1990 Porsche 911 C2, A Story

In reply to oldtin:

That's incredible. I will absolutely be sending them a photo and some money the first of the week.

Great read!

I'm look forward to instigating some of my own automotive shenanigans with my family.

It passed emissions testing! What an incredible relief that was. Car is now registered, I have plates and the title transfer is in the system. To add to my never ending joy, it's hot today, almost 80, and the AC is blowing cold enough that I have to turn it down. That may not last, but today is a good day.

I'm a dork.

The world is funny. 11 days ago I picked up the 911. In the brief period of time it has been in my possession my wife has fallen in love with it. Since it made it home she has certainly driven it more than me. This sort of changes things.
My intention was to attack the valve adjustment myself. It's a job that I'm quite honestly nervous about, but one I could handle given the time to go slow and careful. Now my wife loves the car so much that she really doesn't want me to try and do it myself. She wants it done now and done right so she can get back to driving it without worry. The $600 it's going to cost isn't a huge deal other than it would be nice to spend it on parts instead of labor. The long and short of it is that I'm quite happy putting myself in a rolling experiment of my mechanical ability, but neither me or my wife is quite as comfortable if it's a car she'll be doing a lot of miles in. The car goes in Thursday.

It's always nice when the significant other approves of a hobby/addiction, but it is a rare and beautiful thing when they dive right in with you!

She had a 2000 Audi TT for a few years that she desperately loved until it became an unreliable piece of crap. She was looking at buying a Cayman until she moved jobs. In the area she works she see dozens of caymans a day, all driven by very made up women. Her boss just picked up a Ferrari 430 to replace his DD Maserati. It's very hard to have a unique car around there and she likes being unique.
The car makes her happy. After a long day of staring at the computer screen she gets to walk to the parking garage and drop into the 911. She comes home waving her hand out the sunroof with a smile on her face. She never would have bought herself a 911, but she's amazingly happy with this one so far.
All is not lost though. Before I brought the car home I mentioned doing a track day or two with it. Now that she's in love with it she will be much less inclined to have me ball it up against a barrier. I'm thinking that I may be able to use her desire to protect the Porsche to make moving the Mazda2 toward a b-spec car a reasonable compromise.

I see what you did there. Bought wife 911 so you can go racing. Clever. :)

This story keeps getting better and better. Love that your wife now loves it too. I'm blessed with a wife who has an affinity for cars as well, and it's fun when she loves driving something as much or more than I do.

Valve adjustments aren't that hard. Especially if you look up the "back checking method" over on pelican or rennlist.

$600 geez, my valves would have never been adjusted if it cost me $600 bones. Difference being my wife likes the 911, its part of the family since we drove away from our wedding in it, but she hates to drive it for fear of messing it up. She does say the next 911 is hers. Not just Porsche but 911. I've always wondered what would happen if I brought home another Porsche besides a 911... My better half actually encourages me to do stuff on the 911 because she knows I enjoy tinkering on the car.

My wife asked me one day what it would take to get out of racing. I told her 993. She did some research and said hell no hehe but it still might happen.

Love racing but it is costing more and more every year. Sell the race car, GT6 and buy a Porsche. Initial lay out would be more but life would be simpler for sure.

It's nice when the wife likes the toy.

A few months ago I casually mentioned selling the Jeep. "It takes up garage space, we rarely drive it, blah blah blah. With what we spend to keep it insured, I think each drive we took last year cost roughly $50 just in insurance."

"I don't care. We're keeping the Jeep."

octavious wrote: Valve adjustments aren't that hard. Especially if you look up the "back checking method" over on pelican or rennlist. $600 geez, my valves would have never been adjusted if it cost me $600 bones.

I know, I'm a coward. I'm still a bit in awe of the car and it seems to precious to screw up. Combine that with the fact that I'd be doing it on my back on my dirt driveway and........I'll do it next time, I swear.

You don't sell a Porsche because you have kids, you buy a Porsche because you have kids. School pickup is awesome.

The 911 is back home. It went to eurocar-werk in Houston for a valve adjust and a AC diagnosis and a general look see on Thursday afternoon and it was done Monday night. Today is Tuesday and we picked it up at lunch time. Rather, my wife picked it up and drove it back to work and I continued driving the Mazda.
What did I learn. Well, first I learned that I want to be a Porsche mechanic when I grow up. Holy cats was that expensive. The valves are adjusted and the engine is sealed back up for another 15k miles which makes me feel warm and fuzzy. The mechanic said that I have one of the tightest 964's he's seen. The motor itself doesn't leak a drop. The miscellaneous oil pipes leak a bit, but all in all it's a very very dry car. He drove the car a bit and he couldn't stop saying nice things about it. His wife drives a '92 964 and he sees quite a few of them at the shop and he claims that my car is in the top 10% of the cars he's seen. Yes it has issues with the climate control and things here and there, but the motor is tight and strong and all of the problem areas of the interior are great. The body is straight, the trim is all good, the sunroof works, all of the expensive stuff is right where it should be.
Now, he might have been blowing smoke up my butt and trying to make me feel good, but I've never had a mechanic tell me that my car was great and that I could fix everything else myself before. He even let me know the probable solution to a few problems and gave me hints on how to track them down. I thought the valve adjustment and general once over for the car was, if not a bargain, fairly priced at about $600. What got me was the evacuating and charging of the AC system with coolant, oil, and dye. When I talked to him on the phone he mentioned that he'd pop some coolant and dye in there and we'd find the leak and fix it. Well, that popping of coolant was $270 with parts and labor. Ouch. I think I'll work very hard to diagnose and fix the leak in the system.
Out the door was $870 for all of it. It was painful but now I know right where I'm sitting. I know the engine is solid and the valves are good for another 15K. I know what most of my problems are (more on this later) and how to go about fixing most all of them. I was pretty comfortable buying the car from GPS and trusted what he told me, but it was nice to have a second opinion that, if anything, GPS undersold the car and it was really better than he said.
My wife said she thinks the car is even smoother than before and that she's taking it to work the rest of the week because I have kid stuff to do.
I spent a few minutes drooling over this car in the showroom too. Sadly, it's worth about 20 times what I paid for the Porsche. No matter what, there's always a cooler car.

I have a philosophical issue with the 911. On the one hand, it's a car to be driven, not to be stared at and rubbed with a diaper and kept pristine to preserve it's value. On the other hand, I'd kind of like to do things the proper way with this car. Less improvising to save a penny and more doing things right.
Pennsylvania doesn't have front license plates. Texas does. I needed a solution for this:

It doesn't take much imagination to use some aluminum bar stock and some screws and some pop rivets and end up with a perfectly serviceable plate bracket. However, the factory Porsche solution is just a few clicks away at Pelican. What to do, what to do. I ended up starting down the path of the proper solution instead of the one cooked up in my garage. It might surprise you, but this is $100 in genuine Porsche parts.

Here it is installed. Just a steel H, a few rubber spacers, some screws and some square plastic clips. $100. Wow. Is this what it's like trying to do things right? I'm not sure I like how it feels right now.

What else is on my list.
1. General sorting of the AC and climate control in general. The ballast resistor for the Evaporator fan may be going bad. At least I hope so, that's the cheaper solution.
1a. The front blower motor is dying. GPS worked valiantly to save it, but it didn't take. This needs to be replaced. It's expensive.
2. High beam switch doesn't work.
3. The left (I think) turn signal doesn't cancel. When I picked up the car neither one did. The right healed itself on the ride home. I keep hoping the left will too. We shall see.
4. Spare keys. These are supposed to be on the boat from Australia.
5. Door lock sensor switch thingie. If you lock the doors and try to open them from the drivers side, the alarm goes off and the car thinks you're trying to steal it. It's almost certainly a small switch in the door. I'd really like to fix this.
There's more I'm sure but that list should keep me busy for a bit.

Don't beat yourself up too badly re: doing things the "right" way on the Porsche. That car will only go up in value, and keeping it in the top 10% is worth the extra expense.

It's anecdotal evidence, but I've driven cars for years without a front plate here in TX and have never been pulled over for it (nor was it mentioned when I was pulled over for other things ). I did an informal poll of cars I passed, and about 1 car in 20 does not have a front plate. BUT, since your wife is driving it so much I can understand wanting to be 100% legal. My wife always refused to drive my cars without the front plate.

mazdeuce wrote: 2. High beam switch doesn't work.

That is a new one - I had brights it was just the irritating turn signal that was driving me nuts. FWIW, this is a common failure that requires you to pull the wheel and remove the turn signal stalk module. The part is expensive but the internet (IIRC it was Mr Wallens article that enlightened me to that one) says you can take it apart and clean the contacts up. I assume you can repair the sticky signal arm while in there. Then when done - there is a kit to add a relay (all lamp current runs thru the switch from the factory) to keep it from happening again.

Google is indeterminate on whether 924/944 junkyard parts will work - they look the same in my browser so a little investigation might get you fixed up for $50.

82nd legislature "restructured" traffic code and left out the penalty for driving without a front plate. Technically it is still illegal but there is no penalty associated with the offense. Many jurisdictions have directed their staff to refrain from issuing the citation and they will not accept it as probable cause for a stop or arrest. So at this point I wouldnt worry about the front plate in TX right now. The story might change with the 83rd legislature, but who knows.

Umm...not to kick you while you are having your first taste of the Porsche tax on parts, but I have a front plate holder I would have given you. Also you need to look at the 911 parts classifieds on pelican. Stuff on there is usually about half price of new.

As far as your list:

1. I have no idea. My car came with a dealer installed a/c and I ripped it out.

2. Front blower motor in the smugglers box for the a/c? Or front blower motor for the vents and defrost? I think there are two different parts on the 964

3. I'd try cleaning the contacts first and removing it to properly clean it would probably be best. The turn signal stalk is a pain but it can be reached. I did mine, so if I can do it anyone can. Now you need to be a contorsionist (sp) with small hands and long fingers but it can be done. Mine required me to lay on my back with my head almost on the pedals, feet stuck up in the seat towards the roof, and reach up behind the dash/steering in order to get to part of the connection. Its only really hard because you can't ever get a good angle on seeing what is going on.

4. Let me know how the keys work out. I could use a spare as well.

5. Good luck on the alarm. I've read horror stories of people trying to put in a new headunit, only to find its tied into the alarm and causing all kinds of issues. At least yours sounds door related and not in the brain or main wiring of the alarm.

Ojala wrote: 82nd legislature "restructured" traffic code and left out the penalty for driving without a front plate. Technically it is still illegal but there is no penalty associated with the offense. Many jurisdictions have directed their staff to refrain from issuing the citation and they will not accept it as probable cause for a stop or arrest. So at this point I wouldnt worry about the front plate in TX right now. The story might change with the 83rd legislature, but who knows.

I'd drive it all day long with no plate and not worry. My wife however is a different story. She was pulled over in her TT with not front plate and it scarred her for life. I really should have searched the pelican forums first, I realize that now. I need to start interacting with the community more. I've done a TON of searching, but no posting yet.

After some searching I think I know what the brights problem is and it can be fixed. The front condenser fan is a ballast resistor problem and that is going on order in just a second. The rest of the climate control stuff is pretty simple with varying degrees of expense. Trouble shooting will just take time and actually having the car at home.
I'm feeling less bad about the Porsche tax. I do need to learn where to save money, but I think it's worth doing it right as well. The mechanic said that he's getting a lot of requests to find 964's in Houston and locally values are up 20% in the last two years. He can't find cars to flip that don't require $10K in engine work. He said he thought my car would likely go up in value faster than I would need to put money into it. He might have just been trying to make me feel better, but it really did make me feel better.

Always something to work on. Small task this time. When I open the drivers side door, the dome light comes on. When I open the passengers side, it doesn't. The culprit is this little guy.
Could be a bad switch, could just be corrosion. Let's check. All you need to do is screw it out and play with it a second to determine the the contact has some corrosion. A few seconds with a wire wheel on a dremel tool and it's fixed.

There's lots of electrical stuff on this car. Hundreds of connections. Miles of wire. Much of it is starting to get questionable. It's pretty clear that a lot of taking care of this car will be refreshing grounds and contacts and switches.

There were three things wrong with the car that could all have their source in the switches mounted behind the steering column. The left turn signal won't cancel, the brights don't work, and the cruise is non functional. Off with the wheel!

I should have taken a lot more pictures, but I didn't. After the airbag and wheel is off, as shown above, you pull off a few screws and then you pull off the plastic cover you see. Then it's just one bolt and a bunch of plugs. Unfortunately the switch is riveted closed. Analysis of the functions is mostly limited to peering in dark holes on the sides and trying to figure out what's going on.

This is a good time to mention that a lot of 911 work involves just trying to see what's going on. The car is like a black hole. It sucks all available light leaving you needing a headlamp for even the simplest tasks. Anyway, when you move the stalks around you can see little contacts moving around doing their thing. The cruise switch looked OK. The bright switch on the other hand clearly had a contact that wasn't making contact. A little tweak with a pair of needle nosed pliers that I borrowed from my 9 year old and all was well. As for the turn signal not canceling, no luck. Word on the street is that there's a little plastic cam in there that wears, and for some reason left wears out sooner. I'd love to drill out the rivets and have a look see to see if I could fix it, but the only place I found the switches on line they were $285. Yes, the plan is to fix it, but what if I broke it trying to fix it? Is manually canceling the turn potentially worth $285? Not today it's not.
As with most things automotive, reassembly is the reverse of disassembly and now the brights work. One less non functional thing on the car.

One of the little things about the Porsche that has been driving me nuts is the lug nuts. Each wheel has four regular ones, and one factory locking one. In theory this is good, it prevents wheel theft. In order for that to work the locking part of the nut would actually have to be in place, and it isn't. So I've got four nice closed lug nuts and one longer open one that doesn't prevent theft in any way. The super duper solution would be to buy 20 new lug nuts, but at $7.50 each at Pelican that's not happening. I bought four.

What you have in the image above is four lug nuts. On the left is the former security nut. Next is a regular 23 year old lug nut showing it's age and next to that is a new one. If you notice, 23 years has taken it's toll on the finish of our old lug nuts. There are many courses of action I could have taken to remedy this, but what I settled on is a Sharpie. I washed them and colored them and the result is on the far right. They're not perfect, but when they're snuggled down in the recesses of the wheel it takes a keen eye to pick out the odd nut. I'm happy.
The wheel was off overnight on Easter and the Easter bunny took an interest.