New Project & First Lesson Learned (long story)

[SCrescue]

I acquired a '79 911SC coupe a few months ago with a clear title, no keys, and no history (PO deceased). My current plan is a major renovation, not a restoration. Intended use is to be a nice PT driver for my GF (and occasional DE/track toy for me;-). Major efforts include: strip and repaint original white, rebuild motor, trans, brakes, suspension, etc., and leave interior spartan/semi-competition with painted surfaces, no rear seats, roll bar, etc.

The car has approx. 181k miles on the odo and it had been sitting in storage for an unknown number of years before I located it. It's in pretty rough shape, but complete (except for one missing rear 7x16 Fuchs wheel) and I have no idea if the engine and trans have any major internal concerns yet. The body is mostly very solid with some relatively minor rust issues in predictable areas.



Anyway, getting to my first lesson learned....as I said earlier, I didn't get any keys with the car and it couldn't be driven even if I had a key, so it had to be towed home. Of course, the steering wheel was locked, but with the wheels straight enough ahead that I was able to load the car onto my buddy's trailer and unload it in my driveway without the ignition key. In order to get the wheel unlocked enabling it to be steered into the garage, I had to remove the ignition lock from the dashboard.

I immediately noticed that the sheer bolts had already been drilled out, so I suspected that the lock (or the elec switch) must have been replaced at some prior point. The ignition lock appeared to be in good condition, so I thought I'd like to first see about getting a key made for it and that I could at least use to rekey all of the other locks to.

A friend of mine who operates a small Porsche restoration shop in Orlando said that any Porsche dealer could make a key from the seven digit number printed on the small white sticker on the body of the ignition lock. Armed with that info, I was off to see the good folks at a very prominent North FL Porsche dealer.

I carefully explained what I had been told about the number on the printed label and that I wanted them to have a key made to fit the ignition lock. I was told that I would have to present proof of ownership and photo ID, which I completely understood and complied with, and I was asked for my credit card and told that it would cost roughly $60 for this service. At that time, I also asked that they mail the new key directly to my home address (to save me the 100 mile round trip) and I was told that they would do that. Several weeks later, I had to call to inquire about the key and found out several days later that I had to sign and fax an additional form to them before they could provide me with a key. Again I complied. Finally, another several days later, I got a call tellin me that the key was ready to be picked up (not mailed to me as I requested).

At that point, I decided it was in my best interest to drive back up there with the ignition lock to make sure it worked. Of course it didn't, and of course this was a different guy than the one I placed the original order with. When I politely asked him WTF and mentioned to him my notion that the key should have been matched to the sticker number, I got the predictable glazed stare and the all too inevitable David Puddy response...."I don't even know what that is"....."we order keys to the VIN number", which I was never told by the other guy......

Okay, I told myself, I also had the glove box lock with me and the key worked that lock, so maybe it will work on the door locks also, and I'll only have to rekey the ignition lock, yeah that's right.....but you know that's not how this story turns out.....and the kicker is they actually charged me almost $90.....for a key that only works on the glove box lock,....which I'll likely never install....

Life's funny that way....