Best first mods to air-cooled 911

Hello everyone, I helped my friend find his first 911 (1988 3.2). Does anyone have any recommendations for good value modifications. The car already has an a/m exhaust Thanks

TBH it all depends on the condition of car, that and is it a holy grail Aussie delivered car. Just getting everything in good order usually gets them an increase in performance in all areas so performance mods as such might not be necessary at all, and any mods should be done in a way that's reversable if you stray from stock. If the car is an import, a touch rough or already strayed from stock the world is your oyster to hot rod, as for good value mods the best thing I ever did was to fit modern electric A/C, seriously made the biggest impact to owning and enjoying an older Porsche, no it was not cheap but it was awesome value for the bucks. Next best thing I did was build myself some LED headlights and did a full LED makeover of the car, just another thing that dragged the car into the present as in ease of use on a daily basis, and was minimal cost. For 3,2s and a/m exhaust and a I think adding Steve Wong chip is pretty standard starting point, otherwise just get everything up to scratch that needs it in order of urgency.

Yep...backdate it 👍 😁 (jokes, calm down purists 😉 ) They're a pretty good thing as they came from the factory, so apart from cosmetic mods that are reversible (importance being on the reversible), all I'd be doing is renewing/ upgrading suspension, brakes, the sound and a good tune. It depends what your mate likes/wants, and how he defines 'good value', as a lot of the mods we do to our cars are wants more than needs...which I call a fun tax

Wevo shifter and suspension........who needs brakes!

Lights, turbo tie rod ends, wevo, brakes.

Wevo short shifter was my first mod, though that was on a 915 gearbox. Transformed the box!

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Good tyres suited to driver use and  depending on the age and brand on it atm. What did you end up finding? I remember you were struggling with colour selection.

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Thanks for reply. It is a well sorted Aussie 911 3.2 G50. Needs a few new bushes here and there's, but ok overall. I terms of brakes. Any suggestions. Being late models 3.2. I think only really easy upgrade is turbo brakes, but very expensive? Maybe cheaper better alternatives now. It has G50 trans. I don't think much point doing wevo?

What I would do if I ever bought a third 3.2: Install fuses in the ashtray and ventilation control light circuits and the front evaporator fan - Plenty of Pelican post on this to avoid burning out metres of wiring. Install relays in the headlight circuits - J West do a kit Remove all the old wiring associated with long abandoned immobilisers, alarms and graphic equalisers.  Install a simple immobiliser. Remove the tank, treat the corrosion around the seam, repaint and replace seal.  Replace the fuel pump too While tank is out, wax treat all the front body voids and the doors.  Repair paint around battery Install turbo tierod ends and install Bilstein shock inserts Regas AC with Hychill 30 and just see how it goes.  Don't bother with R134a conversions, Hychill works better and you don't have to change hoses. Steve Wong chip to go with your aftermarket exhaust.  Otherwise a Monty or M&K Replace the now ancient fuel injectors with modern 6-hole injectors.  I can give you a part number if you want. Check the hose clamp on the inlet elbow is not restricting throttle getting to WOT. Bridgestone RE003 Potenza's - Often on 4 for the price of 3 sales 21 to 23mm spacers for the rear 7" rims.  Don't bother with 8" rims. Flush the algae out of the windscreen washer tank and get the pumps working. Run 20w-50 in API SP Fix all those little problems that just mount up as the previous owner loses interest and things get neglected.  For example, if the brake calipers haven't been rebuilt yet, they are probably due as the pistons seize through lack of use and age. Just drive it

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Thanks. I did turbo tie rods and after a year or so I went back to stock. Much preferred the stocks. Maybe not popular opinion. Any idea for brakes? This is G50. Not sure if much point? Tyres were old, so for rwc new tyres fitted. I believe pirelli re002 from memory now. He actually bought a 996 gt3 6 months ago, but found it a bit hard to live with for weekend use, had issues with coolant leak too and then decided to trade it for a granite green 911 3.2 coupe. Very tidy, low kms (190). Wow thank you Peter. Is the rust under fuel tank common on Aussie cars? Any way to see without removing tank before you do? Got me worried for my car now. Have heard about headlights and blowers, but never for ash tray and ventilation lights? Is this simple to do? His alarm is maybe 30 years old, but still working ok. Lots of wiring under dash. Maybe leave until dies? Paint around battery look OK. Small surface rust really. We checked before buying. Do you prefer turbo tie rod to stock? I feel I prefer the way car is with stock. Has 2 new shocks because they leaked from sitting. I think oem Sachs brand. A/C needs refurb. Gas has leaked. Thanks for recommending Wiper motor working ok for rwc Car has 7 and 8 inch wheels already. A bit easier anyway. To fit spacer too much headache. Think you have to get extended studs and remove hub, or maybe just use hubcentric spacer. Thank you

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Brakes: A good set of pads will be fine for spirited road driving. Which ones I have no idea, so someone else more experienced in tht department would be better to ask. Sure you can upgrade with turbo brakes or a Boxster conversion kit, yet I just think for road use the standard callipers with decent pads is all you really need. There's always a point to fit a Wevo or similar 😁 If your mate likes quality gear, there's some of the shifters available for the G50 that also look the business

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The foam seal that goes between the body and the seam of the tank often holds moisture that results in the seam rusting.  If left long enough the stone guard lifts and allows water to rust the exposed seam and makes pin holing a possibility.  Both my 3.2's had sections of rusty seam that needed treatment. Installing a couple inline fuses in the ashtray and ventilation light circuits is easy and much quicker than replacing burnt wiring.  Installing an inline fuse for the evaporator blower is usually done by plugging in separate, "intermediary" harness that has the fuse built in.  Place like Pelican sell them but they are easy to make as the connectors are readily available. While the tank and battery are out, I'd wax the hollow sections as they are easy to get at, including the hollow bit under the battery tray. I've never driven a car with new stock tie rods so I can't comment.  You have more knowledge than me on this! I've used hubcentrics previously without issue.  With my current car I liked the idea of 944 spacers and longer studs.  Both are workable. I notice brakes have been mentioned a few times by others.  However, I just suggest you check the pads are wearing evenly.  If they are not, I would suspect one of the caliper pistons has partially seized.  The calipers are straight forward to rebuild and the parts are readily available and cheap by Porsche standards.

Preventative maintanence is always the best first. Also, I was concerned as the cars age with catching fire. Old fuel lines etc. Maybe a fire suppression kit under the deck lid?

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I have a Blaze Cut fitted just in case...

I suggest an elephant racing restoration suspension kit. And a major service at PCM. I like to keep things mostly stock.

The Classic Retrofit fuse board upgrade is great too, it comes with improved headlight relay setup, check out all their stuff for a 3.2, while you check out their modern A/C system

Lots of great ideas & suggestions but @davidtran we still don’t know what floats your mates boat… What do they plan to do with the car? What’s their passions?? Track it, drive to woollies, cruise with partner to the shops?? I really like notchy tight gears, so even though I have a G50, I wanted more. For others it’s ok as is… as you said, what’s the point. For me I looked at wevo, too exxy. So I got JWest g50 short shifter… quite a few hundred bucks cheaper and made a big diff. I bought led globes to improve the weak beams and the headlights went white, cool white, just a big white disk of light. It looked awful imo. And cool white looked odd to me.  Went back to warm candles. I don’t drive  it much at night anyway. But if your mate loves the new singer style lights, worth spending $2-3k? For me no. is it Aussie delivered, import, modded already… completely stock?? This also drives a bit of what to do… as mentioned already by others… Again, is retaining resale value important? - sorry if I missed your earlier reply on this. could go on with what I changed, added, removed…. But stop here.

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Anyone have any experience with short shifter for G50? Any benefit?

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The main benefit with any short shifter set up is a shorter throw and a more positive shift. Wevo say up to 30% less throw with a 915 gearbox, so you'd imagine it'd be similar with a G50, which is a good thing 😁

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Thanks you Peter He like me doesn't was the car, or drive in rains. I guess more of an urgent issue if you doing both those things. A fair bit involved to fix if you want it done properly. Maybe better to do it if at some point you get a panel painted or something. That is good idea! Is it just 6 cable ties of which 3 are secured to body? Is it a big job to change the fuse box over? Can you do it easily on your own, or is it better with workshop? Any more feedback would be great. They are good suggestions. Have you used both wevo and j West? Much benefit over each other and over the stock setup. The car is Australian delivered. Very tidy. Won't be tracked. Just weekend drives really. Mods ultimately reversed because of resale. It's not perfect, but it's a good honest car. Rare colour.

Wevo vs jwest i have the jwest short shift and it’s a big change. Very tight gears, shorter throw - for me it’s what I like & wanted. Ive only sat in an older sc with a 915 box fitted with a wevo and again it felt amazingly tight but I didn’t drive it. For me, the few hundred $$ savings on jwest made it worthwhile.

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Three cable ties holding it at the top of the deck lid. One at the bottom. The other two are to hold the ends into a loop. Hopefully it will never be used, but I like the idea of this being there.  Hopefully it'll extinguish any fire long before I can jump out with either my extinguisher or Fire Stryker. Yes I have both, as I still have the photo of a burnt out Air-cooled Porsche in Adelaide with around 5 empty 1 kg extinguishers on the ground etched in my memory!

Hi @davidtran , The installation of the Classic Retrofit fuse board is a direct replacement for the standard fuse board, an easy job, comes with instructions. I have done this with two of my previous G Bodied cars, as you can see it gives you modern blade fuses and uprated headlight relays, cool feature is if a fuse blows a light indicating the blown fuse illuminates to show where it is.