YAFPT (Yet Another First Porsche Thread)

mkossler · 10-14-2007, 02:07 PM

Hi all!

Long-time lurker here. It's my turn to share

...

Well, I finally pulled the trigger and bought my first 911. Read the pre-requisite books, and approached things with a well-developed sense of healthy paranoia.

As it turns out ol' Cousin Devin had one more Porsche than he could drive, (given the new RS track car he had built and the Boxster S, and the others, and the... you get the idea. would that we all had such problems), so I took one off his hands.

I have to say that the coolest thing has been the voyage of discovery about the car. To say that it is well-documented would be an understatement.

It was delivered to the original owner in Stuttgart, and was driven about 1100 km in Germany before it was shipped to the US. It was damaged in transit, a couple of ping dents in the passenger side door. I even have three original black-and-white photos of the damage, along with the signed letter of apology from the shipper.

The color is Zinc Metallic, a color not offered in the US in 1982 (based on the paint color swatches also provided in the 3-ring binder of documentation - I love the subtle bronze tint)...

The story of the car is more or less completely told by the documentation, wow! The binder includes:

The original vehicle order (and all options ordered) from Porsche Stuttgart
The original delivery papers from Stuttgart
The original shipping documents, Stuttgart and Massachusetts
The "damage" photographs
The catalyst, alarm, and 16" Fuchs back-fit records
Every registration record
The Paint swatches
The Product Brochure
Every service, major and minor.
Etc.

Is this a normal level of documentation? It seems almost obsessive to me.

Our maiden voyage was a 1200 mile doozie, from Saratoga NY to Savannah GA. No issues at all, with the exception of a heart-stopper when I let off the throttle a little abruptly and experienced backfire / pop-off valve engagement.

It is absolutely bone stock, with the usual upgrades (raceware studs, Carrera tensioners, pop-off valve, Weltmeister short-shift kit, new 1st/2nd gear synchros & clutch, turbotrol auxiliary oil cooler). It is a repaint, I have no idea why. The underside, engine, interior and luggage compartments are the very definition of clean. It passed PPI with an "excellent" rating.

As of this morning, it has 50,815 miles. It's not perfect by any means, but I have to believe it's one of the better examples around. I do have a few stone chips to take care of from the trip home. 3-stage paint, apparently, from the touch-up bottles provided. Youch - I am not a body guy.

There is one oil leak, from the transmission shifter access cover. The tranny was rebuilt just before I took it, and I think somebody got a little torque happy and cracked the cover. Easy enough to deal with.

Woof! Marathon post! Sorry 'bout that, but you can imagine that I'm a little, umm, pumped.

And me with Roebling Road less than 10 minutes away...

Obligatory pics:

Arrival at home

Gonna wash those bugs right outta my smile

Pristine

50K interior, looks pretty good to me.

Aft End

SCWDP Member #52, at yer service

Cheers, all! Love this forum!

Matty K.

P.S. Congrats Wayne on your 959 - that kind of car gives me feelings in places normally reserved for my wife

Paulporsche · 10-14-2007, 02:37 PM

Congrats and welcome. Looks like old cousin Devin takes care of his cars.

BTW I was in Savannah for the first time about a year and a half ago. Great "Historic Section".

mkossler · 10-14-2007, 02:47 PM

Thanks, Paul.

Dev certainly does take care of his cars, and I'm lucky to be able to take advantage of that.

Savannah is a great town. There's lots to do from an Arts & Architecture perspective, and close to Hilton Head, Beaufort, Charleston, Kiawah Island, Jacksonville, Daytona, and more.

Not to mention it's the home my employer, Gulfstream Aerospace, maker of the finest business jets on Earth

.

MOMO3.2 · 10-14-2007, 04:23 PM

Matty:

That is a great looking 911! You are really fortunate to have the factory sports seats too. They are one of the best upgrades I have made to my own car. Finally, IMO, Targas are AWSOME in the right climate. The greatest "driving moments" I have had with my Carrera 3.2 have been greatly enhanced by open top motoring.

Take it easy in your car at first. 911 dynamics are unique and will offer a lifetime of entertainment and challenges.

May you have many miles of good health and fun!

Sincerely,

Mike

mkossler · 10-14-2007, 05:16 PM

Mike,

Thanks for the comments. I was a little worried about rain when I was driving the car South but once I hit South Carolina, out came the top . It was a real blast, no pun intended (I did note a high-pitched whistle/scream at a certain speed that I don't think wise to disclose

). No regrets about buying the Targa, especially given the southern Georgia climate.

I do appreciate what you're saying about driving the 911. I am an old BMWCCA'er and have had some experience with performance-oriented German cars, but this is definitely a very different drive.

D*mn, this is fun! It sure has been a while.

nyne11 · nyne11's Garage

Greetings and welcome from the extended family in Australia!

mkossler · 10-14-2007, 06:01 PM

Thanks, mate. I'd raise a XXXX to your health, if it hadn't been 20 years since I'd had one and maybe it's the wrong thing to do

. Quite a stable you've got there - good on ya!

Cheers -

Matty K.

Gene Wilkes · 10-14-2007, 06:08 PM

Great find Matty! MUHHAAAA!!!!!!!

mkossler · 10-14-2007, 06:17 PM

IslandmanPA,

{Furtive scan for onlookers} {Secret SCWDP hand jive} *slap* *slap-slap-slap* *slap* *slap-slap*

MUHHAAAA!

SCWDP911 · SCWDP911's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by mkossler

IslandmanPA,

{Furtive scan for onlookers} {Secret SCWDP hand jive} *slap* *slap-slap-slap* *slap* *slap-slap*

MUHHAAAA!

Really Matt... such childish behavior

Badge looks great! Adn so does the car...

Shane

Paulporsche · 10-15-2007, 06:28 AM

Matty,

Your car looks nice, but if it were mine I would lower it. Looks like the rear could go down about an inch and a half.

I know you're in the South but this isn't a pickup!

JMatta · 10-15-2007, 06:37 AM

Very nice car...congratulations! Perfect for those sunny days (I love your part of the country).
Agreed on the ride height; definately needs to be lowered. A competent shop can lower and corner balance for you...you'll really enjoy how she handles then.

Moses · 10-15-2007, 06:44 AM

Zinc Metallic is a beautiful color. Our cars are identical (at least they were before I started messing with mine). I changed everything, but kept the Zinc Metallic paint. Did you know that there is a touch of violet in the paint formula? You can see it in low light at the right angle.

Before

During

After

mkossler · 10-15-2007, 05:06 PM

I do intend to lower and corner balance. In fact, any advice as to where to go in the Savannah / Hilton Head area would be much appreciated. I moved here about 18 months ago from Connecticut, and really don't know what's what with regard to the "right" local Porsche guys.

I'm basically planning to do the PCA thing to do a little networking and see who the local members use. Plus, the DE's at Roebling sound like a lot of fun, even for my humble Targa

!

The car is so nice, I really want to keep things stock where it makes sense. I do want to do a couple of things:
- SSI & Dansk Sport exhaust setup
- Lower & corner balance
- Replace steering wheel, probably Momo Race
- Fix the d*mn tranny shift cover leak

Any other suggestions are most welcome, especially from the community here - I almost need a bib when when I read the project car threads.

No tails for me!

Moses,

Ay-yi-yi, what a beautiful car! I have struggled to describe the color and its subtle tones to others who haven't seen it. I usually describe it as a red-bronze hint. As soon as you said violet, I could see it immediately! I guess that's why I'm in engineering and not art

...

I just have to send another "thanks" to cousin Dev - He also updated the A/C to modern refrigerant - including all of the mechanicals and barrier hoses! It blows nice and cold, although it plays havoc with the idle (is the idle deal normal?)...

Sorry for the embedded questions. I swear, I do use the Search function regularly!

P.S. Oh yeah - almost forgot the obligatory "I'm like Jack (when he's like, 60) Olsen" angry dude pic.

futuresoptions · 10-15-2007, 06:41 PM

Beautiful car! Silver targa's are my favorite, looks like you got a great car with a good story....
Enjoy!!!

Hawks911 · Hawks911's Garage

Welcome! Nice looking ride. Appears to be very well taken care of. Hope you have a great experience. I know it's been a great source of pleasure to our two boys and I over the last 1 1/2 years with our '78 Targa. Our's wasn't in as nice condition when we picked it up but it's heading in the right direction.

Cheers.

Mike