Accidental 968 Project Car

[szerszen23]

Hello All,

I recently bought a Porsche 968 with the anticipation of it being a small project. Once it arrived on the transporter I realized its a large project. The story of how this begin was so entertaining I decided to start a website that would cover all my projects. Check it out!

The Start of Ownership – Project968

You wont be disappointed.

Thanks for reading

[Jfrahm]

Wow, and people wonder why I say PPIs are a waste of money... at least where an older, relatively inexpensive car is concerned.

I wonder what the other inspection services are like these days?

[djnolan]

I would have insisted on 2-3 dozen hi-res pictures of the body, interior, wheels, tires, engine compartment, hatch area, etc. If those looked good then I would have had the PPI guy focus on the mechanicals...

Anyway welcome to the world of Porsche ownership

[flash968]

at about $9k, you just take the car as it is, don't waste time and money on a PPI, and deal with it. that is ridiculously cheap for a running 968, even with that mileage. 968s are going up in price, about $1k a year. they were just named the #3 up and coming collectible by haggerty. i'm not saying that it doesn't suck to have to do that much work, but you get what you pay for. a well sorted 968 will draw close to $20k.

[Bradical]

That was fun to read! And relateable... Good luck with everything, we're here if you need us!

[jhowell371]

You sure got hosed on that PPI. I remember seeing your car when it was for sale here in Maryland. The leaking heater core rang a bell. I always try to be on the harsh side when describing anything for sale. Potential buyers are usually pleased when something is nicer than described.
Your story makes me feel lucky. I bought my S2 off EBAY in Alabama with no PPI after seeing a thread about it on a forum and had it shipped here. It had a couple of very minor unmentioned dings but was spot on mechanically, all up to date and a nice car.

[szerszen23]

Thanks for reading guys! It makes me happy to know some enjoyment can be had from sharing my story. Lesson learned for me with the PPI. In the end, I own and 968 now and since everything needs attention, I have an excuse to make it all good again. Just too bad it will be some time before Ill be driving it.

Ill be posting about once a week and Ill try to keep the stories entertaining (although with this car I dont need to even try). Tackling the aftermarket alarm now, which turned out to be multiple alarms.

[jhowell371]

You might want to read this about alarm systems before starting work. http://rennlist.com/forums/944-turbo-and-turbo-s-forum/869514-here-s-how-to-wire-past-the-oem-alarm-on-a-1989-951-a.html. Looking forward to your future updates.

[Wellwood]

"The seller said the car was still available and asked for me to make an offer before the car was discussed further."

So...you had to make an offer before any further discussion of the car would be afforded by the PO?

[flash968]

it's sad, and certainly didn't used to be the case, but third party PPIs these days are all but worthless. it takes a good 4 hours to properly inspect a car, and almost nobody is going to pay for that. all a shop can do for $200 is walk around the car, look for leaks, and test the electrical system functions. they won't do the necessary compression tests and leakdown tests. they won't drain the diff fluid and inspect it. they won't do an oil analysis. they won't even hose down the car and look for leaks and clogged drain tubes. all of that would take too much time, and customers won't pay for it.

this happens with all cars as they get older though. the number of people qualified to inspect the car goes way down as time goes on. their willingness to expend their valuable time, without getting paid for it also goes down.

the best thing you can do is try to determine the provenance of the car, and see if you trust the sources. after that, it's a roll of the dice.

at $9k though, it really doesn't matter what's wrong with the car. there is plenty of room to fix whatever it is. a well sorted 968 hardtop will grab about $20k (a few thousand more for a cab). whether you buy it that way, or buy a fixer-upper and spend the money going through it, you end up at the same number.

[968 GUY]

You will find plenty of little things to keep you busy.

[JoshB]

Thanks for posting! Great read! Good luck with the car. Looks similar to a 968 I had a while back - especially the wing... 1992 Porsche 968 blk/cashmere - $14,500

[Nashvegas]

Enjoyed your post and I've now read every post in your blog. Great stuff.

I'm on your side - the PPI garage clearly did a **** job. I can understand missing little stuff (instrument lights) but really, you spotted clear issues with the car within minutes of seeing it, they should have highlighted this and flagged it back to you, no bones about it. Wonder if the previous owner paid them to not tell you everything? It seems like they missed some really obvious stuff.

[szerszen23]

Hey All,
This past week I posted a new post on the factory and aftermarket alarm system. Check it out.

More to come soon!

Thanks

[88Silver924S]

The oil in the spark plug well (bore) may be from the compression test, sometimes mechanics will squirt a little oil into the cylinder through the spark plug hole ("the oil appeared clean") to compare a dry compression to a wet compression reading. Good luck.

[szerszen23]

Hey All,
I uploaded a new post covering testing of the interior electrical switches. This post has been the most time consuming is it required more research and testing. I hope it comes in handy for some of you.
Electrical Switch Testing – Project968

Enjoy

[jeff968]

Good stuff, maybe I have been lucky but I haven't had issues with my switches over the years with the exception of the window switches. And for those I learned years ago that, 9 out of 10 times, the issue is just cleaning materials getting into the switch and not allowing the contacts to work. A quick disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly, and you are back in business.

[szerszen23]

Originally Posted by jeff968

Good stuff, maybe I have been lucky but I haven't had issues with my switches over the years with the exception of the window switches. And for those I learned years ago that, 9 out of 10 times, the issue is just cleaning materials getting into the switch and not allowing the contacts to work. A quick disassembly, cleaning, and reassembly, and you are back in business.

Jeff,
I never considered cleaning materials to be the issue, but that seems very probable. I will add that to my post as a reported cause of window switch issues.

Thanks for reading

[petrolhead611]

Clean the window switch contacts with a pencil eraser after CAREFUL disassembly(parts can fall out
if clumsy, and good luck after that with re-assembly.)

[szerszen23]

The wiring clean up and repairs continue. Check out what I have come up with.

Alarm Wiring Clean-up and Repair – Project968