New Classic Porsche Owner

[melendezmm]

My name is Michael. I recently bought a 1968 Porsche 911 S Coupe. Runs and drives no issues. I would like to go ahead and change the oil as I have no idea when the last oil change was or what type was used. The seller had no maintenance history but the car is in great shape. I live in New Mexico. The summers are hot and the winters regularly drop below freezing to roughly 15 degrees F. I’m new to all things Porsche. Any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated. I have no idea if the engine has been rebuilt so I’d imagine I have to stick with conventional or a blend. The odometer reads about 68k miles so I’d imagine it’s about 168k miles. It has the original flat 6 air-cooled engine.

[Ryan_Cunningham]

Welcome brother! Glad to have you join the community after much urging.

Tons of knowledge around here, you'll learn a lot.

[Duc Hunter]

Welcome! Great car! Lots of great people out here. Search you brains out and you will find threads to fix, change, improve everything. I have found this board, and the people here AMAZING.

[rswannabe]

Melendezmm, did you get an inspection done prior to purchasing the car? If not it might not be a bad idea to get a mechanic experienced with early 911’s to go over it and identify what is ok and what should be addressed.

When I get a car that is new to me, I almost always change and refresh all the fluids and filters regardless of what records say have been done to it previously. While you’re doing the oil change, you should adjust the valves as well. Not a hard job for a competent diy mechanic if you want to tackle it yourself. Lots of good threads and videos will show you how.

Congrats on the “new” car. A ‘68s is a special 911.

[rokemester]

Congratulations! Early 911S very nice. Pictures you will learn are ALWAYS welcome. I’d get a valve adjustment on the calendar soon. No synthetic for your vintage motor.

[ErrorMargin]

Let’s see some pictures of your car!
L

[rswannabe]

Also, please post pictures of the car. Would love to see it.

[melendezmm]

I appreciate all the quick responses.
I bought the car in September and I live at 7k feet elevation. So that means I need to have the carburetor adjusted as well I believe.
I’ll attach some pictures. It’s a slant-nose conversation. Very much a hot rod.

[Alex599]

Wow, I bet no one saw that one coming!

Congrats on the car Melen, lots of great ressources on here.

Alex

[fanaudical]

I sure wasn't expecting a slant nose '68. Looks like somebody did a decent job. Have fun with it!

[John W.]

Nice car and welcome to the forum. I also live in NM. I use Mobil1 15/50 but synthetic is not recommended for your car. Enjoy it.

[Cairo94507]

Nice looking car; I agree with rswannabe, when I get a new to me car I change all liquids and filters, including bleeding the brakes after pulling the wheels and checking the rotors and pads. Given the age of your chassis, check all of the suspension mounting points for damage/cracks. I would also check all fuel and brake lines for any signs of seapage. I would probably replace the brake soft-lines at the wheels before bleeding. A valve adjustment of course would be a part of that bringing it up to standards before driving. Look in the fuel tank and see what you see; crud? Pull the tank and either clean or replace and don't forget the sock in the tank if it is crude up. Check those fuel lines under the tank. How is the battery? If it is 5 years old or more, replace it. Go around clean all of the grounds on the car to make sure you keep electrical gremlins at bay. Dates codes on tires? If they are more than 6 years old, replace them. That should get you a safe driver to start with. Have fun and enjoy. Michael

[Andrehasaposse]

Great advice.

[melendezmm]

rswannabe and Cairo94507, I appreciate the time you guys took to type up the advice. I plan on getting all of these things looked at and replaced if necessary.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Suggest getting some 993 mirrors.

[911obgyn]

If its your first time changing the oil on a 911 be aware that the oil tank holds 6-8 quarts and comes out quite fast so a 3 gallon bucket or a very large oil pan is required dont try and use one of those tray type tanks. Both engine and oil tank need to be drained. Valvoline VR1 20/50 has the correct ZDP for it.

[PopsRacer]

What prior poster said about oil quantities. It will take a *lot* of oil, and you cannot top it off until the engine is pretty hot. I was taught to wait until the oil temp gauge is horizontal (half way up) and then add oil until the oil level gauge points at it. (anyone have a better approach?) You do not want to overfill it, it will leak of of the rear main seal (best case, been there done that) or foam up and start a fire (worst case). Just go slow. It's not hard, it's just different. If you fill it to the top of the dipstick when the engine is cold, you are going to have a really bad day. (don't!) Beautiful car, enjoy!

[911 Rod]

Seeing your car is like a blind date that worked out!
Show us the engine. My guess is it is not a 68.

[melendezmm]

911obgyn and PopsRacer I appreciate the advice on the oil change. In the picture, I have since replaced the rear-deck lid lift support. No more pvc pipe holding it up.

[Ryan_Cunningham]

If you post the numbers stamped on the engine case I bet the guys here can provide more info about the engine that’s in there.