Finally following protocall and introducing myself
 

Hi All,

Long time lurker and occasional poster. I've been gathering parts and doing some minor repairs on my '85 M491 Coupe for a few months now and thought it was about time I introduced myself. My name is Josh and I'm in the Portland, OR area.

I'm new to the world of Porsche ownership, but definitely not new to wrenching. Got my start many moons ago w/ air cooled VWs, moved onto EFI engines (anyone need help w/ a Toyota 22RE?) and have been maintaining our Subie wagon (2.5) as well. Obviously the flat 4 configuration isn't new to me, so it's about time I added a flat 6 to the mix.

I've got a bunch of pics of the car, just not loaded to where I can get to them, so I appologize for the pics not being current. These are the pics from the seller:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1219860052.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1219860070.jpg

Welcome...and stunning car!

The car had rear end damage to the center reflector and sheet metal behind the reflector along with the rear decklid. I haven't had as much wrench time on the car as I'd like, but here's what I've done so far:

Changed oil, filter, belts, etc
Replaced oil pressure sender
Upgradted to Euro H4's
Replace misc body accessory parts - wiper post covers, jack hole plugs, etc
Repaired center reflector sheetmetal
Replaced center reflector
Replaced both brake light sensors on master
Installed AppBiz rear deck RS carpet kit

Things to do (ie parts in hand)

Trans fluid change
tail light replacement
shifter bushing kit
air filter
fuel filter
plugs
plug wires (Magnecore)
cap & rotor
driver side headlamp washer
brake fluid flush (ATE Super Blue)
brake pad replacement
valve adjustment (anyone wanna volunteer to help?)
install heater Y pipe (need the orange sleeves)
drill holes in replacement decklid for turbo tail & install

Let me know if I'm missing any major "things to do" in my list. Always looking for fellow wrenchers in the PDX area.

Josh

Here's the only other pics I have access to at work:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1219861983.jpg

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1219862103.jpg
(sorry for the dusty car - I'll sure I'll burn in hell for that one :D)

Welcome, and nice car! I try to keep some dust on my car at all times.

Be sure to check out the info on this site about the "backside" method for valve adjustment. I use it to check each valve after the normal adjustment at the rocker, and it is really great, I highly recommend it.

Welcome! Sharp looking car. I prefer black as well. Your daughters look to be about the same ages as mine as well - approximately 3 and 1? My 3 year old loves to go for rides in Daddy's black car - or as my wife says, the loud, smelly, obnoxious car :rolleyes:

I just did the valve adjustment on my car using the back side method and it worked great - I highly recommend it!

Josh:

Great looking car! Join the PCA and come attend an Arrive & Drive sometime! (I posted pics and a video of the last one in the PNW section).

Cheers,

Paul.

Darth Vader style. Love it.

Thought I recognized that car. Used to belong to "bigrubberjeep" on the forums. She is a beauty. Congrats and have fun.

JP

Congrats,..and welcome!!!


Best,

Doyle

All - thanks for the complements on the car.
York - I've been reading about the backside method and it looks like a better way to go. either way, I wanna make sure I get it done right!
Jason - actually it's my daughter (just over 2 yrs - now 2.5) and son (3 mo - now 6). Gotta love the wife insiting that the little man can get away w/ his big sister's hand-me-downs
Paul - I saw the vid on the PNW forum. I definitely will be joining PCA in the near future - looks like fun.
Jim - I love the Vader style. I now have center caps, so it's a little less evil looking (had to meet the wife approval factor).

JP - not sure how I missed your post. yes, this was George's (bigrubberjeep's) car.

My apologies - my wife always dresses our daughters the same as well. You'd think that because she was a twin and was always dressed like her sister, she wouldn't torture our own children! One good thing about hand-me-downs is that they save money for more Porsche parts ;)

No worries - at least he wasn't wearing her old pink striped onsie in the pic :) yes, good point about the hand-me-downs. luckily, the wife is in full support of the Porsche. She grew up w/ them and her dad just recently got another, which prompted her to encourage me to get one. who am I to question the wife. I believe the search for a car began 0.3 seconds after her suggestion. of course, it took me close to 6 months to find the "perfect" car. it also didn't hurt that as a child I had always fantasized about blasting down the road in a 911, blasting Bach (don't ask - I was a strange child, not that much has changed). some fantasies are best left as fantasies. as such, the stereo doesn't work and I'll be doing a radio delete so I can focus on the sweet music of the flat six.

Welcome. I've got three black Porsches and three little kids too!

-Wayne

Welcome aboard and have fun Josh.

Welcome Josh...Your kids are just adorable!
How many miles on the car?
Bilstein Shocks and Strut inserts, Suspension bushings, turbo tie rods, ball joints stainless braided brake lines, alignment and corner balance....

Nine9six - thanks for the kiddo complements, I think I'll keep 'em :D
The car has higher mileage, 150k, but seems to have been fairly well maintained. It supposedly had a top end rebuild around 30k ago, but I didn't get any documentation to substantiate that claim. It’s a factory M491, but I’ve heard/read conflicting reports as to whether or not the M491 came with the Turbo tie rods or not. Can anyone confirm, or is there an easy way for me to tell? Once I get all of the parts currently in the garage on the car, the next step is suspension. I honestly haven’t taken a look to see what I have or what condition it’s in. At this point, the alignment seems spot on, but I may eventually lower it to Euro specs and get it corner balanced. I’ll have it re-aligned at that point. What is the general consensus on Bilstein Sports and newer torsion bars vs. coil over, in the rear? The costs seem about the same (used coil overs). I just like the idea of the adjustability/rebuildable options w/ the coil overs.