911 Twighlight Zone: Never assume you have what you think you have!

[Jay Laifman]

The car facts: I bought my 1973.5 911 in excellent, like new condition, with 40,000 miles, not having been driven since 1978, when it was not even 5 years old. That was 20 years ago. The car had (and still has) the original factory paint, interior, full everything down to the tool kit and factory original spare (that's actually gone). I've been meticulous about the maintenance my entire ownership.

The Additional Facts: The 73.5 CIS Fuel Distributor was available, then when it was no longer available, the 74 CIS Fuel Distributor was used. The 75-77 Fuel Distributor was never a suggested alternative.

The Assumptions: The engine, which worked flawlessly for many years, would be completely stock too. It would be very unlikely that a car in this condition would have needed a new CIS Fuel Distributor during its first 5 years. Even if for some reason someone decided it did in fact need one, both the 73.5 and the 74 FD's were then readily available.

The Twighlight Zone Facts: After 4 years of trying to get my car to run right, it was finally discovered that I now have the wrong FD on the car! The 75-> one.

I have no idea when this ever happened. I know I never paid for one and no mechanic ever told me he swapped mine. My running problems started when my air box blew, and I got a new air box. I have no reason to believe that when the guy put on the new air box he also put on this wrong FD. But, that's when the problems started. Maybe he damaged mine in the process and was too embarrassed to admit it, and had no idea what he was doing when he got a replacement.

The Moral of the Story: Never assume your car has correct original parts on it, even if you are the original owner, and especially if there is even the smallest window when you did not own it.

[mtbguy]

So THATS what started you riding your bike to work so much!

I found a few things like this on mine too, but have only owned it for a year, so anything goes!

thanks for sharing.