86 911 Intro
10-27-2011, 01:24 AM
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86 911 Intro
Warning - long-ish post, just back from pickup hockey, a few beers to unwind and I seem to be getting wordy ...
Well, after a couple of years of thinking about it, looking, lurking here, checking Rennlist classifieds, Pelican for sale, kijiji, craigslist, auto trader, cars.com, etc, I've finally pulled the trigger and now she sits in my garage.
The excursions to get the car involved two trips to New England from Halifax NS, about 60 hours of driving in the van, approximately 5800 km total over the two weekends. The first trip was over the weekend of 14-17 Oct to look closely at 5 options and included two close friends who are car enthusiasts, one a Porsche enthusiast, the other in the BMW world. Also included picking up 4 doors for the BMW guy for one of his projects. Decision made, purchase finalized on 17 Oct. The next trip, the weekend of 21-23 Oct, included my wife, who wanted to visit her sister and get in some shopping, and my youngest daughter (12) and the Porsche enthusiast friend. The intent was to drive the car back to Halifax (~1100km) so I wanted to make sure I had support just in case something went awry with the car on the drive back.
The car - 1986, Guards Red, 78,8xx miles when purchased, 79,615 sitting in my garage now. It was purchased from an estate, the previous owner having passed away. The car has had about 28,000 miles put on it in the last 11 years, very few in the last 3. The clutch needed to be done before it could be driven and the car was priced appropriately for that. Had a valve adjustment done, a few other items that were noticed when clutch/valve adjustment was being done (oil breather hose, RMS, one plug wire repaired, fan belt, etc). The car is very stock and drives/rides well and pulls strong. AC connected but not working. A couple of things that I found on the drive home - fresh air blower squeals, AC fans noisy.
The experience of exporting the car from the USA and importing to Canada was very straight forward. Follow the process and it is simple. At the border crossing I used (Houlton ME to Woodstock NB), they (US Customs and Border Protection) allow you to e-mail the vehicle information (make, model, colour and year of vehicle, VIN, purchase price) and the info about me the importer (name, address, contact info) to them 72 hours in advance of crossing. For vehicles being exported for personal use, that particular border crossing permits vehicle exports 24/7. When I contacted CBSA, they said that they have arrangements with their US counterparts so if the US side is open 24/7 then the Canadian side is also open 24/7. When you cross the border with the vehicle, you need to present the original title signed over to you, the bill of sale and the vehicle. The US CPB folks verified that the paperwork had been submitted 72 hours in advance and also verified that the VIN matched all the paperwork. 10 minutes with them. At the Canadian side, it seems that they just want their money and one anomaly happened to me. The car is more than 25 years old and when I contacted CBSA prior to purchasing the vehicle, they told me that if the vehicle is more than 25 years old on the date of importation into Canada based on the month/year of manufacture then it is duty exempt. So I go into the office at the Canadian side, the agent went through the paperwork and told me that I had to pay 6.1% duty. I questioned this and was told that she (my paraphrasing here) "knows her job and has been doing this for 9 years and because the VIN does not start with a number, then duty must be paid". Given the power that the border agents hold (search/seizure/etc) I wasn't going to argue it with her. About 20 minutes at the Canadian side. BTW, I have since followed up with CBSA and was informed that I should not have been charged duty and I can request the duty to be refunded to me (some more paperwork, but it's worth the effort) and I have submitted that paperwork. As I was speaking with the CBSA person on the phone, I asked if perhaps they could send an info bulletin out to their border agents to "remind" them of the 25 year old vehicle duty exemption and she said it is written into their policy and it shouldn't be needed, but she did ask me for the badge number of the agent I dealt with (which was on the form) which I then provided. I can only assume that the agent I dealt with will be informed of the appropriate policy on this
The drive back was great with absolutely no issues and the Porsche gets better mileage than the van !! The car does not burn oil, does not appear to have any oil leaks (yet?) and it was a great way to get to know the car over 1100 kms of driving.
Since arriving home, I have found that there is a leak somewhere in the car. After driving to work and leaving the car in the parking lot at work in the rain, the passenger footwell was very wet both front and rear (the carpet was dripping when I removed it) and the driver's side front footwell was wet but not nearly as wet as the passneger side and the driver's side rear footwell was dry. I have not had a chance to investigate this further yet. I would welcome suggestions on things I should look at for this.
That's about it for now, although I'm sure I'll think of something else as soon as I post this....
Cheers,
Lex
Well, after a couple of years of thinking about it, looking, lurking here, checking Rennlist classifieds, Pelican for sale, kijiji, craigslist, auto trader, cars.com, etc, I've finally pulled the trigger and now she sits in my garage.
The excursions to get the car involved two trips to New England from Halifax NS, about 60 hours of driving in the van, approximately 5800 km total over the two weekends. The first trip was over the weekend of 14-17 Oct to look closely at 5 options and included two close friends who are car enthusiasts, one a Porsche enthusiast, the other in the BMW world. Also included picking up 4 doors for the BMW guy for one of his projects. Decision made, purchase finalized on 17 Oct. The next trip, the weekend of 21-23 Oct, included my wife, who wanted to visit her sister and get in some shopping, and my youngest daughter (12) and the Porsche enthusiast friend. The intent was to drive the car back to Halifax (~1100km) so I wanted to make sure I had support just in case something went awry with the car on the drive back.
The car - 1986, Guards Red, 78,8xx miles when purchased, 79,615 sitting in my garage now. It was purchased from an estate, the previous owner having passed away. The car has had about 28,000 miles put on it in the last 11 years, very few in the last 3. The clutch needed to be done before it could be driven and the car was priced appropriately for that. Had a valve adjustment done, a few other items that were noticed when clutch/valve adjustment was being done (oil breather hose, RMS, one plug wire repaired, fan belt, etc). The car is very stock and drives/rides well and pulls strong. AC connected but not working. A couple of things that I found on the drive home - fresh air blower squeals, AC fans noisy.
The experience of exporting the car from the USA and importing to Canada was very straight forward. Follow the process and it is simple. At the border crossing I used (Houlton ME to Woodstock NB), they (US Customs and Border Protection) allow you to e-mail the vehicle information (make, model, colour and year of vehicle, VIN, purchase price) and the info about me the importer (name, address, contact info) to them 72 hours in advance of crossing. For vehicles being exported for personal use, that particular border crossing permits vehicle exports 24/7. When I contacted CBSA, they said that they have arrangements with their US counterparts so if the US side is open 24/7 then the Canadian side is also open 24/7. When you cross the border with the vehicle, you need to present the original title signed over to you, the bill of sale and the vehicle. The US CPB folks verified that the paperwork had been submitted 72 hours in advance and also verified that the VIN matched all the paperwork. 10 minutes with them. At the Canadian side, it seems that they just want their money and one anomaly happened to me. The car is more than 25 years old and when I contacted CBSA prior to purchasing the vehicle, they told me that if the vehicle is more than 25 years old on the date of importation into Canada based on the month/year of manufacture then it is duty exempt. So I go into the office at the Canadian side, the agent went through the paperwork and told me that I had to pay 6.1% duty. I questioned this and was told that she (my paraphrasing here) "knows her job and has been doing this for 9 years and because the VIN does not start with a number, then duty must be paid". Given the power that the border agents hold (search/seizure/etc) I wasn't going to argue it with her. About 20 minutes at the Canadian side. BTW, I have since followed up with CBSA and was informed that I should not have been charged duty and I can request the duty to be refunded to me (some more paperwork, but it's worth the effort) and I have submitted that paperwork. As I was speaking with the CBSA person on the phone, I asked if perhaps they could send an info bulletin out to their border agents to "remind" them of the 25 year old vehicle duty exemption and she said it is written into their policy and it shouldn't be needed, but she did ask me for the badge number of the agent I dealt with (which was on the form) which I then provided. I can only assume that the agent I dealt with will be informed of the appropriate policy on this
The drive back was great with absolutely no issues and the Porsche gets better mileage than the van !! The car does not burn oil, does not appear to have any oil leaks (yet?) and it was a great way to get to know the car over 1100 kms of driving.
Since arriving home, I have found that there is a leak somewhere in the car. After driving to work and leaving the car in the parking lot at work in the rain, the passenger footwell was very wet both front and rear (the carpet was dripping when I removed it) and the driver's side front footwell was wet but not nearly as wet as the passneger side and the driver's side rear footwell was dry. I have not had a chance to investigate this further yet. I would welcome suggestions on things I should look at for this.
That's about it for now, although I'm sure I'll think of something else as soon as I post this....
Cheers,
Lex
10-27-2011, 11:25 AM
#2
Three Wheelin'
Congrats!
Oil leaks can rear their head when the car is stored for the winter. Mine is completely dry in the summer when it is being driven and all the small oil hoses and bushings are moist, warm and sealed. In the winter, these parts contract at different rates and I get some oil leaks. Nothing at all to worry about. just put something under your car for the winter to keep the oil off your garage floor and change or top up your oil at the beginning of each season.
As for the water, it could be as simple as the rubber trim around your doors is no longer sealing properly and the rain water is dripping through and ending up on your carpet. I get that in my cabriolet. Then again, it could be more serious, but i'm assuming you had a PPI so they would have noticed if the bottom pan had rusted through which is highly unlikely anyway.
Oil leaks can rear their head when the car is stored for the winter. Mine is completely dry in the summer when it is being driven and all the small oil hoses and bushings are moist, warm and sealed. In the winter, these parts contract at different rates and I get some oil leaks. Nothing at all to worry about. just put something under your car for the winter to keep the oil off your garage floor and change or top up your oil at the beginning of each season.
As for the water, it could be as simple as the rubber trim around your doors is no longer sealing properly and the rain water is dripping through and ending up on your carpet. I get that in my cabriolet. Then again, it could be more serious, but i'm assuming you had a PPI so they would have noticed if the bottom pan had rusted through which is highly unlikely anyway.
10-27-2011, 05:31 PM
#4
Rennlist Member
Congrats and welcome to the family. Re: the water leaks, check the lower corners of the windshield seal as they tend to leak. Also, there is a plastic corrugated hose that drains the fresh air vent on the trunk (front) lid. Because it is plastic, it tends to deteriorate over the years and breaks, thus allowing water into the cabin and into the foot wells. My guess is the latter.
Do a search and you will find a thread about this on the Pelican Parts site. Unfortunately you can no longer buy a replacement hose from any parts provider but a standrd 1" black corrugated pond/garden hose will work. It is difficult to access the hose and requires removal of some items in the trunk like the vent hoses and AC condenser in the smugglers box. I had both of these problems after i purchased my car and had water in both foot wells after driving back from San Francisco to Seattle in constant rain.
Do a search and you will find a thread about this on the Pelican Parts site. Unfortunately you can no longer buy a replacement hose from any parts provider but a standrd 1" black corrugated pond/garden hose will work. It is difficult to access the hose and requires removal of some items in the trunk like the vent hoses and AC condenser in the smugglers box. I had both of these problems after i purchased my car and had water in both foot wells after driving back from San Francisco to Seattle in constant rain.
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10-27-2011, 08:49 PM
#8
Advanced
Congrats and welcome. I had an almost identical experience as you one year ago this week importing an 85 Targa from South Carolina to Newfoundland. A little loger drive than yours but a great experience.
Glad for the info about duty because I was charged the 6.1% and when I inquired was told it was a valid charge deapitenthenage. I wil check it out again for sure.
Hope you enjoy the ownership experience as much as I have enjoyed mine the last year.
Glad for the info about duty because I was charged the 6.1% and when I inquired was told it was a valid charge deapitenthenage. I wil check it out again for sure.
Hope you enjoy the ownership experience as much as I have enjoyed mine the last year.
10-28-2011, 12:07 AM
#9
Drifting
Congratulations. No more bad days in your life. Coz all you have to day is go for a drive in this beauty at the end of the day. I guarantee you that rest of the day will be history.
10-28-2011, 10:07 AM
#11
Parts Specialist
Rennlist Member
Rennlist Member
WOW - good intro! Welcome.....sorry all you could find after all that searching was was a mint condition ugly red stock coupe with no miles on it.......
pics of the inside please
wet footwell could be roof drains, or windshield seal.....
pics of the inside please
wet footwell could be roof drains, or windshield seal.....
10-30-2011, 10:43 AM
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Thanks for the welcome. More photos to come when I get home (hockey tournament for my daughter this weekend).
I'll check into the suggestions on the leak (door seals, windshield seals, drain vent in trunk, roof drains, etc). I've been busy and not able to get at the car for the last week. I'll do a bit more searching here and on pelican.
murrayg was my partner in this adventure and his assistance and advice was invaluable in making this happen.
Cheers,
Lex
I'll check into the suggestions on the leak (door seals, windshield seals, drain vent in trunk, roof drains, etc). I've been busy and not able to get at the car for the last week. I'll do a bit more searching here and on pelican.
murrayg was my partner in this adventure and his assistance and advice was invaluable in making this happen.
Cheers,
Lex
