Penelope 72T rides (pics) - alternator/sportomatic problem

[ldhilljr]

When my father died two years ago, I inherited his sepia brown 1972 911T with sportomatic ("Penelope") that had been sitting unused in his garage since 1993. Thanks to the intense help of davec (on this board) and his brother, and Gary at Werke's Classic Coach, she came back to life and I was able to drive her for the first time since the late 1980s this weekend.

No return from beyond is without problems, though. While taking her and my daughter for a short local ride at night, the sportomatic suddenly stopped engaging the clutch, making it unable to put her in gear (the tow truck wasn't far away). There had been no problems driving her during that day.

The next morning she went into gear fine, and did so for the rest of the day, but that night -- same problem. Finally noticed that after turning on the headlights and driving for just a few miles, the alternator light was just dimly glowing, and would turn off if I revved the engine. So I let her idle at some high revs using the hand throttle for awhile, got her back into gear, and managed to get her safely home. On that ride home, I noticed the tachometer flaking out -- and from my reads on this board, it would seem we have an alternator or voltage regulator problem.

But I hadn't seen or read anything about people's problems with their electrical systems affecting their sportomatic, so I wanted to get anyone's feedback that they might have. FYI, the wiring from the microswitch back to the transmission was replaced (eaten by mice) during the restoration, so it's possible, I think, that there could be both an alternator/VR problem and also some other problem in the sportomatic electrical circuit.

Now the pics -- the PPO (i.e., the person who sold the car to my father in 1983), as I recall, mentioned that the right rear panel was once replaced and repainted after a minor accident, but otherwise the paint is original. The interior was cleaned up during the restoration, but obviously she still needs work. My focus first is to make sure she's mechanically sound and then we'll think about what to tackle next -- goal is to keep her as close to the car my father got back in '83. (Stickers indicate she was originally a west coast girl, but the PPO was from Princeton, NJ, and she was then garaged on the Jersey Shore from '83 on).

[Scott Douglas]

What a great looking car, congrats on getting it going again.
I'd double check all the grounds before chasing the alternator problem too far.
You're going to love that Sporto once you get it working properly.

[ldhilljr]

Thanks - I'll add grounds to the list. My father had leg problems and couldn't operate a regular clutch, so the sportomatic was something he sought out. I remember being fascinated by it when I used to sneak the car out for some joyrides back in my youth.

[Scott Douglas]

My left knee is the reason I got hold of my Sportomatic.
I'm really glad it's attached to an SC too. =;>)

[Scott Douglas]

My left knee is the reason I got hold of my Sportomatic.
I'm really glad it's attached to an SC too. =;>)

[ldhilljr]

I'm pretty sure my dad had a sportomatic in his 2 old Karmann Ghias that he owned before he acquired Penelope. His last Ghia was an ugly light green color he called "Golden Eagle" and he used to drive us by it after it got wrecked and we'd have to sing to it (me and my brothers) if we wanted to get dinner. The man loved his cars (including about 3 Corvairs in the late 60's).

[Rich Lambert]

Cool car. That's going to be a fun project.

A "tachometer flaking out " could also be worn or mis-adjusted points. Definitely check the grounds.