Since the car is going be used on the track, the first thing I got was a rollbar from Dougherty Automotive Services. I wasn't sure how I'd like the rollbar in the car, but Colin at DAS just told me to return it (before having it finished as it arrives as bare steel) if I didn't like it at no cost except shipping (what a nice guy). I guess he had confidence I wouldn't want to return it, as it is a beautiful piece. After a test fit of the rollbar, which is really easy in the Targa if you take the roof off, I had it sent out to be power coated black.
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This is how the rollbar looked when I was shipped to my house. I came home from work, and there it was, just sitting on the back step. It was unfinished steel, with a sticker on the B-pillar bar (where the black paint is) giving the serial number of the bar from DAS. |
I choose the DAS rollbar because I wanted a nice looking, but strong piece, but I also wasn't overly keen welding plates to the car to hold it in. The DAS rollbar uses stock holes and doesn't require any modification to the car.
Attached to the rollbar are two LEAF 6-point harnesses. I find these to be a nice fitting harness with the Camlock system and the shoulder straps easier to adjust than other harnesses I've tried.
| This is the rollbar in the car with the harnesses attached. The rear seat backs had to be removed to bolt in the rollbar. I mounted an I/O port camera mount to the rollbar so I can record my track events. |  |
Other small changes in the interior are a Momo Pilota steering wheel and a Momo shift knob as the stock pieces were looking a little worn. The Momo wheel is slightly smaller at only 350mm, so it feels better on the track, but it's harder to parallel park :)
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Here is an interior shot. The steering wheel and shift
knob have been replaced since the originals were a little worn. I was able to
secure a Porsche crest center cap for the wheel before they were removed from
the market. Also notice the "Wings" gas pedal. It's a very nice piece, and adjustable from the seat with a screwdriver. Excellent for heal/toe, but $$$ |
The large insulation pad on the rear deck was removed, and so were the rear speakers. An RS America carpet set will be going in in the spring since the rear seats and deck are of no use anymore. I also have a Bird Automotive center console installed in the car that I use when the car is on the street. It makes long drives more comfortable in the car, and it can be easily removed on track days.
| Between the seats you can see the Bird Automotive center
armrest. Helps on long drives and easily removable for the track. |
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Here is one of the new seats. I am looking forward to having the harnesses go through the seat instead of around it like on the factory seat. I just never felt secure with the harnesses so far out on my shoulders. The Porsche symbol on the seat is actually just a patch with velcro stuck to the back of it. The velcro attaches to the seat like glue. I don't know if I could get it off if I tried. The idea is not mine though. I got it from another 911 owner's (Greg Gulik) web site (http://www.gagme.com/greg/911/hacks/seats.html). Also on that site, the owner experienced problems mounting the SRDs with his DAS rollbar. Since I have the same seat, and the same rollbar, I expect the same problem, but I should get through it quickly using the solution on the other guys site. Isn't this Internet thing great :) |
Just to keep the car comfortable in the city, I decided to put good JL Audio speakers in the doors so at least I could listen to some tunes. The previous owner had some speaker boxes made for the doors and rear deck, but the problem was that the edge of the door box rubbed on the dash and would squeak enough to drive me nuts. The speakers are already out of the rear deck, and the empty boxes will be gone soon as well, but I still wanted front speakers.
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This is a picture of the custom speaker box the previous owner had put in the doors. The problem was that the edge of the box rubbed on the bottom corner of the dash. Oh yeah, they were ugly to. |
| I installed JP Audio XR series 6.5" two way speakers with external crossovers. I mounted the crossover in the door pocket (an idea I got from Rod Birch's web site). The speaker fit fine in the existing hole except the plastic guard in the door had to be removed. |  |
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The is the speaker in the door with the pocket back on. I applied
several treatments of Mother's leather conditioner to the area around the
speaker to try and soften up the door material and remove the marks from the
old speakers. They are almost gone, and then I'll have the two holes fixed.
This will have to do until RS America style door panels are installed some time
in the future. |
Changes in 2001
For this summer, I replaced the front factory seats with Recaro SRD, I remove the rear seat altogether and installed RS America carpet and installed a SmartRacing quick release steering wheel.
| Here is a shot of the Recaros installed in the car. As mentioned above, another Porsche owner who has the Recaro SRD and the DAS rollbar discovered that they did not fit (http://www.gagme.com/greg/911/hacks/rollbar.html). The seat hit the foot of the rollbar when you tried to slide it back far enough to get into. Fortunately for me, the other owner found this first and came up with a solution that. Since I expected the problem, and the solution was documented already, the seats were easy to install. |  |
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Greg G. used washers to fix the problem, but I decided to use an aluminium spacer with holes drilled in it. |
| Here is another interior shot with the Smart Racing quick
release steering wheel installed (but the steering wheel removed). Notice the
small blue line on the quick release adapter. I installed this, and one on the
steering wheel portion to help me line up the wheel when I put it on. You only
have to drive down the road a couple of time with your steering wheel on
sideways or upside down before doing this:) Also notice the clutch and brake pedals. The local guy who also has the Wings gas pedal made a few sets of the matching clutch and gad pedals and sold them. No real added function, but gives it that sporty look :) |
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Since I already had to remove the rear seat backs to install the rollbar, and I had removed the rear speakers because they were heavy and were basically crap, I installed the carpet set for an RS America. This carpet set replaces the rear seat pads and rear deck with carpet for a weight saving of 15 lbs. It also gives the rear of the car a lot cleaner look to it. |
| Here is a close up of where the rear seat pads used to be. The half rear seat (pad but no back) looked kinda odd to me, so I like this a lot more. |  |
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Look familiar? I never did get those two holes from the old speaker box fixed, and the imprint of the box didn't go away entirely. There was only one thing to do, new door panels. |
| To compliment the RS America carpet in the car, I added RS America style door panels. The installation was fairly straight foreword, but mounting the cross over for the speaker was a bit of a pain. These panels are 5 lbs lighter per panel than the stock ones. An unexpected and nice thing about these panels is that I have more room do tighten the outside lapbelt of the harness. Now I don't have to leave the door open to tighten the harness and then try to reach it with the harness on. |  |