World’s Most Classic Porsche

If you own a Porsche, you are likely to know there is lots of legacy behind both the name and car.   I have always questioned myself, what is the World’s Most Classic Porsche?

Surprisingly, the world’s most classic Porsche isn’t the very first one built.  It isn’t even the first of a model ever built.  It isn’t the first color ever used or for that matter the one driven by the inventor.   A matter of fact, it happens to be a car still used on the road today, suffered dings and dents, and not owned by a collector like Jay Leno or Jerry Sienfield.   Its not a PCA car or registered as a classic car.  It doesn’t even have its original engine and comes complete with a crack dash.   Its had several owners, smokes a little, leaks a little and steering is tough.  It has rust, loose and missing screws, and on its windshield a $52.00 parking ticket.

It is a classic Porsche that needs a valve adjustment, new wiring, brake pads and a new clutch plate.  The doors need door latches and the radio has been long missing.  The floor mats are torn and you can see rust in all the familiar places like battery boxes and under the floor plan.  The muffler have holes in them and the CV boots show a tear.   The bumpers are askew, and there is a cracked fog light.

The seat belts are twisted up and the tires are in need of replacement.    Its not a neglected car, nor one that has been over driven.   Its a car that the window cranks have broken knobs and the headliner is starting to sag.   Don’t try operating the glove box light, because the light been broken for years and don’t expect heat, as that has been unhooked since day one.  There is a radio, it hasn’t worked and the clock is permanently set ten minutes after ten.

Its a car without a garage and one that runs a bit rich.  You get a popping sound behind the muffler while you feel a bit of shuttering at the steering, plus when changing lanes you have manually reset the turn signal lights.  Its hood shocks are well worn.  Missing in the glove box is any owner’s manual.  You can find a tool set is in the car, but unfortunately it is missing half the tools.

The Worlds Most Classic Porsche is your Porsche.  As you are its friend and it is yours.

It is a car that you can drive from point A to point B and you are happy.  You like the sound it makes and your intrinsic relationship with its engine.  It is a car that you adore its look.  It is a car that you don’t mind washing after a slight rain or that you fill up with gas and drive to nowhere special.  It is like a home.. in your own mind.

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Which Porsche will be the used car of the future?

I asked myself that question and undoubtedly I think it has to be the Boxster.    In the Bay Area a used Porsche Boxster, in great condition, twelve years old, is selling as little as $5000. If immaculate, a Boxster might run $9000.   What makes this car really interesting, is technical research with ways to improve older cars with internal computers, major mechanical bugs are getting worked out.   What is unique is that this particular model of car has remained about as unchanged as the 911 during its run of years.

The Boxster (968) got its name from blending a Karl Benz design of horizontally opposed “flat” engine and “2 seater convertible roadster”.  Roadster of course being a design closer to the Porsche 550.   Introduced in late 1996 its 2.5L six cylinder engine was a stir for American markets.    Using the old Porsche 928 facility in Stuttgart, in the year 2000 Porsche released a 2.7L engine for its base model.   It became so popular that not much longer later, the city of Uusikaupunki, Finland became the site for more quantities of Porsche.   With then also the thirst for a need for greater power and speed, you could then buy the exciting Porsche S 3.2L engine.

The next generation of Boxster was a type 987.  It was a huge success and finally Porsche had a car that would be as notable in speed and performance as the Cayman… but not the 911.  In terms of recalls, they were limited too simply exterior lights and airbags.  Most have been corrected.

The boxster’s midengine design gave the car a performance advantage by its engine being located in the middle part of the car.   This gives the car a cornering advantage because unlike the 911 you won’t get under steer and your car won’t spin out behind you.   One of the biggest mysteries of the boxster is getting to its engine.  Its not in back, nor its in the front.

To get to the engine, you need to open the top about 12 in, this will pull back the metal cabriolet cover just enough to get yourself to unattached metal cables on either side of the car.  The the trunk cover open, just behind the seats,  you can open the 4 screws and remove both cabriolet chains and lift the top up.    Once there you will get access to to change air filter or check power steering fluid.  If you need to check spark plugs you gotta go underside.   To check oil, or battery or brakes, you get to those from the front.   Here at A. Bauer Repair, an Independent Shop we can help you out (like Pre Purchase Inspections).    Never the less, like I would suggest with any Porsche owner is having an owners manual in your glove box or trunk.   Just to do that operation.

Also..while having it open, clear out all leaves as well.

So.. as the used car of the future, the Boxster will be here to stay.   It’s a great car to own and more and more parts will be better related in buying a new one.

For Diplomats – Porsche Panamera 4S

When I learned that IMF Chief Strauss Kahn personal car was a black Porsche Panamera S, I couldn’t help to think of a more perfect car for quick getaways from hotel rooms to airports.

This premium class four door – four seat sports car is everything the rave.  Built for racetrack or parked at executive valet lots this 3.6L V6 is nothing less than for the flaunting playboy millionaire.  Leather seats holds all occupants safely with room to fill out important documents and signing using expensive pens.  The chauffeur would have full control with having trust worthy all wheel drive.  He could accelerate it from 0-60mph in less than 5.2 seconds to get away from pesky paparazzi who only have slow slug moving motor-scooters.

Unique is the Direct Fuel Injection (DFI) and VarioCam Plus to get this 16/24 mpg car all the way to 400 hp.

The French diplomat Chief Strauss Kahn almost made the clean getaway but should have bought the even faster Panamera Turbo that would clean Border and slipped away back to France.     I mean, he must of knew someone was chasing him by getting to listen to the news blotter on his uncompromising sound system by Burmester.

Now if would simply understand that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had bought himself a more important looking Panamera, rather than his 911 Turbo, he may have found himself free of similar and drove himself somewhere far.

Solid information for Porsche 996 Owners

Porsche 996 The Essential Companion   – Adrian Streather (Author)

› Visit Amazon’s Adrian Streather Page

If you’re researching DIY projects, for your 996, Adrian Streather covers a number of important topics, in the book:  Porsche 996 The Essential Companion.  This book covers related Porsche 996 options, technology, mechanical and driving skills.  Popularly referred to as “The 996 Bible” you will descriptions about what, why and how Porsche used them.

“The best money you can spend “on” your Porsche 996.”

This book focuses on the technology that is in the car.   It also covers extensively covers projects like simple oil changes, removing and installing new spark plugs and remove and replace the serpentine belt.  The book details projects like water pump replacement, alternator, and clutch work.

It’s like a service manual, technical manual and historical review document rolled into one!

 

Contact:  seanmcr6@porsche968.autowealthmaker.net

or Website:

 

We here at A. Bauer Repair will do full service on 996, engine, suspension, clutch and other repairs.  Though we encourage purchasing the 996 Bible by owners, we highly recommend that repairs be done by a trained professional.   You can seriously damage your car by making mistakes.   

From the Porsche Design team in 1981

“The decision to keep the 911 in the product line occurred one afternoon

in the office of Dr. Helmuth Bott de:Helmuth Bott, the Porsche operating

board member responsible for all engineering and development. I

noticed a chart on the wall of Professor Bott’s office. It depicted the

ongoing development schedules for the three primary Porsche product

lines: 944, 928 and 911. Two of them stretched far into the future, but

the

911 program stopped at the end of 1981. I remember rising from my

chair, walking over to the chart, taking a black marker pen, and

extending the 911 program bar clean off the chart. I am sure I heard a

silent cheer from Professor Bott, and I knew I had done the right thing.

The Porsche 911, the company icon, had been saved, and I believe the

company was saved with it.”

How to report problems with your Porsche.

If your car is like mine, and it needs to go to the shop, one of most important things to do is be able to describe problems with your Porsche. Though its likely your description might be good when explaining the problem, having a short form such as below will help you better describe the problem. If single time, intermittent or always, the reproduction is important. Therefore, even after you have your car fixed, was the description you said to the shop attended too? Most shops will help you go through an extensive evaluation, while others have seen the problem before and would know exactly the fix. The more experienced the shop identifying the problem, the better the shop will be in knowing exactly the cause. On the rare occasional situation, if a “fix” needs revisiting sometimes it’s because it might be a hidden situation requiring environmental conditions.

Below is a checklist which samples want to bring to your repair shop. However, know that the more your write, the closer you can describe a problem. Some symptoms are hard or impossible to describe. They might join a variety of issues.

LIST:

Make and Model

______________________ Year _____________ Modified? _______yes __________ no Mileage ___________________________ Next Service expectation? ______________________________

VIN:

___________________________________________________________

REPRODUCE:

New Symptom YES __ NO __

Describe the problem in one or two sentences.

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________

REPRODUCE PROBLEM IF SPEED TRAVELING AT __________________ IDLE ________

WILL PROBLEM REPRODUCE______?

GEAR 1 _____ 2______ 3________ 4________5_______ 6________ R________N ________ Auto________

RPM RANGE _____________________________

Sounds_________________________________ If so.. where are you sitting and where can you hear the sound?___________________________ Will sound continue if key is off_____________________

Maintenance or lights? _________________ Druck Pressure if reproducible _________

Smoke ______ Yes ______ No If yes, what color _________________?

Leaks _______Yes _______No

Oil Level ____ low _____ medium _______ high

Approximate location(s) of leaks

Front Center __

Front Right __

Front Left __

Center__

Center Right__

Center Left __

Rear Center __

Rear Left __

Rear Right__

Is it a slow leak? ____ yes? (IE… just a drip hanging from the metal.) A fast leak? ____yes? (IE … drips once every hour or more.) A significant leak? _____yes? (IE Pouring out) Color of leak? ___ Black ____ Blue ____ Gold ____ Red_____ Clear _____ Green _____ Yellow? ______ just kidding about yellow.
ELECTRICAL

Lights ___________________

Starter __________________

Horn ____________________

Gauges ___________________

other ____________________

Alarm ___________________ Radio ______________________ Locks ______________________

STEERING AND SUSPENSION

DESCRIBE FURTHER:

During Turns?

During Straightaways?

Over Bumps?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Driving cross country?

If you are like me, you hate flying. However, having the opportunity to drive across country is something everyone has to do once.   I’ve done it, you can too.

All you need to have a key, and the ability to fill the tank 10 to 20 times. Starting at the major cities it starts in SF and goes to Vancouver, BC, Baniff, Ontario, Yellowstone, Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Miami, FL, Dallas, TX, Los Angeles and SF.

I have attempted cross-country drives several time in my life.  It is something I recommend to anyone or anyone with a car.  The key trick is having a sound vehicle and getting some sound sleep.   A mistake on any of those highways can be dangerous, if not fatal.

So what is the best way to learn to drive cross-country, it isn’t as easy as it looks.   First of all get to know your car.  Know about basic things like what should the engine normally sound like, how should the brakes do and if all your lights are operating correctly.    Next, is visit your local Car Club such as AAA and get all the maps, then map quest bed and breakfasts, motels, hotels, resorts, friends stay, campers lodging.   Know also all your expected stops.  Driving an hour and resting ten minutes seems to work for the first 3 to 4 hours.  After about the time, or when you might need refueling, try to stick around the town and get a great rest.  Local restaurants, parks and even enthusiasts garages might be a place to drop into.   For example if in Wisconsin, you can drop in and see International Maserati and hang out for a while.   Maybe ask them to fill tire pressure or check oil.     Another similar site might be Beck’s Independent Repair Shop where they too can perform a variety of tasks.  Here in Northern California, A. Bauer Independent Porsche Repair is a fabulous choice and will service every model including Audi.  If in Southern California, checking out Black Forest Automotive would be worth some effort.   They are located just south of the Miramar Air Base.    More than likely you’ll pass through Las Vegas and if your navigator has learned to use this blog as a tool to get needed information, you’ll learn that Raymond’s Auto Repair is a long time Porsche repair favorite.  Best part of the place is the Sushi digs right across the street.   Blasting your way eastward, you will find that Swiss Garage, Since 1968 is a favorite air-cooled German repair shop in the Greater Houston area.  Go in.. and use the air condition if your car is fine.   Know however.. that humid air can do very funny things to your car, so at very least get your air filters checked.    There is a dealership in Speedway Indiana should you might work your self back north.   Another happy Porsche repair shop is Rennology in Chicago.

When driving flat wide open road, putting the pedal to the metal is hard to resist.  It is highly recommended that maybe to have a Valentine Radar Detector installed to help you keep reminded of speed limits and hard to see turnouts, bends, hills, curves.   Keeping pace or making pace with automobiles around you will also help with the speed.

The eastern seaboard is wonderful.  In the summer its warm and in the winter.. .its cold.  Either way should you need a bit of servicing, in New York, your long traveled car could be serviced by Formula Motors, or if you want to buy a car..like many others, offer sales of both new and vintage cars.    Heading south, Stokes Porsche will be the repair shop worth looking into.

One great thing about an automotive getaway is driving Key West.  The round trip can be a 1000 or so miles, so maybe considering visiting a local garage called Key West Florida Repair would be worthy.   If you do take a long drive, cross country in a Porsche, if more vintage, make sure to have with you a few needed tools.

1. Set of wrenches, including a long wrench for that alternator belt.

2. Battery Charger, plugs into you hotel room outlet

3. Air Pressure unit, plugs into cigarette lighter

4. Emergency / First Aid kit and blanket

5. Picnic Kit and set of tools

6. Map or GPS

7. American Express Card, VISA, Discovery, Diners Club; never leave home without it.

8. Iphone

The record from New York to LA is just 32 hours 7 minutes, on a clock.  I recommend, not attempting trying to break it.

How to revive your Porsche after spring.

Spring brings us a few things…

Spring Break

Vacation

Get-a-way

Plus mainly that time where you option to possibility of revive your Porsche after its long somber winter’s sleep.  Here in California, that golden shine of daily orb warms up the sky.  With any luck too, those pesky pot holes get fixed.

Here we can reawaken an old friend, sitting in your garage.  With hope, your labor of storage included a variety of “starting the car “tasks and checking the oil.    Inside, you might find a 1/2 full bottle of sun block, fall leaves caught between the windshield wipers, a AAA map that routed your 2010 journey to a neighboring state.   It is also time to remove old beach towels, tennis shoes, empty water bottles.

Depending on which type of route you may have dealt with your Porsche during winter, revival of it is going to be key.

Task 1…. recognize this is a good time to pull out Lady Gaga tunes and replace it with new stuff.   Maybe even by her.  It seems Madonna is getting hot, as with many other artists.      The main issue here is realizing that like you, your car, your music should change as well.

Task 2… Check your registration, license tabs, plates, insurance forms.  Make it a habit to also take a quick glance at any of your previous repairs from years past.  Double check that you don’t have any outstanding parking tickets, nothing is as miserable as getting a boot attached to your car tire when you park on the street.   This is also a great time to confirm which oil / gas your car uses, found in your owners manual.  Try to organize the interior of your car, confirm location of spare cars.  Adjusting your car clock to daylight savings should also be confirmed.   Note the mileage of your car on the day of restoration as well.  Should anything break, you can have record when you brought your car back from storage.

Task 3… Check the tire pressure, oil pressure, fluids.  If your car has been motionless for a few months, get out a flashlight and see if you notice any drips under the engine AND drips under the transmission.   You will also want to take a close look if there are any drips under your brake master cylinder.   If you are not sure what you are looking at, and see any drips, note those.   Check too if to determine if its oil, water, coolant, gas. Try to be precise and accurate where you found it.

Task 4…. Try to look for rust and note its place.  See if its new or have been there for a while.  Also, look for any new scratches, dents, and of course, any little animals that might have decided to take residence in your car.  Gathered seeds, nuts, twigs will tell you more about what went on during the cold winter’s nights.   Speaking of rust, if you live in the where roads might be salted, and you haven’t already… try to wash off any rust.

Task 5… Double check any of your emergency/ mechanical supplies.  First Aid Kit, Flares, Air Pressure, Flashlight, extra quarts of oils, emergency blanket, Halon Fire Extinguisher, Tool kits.

Task 6… Picnic items… .its summer, have with you a pairing knife, fresh rags, cleaned up sunglasses.

There a few schools of thought on even having a car stored.   These people have reason to believe, and its true, that storing a car dries out seals, promote battery issues and so forth.  Even if you keep your car on the road during the winter, it is still consider a great idea to help you car through a spring clean up.

Task 7… Condition the interior, wash/vacuum floor mats, clean out the interior thoroughly.  Every pocket and sleeve to be free of foods, trash, old traffic tickets, car covers folded, wrapping electrical cables.   Items you know you will never need should be removed, no sense in paying all that money in gas to haul extra pounds around.  You will be amazed how much junk you can pull out of a car.  Remove dirt from behind the pedal cluster.  Check all the the seat belts.   Re-adjust seats, who knows.. maybe you grew?

Task 8… Wash the windows completely.  Mirrors and side mirrors.  Do not be lazy about this.  Clean inside and out, and while you are at it, look at the condition of your wipers and any of those rubber trim parts.  Check to see if the windows operate normally.

Task 9… Wash and wax your car completely.  This includes doing a super job on your wheels, tires, opting to condition them to as new as you can make them.  You may have attempted to wax your car before storage.  If so.. just check to see if you completely waxed the body and its free of old wax build-up.      Now this it is warm, you will find  it easier to deal with.  Spending time here is a great way to get your car to spring shape.  Take time to remove old winter’s tar and grime.  Ascertain any chips that need to be dealt with and correct.     A local Porsche Dealership / auto body detailer will help you with this as well.

Task 10… Check brakes, change brake fluids (the fluids are hydrophilic, absorbs moisture, so change them), check transmission fluids and change if necessary.   Check battery cables for corrosion.

If anything seems weird or out of whack, certainly don’t hesitate to get it looked at.   There is no shame in trying your hardest to avert a situation not be in one.   Which brings us to our last task…. fill up the tank and go for a drive.

The Unforgettable Prince William and Princess Catherine Middletown Wedding Car.

Just this morning, Prince William and Catherine Middletown drive away in their green Aston Martin DB5 convertible. Such a wonderful scene it would be witnessing her being whisked away in such traditional manner. It caught my eye, because I do remember another more fictional marriage with James Bond (George Lazenby) and Tracy di Vicenzo-Bond (Diana Rigg) in the film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. Complete with ribbons and flowers watching the Brits sensational couple cruise away to their hidden honeymoon. Lets hope the press will reviews as it as romantic news.

This brought to my attention what might have been other unforgettable wedding cars, specifically Porsches that might have been used. I’ve come to realize that maybe there is something that has to be the most traditional in marriages, not between the driver and his car, but rather that “other wife”.

Mind you.. .some of these images might make some of us “purists” go completely blind, so I would suggest to then simply press the little red X on the upper right hand corner, but here goes.

Now for the rest of you, there has been some rather good solutions, including renting a Porsche, should you want to make a statement. That mad dash ditching the shower of rice from the Church doors, down flight of steps, to a warm car has to be graceful to all the onlooking eyes. Could it be the perfect wheels adorned in red and yellow roses, a bash of tulips and silk ribbons might be another off to one’s honeymoon’s solution?

Photographer’s Checklist:

Groom and Bride photo

Bride and Bridesmaids

Best Man and Groom

and finally the car, before guests and mother and law and so on. Just kidding folks. 😉

Its seems photographers might tend to gravitate to fancy cars with unique styling all because they do offer some reward. At the bride and groom rev up to red line, tires spin and the car takes off like a bat. One grins at such iconic thoughts but I am sure it rests in everyone’s mind. One of course then hope that you not have to be mishap by the local highway patrol but hey..what are those chances anyways?

There are certain kind of rules on how to adorn any car with flowers and ribbons, where symmetry is good, along with an eye for contrasting/complimenting colors. The better the contrast, the better you can you glaze one’s eye on the paint. Be sure too that you’re not so carried away that you can’t get into the limited trunk space and or the passenger and driver side doors. Visibility isn’t super important, because, anyways, one’s eye should be glued to their new spouse. There has been a certain keen prospect were you might be caught with a low fuel tank or need to check the darn oil, so too.. as ones Porsche get wrapped, certain levels of mechanical access is well spoken for.

Everyone has a special identity to films like “The Graduate”, “The Godfather” and even “Harold and Maude” where matrimonial outcomes have the cars as actors. Should a little bit of each of us be identified with that charasmatic attribute, we might think of other more famous films where Porsche is involved. Sadly.. I don’t think they exist. Apparently, for the most part, film writers rather think of Porsche owners in two categories, forever single and one being a born lead foot. That romantic getaway with your Porsche and your new bride is simply not in the silver screen. In desperation of providing some kind of good material to research on the subject, I then looked into any celebrities that might have used a Porsche to tie the note. We.. to no avail, it seems as of now, this particular subject is one sided for now.

As for the Prince and Princess, we here at A. Bauer Repair, Oakland, California wish them and their new families the joy and love they can have with their friends and the world. It still makes me wonder what they might have looked like had it been a Porsche. Makes you wonder if they own one tucked away in Windsor Castle, England?

Porsche Smart Phone Apps

COMDEX 1994, IBM unveiled what would be considered a crude but useful smart phone.   In front of thousands would be computer visionaries, programmers, developers, entrepreneurs, and cell phone users they watched history change before their eyes.  The new mobile touchscreen phone boasted a world clock, note pad, email, address book, games and fax.   There was even an optional stylus that allowed users to create memos.

Most recently, even Porsche Design Group got into the action and developed a very handsome smart phone.  Their phone gives other smart phone companies a true run for the money offering sleek designs, better user interfaces, highly intelligent crash free software/firmware. The strongest feature of the designs is simply look better.

Today, we don’t even flinch when our phones have cameras with zoom ability and full GPS capabilities.   Programmers can self prepare though the uses of a developers package special purpose programs specific to special needs.  One of very first programs created, an application that helped DUI get around police checkpoints, was agreed to be universally banned.

The next group of applications became specific to the various car manufactures.  Audi, Mercedes and even Porsche had many programmers that started developing very cool and useful programs.

Porsche Club of America PCA:  Keeping track with events and meeting places without having to lug your laptop with you, or being able to pull up the more important waiver documentation has to be key.

Have images of your events, and directly be able to import images directly into PCA databases for others to share.

For group drives, they might later show useful to have tour indicators showing where are other drivers.   If nothing else, they could keep your navigator extra busy while you can drive.

Porsche gForce:

The gForce app logs past drives and reports information to Facebook should you wish to share you place.  If you drive 911 GT3 R, it will link to the Intelligent Performance principles to your car.  It measures mpg plus distances covered.   You can get readouts in metric should you be in Europe or Canada.    This application is very useful to mile check against your own gauges and lets you know what G-forces you are placing on you and your riders.   I would highly recommend that you invest in bracket that holds the device in one steady place, calibrated and then started.  It might also be one of those applications that you might want to keep charged up, with screen saver set to OFF.   It will archive top speed and highest g-force attained.

Porsche Archive:

See a Porsche model that you wondered about?    More often than not you are curious enough to wonder about database information about horsepower, size, type of wheels, options, engine size, horsepower and torque output.  It might be you are purchasing car and wanted to know how it left the factory using a VIN Decoder.   If you go to meetings, you have on your phone just about everything you need to make very intelligent remarks about Porsche and how many produced, when, colors, interior specs.  You will be able to spot both good and bad restoration choices.

Porsche Panamera App: 

I heard the Panamera is a BLAST to drive.  Unless you are a dealership, it is one of the least known Porsche models out there.   This application fully covers everything about the car including a very magazine that gets monthly updates.   This application is well-organized and useful.   Within the application there is also lots of neat photographs and videos on the car.   Perfect for enthusiast that are in the backseat.

Porsche Picture It: Porsche jumped into the application scene by offering a very rich content application that lets you schedule test drives right from your iPhone.  This application covers the Boxster, 911, Cayenne and Cayman complete with photographs, videos, and more in the line up.   The information covers about the same material found on brochures, but helps you as a consumer to better know the product before going into the showroom.

PorscheBuyersGuide: Porsche Buyers Guide helps buyers get through processes helping you decide costs of options, shipping and delivery.  It also will help you get information about down payments, lease options, loan calculations, and even expected gas mileage.  Should you need to compare your new 911 against other manufactures like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Jaguar and even Toyota, it will.  One of the pluses of this ap, it is written by the same guy that wrote and programmed PorscheArchive App, Jeff Maynard.

Games, repair applications, parts applications, vendor applications all will also be useful to the Porsche owner.  Whether you have a Porsche, drive or sell a Porsche, having easily accessible information makes for a better experience.