Long time p-car owner, finally with an air cooled.

[Techno Duck]

After 13 years of p-car ownership i finally went with an air cooled 911. Had a '87 924S, '87 944 and still have my '88 951. I bought this '88 911 3.2L two weeks ago and drove it 550 miles down the Pacific Coast Highway back to San Diego. The car has a little bit of a Pelican pedigree also, all owners were enthusiasts so it was well cared for. I recently moved to the west coast and unfortunately my 951 wont pass smog out here (engine swapped with a LS1). Not quite ready to make it trailer only so i decided to go with one of these for nice weather and occasional track / auto-x. Still unsure what ill do with my 951, the options are to either sell it or put it into storage for a few years. This is a worthy car to 'fill the void' for the time being though .

Color is Granite Green Metallic with the matching leather interior. 161k miles with 7k miles on a split case rebuild. Has LSD and the factory short shifter. Also equipped with a Steve Wong chip and Bursch muffler. Included a cat-bypass also. To my surprise the g50 still shifts extremely well despite the mileage, in fact i think it is one of the best shifting cars ive ever had. Every 944 ive had and even my E39 with a Getrag 6-speed require finesse to get into 2nd and are very stubborn when cold. Also no play what soever in the shifter, ive never had a Porsche like that! The only complaint i have is the shift pattern is very short side to side so i can definitely see someone inadvertantly selecting the wrong gear. Throws are perfect in length i think with the factory short shifter, i probably wont make any changes here!

I spent about two hours with the previous owner who essentially 'passed on the torch'. We took a long test drive through his favorite twisties and he explained all the nuances with the 911.. in particularly how to work the HVAC (which i still dont fully understand) and all the other little things like not dropping the dip stick into the oil tank..etc. The car drove very well, i am still unfamiliar with the handling on the car so i took it easy.. plus while the tires have no dry rot they are from 2007 . The car returned 24-25mpg and with the 21+ gallon tank has a cruising range of well over 500 miles..pretty impressive! I forgot how comfortable the factory Recaro's are also, i had Pole Positions in my 944 and have Recaro SRD's in my 951.

The car drives very well and is lowered to euro ride height. It does need a suspension refresh though as mostly everything appears original. The manual steering took some getting used too but i had a manual rack in my 944 so it brought me right back . The engine runs great and it amazes me how responsive the throttle is. Power is surprising probably due its low weight. While it makes probably half the power of my LS swapped 951, it still surprises me how well it pulls to redline!

Overall i feel right at home in this car. Compared to my same model year 951 (when it was stock) this car is amazingly raw which i really like. The 951 interior and driving habits are so much more civilized and refined, this really surprised me as i sort of considered the 911 the flag ship of the brand (new to the 928 of the time of course).

I performed the first valve adjustment and oil change yesterday aswell as fixed exhaust leaks from the gaskets on the test pipe. There is still a very slight but perceptible tick (atleast to me) which might just be normal for the engine, but i plan to go through the valves again in a few weeks when i get some time. I am very mechanically inclined amd set valve lash on 10k bhp 4-stroke diesel engines at work on a fairly regular basis.. but obviously its a bit easier when your valve lash is 5mm and the feeler gauges are a foot long . The first valve job was not the most pleasant experience for me, but i think the 2nd go around will be much smoother.

Anyhow i 'get' what it is about these cars now and why they are so special. This one needs a few things before id be 100% satisfied with it and i look forward to restoring / improving it over time. On my short term list right now are mostly maintenance related..

-Engine bay fuel lines need replacement ASAP. Everything is being held on by hose clamps..
-Slight oil from front of engine, i think the oil thermostat o-ring. I plan to pull the intake to address and do the fuel lines.
-Suspension overhaul
-One of the pistons on the drivers side rear caliper is seized i think, the pads are worn very unevenly (pad light is on). Not sure if its air or caliper trouble.
-The a/c still works! Unfortunately the line that come off the side of the compressor is blocking the oil filter. I had to dismount the compressor to get the filter off. I am going to have the system evacuated so i can fix the orientation of the line. Its nice having a working a/c, i took a working a/c out of my 951 for weight savings and regretted it ever since! Even if this a/c is mediocre at best its better than nothing. Still running R12 also!

Ill probably also replace the speed and reference sensors as these were common trouble points on the 944. I guess i have a bit of a leg up in terms of familiarity because it uses basically all the same components as my 944's do.

The interior is in fairly good condition, the seats have a little wear which ill recover wit a set of matching leather covers included from the PO. Dash has 1 crack, which i can live with. The carpet is a bit worn and looks like shag carpet at this point. I had it professionally cleaned and i can live with it for now. Not sure what route i will take, thinking of possibly replacing all of the beige with a black RS carpet kit.

The paint is in very good condition and body is 100% straight. I really like the granite green as both of my 944's were red. Hard to describe the color also..

Stopped on the PCH...











BTW, some of you may have seen my post a few weeks ago about the car fitting in my garage...

[Speed metal]

Nice car! I miss my 951, was a super fun car. If I had to pick between my 3.2 and the 951 I would have to go with the 911. Your going to love it. Love the color BTW

[Dubbin']

Car looks awesome congrats! I am also a new 3.2 owner and loving it! I'm always some what torn chosing between the 997S and the 3.2 .

Mark

[SUMO]

Beauty! Congrats. Love the color

[Bob Kontak]

Originally Posted by Techno Duck

The car drove very well, i am still unfamiliar with the handling on the car so i took it easy.

Beautiful choice and a really nice write up.

Handling? I painted my dentist's 86 951 in concert with a Sikkens paint rep. Took me a year. Finally got to drive it around the hood. No high speed, just putting. The balance was eye opening after driving my 911 for 15 years. Where's the weirdness? However, you can do fun stuff with the 911 weirdness.

The crack in the dash will whisper to you in a month or two. It's only $100 to replace.

[SoyRacer]

Congratulations !! Hope you get to enjoy it often.

[A horse with no name]

Bob, I love your YouTube...I now think exactly the same way now -'Golden Years'

[OldSpool87]

Car looks very nice. Great color. Nice find!

[Cairo94507]

Terrific color combination and nicely maintained car. Good luck and happy miles.

[CarreraDan]

My that car looks familiar, I know you are going to enjoy it Jon. The calipers were rebuilt around the 120k mile mark, they had even wear for me but I understand the car had sat for an extended time. It really isn't a bad job, just dirty. I had the fuel lines replaced when I purchased the car in 2003, strange that those are gone now and ones with hose clamps are on it--if only the car could tell us what happened to it after I sold it.

I promise to get you some of the pics we discussed, I am in the middle of home renovations and work is crazy busy. Enjoy the car and I am very serious if you ever want to sell. My Cayman needs a German garage mate as I don't think the Range Rover likes it much.