A survivor

BlueTone · BlueTone's Garage

Here is my recently-purchased '85 M491 Turbo-Look coupe. This car is surprisingly stock, no aftermarket whatsoever. Which causes somewhat of a delimma for me. I had planned to put new wheels, rear seat delete, 3.6L upgrade, etc. to make it a really nice street car. But the thing is so original, I'm going to keep it as original as possible. I do plan on replacing the (working) Bluapunkt Monterrey, but I'll be very careful to keep things so it can be returned without compromise. The only issue I have is the availability of 16" tires, so if the Euromeister 17" Fuchs repos become a reality, I'll upgrade to those and keep the 16" Fuchs in the garage. The interior is in good condition, the sport seats are really nice, I may replace the carpets next winter. I'm also going to try a couple of reversible modifications to the driver's sport seat to make it more comfortable to drive (I'm 6'8" tall). Anyway, this wasn't the direction I originally intended to go when I started shopping for a Pcar, but given the original state of this car, I think I'll keep it that way. Here is a shot of it fresh from its first drive to its new home.

Paul K · Paul K's Garage

Blue Tone:

Very nice. You might want to upgrade to the newer style H4 headlights- they put out a lot more light than the stock units. Also, please add your location to your profile.

Cheers,

Paul.

westcoast911 · 03-22-2012, 06:01 PM

Thats a great looking car,and I think you are making the right choice leaving it alone. These survivor cars are getting harder to find,and an m-491 is even rarer. Please post the changes you make to the seat,I am tall also. Is this a sunroof car?

BlueTone · BlueTone's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by westcoast911

Thats a great looking car,and I think you are making the right choice leaving it alone. These survivor cars are getting harder to find,and an m-491 is even rarer. Please post the changes you make to the seat,I am tall also. Is this a sunroof car?

Thanks! Yeah, its a sunroof car. I'll probably end up with a steering wheel extension and possibly replacing the gear shifter with a bent unit that brings it further back (both reversible). The seat mod I'll try first is allow the bottom springs to drop, I'll see how that goes. Last resort is to have the seat rails cut down, but if I can get away with not doing that, that would be preferable. However, I have to feel comfortable and safe in the car.

westcoast911 · 03-22-2012, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlueTone

Thanks! Yeah, its a sunroof car. I'll probably end up with a steering wheel extension and possibly replacing the gear shifter with a bent unit that brings it further back (both reversible). The seat mod I'll try first is allow the bottom springs to drop, I'll see how that goes. Last resort is to have the seat rails cut down, but if I can get away with not doing that, that would be preferable. However, I have to feel comfortable and safe in the car.

These are all mods I see in my future,let me know how you make out!

911s55 · 03-22-2012, 06:36 PM

The M491 option was expensive, $20k I believe, Turbo stuff except the motor. I would try to keep it as real as possible.

The ergonomic reversible changes make sense for your height. Don't bugger it up!

Cool car!

David

dlearl · dlearl's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul K

You might want to upgrade to the newer style H4 headlights- they put out a lot more light than the stock units.
Cheers,

Paul.

Or a pair of these if you want to keep the original look.

Dave Colangelo · Dave Colangelo's Garage

Great looking car, I have been working to keep my SC as stock as I can. Where in North Jersey are you, I'm over in Westchester but a bunch of the guy I drive with are from north jersey. Hope to see you at one of our meets this summer.

Regards
Dave

BlueTone · BlueTone's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave Colangelo

Great looking car, I have been working to keep my SC as stock as I can. Where in North Jersey are you, I'm over in Westchester but a bunch of the guy I drive with are from north jersey. Hope to see you at one of our meets this summer.

Regards
Dave

I'm in Califon, right off 78. I joined PCA and hope to make some gatherings this year.

Autoban · Autoban's Garage

Very nice car you got there. I'm sure you will like it a lot.

After many years of not having a Porsche I bought an '86 Cab in January this year. The last one I owned was in the early 80s back in Germany and was a '71 (lots of fun driving on the Autobahn). Before I picked up my '86 I was thinking of all kind of mods and upgrades. Then I decided to just drive it for a while and now I decided to keep it all original. I am replacing the shocks right now and I am putting Boges back in. Porsche build these cars very well and for daily driving they provide tons of fun and plenty of power. Sneaking out of our neighbor hood early in the morning I keep the RPM low and the noise down. As soon when I hit the open road and the oil is warm I open it up and let it rip. Man do I love the sound and the power!

Are you going to Hershey next month?

canamfan · canamfan's Garage

Very nice, &

I for one thank you for chosing to keep (what is seemingly becoming a rarity in stock form) stock & original

herr_oberst · 03-23-2012, 04:33 AM

That's a beautiful car!

A couple of subjective things that could help out (IMHO) would be spacers for the rear wheels to suck the edge of the tire up to the edge of the wheelwell, and then a slight drop in the front; 3/4 inch or so can really make a difference in the stance.

Good luck with the interior mods.