Photos from Zuffenhausen!!

[Rick Lee]

Just got back last night from a killer 3 wk. trip to the Vaterland, in which I got a factory tour at Zuffenhausen, visted Ruf in Pfaffenhausen and the Porsche Museum in Gmuend. I'll be writing up a thread on each event. But Zuffenhausen was first on my list.

How I knew I was getting near:



Another cool one:



The people there were super nice. My tour was in German and there were only two others with me - a father and son, there to take delivery of dad's 996 tt cab. The museum rotates the fleet of cars in there periodically and this time the selection was not as good as two yrs. ago. Check out the Gmuend I saw them wheel in there.



Unfortunately, no photography was allowed inside the factory bldgs. Too bad, because we got to see some real magic there. I stood no more than 5 ft. away from some guys assembling 996 and 997 engines. Our tour guide denied all knowledge of the 997 despite the parts bin I saw with a sign atop it that read "for 997 only". Whatever. I was a kid in a candy store, gawking over the robot trains that carried trays full of Mahle P's & C's, rods, wrist pins, cyl. heads, you name it. I saw a huge batch of Getrag trannies on their pallets, watched some guys perform post-break-in leakdowns and compression checks and could only dream of having such an awesome set of tools. They run every engine there for about 30 min. before final testing and install. On the testing section of the floor they still had the old assembly line hangars, suspended from the ceiling for back when the air-cooled engines took longer to cool off after the break-in run. Now with the water-cooled ones, they just bolt 'em up to the flowing engine stands and start testing for seated rings and misc. leaks. The guide said about 2% of their engines show problems during the break-in test, and almost 100% of those cases prove to be component-related, which I guess means it was someone else's fault. They also randomly tear down some percentage of engines that tested ok just for extra quality control.

I haven't toured any other car plants, but I got the feeling Porsche is still a very small operation and everything is done by hand with only assistance from machines. In fact, the only robot I saw working on a car was a really cool machine that installed the windshields. Interior install was very cool to watch and was all done by hand. Engine assembly was all manual too. The guide said every worker on the engine line can do every part of the assembly job and they often switch and/or fill in when someone's out sick or on vacation. He said it takes about 90 min. to complete an engine assembly. And I'm happy when I can pull one out of my car in under 3 hrs.!

Here's an exciting photo of how the paint arrives.



Here's a cool parking lot:




It's amazing how small the whole factory property is. They're really sort of locked into a space and can't expand, at least not there in Zuffenhausen. The old Reuter Karosserie bldg. is in the middle of the place and they aren't allowed to build it up, as it's considered a historical landmark. So they store oil there - great use, eh?

Now for some random museum and Porsche Zentrum shots.




BTW, I met some guy in the museum from CA, who used to work at Andial and was there to order his GT3. Must be nice.



Here's a cool screensaver:



I think Green912 might even be able to outrun this cop:





Tomorrow or soon thereafter, I'll do a write up with photos of my excellent adventure at Ruf - this was the experience of a lifetime and I will truly tell my grandkids about it. Stay tuned.

[IceBlueSC]

Great pics Richard. Looking forward to the continuation of this story.

Cheers.

[ZAMIRZ]

Wow, looks like so much fun. To say I'm a bit jealous would be an understatement!

[trj911]

I wish I was there!

[Shuie]

Richard, did they let you go in the paint shop? Id be interested to know how modernized that part of the facility is.

[smoak]

Thanks for sharing your pictures and story. Too bad about the inside photos of the factory.

"Hey, is that for the 997 engine, what's the 997, uh the box even says 997 parts, I don't know what you are talking about." Cracks me up. Who was your tour guide Sgt. Shultz? "I know nothing, I see nothing."

Thanks again and cant wait to see Ruf's place. Did you happen to see the TECHART facility? I heard that they have some amazing stuff there too.

[masraum]

Thanks, can't wait for the other installments and more pics.

[Rick Lee]

Shuie, the paint dept. was off limits. I really would like to have seen it. I did get a shot of Ruf's paint room though.

BTW, after the cars are done, they get driven around the factory grounds. It was actually a little scary. They drive pretty fast and there ain't no speed bumps in that place neither. You really had to pay attention when walking around out there, though the cars were easy enough to hear. The tour guide said you cannot buy a new Porsche with fewer than about 25-35 km on it, since they drive them all around the factory grounds before shipping. Obviously, those jobs goes to those who've been working there a while.

[911pcars]

Richard,
Nice photos and write up on Zuffenhausen.

I'm not sure what year they decided to ban cameras inside the assembly area, but in '71 I took these pics. I'm sure the difference is night and day between the way they used to build them versus the way they do it now - more mechanized and much more efficient.

Got any more?

Sherwood
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

[Rick Lee]

Ok, here are a few more from the day before when I went to a dealership near Cologne.










This place had some cool cars, but the people there were about the same as those who sell new P-cars here - not really enthusiasts and they totally ignored me. I probably didn't smell bad enough or wear bad enough clothes for them to take me seriously.

[rsr808]

Is the last one in that first batch No. 1?

[Rick Lee]

And here's the closest thing to a Porsche you got after a 13 yr. wait in the old East Germany. Ah, those were the days. I've ridden in a lot of these and there's nothing quite like it.



One more off-topic shot of a an old Soviet jet hangar in eastern Germany. This was fenced off with lots of threatening signs, but I went in for a close-up anyway. I was actually at the gate to this air base before the Berlin Wall fell and that was quite a rush. Back then they had MiG23's and HiND choppers here (the only thing louder than the Trabbis' engines. For a few packs of Marlboros I got a photo of me with a Russian officer here. Obviously, my Stasi tail was not following me on that day.

[targa911man]

Great post Richard. Looking forward to your Ruf pics.

[Jim Richards]

Looks like it was a great trip. I can't wait to get the extra details at lunch sometime.

[azasadny]

Richard,

Thanks for the great pictures, I feel like I've been to the fatherland!!

[goat]

Excellent photos.
Looking forward to more.

[jase007]

Great shots Richard!

Looking forward to seeing the lot at the next gathering.

Jason

[TargaRob]

Sounds like an awesome trip to Germany. Yours photos make me want to go someday. Can't believe you saw the 356 No. 1 in person. Awesome!

Can't wait for the Ruf photos.

[BW911]

Very cool, RL. Looking forward to hearing and seeing more. Hollar when you're available for lunch.

- Bill W.

[limble]

Richard,
Great pic's. My wife and I are going over in June of next year for the 24 hrs and a trip to the factory, plus some "lesser" sight seeing.
Who did you contact to for the tour?
I was told PCNA would be the first place to start. Your thoughts? We will be in Europe 14 days. May drive, may Eurail it. She likes the train but me, I'd prefer to drive. Go figure.
Mike