1988 Venetian Blue 3.2 Carrera Coupe

[dw1]

Yes, these mounts breaking are a common problem. I had the improved mounts welded into my '87 a year or so ago.

What is it like to drive without the rear bar? I thought about temporarily removing the rear bar on mine, but even with one side broken there was quite a bit of body roll and I certainly felt more of the rear weight of the car.

Thanks for the very nice write-up & photos - you've posted quite a bit of good information. Btw, I really like the interior & exterior color (alas, mine is black/black).

And I'm sure Hershey is a big help.

[ZAMIRZ]

Where are you in the Bay Area? I'm down in San Jose and have an '83 SC Coupe in slate blue metallic (older brother to your car). Ping me, we should meet at Alice's some time.

[turbo3six]

Congrats on your Venetian Blue Carrera! Is it 35U or 36P paint code? Both are Venetian Blue, but they are different shades of blue.
My 87 is 36P

[wjdunham]

Absolutely gorgeous car, and great shot of it.

Bill

Originally Posted by turbo3six

Congrats on your Venetian Blue Carrera! Is it 35U or 36P paint code? Both are Venetian Blue, but they are different shades of blue.
My 87 is 36P

[boogieman065]

Originally Posted by ZAMIRZ

Where are you in the Bay Area? I'm down in San Jose and have an '83 SC Coupe in slate blue metallic (older brother to your car). Ping me, we should meet at Alice's some time.

I'm in Mountain View. I love Alice's, Highway 9, Highway 17, and along the coast. You'll see me at the Menlo Park Cars and Coffee (James Artist) sometimes too if you go there.

Originally Posted by dw1

Yes, these mounts breaking are a common problem. I had the improved mounts welded into my '87 a year or so ago.

What is it like to drive without the rear bar? I thought about temporarily removing the rear bar on mine, but even with one side broken there was quite a bit of body roll and I certainly felt more of the rear weight of the car.

Thanks for the very nice write-up & photos - you've posted quite a bit of good information. Btw, I really like the interior & exterior color (alas, mine is black/black).

And I'm sure Hershey is a big help.

It drives more predictably without the snap oversteer. It is definitely more "floaty", it digs in and handles the turn well, but with a lot of roll and you need to load the suspension more.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by turbo3six

Congrats on your Venetian Blue Carrera! Is it 35U or 36P paint code? Both are Venetian Blue, but they are different shades of blue.
My 87 is 36P

It's a 35U, I've always wondered about the side decal and ducktail on my car. Now I know what it looks like! Looks great. Thanks for sharing.

[boogieman065]

Driving my car around without the rear sway bar is not as bad as I thought.

I spent time realigning the sunroof height. Corner balancing these is a pretty simple process with the gear teeth in the back and spacer threads up front.

[boogieman065]

New fan belt day on 11/8/2022. Rear sway mounts fixed and reinforced.

I deleted the AC belt because... It wasn't doing anything anyways.

I wanted to change the transmission fluid but that 10mm plug up top was tight! I'll need a different tool to break it open.


Old aftermarket vs new OEM


All spacers were in good condition.

[Mr. Merk]

Marlin approves

[Bill Douglas]

Dog is VERY pleased with how the car is going (and where it goes).

[boogieman065]

Just some updates: 3/7/2023, I decided to get the A/C fixed and that week my heater blower decided to go at the same time. So the car went to RMG Enterprises in Sunnyvale, CA for a full HVAC makeover and check up.

The car got: New heater blowers, R134 A/C conversion, HVAC switches replaced and repaired, windshield washer pump, intake valves checked and tightened (noisy... I adjusted them on the wayyyy loose end), fuse box cleaning and new fuses, hood struts replacements, missing exhaust stud and nut added, clutch bleed, and condenser blower replacement.

New windshield on 3/20/23 with OEM Porsche glass and seal with Exel Autoglass. The aluminum trim will be reused since they were just installed in June.

Compression test was at:
1: 195
2: 200
3: 195
4: 195
5: 200
6: 195

If you live near Sunnyvale, CA, I cannot recommend RMG Enterprises enough. Dan and Dan are experts at their craft, provided excellent communication, documentation, and service.













PHOTO GALLERY - 2208

[famoroso]

Busting out the digital calipers for the front condenser fan replacement. Now that's precise! ;-)

Earlier in the thread, I noticed that at least your driver's side door pin switch is missing its rubber boot.

Lose those hazy H5 headlights (or, at a minimum, clean the inner lenses with alcohol and rice beads and replace the desiccant packs), as they were criminally negligent when brand new. Get a set of H4s (a used set JUST sold here this morning for $475) and add headlight relays and you'll be golden. Also, if you haven't addressed these issues, consider doing so sooner rather than later...

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/548209-added-fuses-relays.html

Beautiful car! I'll be up for Lüft. Hope to see it there.

[wildthing]

PCA GGR is inviting folks to the Los Gatos Peet's this Sunday, just saying.

[boogieman065]

Originally Posted by famoroso

Beautiful car! I'll be up for Lüft. Hope to see it there.

Share the details please!

Originally Posted by wildthing

PCA GGR is inviting folks to the Los Gatos Peet's this Sunday, just saying.

Share the details please!


---break---

I just got the car back from Exel Autoglass, who did excellent work. Now, I'm wondering if I want to get Exoshield to protect the glass from small chips. Thoughts on products like these?

https://www.getexoshield.com/

Exel Autoglass pictures:

[shinrai]

Nice work!

I run Exoshield on one of my cars that has a very expensive and difficult to find windshield. It's a great product if installed correctly. It had to be done twice because the first fitment had an annoying horizontal line that changed the horizon on motion. I imagine 911 windshields will always be easy to source so maybe not needed.

[famoroso]

Originally Posted by shinrai

Nice work!

I run Exoshield on one of my cars that has a very expensive and difficult to find windshield. It's a great product if installed correctly. It had to be done twice because the first fitment had an annoying horizontal line that changed the horizon on motion. I imagine 911 windshields will always be easy to source so maybe not needed.

I've had Clearplex on my Lotus windshield for years, with 100+ track days and it's been invaluable.

On 911s, I don't think it's as much about windshield availability, as it is about preserving an existing known good / leak free install. The whole windshield install thing has become more art than science, including sourcing the right seal and searching out the local shaman, I mean installer.

[thetorch]

Frank,
Can you PM me your local windshield shaman info?
Thx
C

[70SATMan]

Originally Posted by wildthing

PCA GGR is inviting folks to the Los Gatos Peet's this Sunday, just saying.

Website says HMB. Los Gatos Peet’s appears to be out.

https://pca-ggr.org/event/ggr-cars-and-coffee-2/

I might take a run up on Sunday. My BIL is up there.

[boogieman065]

Signed up for Luftgekühlt 9! I guess they'll take any car.

Clutch pedal was sinking occasionally. Master cylinder, hose, and slave cylinders changed out.

[tjhollingsworth]

Originally Posted by boogieman065

Hi there!

I'd just like to document my guardianship of the car on one location so that it is easier to follow (#ritno88911 on Instagram). I picked up a 1988 Venetian Blue 3.2 Coupe on 1/30/22 after months of searching. This car is supposed to have a bit of a sentimental value to me. It is my birth year car and I am graduating with my master's degree the year I bought it! A little early graduation present for myself.

I have done a bit of work to it trying to bring it back to what I consider to be an acceptable daily driver. It is far from a concours car, I just wanted a quality/reliable car that I can add miles and miles of smiles.

The interior carpeting and upholstery were done right before I bought the car, but the paint/exterior was in neglected condition and the service history was largely unknown.

I'll update/backdate the progress on what I'm doing and what I've done so far. Please feel free to provide feedback and teach me all things air-cooled!

The two Facebook Marketplace posting images are below. I reached out to him the night he posted, after I test drove a 993 tip that day that I wasn't happy with. The seller of this G50 car had about 50 messages, I just got lucky somehow and saw it the very next morning.



Pre-Purchase Inspection at European Auto in Salinas, CA showed a clean bill of health. Leaky exhaust valve cover gaskets and tires from 2007. I got lucky and had a guy who used to work at Porsche of Monterey inspect the car. Even driving to the shop, I could tell that despite the neglected appearance, the 1988 911 drove much better than the 1994 I test drove the day before.



With my 2007 Cayman S in the background. The Cayman is a DD that has 135k miles and I've owned it since 2019.


Interior shot

Car looks great after the paint job. I’ve got a 75 S carrera that I’ve owned since 1976. Going to have to paint it again. What’s a full paint job run now? Just curious.
I still drive mine every day!

[boogieman065]

Originally Posted by tjhollingsworth

Car looks great after the paint job. I’ve got a 75 S carrera that I’ve owned since 1976. Going to have to paint it again. What’s a full paint job run now? Just curious.
I still drive mine every day!

I had a friend's shop do it, total it was about $5k for parts and labor... That's pretty much at cost. He's retired since then, unfortunately. And he swore he will never do a Porsche that low again lol.

Driver quality respray with glasses and trims off are around $8-$20k