Pelican Parts Forums - Random questions on 912's

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I've had both early 912's and have a 1976 912e.
If you are a daily driver I would get a sunroof. The resale on the last 1969 912 will always be higher (and the little extra flares are a nice extra)...like a 1965 356 or a 1961. If you go for the flat top euro pistons, webers, after market iginiton, and add fuel and advance you will make all the zip the pushrod four will make.(unless your wallet allows porting,polishing,larger valves, and maybe a little fooling with the flywheel. Sometimes it is easier to just lighten car...for every 100 lbs you remove, you gain 10 hp. Like plastic quarter windows and straps for driver glass instead of window cranks. You can get fiberglass bumpers and aluminum body panels etc. Your mileage stock should be above 30mph and your insurance with low power to weight, should be lower. RUST...all these folks are right; a Porsche without rust will hold value like your favorite investment. A rusty car will never have value and because it is no longer rigid; it won't handle either

craign,
Cute story, but what I wonder what the guy got paid for his "star car's" performance in the movie, "After some preliminary negotiation$ I did. They looked it over and thought it was OK to use so we worked out the compensation." So where's the money....
I quess the eBay Porsche is legit... the 911 guys seemed dubious at first and at best.
Luke, you definitely got your moneys worth out of your first post, good job.
Chas.

Quote:

Originally posted by wwwcad
Hi Luke,

If that's true, then maybe the 912e was an experiment to see if the fuel injected 914 engine could revive interst in the 912 mark. Guess it didn't work, huh? They only made about 2,099 912e cars in 1976. Not a lot compared to around 30,000 912s prior to that.

My understanding is that the 923/912E was an interim solution to an entry level vehicle until the production 924 was available. It also helped that the Factory had 2099+ surplus 2.0l Type IV motors in their inventory.

The major benefit with these models versus earlier 912s is the factory use of undercoating rust protection.

IMHO - They are underpowered. But if you like the mid 70's 911 look without the notorious 2.7 six headaches, and dont mind spending a few $$$$ to add hp (remember you can't take it with you), then this might be a better choice. It seems that rust is the only drawback to the earlier 912s.

With the CA strict emmissions standards, there are real legitimate limits to what one can do to add hp. Hopefully you live outside the state where standards are more liberal.

Good luck...

Patiently waiting for 2006 to arrive...;)

Bob

Quote:

There are a lot of dogs out there... lots of nice looking cars with the soul of a rat. about every 10th car you see may be worthwile considering.There are a lot of $4 k cars available, but you'll probably end up spending that much aqain when you get it home .
Look for service history & for an engine rebuild in the last 30k miles and try to get a feeling for how much of the costly work has already been done. MEMORIZE THE 912 REGISTRY COMPLETE & READ ALL THE POSTS YOU CAN AT THIS SITE.

I've been reading the registry here at home and at work. Tons and tons of info. Finally found out the name of the color I want...Irish green :) I've always wanted a British Racing Green car, and Irish Green is pretty close. Plus, it looks good with the lines and chrome of the 912.

Also learned to avoid a severly rusted car at all costs :) I know first hand what rust or hack-job accident repairs can do to a car, unfortunately. No thanks...

Quote:

If you go for the flat top euro pistons, webers, after market iginiton, and add fuel and advance you will make all the zip the pushrod four will make.(unless your wallet allows porting,polishing,larger valves, and maybe a little fooling with the flywheel. Sometimes it is easier to just lighten car...for every 100 lbs you remove, you gain 10 hp. Like plastic quarter windows and straps for driver glass instead of window cranks. You can get fiberglass bumpers and aluminum body panels etc.

I'll look into all of those. So far I've only read about big bore kits -- but assuming I can't find anything with a relatively fresh rebuilt engine, that is going to be my first job. After that I'll see about increasing power -- I just don't want to denature the engine, if that makes sense.

I like the look of the chrome bumpers, but I'm not crazy about the two little bump stop things up front. The front end on one the pics below does not have them, and it's about perfect to me. Did some models just not have them, or is it common to remove them?

Quote:

Luke, you definitely got your moneys worth out of your first post, good job.

LOL. I was thinking the same thing. Very cool to find this site. Definitely going to make the search for a car easier, too.

So with all the talk of the film, here are a couple more pics for anyone who hasn't seen it. This thing is beautiful on film. If anyone is interested, I'll put some video files up on my web space ;)

Which reminds me, anyone have any sound or video clips of their 912?

http://www.perkinsproductions.org/images/spyGame1.jpg
http://www.perkinsproductions.org/images/spyGame2.jpg
http://www.perkinsproductions.org/images/spyGame3.jpg

My $.02 worth. 1969 is the best year. Long wheel base much easer to find suspension parts for and more of the performance parts will work. You will find many parts that work from 69 to 89. The 76 is a fine choice but it is heavy compared to the early cars and some of the parts are real hard to find. Example, has its own tranny 76 912 only. On the up side the 76 has less of a rust problem as Porsche had started dipping them by then. With a small amount of tuning and suspension you can really make a 69 (and the other years too) handle well. I track mine and some times catch people that have no good reason to be caught by a 912. With that said 912s are underpowered! This is the Damm Truth. The motors are nice to work on and the early Porsches are fun to own in general as long as you have the right mind set going in. It is a Zen thing. It seems that there isn’t a nut or bolt on my car that I haven’t turned and to some people it just looks like I am always working on my car. But to me I am working on my car and enjoying what I am doing and I also enjoy it when the work improves the driving of the car. After you get it sorted out everything is just a project that you do at your own pace. As I said earlier I track my car and run in an upper run group in the PCA Potomac DE program and am on the track with some powerful stuff. Get killed on the straights but not too bad in the corners.

Mine is one of the 3 912s (and one 911T) used in the movie and it is my long post that was re posted earlier in this thread.

Random thoughts from this long thread.

The front chrome overriders come right off. More power =less motor life. If you are the type that takes you car to the shop for work get a Jetta! An early unrestored 912, or a 911 for that matter, will kill your wallet unless you can and want to do you own work. Get the best example you can, some cars will be cheap to purchase but suck the bucks to fix up and own. A 912 that cost you more to fix up than you can sell it for is common. Buy that car from someone rather than be that person.

Someone was wondering what my compensation was for the use of my car in the movie. It would be impolite to say outright but I was happy with the payment and I bet you all would have been too.

Kurt

With her track gear on...May the Downforce be with you!

Green 912, uh Kurt,

Yes, you are correct the ring and pinion are unique to the 912E.

For me I take my cars to the shop, however a Jetta won't do, I bought a larger wallet and switched my vices to Porsches...

Kudos, sweet vehicle...

Bob