1986 911 M491 Targa FL to UT "Top Gear Challenge"

[911obgyn]

Red stucco masking tape will hold better and match the paint, its plastic.

[famoroso]

The valet that parked the car forgot to add this sticker to the tag. Luckily, the guy that retrieved the car was a recent immigrant from what I assume was a country of primarily manual transmission vehicles.



I repurposed the sticker for grins...



Loves me some 93, the champagne of fuels...





Jerky and Nitro Cold Brew. Two great tastes that go great together.





Buc-ee's mascot stuffies for the kiddos (back at home)...



We succumbed to siren song of all of the billboards promising us firearms nirvana, so we figured, why not pick up an S&W M&P Shield while en route and perhaps stock up on some 5.56 NATO, .40 S&W & 22 LR. Alas, couldn't take delivery of any pistols in-person (with out of state ID) and the practically 10% sales tax made any potential ammo hoarding less appealing.






MMMMMM-MMM! Staccatos!...

[famoroso]

Is that Bourbon I smell?



No, musta been more 93. Gettin' while the gettin' is still good (we'll soon be relegated to humdrum 91)...



Haven't seen one of these in a minute (I have family in Floribama and used to vacation there every year)...





W Atlanta to Hotel Kansas City...



Outdoor valet parking "hookup..."





Nighthawk bar / club (in Hotel Kansas City's basement) was hoppin' (as was all of downtown KC). Ketel One Espresso Martini on tap was surprisingly serviceable. Old Fashioned and Macallan 12 were more than serviceable. The Coors Light toast was in lieu of our traditional Topo Chico toast while underway (we've done the arrive and drive epic road trip thing twice before, once with a 992 C2S and once with a Ram TRX).

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by 911obgyn

Red stucco masking tape will hold better and match the paint, its plastic.

Thanks for the tip!

I found the 3M (Acid) green Auto Masking tape at a FLAPS we had to stop at for 30 mins such that my friend could take a Zoom call.

We added black Gorilla tape over the top of the green tape, as you can see here...

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by PeteKz

Ditto what Glen said. Get off the superslabs in Colorado and take US 40 after you pass Denver. And drive the snot out of it!

Oh, the SNOT will certainly be driven out of it in the future, post this shakedown run. The vehicle will be based in Park City and the owner will drive said snot out of it until the first snow falls. At which point, it will "Winter" with me in San Diego and I'll tend to a few things, like the growing punch list, add a 3.2 "power kit," have Jae Lee breath on the suspension, etc. I have a feeling the Targa top will be spending the holidays with Targa Dan.

Originally Posted by absinthe

I'm Denver-based and a Boulder Alumn so some quick notes/tips:

*CU/CSU will be a hard ticket but an 8 pm kick in Boulder is going to be an absolute riot. Parking lots open around noon. Your best bet would be to find a hotel room or Airbnb and take a cab to the game with it on national TV, it will be close to midnight when it is over, and lots of people will be driving who should not be.

* If you do stay in Boulder take 119 up the canyon and use it to connect to 70/40

I lived in Boulder from '96 - '13.

LOVE the Canyon. Took it every chance I got. I got stock behind some slow movers most of the time, but when it was open... Glorious! I may own the winter land speed record between Aspen and Boulder in my 325+ WHP '93 Audi S4 and I, of course, took the Canyon that time too.

Originally Posted by darrin

another Colorado resident here -- although I-70 from Kansas City to Denver is pretty boring, it's no more so than the parallel path I-80 takes north of there. Conversely, there's a reason the transcontinental railroads followed the path of I-80 through the rockies, it's pretty darn flat/straight. Unlike I-80, I-70 is a LOT more sinuous and fun of a drive with some nice high speed twisties heading up out of denver and through to Glenwood springs (Glenwood canyon is quite beautiful) You'd also pass by a # of ski resorts after you cross under the continental divide at the Eisenhower tunnel (Breckinridge/dillon/sliverthrone area, Copper Mountain, Vail and Beaver Creek), each of which provides good diversions/place for lunch. If you're hazy NEIPA fans, Outer Range Brewery in Frisco's right off the highway and makes/serves/sells to-go world class beers along with some very tasty Korean-style fried chicken. That said, taking US-40 through berthed pass (berthod's only kinda sketchy in a 911 when snow-covered in the winter, it'll be super fun this month) and continuing on I-40 through steamboat and vernal, co is a NICE drive too, which will take you through Steamboat Springs (lots of good casual Mexican in town for lunch, etc.) and then onto what I think of as 'sandstone desert" west of Craig. Only real "downside" is that 40 is frequently not a divided/limited access highway, though that simply means more opportunities for dotted yellow line passing and running through gears. Have Fun and don't miss the centennial state

Thanks Darrin. Nick Psyllos and I recently trailered my '87 911 2,500 miles, roundtrip, from San Diego to Kerrville (100 miles west of Austin), TX and I'm submitting that Hwy 8 + Hwy 10 SLOG as mind numbingly boring.

Originally Posted by Old H2S

Easy ride, best long distance car made. Run 12 hours and want more, more, more. I picked mine up in San Clemente right at the Pacific Ocean and drove it to Cape Hatteras. The PO said I was insane and the car would never make it, I told him I brought my tools (a duffel bag full) and I do not care if it blows up- I can fix it. I did it in 3 days..Yes I made plans to stop and see this and that but I could not stop driving it, and it was a *****BOX with NO suspension and 350k on the the clock but what a blast trip.

I'm delighted with how voraciously this 37 year old gem is EATING up the miles. Targa wind noise & seal issues aside (post our "I'd tape that" roadside fix). This funny lil' German car is proving to be a better grand tourer than I expected (and I've logged plenty of miles in my various Gs over the years). Yesterday's 12+ hour / 785 mile stint was a reasonably easy piece of time.

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by winglesss

Oh boy. Looks like sooo much fun! GREAT topic, thanks for sharing!

Opposite direction of my BAT '86 911 Targa friends and family Austin to southern FL road trip.

The weather was TERRIFIC on my road trip. The Targa roof was collapsed in the front trunk almost the whole time.

In my case, the shifter coupler degraded leaving Houston, requiring two-handed reverse selection and being a solo trip losing the ability to engage fifth gear. This slowed me waaay down, to NOT have excessive long-distance RPM traveling in fourth instead of fifth on the highway.

As expected, the punch list is ever growing... Targa top, top seals, windshield wipers don't work, via the fixed positions on the stalk (thankfully, pulling the stalk works as does the independent intermittent control knob), fuel level gauge jumps around occasionally, oil level gauge is inoperable, driver door lock inoperable (altho power door locks work from passenger side), electric windows stay energized key off & doors opened, etc., etc. All pretty known quantities/ easy fixes, so far. Most importantly, the AC is operational AND... blows cold *enough* to take the edge off (at a minimum it'll get an uprated Keuhl unit in the off-season). Kinda surprising it does so with rhe amount of daylight that's coming thru the trailing edge of the top.

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Last June I drove my 85 911 out to Palm Springsfor a week, and then back home. My route home was to go to H-60 to the Very Large Array, south to Truth or Consequences, NW, over to Alamogordo, up to Roswell, and back to Clovis. I did two 11 hour days, and the last day was a short day to OKC.

I do have coupe, and one of my friends with Targa pleaded with me to never let his wive ride in my coupe so she would know how noisy his car was.

The worlds most boring road on the planet is the road from Kansas City, to Denver. Drive for hours, stop for necessities, drive for hours and it is just the same like in the Twilight Zone. I am just glad I never had to drive it in the bad old days of the 55 MPH limit.

Ahhhh... The Great Plains. I've road tripped it a few times. Boulder, CO to Overland Park, Kansas in my Lotus Elise. Driving an F-150 w/ unladen trailer back out, and then towing the Lotus back to Boulder. Tony and I road tripped a Ram TRX from Omaha back to SLC last year. I agree with you, but the Hwy 8 & 10 is my freshest hell and feels worse as a result. We're just to embark on The Great Plains portion of operation M491 Targa to SLC, so I'll have good perspective.

Originally Posted by absinthe

I'm intrigued to see how you feel the altitude affects your experience in the 911 - I just put one back on the road but have not driven it at sea level in 20 years.

Having lived in Boulder for 18 years, I know all too well the effect of Density Altitude on internal combustion engines. It SUCKS. It's the reason we owned turbocharged quattros (and a supercharged Elise) while we lived there. Nowadays I'm San Diego, it's all naturally aspirated RWD cars for me.

It'll be "interesting" to see how this fully laden (two adult males, luggage and gear) lil' Targa fares once we start to make the climb.

Originally Posted by absinthe

As a former 1980 hard top Jeep owner (front window to roof and door seal issues) as well as a 1990's Land Rover owner (door seals, rear lift gates), may I suggest a quick run through Lowes or Home Deport for some thin weather stripping for the roof and door seals. It is a temporary fix but will be noticeable.

Thanks. Surprisingly, the "daylight roof" seems like it would be worse from a noise, etc. standpoint...







Everytime I look over my right shoulder to change lanes, I see daylight. LOL

Originally Posted by bbturbo

Great beef jerky! What a trip. This is on my list (both the m491 and the trip). Safe travels.

It's not a road trip until the beef jerky gets cracked open!!

Then again, mixing in a lil' Asian Fusion ain't never hurt nobody...

[flyn-hawn]

This is awesome Frank! We really wanted that car to do a very high end backdate but at that price it did not pencil as we really just needed the chassis suspension and brakes that was specific to the M491/930's. I ended up getting this 86 targa in Miami and just got back yesterday after 2,700 miles, car ran great the whole way other than no AC This car has a hardtop and soft top Frank are you familiar with the hard top? It is very similar in looks to a 914.
Found this car online and owner was really helpful in sending specific pictures and answering specific questions, felt confident in booking a flight and leaving same night. Arrived Miami next morning inspected car and all was well. Had lunch and checked into a hotel while waiting on wire transfer. Picked up car 2 blocks from hotel at 10pm got on the road at 12:30 am and the rest is history!! Look for a build thread coming here soon.

The road trip was great more time and AC would have made it an all time experience

Met up with a buddy in Scott Louisiana for breakfast and check out his latest project a BMW Z1 with E39 M5 V8 and 6 speed will be awesome when done!

Anyway for our purpose this car was a better choice at $37K will be parting out and selling the complete interior, engine, wheels and tires, bumpers, rockers










d

[winglesss]

Originally Posted by famoroso

As expected, the punch list is ever growing... Targa top, top seals, windshield wipers don't work, via the fixed positions on the stalk (thankfully, pulling the stalk works as does the independent intermittent control knob), fuel level gauge jumps around occasionally, oil level gauge is inoperable, driver door lock inoperable (altho power door locks work from passenger side), electric windows stay energized key off & doors opened, etc., etc. All pretty known quantities/ easy fixes, so far. Most importantly, the AC is operational AND... blows cold *enough* to take the edge off (at a minimum it'll get an uprated Keuhl unit in the off-season). Kinda surprising it does so with rhe amount of daylight that's coming thru the trailing edge of the top.

FWIW, my washers and wipers currently don't work.

They will be repaired, but my expectation is they will remain unused.

All of my vehicles have all the exterior glass treated w/ Rain-X Water Repellent, both for superior visibility when driving in the rain and especially for HUGE time savings when washing / drying the vehicle. Untreated glass is SUCH a huge time suck to get clean and dry after washing.

The PO swapped all the roof / window / door seals and all I get is an infrequent drip at the top center of the driver's window in a downpour.

[emac911]

Great trip! Thanks for sharing the story and pictures!

[famoroso]

If a picture is worth a thousand words, these vids are worth at least 10k...






Vid2 (it's a short, so won't let me embed)...
https://youtube.com/shorts/nCNKqVnMkA8?si=GBx2fXab-MaC3DFA

[GH85Carrera]

The G body 911s are wonderful road cars.

I know if I leave home aand drive west on I-40 to the hotel I like in Flagstaff, AZ it is 911 miles and 12 hours to 13 hours depending on traffic. If I head east on I-40 and drive to Maryville, TN it is 914 miles to the hotel I like. Each just one day drives that I have down twice each.



Typical traffic on Highway 60 in New Mexico, and it looked the same in the rear view mirror. Sometime it would be several minutes before I saw any other vehicle.

[winglesss]

Originally Posted by famoroso

If a picture is worth a thousand words, these vids are worth at least 10k...

Are your brake lights and backup lights working?

FYI, this topic shows where I added the City Light bulbs to the unpopulated sockets within my headlights.

These are great for operation around dusk, before headlights are required.

[famoroso]

All lights & indicators are operational. We'll upgrade to Spokeworks LEDs in all positions.

The Holley / Morimoto RetroBright LED headlights are BALLER. Worth every dollar over conventional H4 drop-in upgrade.

Holley (Morimoto) Retrobright LED

[famoroso]

Need Pelican help in Boulder, CO?! 1986 911, fuel smell from fuel pump area.

Greetings all,

1,996 miles in to our Epic road trip from Ft. Myers to Park City, we pulled into Boulder at 6:30p this evening and while the car had been running quite well, when we rolled the windows down we were met with the unmistakable smell of... gasoline. UGH! The sniff test places the source of the fumes in the area of the fuel pump. I am going to lift the car in the morning, pull the steering rack cover and inspect / see what there is to see. I've sent an entreaty, via separate thread, for local Pelican assistance.

Fingers crossed we can pitch a save here, otherwise the transporter will be ordered and flights from DIA booked.

Sniff test in process...



Here she is, all forlorn...

[famoroso]

Well, you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to solve this mystery. Leaking like an SR-71 on the tarmac before liftoff...

[emac911]

Well that sucks. Whats the plan?

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by emac911

Well that sucks. Whats the plan?

We're trying to pitch a save in the morning with a local shop. We'll see. If they can't help us, we likely pivot to flying out, or maybe something else. Plans are... fluid.

[emac911]

Originally Posted by famoroso

Plans are... fluid.

It seems that way!

Was that some kind of hack fix with the hose clamp? Best of luck, fine looking car!

[Mr. Merk]

I wish you had detoured through the Ozarks on your way to KC.

Mark Pribinac did just that Saturday on his way from Jacksonville, FL to Minneapolis, MN to start crossing off the last of the lower 48 en route to Rennsport Reunion. We had a great time wringing out 4 bangers through the Ozarks

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by emac911

It seems that way!

Was that some kind of hack fix with the hose clamp? Best of luck, fine looking car!

Yes, must have been. I can only assume it was done by Mickey Mouse. Oh the stories these cars could tell of all the past transgressions that were foisted upon them, especially as they were just cheap used cars for a long time.

Like it, or not, this type of stuff is all part of the rich ownership experience tapestry that these funny lil' German cars afford us.