500 miles? Drive it more!

As for your question, go directly to Porsche AG and see what they say. No sense pussy footing around with local dealers.

na, im in montana. dad is in rural farm land wisconsin. :) Sounds like holly springs is a lot of fun....

In redneckville we had jealous *******s punch the rear quarter panel of my landcruiser, key the door lightly on my brothers m5, door dinged the ML55 and pissed on the e55.

some a-holes are just jealous and don't realize some people actually worked hard to earn these cars to feed their habit.

oh well. karma will catch up with them..

Thanks for your suggestion. I just called them and left a message to get a certificate of authenticity and also mentioned I would like to know more about the vin and if it really is the last one.

Do you think they would lie to keep their number one US customer happy? I doubt the Germans would be able to since they are so precise in documentation. Just ask the red cross! j/k

Holly Springs is "transitioning" but we still have high schoolers driving around the local Taco Hell with gigantic Confederate flags mounted in their monster trucks. I don't believe Porsche will want to validate this car (or settle the "last built" issue) as they've become increasingly aware about the legal aspect of "affirming" the provenance of such vehicles. Somewhere, someone else would have their feelings hurt by whatever the final word is and might go hunting for some legal help.

CoA isn't worth the paper it is written on. You need someone to search the archives or wherever to see about the last few 993s produced, and what happened to them. VINs would be great if they are willing to release that info and where those cars were sold.

I wouldn't specifically ask about the last 993 as that is a pointed question and Jerry S. has some pull at the factory. Perhaps asking where your VIN falls in the production sequence of the final production run of 993s. Who knows, they may even give you a straight answer.

To determine when the car came off the production line you need the production number which differs from the VIN. I believe cars are assigned the VINs according to the work order. In otherwords the VIN is determined by the work order and what options the car will have.

When the cars start on the production line they are assigned a sequential production number. The car could end up being any color and or have any range of options determined by it's VIN.

My understanding is the last car off the production line has the last production number and would be considered the last car produced. That's probably the car that Seinfeld has.

When the cars actually left the Porsche factory could be something altogether different.


So basically VINs are order sequenced and production numbers are production line sequenced.

Thanks for your help. Although it contradicts what my friend tells me. He is a Mercedes master tech who seems to know a little about the stuff and tells me it doesn't get a vin number until just before it leaves the door and the work order is what they go off of before it gets it's vin. It would be really cool to find out the mfg and delivered dates of the one that sold.

Scouser from Renntech indicated that there are 8 more vins after ours but not sure if the cars were meant for europe or north america. he did know the last two 1348 and 1349 were targas. That goes along with the two of each story we were told about at the dealer.

I'm starting to think that Seinfeld got his last 911 and then they decided to do another production run at the last second. His was built december 17. All ours says is december. Delivered in March.

Thanks for your help! I will take it into consideration. It's about 50/ 50 on the vin allocation at this time.

Nick

I haven't been to the factory in a number of years and so I can't offer any advice that is directed specifically at the 993 cars. I will pass on three things which may be relevant.

Back in the good old days, there were two numbers assigned to a 911. One was the production number, the other was the serial number/VIN. The production number was stamped on the dash sheet metal prior to the car being painted. It was then covered up when the interior trim was installed. This same number was written on other body parts after they were painted, using a grease pencil. A typical place to find them is on the inside of the doors. Many people (including me) assume a couple things about this number. First, the cars originally started down the line in the order of their production number. Notice I didn't say that they came off of the line in that order. Often they were held for a part that hadn't arrived, or for re-work to something that didn't pass inspection. Second, there is no real relationship between this number and the serial number.

At some point, each chassis is assigned a serial number or VIN. This was recorded on the car in various places, in several different manners, depending upon the year it was produced. It might have been stamped into the body sheet metal, it might have been stamped into a tag that was then riveted to the body and it might have been stamped or printed onto a sticker that was glued to the body. Deending upon the year it was produced, a car may have all three of these types of identification. In the case of those cars that had it stamped into the body sheetmetal, this was done prior to the body being painted, so it was done fairly early in the process. I'd wager that the serial number was assigned to a particular car fairly early in the production, even during the 993 days. 993s were built after Porsche had started using the just-in-time manufacturing techiques they learned from some Japanese consultants and that process dictates that they build things in a very particular order and know exactly what order the cars are coming down the production line. In any event, take a look and see if there is a number stamped into the body sheetmetal, under the paint, at some place. I'd suggest that you start your search under the trunk carpet. If you find one, you'll know that the VIN number was assigned quite early in the process.

Next, what Mercedes does may or may not be similar to what Porsche does. A Mercedes master tech may know exactly zip about a Porsche.

Lastly, having been a car dealer, let me mention a couple of reasons why he may have not responded to your calls. He is in business to sell cars. He is usually pretty busy, as there are always a million people needing his attention. He may consider this quest of yours to be a wild goose chase and it may have gotten buried quite low on his priority list. He may also have no real source of information for what you seek. When I was a dealer, there was nothing I had access to that would have given me that sort of information. If you are dealing with a salesman, instead of the dealer principal, he will have even less access to information. It is always better to make such inquiries in person, rather than via a phone call.

Tell your dad to enjoy the car,
JR

Sounds like it's a little confusing. You sound like you have a more reasonable claim to the highest VIN number rather than the last one produced. Even Jerry couldn't argue with that. Well, maybe he could, but he'd probably make a couple hundred thou while doing it in standup style. Of course even that may not be true...... They may yet have some other bodies waiting in the wings at the factory even as we sit here.

As an aside, and IMHO, seals, gaskets, moving parts, etc all like to be moved to get lubricated. It seems to me this car should be driven more if it is meant to last in a fashion more than a trailer queen that will eventually stop running after less than ten thousand miles. I know it is a special car and you probably get some sort of satisfaction from that and probably as much from keeping it perfect and occasionally rubbing it with a diaper (not that there's anything wrong with that....) but these cars do need to be driven. They need it and thrive on it. Just my 0.02.

And by the way I love your car and would love to have a 993C2S one day.

And Jerry, if you're reading and need someone to drive yours for a while I'm available....I might even wipe it with a diaper.

thanks for your expert advise. we will look into it more. you rock!

Thanks! I agree. He was told the same thing about his 12cyl mercedes when he brought it in to get it serviced. His not driving enough cost him thousands of dollars as the suspension rotted from driving it too little.

How many miles do you put on a car like this per year to keep it healthy?

Thanks!

Drive it at least once a week to keep things lubed up. I should talk as I have only driven my 79 turbo 1000 miles since I bought it last June.

Storm6490...I love Whitefish! Became very good friends with a guy from there and his brothers (The Gustafson Brothers) and have ski'd up there a couple of times. Ended up at The Great Northern or whatever it's called...it was little fuzzy. That area has changed a LOT in the last 20 years. One of the brothers lives in one of Tommy Moe's homes up in Alaska and my buddy now lives in Marin County, Ca.
Good times with those guys and your car is awesome, BTW.
Oh...Javadog knows his stuff, as you have probably gathered.

[QUOTE=storm6490;4151072]
Nick K.
Whitefish Montana
storm6490@bresnan.com

Ah, Whitefish! I miss the huckleberry pancakes at the Buffalo Cafe. Great stuff. My wife's uncle used to have a great house right on the lake.

Hi all, I really appreciate all your help with this. It's pretty exciting! I have out a lot of information on these cars. I was surprised to find out that the c2s was one of the most sought after. I would have thought it was the turbo.

I don't want to start a pissing match with the owner of the "last one" as the air cooled guys said it was documented and so on. It's hard to beat that kind of pedigree with Seinfeld as the owner and that kick ass 911 badge on the back.

What I do want is to find out about the "2 of each model" 993's that were produced and where this one stands on the line. We will be looking for a professional who can assist us in investigating this vehicle and would appreciate any leads you could offer. We won't be tearing out the carpet or removing the door panels any time soon but expect that if needed we could in the future. This vehicle will be in our family for generations so I give thanks for all the advise on driving it more.

In the near future I will be building my own air cooled vehicle specifically designed for gravel roads here in montana. I will be looking for a salvaged c4 to play with since you can pretty much drive anything with headlights and turn signals here in montana.

You guys are awesome!

Nick

Ya, it has changed a lot in the ten years I have been here. William Foley, owner of the largest title insurance company in the world, has decided to by up all the buildings down town and most of the real estate. It did clean things up quite a bit but I liked dirty old montana the way it was. One big screw up he did was allow his advertising monkeys to rename the BIG MOUNTAIN to whitefish mountain resort. The USGS has it listed as big mountain so there is still a lot of confusion when the state signs say big and the company signs say wmr... Freaks out a lot of drivers.

It's still a fun place to visit. I'm surprised more people don't ship there cars out here to drive them. We have a severe lack of police and some of the most beautiful winding roads in the country. All porsche owners need to take a very early drive up the going to the sun road in glacier national park just before sunrise. That's when all the toys show up and park cops are sleeping.

Come ski this winter!

Nick

[QUOTE=Moses;4154608] He should have kept the house on the lake! My friend tim is living in a small cabin on the lake his grandpa built in the 50's. The neighbor offered 2.5 for it and he declined. Even when the rest of the real-estate is taking a dump. Whitefish lake is still super golden.

I try to stay away from the buffalo cafe as I live here and would become obese within months after having their breakfast! Still the best breakfast within 200 miles!

Hucks are in season, let me know if you want some fresh shipped out. I picked over a gallon after our gold prospecting only uncovered iron pyrite. :(

Why doesn't Porsche figure out that what "REAL" drivers want is the early air cooled mean machine and go back and produce a killer version of the 993 as an anniversary version - backdated to motor and body shape!

That would be worth waiting for. I don't care for the new water-cooled 'modern' look or sound. IMHO: the tear shaped lights were the wrong direction. they should have stayed true to the original and it would only have improved Porsche. It's best in it's raw, mean, uncivilized form.

Here, here.

It's what I am building - the best I can.

See my project site for details... latest:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=427481

I'm sure they could, but the price would be very high. Remember back in the mid/late 90s when Nissan bought back a bunch of 240Zs and rebuilt them with new parts? I think those cars were running in the $30k range. If Porsche were to reproduce 993s, I'd say they would be in the $100k+ range.

Yep. I guess that would make it hurt all the more.

The straight rear view of a 95 era 993 is like the shape of nice, healthy woman's hips, from behind. I think that is no mistake .... rather... it's BY design, that Porsche came up with that.

It's just the best car shape ever conceived... period.