Permatune 3 Pin box , factory in 1975

RatBox · 11-02-2010, 02:08 PM

Can anyone verify, was Porsche was installing blue 3 pin Permatune CD boxes in 2.7 911 models at the factory for production sometime between 1974-77 ?

If this is the case , what yr/s ? Any specific application , or all 2.7's ?

Thx

Howard M · 11-02-2010, 02:24 PM

I believe my 1976 911S 2.7 came stock with the three pin Permatune. I was the third owner and there is no record of a replacement in the paperwork that came with the car. The unit worked perfectly for 30 years. I replaced it with an MSD.

RoninLB · 05:09 PM

mine had the old 3-pin blue Permatune factory stock till i rebuilt the engine at 100k miles in 1995

i replaced it with a newer style 3-pin Permatune that lasted 20k miles

i still have it somewhere

ps: who knows what factory stock is from a 911 that had to meet Calif smog

ossiblue · 11-02-2010, 04:07 PM

As far as I am aware, Porsche never installed Permatune CDI boxes at the factory, only Bosch. The fact that some early cars have them without any paper work does not mean they weren't installed by an owner.

RoninLB · 11-02-2010, 05:07 PM

good point but my bro bought the car after 1 1/2 old when it was still pristine. It's LA car stuff in the Marina area and he almost knew the owner. My bro has every record that happened under him till 1995 when i bought it from him. The car lived at the Marina till I bought it.

you make perfect sense

RatBox · 11-02-2010, 05:50 PM

I'm not so sure of that , that's why I asked.

Why do some units have a porsche part number silkscreened into the label .

'911 602 702 01'

It seems unlikely to me there would be a Porsche number assigned to it , if it had not been used . I don't think Permatune would fabricate a Porsche number and put it in their label just for kicks.

RatBox · 11-02-2010, 05:58 PM

.... and have the Porsche issue Hi-Voltage warning sticker :

5:04 · 11-02-2010, 06:06 PM

I have a blue permatune box on my 76 also. I dont know whether it's stock or not.

RatBox · 11-02-2010, 06:19 PM

Label with 911 602 702 01 part number :

74er · 11-02-2010, 07:00 PM

My '74 row came with one. Zimmerman says they did use them.

ischmitz · ischmitz's Garage

Yes, I also heard that Porsche did use Permatune boxes at points when there was a supply shortage on the Bosch parts. So it is entirely possible to have a stock Permatune.

Look on the bright side.

- The Permatune uses the same 3-pin connector. So an upgrade to Bosch is seamless
- If you happen to have an original Permatune that lasted from the mid 70's until today it probably is a keeper since it outperformed more recent models by a factor of 40.

Maybe the build quality or part quality of their supplier was higher back in the days......

Ingo

RoninLB · 11-02-2010, 11:51 PM

This is a Pete Zimmerman's card from 1995 before he sold his shop
He knows everything about my car's history and would be able to clear up this Permatune issue

tof2.7 · 11-03-2010, 04:43 AM

My 74 was impoted to France from France and had big problem to run , i have change the permtune it was intalled a long time ago by a original bosch and now i have no problem.

al lkosmal · 11-03-2010, 05:07 AM

My 77S had the blue Permatune. I believethat it was a factory install. The blue ones actually worked well and are dependable.

Regards,
Al

retrogarage · retrogarage's Garage

My 77 911S w/ 22K original miles came with blue 3-pin Permatune. Still works great.
My car came with a NOS Permatune as a spare. Still in box.

RatBox · 06:41 AM

Just a note of clarification, even in a factory install of a blue permatune. I do not think all got the Yellow High-Voltage warning sticker.

I believe the key , most likely , to a factory install. Is the 911 part number in the Permatune label . The Permatune sticker, that I posted the photo of , is on the top of the box where sometimes a High-Voltage sticker is.

I got it loose. I have another blue permatune that is positively originally from a 1976 MY 2.7 car . I have to go look at it , but I do remember it also has a Permatune label with a 911 part number. I cannot remember if this label is on top , or on the end? I also cannot remember if it has a yellow high-voltage sticker anywhere on it. I will check.

Obviously , that particular Hi-Voltage sticker in the above photo is too long to go on the end. And there's not enough room for both stickers on the top.

The box with the long High-Voltage sticker on top I posted , was not my box , only a photo off this site. So I cannot look on the end to see what's there.

So if an original install blue P. box , has the long yellow high voltage sticker on top. Is the permatune label on the end ? If the Permatune label (with 911 part #'s) is on the top , is there suppose to be a smaller High-Voltage sticker on the end ?

Did Porsche install some without yellow High-Voltage labels because they ran short of labels ? Or maybe in the beginning of supply, because of an initial placement of the P. label by Permatune assembly workers on top. Porsche workers did not want to remove it , so these received no yellow warning stickers at all ?

Can people who think they have an original from (or still in) a car , check this for me ? It probably seems like a small detail to most , but I would appreciate it.

retrogarage ,

Sometime (no hurry at all) can you check both the original installed in your 22k mile car , and the spare . And report back what they have for stickers , and the placement of any. And also , if you know when & who the spare was purchased from.

The serial number from the box in my label photo (Perm. label with part #'s / on top of box ) is 11337 (the photos a bit fuzzy)

Thx much

retrogarage · retrogarage's Garage

Will get pics of both later when I get home.

calling911 · 11-03-2010, 12:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howard M

I believe my 1976 911S 2.7 came stock with the three pin Permatune. I was the third owner and there is no record of a replacement in the paperwork that came with the car. The unit worked perfectly for 30 years. I replaced it with an MSD.

Funny, so did my 76.. I replaced it with an MSD cuz I thought it was "cool"... the MSD broke 3 months later and now the "permaturd" is back in and works just fine.. saw no performance increase with the MSD.

I should buy a spare off of here one day.

RatBox · 11-03-2010, 01:05 PM

I had looked at Permatune's website before. But ran away when I say the photos of the newer boxes.

I ended up from a search on their website , at an 'about us' webpage.

This is there :

"Our heritage

Ferdinand Porsche and Dr. Theodore Sturm designed the original Perma-Tune ignition system in 1968 for the original Porsche 911 race car, the car that “put Porsche on the map”. The same ignition was used on many other Ferrari powered race cars of the same era. A later version of the Perma-Tune, the "little blue box", was stock equipment on the 1974 911. Aero Design Products, Inc. of Newport Beach, California manufactured the systems for installation on the Porsche production line in Germany under contract with Dr. Sturm."

__________________________________________________ ____

I have never heard of Dr. Sturm , but that doesn't mean anything. And I have no idea as to interpreting the accuracy of the statements above. But the general idea regarding if being original equipment can be gleened from this.

Peter Zimmermann · 11-03-2010, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RoninLB

This is a Pete Zimmerman's card from 1995 before he sold his shop
He knows everything about my car's history and would be able to clear up this Permatune issue

Wow, I guess this is one of those peculiarities that I should have kept notes about! I distinctly remember Porsche using Permatune, as an o.e. part, for a relatively short period of time, in the mid '70s, but beyond that my memory is fuzzy on this one.