Buying a 912 soon, looking pointers and what not...

[collectionofone]

Hi everyone,

At the end of the summer I am planning on buying a '68 912 targa and driving the car from California (North of Sanfransico) to Maine and across the ferry to Nova Scotia, where after 2 more hours of driving the car will be home in my garage. The owner of this car seems really great and is helping to get a few little things straitened out before the trip at the end of August.

Currently I just have a few questions....

Do the early 912s have a timing chain? Or, do they have gears like the 911 and 912 E? If there are timing chains are likely to break easily? Especially on a long trip.

What are the popular engine, break and suspension upgrades?
I'm looking for a fun daily driver in the summer. I am 20 years old (next month that is). And a 4 cylinder car is really great on the insurance. But, I would like to smoth this car out and try and add a few extra hp while doing it. Is there carb upgrades? Are performance exhausts and intakes readily available? What does everyone have for ignitions.

What kind of rubber does everyone have on their stock rims? (15*5.5)

Aside from these questions anything else you might like to add and anything you think I might be interested in I would like to hear. This is going to be my first Porshce and second car. My first car is (was) a 1983 e21 series BMW 320i. Oh and any recomanded URLs and or books with some good reading on these cars I would be interested in.

[bmwloco]

Carry extra generator belts. Make sure the car is serviced before you go. Have it checked by The Maestro aka Harry Pellow (he's in San Jose) before you set out.

Also, pop for AAA Plus coverage (100 miles of free towing and other good beneifits).

As for tires, I use Pirelli P444's on my '67 912. They work well, wear well, and won't send you to the poor house. Michilens are good choices too.

It sounds like a fantastic trip. Keep us posted!

[craign]

Collectionofone,

Here is a link to a website I spend more time than is healthy at for maintenance and resoration.

www.hilemanimages.com/912

This board is one of the best for getting a very wide range of input on experiences and modifications for the 912. I prefer to keep mine stock as possible but others have done some pretty slick racing mods etc. I am sure you will be hearing from them shortly (Josh, Efrain, Mein12 to name a few).

I am in the south end of the SF Bay area, I have managed to locate and form a 912 group in the area. We have drivers north of SF and might be able to find someone who would be willing to go look at the car for you if you haven't already seen it.

We and the So. Cal (southern California) 912ers have a BBS at www.bay912.org, there is a link to the So. Cal board there also.

Have you at least seen pix of it??

Craign

[collectionofone]

An all out race engine is far from what I'm looking for.....Just a few extra ponies to pull me around some corners, while improving drivability. Possably ignition, exhaust, and webers (exempt from smog, so this is fine), combined with SS brake lines, and possably stiffer suspension on some decent rubber.

After that a mild street cam and lightened flywheel would really top things off.

[bmwloco]

The Maestro built my engine. It was a genuine "turkey" before getting to him. 912, and 356 A, B and C parts were used. A previous owner, in search of 911 type power or more likely, one with an issue with the need for "more", put a turbo on it.

Years later, when I owned, a downshift from 5th to 4th resulted with a crank through the block. Joy.

The Maestro asked me what I wanted. I told him I wanted good over all performance and an engine robust enough to pull 2,000 foot grades (common where I live in North Carolina).

So...mine has a big bore kit, Webers, a good coil and that's about it. Koni's ride on the four corners and Pirelli's work for me.

I've installed a short shift kit, but it's coming out and I'm going back to stock. I'm going to also raise it to it's proper ride height, as per the factory specs (fixing something that's been since I purchased the car).

[greenmonster]

Originally posted by craign
Collectionofone,

Here is a link to a website I spend more time than is healthy at for maintenance and resoration.

www.hilemanimages.com/912

Craig,

LOL...

I'm glad I'm not the only one who spends alot of time there 8-)

Dave's got some great stuff on his page.

[bob tilton]

let's give the website the proper link as it is one of the most thorough and informative 912 sites. thanks dave!

http://www.hillmanimages.com/912/index.html

bob
68 L

[craign]

Thanks for the correction Bob!

[josh912]

I'm not sure, but I don't think the timing gear was clarified. The cam is run by a gear, directly meshed with the crank. I don't think I've ever heard problems with the gears, so I wouldn't worry. The big things to check are the fan belt as bmwloco mentioned, wheel bearings, fuel lines, oil leaks and make sure the oil pressure is good. The oil coolers tend to get plogged if there is an oil leak. Check the brakes and suspension, and bring enough tools to do a complete rebuild. I know Harry Pellows has a nice short list of tools As for upgrades, I personally think a) the stock ignition is great b) stock exhaust is a gift from heaven and c) nothing can compare to the stock solexes. As far as suspension upgrades, I'm not sure, some of the others will be able to tell you. My current 912 has a stock setup, but I haven't really driven it yet, and don't know how stock feels, (the 68 was everything but stock.) Short shifters are ok, but I like stock, its not toooo long of a throw, and unless you are racing, it doesn't really matter. Brake upgrades are great, but stock brakes work fine for casual driving. Oh, and for the engine, I honestly have come to like the stock cam. I think thats what I have, haven't tore the engine apart yet, but with a slighly modified 031 distributor, big bore, and solexes, the car *was* extremely responsive and rather peppy. Sure it doesn't pull to 7500 rpm like my 68, but you can drive it below 3000, so take your pick. Now of course, the fact that I'm going stock on my 65 might cause me to be a little bias, but I think what I've said has some, no matter how little, merit. No matter what, good luck on the car, and keep the 912 faith!

[Jones Low]

The 912 and 911 share so many items that reading about early 911 Porsche material would be a good place to start. Pete Zimmermann's "The Used 911 Story" is an excellent read. The items covered about body, chassis, suspension, exterior, interior, transmission would be applicable to early 912's. The engine is from the 356 Porsche. The 356/912 engine in many respect is similar in design to the old VW bug back in the 60's. 4-cylinder, air-cooled, remember to change oil (& oil filter if you have one) & check/adjust valves every 3000 miles, inspect fan belt, and just check oil, air in tires, put gas in the tank and drive. The 912 is the same except the engine takes two guys to lift it while the VW only one. The 912 is a beefer setup.

912's truly have the look of a 911 but the heart of a 356. That's one of the unique things I like best about these cars.

30+ year old cars may need some TLC.
Besides the mechanicals being tired and worn, the following items may need attention if the car has not been receiving TLC in the last few years of its life:

1. Shocks (or structs)
2. Front and rear wheel bearings
3. Rear CV joints (replace or grease repack with new boots)
4. Front and rear suspension bushings
5. Rubber fuel lines (there are several that are hidden and you need to replace if they haven't been)
6. Worn carbs
7. Worn distributor

There are other areas to mention but these come to mind. As you get into it, you will learn and you can always ask questions.

Sounds like a great adventure you are about to begin. Have fun.

Jones Low
69-912

Our 912's truly has the look of a 911 but the heart of a 356.

[Nicol4]

Hi Patrick

Good luck on your purchase. As a fellow Canadian I have a few pointers on buying a car in the USA and bringing it home.

1. Have a backup plan for getting home. I had return trip tickets to LA when I went down there to buy my 912e. I had seen pictures of the car, it had low mileage 49,000 and I had talked to the owner on the phone 2 times and at least 7 or 8 emails back and forth. I had made it very clear that I was going to drive the car home 1300 + miles and he assured me it would be no problem. When I got there and saw and drove the car I did not by it. The sunroof would not close, the brake pedal hit the floor on the first pump, the motor blew a huge cloud of smoke on startup and a small cloud as you drove, it would not stay in third gear and the tires looked bad. The fellow was surprised when I walked away but that car was not worth buying at any price.

2. You are exporting a car from the USA they want to have the title of the car for 3 business days to check it as a stolen car. They will also want to inspect the car to check the vin # so you have to show up at the border Monday to Friday between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm.

3. The Canadian border has a way of changing the rules on the fly so go to the border before you go to get the car with all your paper work and talk to them when you get the answers you want find out if that person is working when you will be bringing the car home.

4. I have brought a 1976 912e home from Washington state it was a smooth 1 hour process and all I had to pay was the GST on the car and I was able to drive it all the way home with Washington plates and British Columbia insurance.

Have fun with your adventure email me if you want any more info

[jac912]

I envy you for your future trip. Watch the temp gauge and bring ear plugs. The stock 912 sounds great when properly tuned but over 3500 rpms it's real load. You'll probably want to cruise around 4k which in a 5 spd is about 80 mph. I'd suggest good headphones and an mp3 player.

[collectionofone]

All the information I am getting is great.

An alternative way home for me and the possably the car will be looked into.

Also I am going to look into finding a shop in Chicago to service the car, aprox. halfway.

I am trying hard to find someone to check out the car. Although, I have no reason no to trust the owner, and he has been so great so far, there are always stories about getting something different than what you heard about. But, on the other end of things I'm sure for every had story there are ten or more good ones you don't hear about.