corner to corner. (And an E30 M3? Yeah, that works. I was on bimmerfest for the longest time as "Wingspan"; loved my 6MT E46 ZHP to bits over eight years. I think I've related that car landed my my current wife .) As compared to a Miata: Every time I've seen one of those close up, I've been taken with how tiny they are - and I'm only 5'6". Kinda in the same vein as the Honda S2000. Shame they stopped making those...as well as the original Acura NSX; the one that Ayrton took around Suzuka in that famous video of his footwork...in penny loafers, no less.

[olstyn]

I am partial to the next generation after the 964, called the 993. Its the last of the air-cooled cars and something I would own if I won the lottery.

You are not alone. IMO the 993 is the prettiest 911 Porsche ever made, and the fact that it's the last of the air-cooled cars also contributes to its specialness.

I always wanted a 959

Uh, yes please.

[rayrevolver]

You are not alone. IMO the 993 is the prettiest 911 Porsche ever made, and the fact that it's the last of the air-cooled cars also contributes to its specialness.

My friend with the 964 does not like the 993 at all. Whatever man!

Kinda in the same vein as the Honda S2000. Shame they stopped making those...as well as the original Acura NSX; the one that Ayrton took around Suzuka in that famous video of his footwork...in penny loafers, no less.

Man, lots to think about in these statements! I am a Honda motorcycle guy and got a ride in an S2000 in the 2002 timeframe. It was amazing but had no torque whatsoever. The digital tach looked like my current motorcycle at the time, an RC51.

What stinks is the S2000 is double the price of the cheaper 99-01 Boxsters. I would love to own the 2.2L S2000.

Senna in that video! I can see it now.

True story, I was 13 years old and my 12 year old friend, TWELVE, drove me around in a Honda NSX (in Asia). It was his dads friends car and he let us take it. Of course my buddy drove it like a wildman. His family had a Galant VR4, which was a quick car, so he was a good driver for a 12 year old. Lol... gotta love third world countries!

[Welder]

His family had a Galant VR4

That was a car that you didn't see much. I had the even rarer one, the Galant GSX. Not cooler, just more rare. It was basically the Galant VR4 AWD system put into a Galant GS with the non-aspirated 4G63. It really took a terrific amount of abuse from me, it's 18 yo owner. I revved that thing past 5k and dropped the clutch many, many times while racing my best friend in his base model Probe. I of course always got a head start on him, but by the other end of our college parking lot he was always ahead. I never had a moment's trouble with that car, but the next generation Galant was so uninspiring by comparison that I was never tempted to get one.

I still put "VR4" and "VR-4" into CL every now and then so I can look at the different Mitsu's that pop up.

[awp_101]

[RevolverRob]

So I had an epiphany about the K-powered E36/E46 project today.

Just doghouse the firewall and move the engine back to eliminate the oil pump/steering rack clearance problem. Found some pics and it looks like it only needs about 3 inches or so. You'd be reworking the crossmember into a nicely triangulated subframe, but wouldn't have to screw with steering geometry changes. You'd save $1000 by not using the K-Miata oil pan and pump system, which would still require serious crossmember mods. Moving the trans crossmember back would be simple. With BMW's remote-mounted shifter, you can just shorten it and keep the lever in the same position. Make the doghouse above the trans tunnel removable like in an old-school van and it would be easy to work on the back of the engine because it's a track car and the dash is going to be a foam and fiberglass shell held in place with 8 Dzus anyway.

Damn brain herpes.

I haven't looked, is the issue that none of the various k-swap pans work? There are pans for the S14/S15 chassis, in addition to the E30, Miata, soon the FRS/86, AE86, and S2K all out there. Moroso or Canton, I can't remember which, also have a 'universal' swap pan. I agree the K-Miata stuff is pricey, Touge Factory has a swap pan that's cheaper.

All beside the point though, because the oil pump upgrade that K-Miata is doing is a fairly standard upgrade for RWD k-swaps. As near as I can tell the upgraded Type-S pump + significant pan baffling is definitely necessary to prevent cavitation and then starvation in tight left-handers (if I'm remembering the way the engine cants initially and subsequently gets turned when installed longitudinally, which I may not be, in which case it would be tight right-handers).

I'm planning on running both the upgraded pump setup and an Accusump on the Sunbeam. I'm not sure which pan I'll run yet, because I really won't have clearance issues given the way the gearbox worked out in my trans tunnel. I can almost push the cylinder head back to the firewall without issue, since I'll block off the transmission side water outlet and go with a different setup.

[OlongJohnson]

The problem is the front mounted oil pump hanging down below the crank girdle structure. It wants to be in the same place as the E36/E46 steering rack. So the rack needs to move forward several inches, which could be counted on to screw up one of the best things about the car, or the engine needs to go back into the firewall.

It's enough to think about SR20 or 4G63 swaps. It would actually be easier to put a K in a Nissan S13-S15 chassis, as they are front sump. Ironically, the SR might be the best BMW swap. Altezza is front sump. Alfa GTV is front sump (I occasionally think about a 4A-GE 20V in one of those).

Reasonable Japanese turbo 4-cylinder swaps in order of difficulty, as I am thinking about it right now:

• Mazda BP - by far the easiest; just buy the stuff to adapt it to the BMW trans from K Power and build a couple mounts
  
• SR20DET - pretty straightforward to convert the pan to a rear sump and they come attached to good 5 speeds
  
• 3S-GE is somewhere in here, but I don't know much about getting Altezza BEAMS motors to run in chassis other than Altezzas, I don't know how good that tranny is, and they aren't exactly common.
  
• 4G63 - definitely more complicated due to lack of OE RWD applications, but solutions exist, and it can be converted to rear sump
  
• K20/K24 - transmission attachment is straightforward, but oil pump is not compatible with steering rack location and subframe. Dry sump would solve it, and might be cheaper and better than screwing around with the other stuff, but even it would have to be custom. All the dry sump pans I've found assume FWD installation clearances.

On the Sunbeam, I would not lose the rear coolant exit. Lack of a rear coolant exit is one of the fundamental weaknesses of Miatas, such that a coolant reroute to put the thermostat and the main discharge on the back of the head like it is in FWD applications is in the suite of BPUs for the car.