Finding parts for ROW vs US spec

[ksluna]

Originally Posted by 786

Lol, have your “Porsche guru” read the comments below as they are spot on.









Dude you can get anything on the internet, differences are not anything to worry about, on the contrary they make the car a blast to drive. I told my “Porsche guru” (local shop owner with 40 yrs air cooled Porsche experience) and he lol’d at what was said in here regarding ROW cars. FYI, I have an 85 ROW and it’s been bulletproof reliable and all the guys that have tried it say it’s noticeably stronger than a US 3.2. I’m in Texas as well so no emissions to worry about. It’s a fantastic car and I’m very glad I stumbled upon it. When I was looking for 3.2s I found this ROW car and read up a bit on it, found nothing to worry about and pulled the trigger. You’ll be glad you did, that Prussian car looks gorgeous too. Get a PPI and don’t look back. If you’re in Dallas I can direct you to a great shop to take care of it once it arrives as well. I bought mine sight unseen from out of state (but got a PPI of course). Good luck.

Thank you for the info. I think I may move forward with this. I'm in the Dallas area actually. Any recommendations for shops? So far I've heard of RAC Performance, but I've never been there.

Also, do you recommend a PPI at an independent shop or at a Porsche dealership?

[porschenut]

99% of the techs with air cooled experience are at indy shops. Dealer techs are trained to service new cars and perform warranty work. It's uncommon these days to find a dealer tech who has ever had an air cooled 911 in one of their bays. Definitely take it to an indy for the PPI and for service.

[darrin]

In Denver, CO (an hour south of Ft. Collins), I use Eisenbud's. Another denver Porsche-specific shop is Storz. You might want to message Matt Monson and see if he has any recommendations in Ft. Collins

[786]

Originally Posted by ksluna

Thank you for the info. I think I may move forward with this. I'm in the Dallas area actually. Any recommendations for shops? So far I've heard of RAC Performance, but I've never been there.

Also, do you recommend a PPI at an independent shop or at a Porsche dealership?

Cool, if you’re in Dallas like me the choice is easy, I’ll PM you.

PPI at an independent which specializes in air cooled for sure.

[Ryce Stallings]

I live in Miami and have had several A/C systems in my car. Most stock setups can’t handle Miami or Texas well. Modern condenser are different from the ones used at the time yours was built. Changing the deck lid condenser to a modern one and adding electric fans under it makes all the difference.

[Matt Monson]

For a PPI in Ft Collins use Zach at Poudre Sports Car.

In Dallas area go to Mayo Performance. Skip RAC.

[ksluna]

Thanks for all the replies! I will look into getting a PPI for this car.

[786]

In Dallas DC Racing is the best, definitely skip RAC.

[Canada Kev]

I've had my RoW Euro '87 for ten years and have had no issue at all sourcing parts. I have yet to find a RoW specific part that I couldn't get through Pelican, and if there is ever any problem there are other parts places in Europe or the UK to get what you need.

There was only one part so far that gave me any sort of challenge. That was the rear bumper tow hook receptacle plastic cover. This is normally covered on North American cars by the large bumper pads. Once I had the part number, I ordered a couple from Pelican who stocked them. Here is the part number if you ever need one.




The only other thing that may be an issue, but only on the 1987 and later cars is the rear "Porsche" reflector with the integrated fog lights. The NA models don't have rear fogs. The 1985 (1986 and earlier, really) you are looking at has the same reflector as the North American cars but with an external rear fog light hanging below the bumper. This pic illustrates my late 3.2 reflector with fogs vs the earlier method.





RoW cars are unique and cool in North America but without being weird and hard to maintain. Good luck with your decision and purchase.

[ksluna]

Someone PM'd me on rennlist letting me know that the ROW cards are hard to verify mileage. Is there anyway I could verify that the ROW linked above is the correct mileage? Is that something a PPI could check?

[proporsche]

ksluna..the more milage is on the better for you.i was looking for mine euro model for almost 10 years before it came up as a bank repo..lucky for me for 9000 grand...so don`t wait too long before is gone....Do a ppi and make sure you have the leakdown test done..take a pictures of the bottom of the engine and I or others here will tell you what we can see on it..


Ivan

remember i got mine with 300 000 plus miles...plus a nice bonus with an original manuals from Germany..

[Josh D]

Originally Posted by ksluna

Someone PM'd me on rennlist letting me know that the ROW cards are hard to verify mileage. Is there anyway I could verify that the ROW linked above is the correct mileage? Is that something a PPI could check?

I can't say for sure if it is always done this way, but I removed the speedometer to replace the odometer drive gear that fails on these (failed during my ownership) and there was a mileage and date written on the back of the speedometer. I went back through the records that came with the car, including the import docs that had the original KM on it, and all subsequent service records that recorded the mileage from then that lead me to believe the mileage was correct. The speedo is just pressed into the dash and easily removable to check.

And chock me up as another ROW owner that has 0 regrets buying a ROW car. In fact, I prefer it. They tend to have more unique options than US spec cars.

[Matt Monson]

Mileage is easy to fake on all these cars regardless of country of origin. You only have the records and the word of the seller to trust.