Porsche No. 1, a midengine prototype, which predated the production 35.

This wonderful article was sent to me by a friend and is one of the best that I have read on classic cars. I like his comments at the end of the article highlighting proper restoration to original specification or outright originality being the most desirable to buyers right now. Well done! Check the article here.

Mr. Garfield organized a tour through our area last weekend and scheduled the participants visit our shop. It’s odd that all of the cars were 911’s, I thought there may be a few 356’s or front engined cars but most of them were heavily modified 911’s. There was a totally stock looking early 911 with an engine sound suggesting a displacement of well over 3.0 liters and a beautiful 1979 SC with a late model 3.6 liter and subtle modifications to keep the car on the ground at speed.

I really like this orange car

911 Orange coupe

Tour of Porsche

I got the transmission all buttoned up. It is in the car and I will get it on the road tomorrow AM. It shifts well from my little test on the lift, hope it feels as good on the road!

915, 911 transmission

Here is a Porsche 356 C coupe that we just purchased from a friend in southern California. It is a totally legit “black plate” car with perfect original floors and an original battery box floor which in the world of 356’s, is huge.  The car is 100% complete and has what what I believe to be a matching numbers engine but I am going to apply for a Porsche Certificate of Authenticity so I can be certain of the numbers as well as learn what the original color was. I believe it was blue but not sure the exact shade.
Even thought the car needs everything rebuilt, overhauled or refinished,  it will be a wonderful car to restore because it is so complete and its rock solid integrity

356 California desert

Nice job on the 356.

Syl is using RM clear on our projects lately, the Morgan, this Porsche, as well as a bunch of other projects over the last year or so. The stuff is SO clear, lays down so nicely and with next to no orange peel, straight out of the gun.

This Porsche had tons of rust, when we put it up in the air, the lift arms went right up into the frame at the torsion bar location and eventually started to pick the car off the ground! Now the body has been fixed, the car has paint, and it’s time for assembly.

RM Clear coat and color on Porsche 356

When I first drove this 1983 Porsche 911, I found the shifting to be difficult and it was grinding gears badly. My suggestion to the owner was to get in and replace the synchronizer bands before something breaks.

After taking it apart I couldn’t see much wrong and the synchros seemed used but not totally worn out. Like many other car manufacturers, the synchro for 2nd and 3rd gear is different than of the other gears and maybe someone put the incorrect part on the gears.

It wasn’t until re-assembly that I noticed that the dog teeth on first gear were chipped and remembered that the slider (operating sleeve, shift sleeve) for 1st gear has asymmetrical internal teeth to meet up with the corresponding dog teeth on 1st gear. The operating sleeve can be reversed  so the side that should engage 1st gear is incorrectly jamming into 2nd which makes engaging into either of these gears while under motion nearly impossible.

Lucky for the owner, I located a shop who can replace just the dog teeth (engagement teeth) for short money without having to spend the $2000 that Porsche quoted to get the parts. We sent 2nd gear  from a 901 transmission to the same guy for repair and cannot wait to see how they look and more importantly how they perform.

Transmission repair Porsche 911, 915, 901

901, 915, G60 transmission for Porsche repair

We’re selling this 911 for a customer, but we’re going to miss it, a lot. The combination of a upgraded engine and the light weight of the 70’s cars make for one of the most fun Porsches we’ve ever driven. Our scales indicate 2,180 lbs for this one. So, think BMW 2002 Tii with three times the horsepower. Eager describes children – this is not a game. Fiberglass bumpers, and some other aftermarket accessories take away a bit from the originality of the car, however, it is very well sorted and once driven, you’d like to drive it anywhere – and everywhere.

This SC engine is super healthy, great running and has outstanding compression but it also has many little leaks it is filthy. We have done a huge amount of work on the body which constituted completely restoring the car so we are getting the mechanical work done while the car is being block sanded and painted. I have said it before and will say it again, these are the best engines, light, powerful, simple and parts are available anywhere.

I just ordered ever  body rubber seal, full front suspension overhaul kit, assorted specialized trim screws… boxes and boxes of stuff to make this car as new and the order was under $3000.  Incredible what you can buy and how inexpensive the parts are compared to Ferraris and other cars that we typically work on.

The flywheel was sent off to be under-cut and the carburetors are getting the royal treatment from Karl.

SC Porsche Coupe

We received some questions after posting the video below about calling the 512BBi motor a flat V-12. Mainly, if it is flat, then how can it be a v format?

The answer lies in a technicality. The moniker “boxer” refers to the piston timing of an engine, rather than the direction the cylinders point. On the Ferrari 512, the crankshaft isn’t a true boxer crankshaft – it is a V-12 crankshaft with the cylinders laid flat. Here’s why:

True boxers have one crankpin controlling only one piston/cylinder, and 180° engines share crankpins.

A true “boxer” (horizontally opposed engine) has corresponding pistons reaching top dead center simultaneously.

A 180° V-12 engine has piston pairs sharing a crank pin on the crankshaft and reaching top dead center half a crankshaft revolution apart. Most flat 12s are actually 180° V engines, including the Ferrari discussed here and the famous Porsche 917 racecar.

Interestingly, phase has always been of great concern to the motorcycle industry (think big bang configuration) as it directly effects vibration and riders sit right on top of it. Read more here.