mooch299

Hello, first post here! I just recently picked up an 86 911 Targa. I believe this car was gifted from the factory with the full leather package, so a lot of the leather is starting to peel up. I'm looking to try to tackle most of the repairs myself over time and am wondering if anyone has ever refinished theirs themselves before? Looking for advice on foam, glue, materials, how its done properly, etc. Don't really feel like paying $600 per side for a replacement of these. I did a google search and couldn't find much. Bonus pic of my new to me (and first Porsche!) at the end.








Thanks in advance!

mooch299

Update: I ordered the material last night to restore these. I'll update this thread with progress (if I'm successful) in case anyone else is interested.

Mark Salvetti

Hey, welcome to Rennlist! That looks like a beautiful car. Funny, I looked at the photo and something about it seemed like it was shot around here. And then I saw you are also in MA.

I think that is just leather glued over a vinyl door top. You can actually see that in your last photo around the door lock grommet. I didn't see any posts here at Rennlist, but there are a few on Pelican. Looks like you just need to peel off the old ones, clean up the vinyl underneath, then apply the new leather with some good contact cement.
https://forums.pelicanparts.com/pors...op-repair.html
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...door-tops.html

How familiar are you with the quirks of the car? You probably learned a lot while researching the purchase, but these are some tips we give to new owners that may help you:

• Carry a spare DME relay, as they fail and leave you with a no-start. Goes under the drivers seat.
• Check your oil with the car up to temperature and idling on a level surface. That is the only time the dip stick reading will be accurate. If you read the dipstick when the engine is cold or not running, it will appear low. Be careful not to drop the dipstick into the tank when you replace it. Same with the oil gauge. That may or may not be accurate, but it will only be close at idle and level. When you are driving it typically reads low.
• Oil changes are about 10 quarts. Have a big pan, many of us have left a big pool of oil on the garage floor from our first change. The oil comes out of the tank very fast. Also drain the engine sump.
• Check the oil every 500-1000 miles until you get a handle on how much you use. 911 engines can consume a lot, you need to really watch this if you are used to a modern car that uses almost no oil.
• You need to use an oil that has high zinc and phosphorous anti-wear additives to protect the cam lobes. Many modern oils have cut back on these because they can poison the cats. But we need them. Common choices are Valvoline Racing 20W-50, Brad Penn 20W-50, Mobil 1 15W-50.
• If the front suspension squeaks over bumps or if you push down on the fender, you probably need new front A-arm bushings. Pretty common after almost 40 years.
• Hopefully the Targa top is in good shape. Dan Pechtel of Cars, Inc in NJ does a great job rebuilding them. Also the only source of the Targa top seal at the top of the windshield that fits. The Porsche part does not.
• Never use a synthetic gear oil in that gearbox (you have a 915 gearbox). Kendall 80W-90 and Swepco 201 are common choices. If you have limited slip, you'll need an additive.
• 915 gearboxes can be quirky. Likely won't shift like a modern box. Avoid downshifting to 1st gear while moving, and don't speed shift. The 1-2 upshift should occur over 4,000 rpm. Don't shift too early. Learn to upshift with a slight pause between gears. The shift coupler (accessible through the floor in front of the back seat) is often a source of poor shifting. The plastic bushings sometimes crumble.
• Watch your battery. Consider an AGM to greatly reduce the chances of an acid spill. Rust, rust, rust.
• The 3.2L fuel lines in the engine bay are pretty old, and many have started to leak. Lots of threads on the need to replace these if they are original.
• If it has AC, and it is original, don't expect it to work very well.
• Don't reset the trip odometer while the car is moving. It strips the gear and it will stop working.
• The instrument lights are not fused. You should add one. Easy to do, use the search function here and at Pelican.
• The full headlight current goes through the switch. You need to add headlight relays if you upgrade to higher power bulbs. Good idea to do this anyway.
• The Bentley manual is a good repair manual (
  Porsche Carrera Bentley Manual
  Porsche Carrera Bentley Manual
  )
• Also 101 Projects (
  101 Projects
  101 Projects
  ). I wouldn't bother with the Haynes manual. Next step up would be the factory manuals, but they are a few hundred dollars.

That's a pretty good list to get you started. As you drive it, you'll probably find things that don't seem right. Most are known issues. Post questions.

Good luck!

Mark

mooch299

Thanks for the info, Mark! This is all awesome info. My answers are below:

• Carry a spare DME relay, as they fail and leave you with a no-start. Goes under the drivers seat.
  • Already replaced the one that was in it with a Focus 9 Tech solid state version
• Check your oil with the car up to temperature and idling on a level surface. That is the only time the dip stick reading will be accurate. If you read the dipstick when the engine is cold or not running, it will appear low. Be careful not to drop the dipstick into the tank when you replace it. Same with the oil gauge. That may or may not be accurate, but it will only be close at idle and level. When you are driving it typically reads low.
• Oil changes are about 10 quarts. Have a big pan, many of us have left a big pool of oil on the garage floor from our first change. The oil comes out of the tank very fast. Also drain the engine sump.
• Check the oil every 500-1000 miles until you get a handle on how much you use. 911 engines can consume a lot, you need to really watch this if you are used to a modern car that uses almost no oil
• You need to use an oil that has high zinc and phosphorous anti-wear additives to protect the cam lobes. Many modern oils have cut back on these because they can poison the cats. But we need them. Common choices are Valvoline Racing 20W-50, Brad Penn 20W-50, Mobil 1 15W-50.
  • Noted!
• If the front suspension squeaks over bumps or if you push down on the fender, you probably need new front A-arm bushings. Pretty common after almost 40 years.
  • I indeed had this issue upon receiving the car, I sprayed the bushings that are around the front torsion bars and it made it go away for now until I plan a bit of a suspension update/overhaul.
• Hopefully the Targa top is in good shape. Dan Pechtel of Cars, Inc in NJ does a great job rebuilding them. Also the only source of the Targa top seal at the top of the windshield that fits. The Porsche part does not.
  • Dan actually re-did my top with the previous owner last year. However, the previous owner didn't do the part where he was supposed to leave it in the sun to form to the car, so I am having some sealing issues currently. Hoping to get that squared away now that it's warming up this week here in the northeast!
• Never use a synthetic gear oil in that gearbox (you have a 915 gearbox). Kendall 80W-90 and Swepco 201 are common choices. If you have limited slip, you'll need an additive.
  • Noted!
• 915 gearboxes can be quirky. Likely won't shift like a modern box. Avoid downshifting to 1st gear while moving, and don't speed shift. The 1-2 upshift should occur over 4,000 rpm. Don't shift too early. Learn to upshift with a slight pause between gears. The shift coupler (accessible through the floor in front of the back seat) is often a source of poor shifting. The plastic bushings sometimes crumble.
  • The old 915 was completely rebuilt in 2020 with the previous owner All great tips though! Its definitely unique to get used to.
• Watch your battery. Consider an AGM to greatly reduce the chances of an acid spill. Rust, rust, rust.
  • Noted!
• The 3.2L fuel lines in the engine bay are pretty old, and many have started to leak. Lots of threads on the need to replace these if they are original.
  • Those were also replaced by the previous owner, thankfully!
• If it has AC, and it is original, don't expect it to work very well.
  • This is definitely correct haha
• Don't reset the trip odometer while the car is moving. It strips the gear and it will stop working.
  • This I was aware of, the odometer was rebuilt by the previous owner as well
• The instrument lights are not fused. You should add one. Easy to do, use the search function here and at Pelican.
• The full headlight current goes through the switch. You need to add headlight relays if you upgrade to higher power bulbs. Good idea to do this anyway.
  • These 2 I need to research. I swapped the bulbs in the dash to LED ones from Carmagic, but my gauges flicker (before the LED's) when touching the headlight ****. Something might be loose or the switch is on its way out.
• The Bentley manual is a good repair manual (
  Porsche Carrera Bentley Manual
  Porsche Carrera Bentley Manual
  )
• Also 101 Projects (
  101 Projects
  101 Projects
  ). I wouldn't bother with the Haynes manual. Next step up would be the factory manuals, but they are a few hundred dollars.
  • Will check both of these out!

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"Never use a synthetic gear oil in that gearbox (you have a 915 gearbox). Kendall 80W-90 and Swepco 201 are common choices. If you have limited slip, you'll need an additive."

I have the same car with 104K miles and an occasionally clunky 915 gearbox. Why the warning against synthetic in there? Not sure what the previous owner used, but it was very clunky when I got it and after swapping to Amsoil Severe Gear, it has improved. Will it get even better with Kendall or Swepco?

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Sorry, didn't intend on changing the subject of your original post, but on topic, I did mean to add:
I also had cracks like yours around the door lock holes of the door rails. I was able to quite successfully reinforce them with fiberglass on the backsides.
I did not rewrap new leather because my interior is grey/green and I have NO idea where I might find anything near that color.

mooch299

no worries, we're all here to learn! Good to know about the fiberglass, I ordered foam just in case I needed to take these things down to the metal since the current foam is pulled back in certain areas. Hoping everything arrives by the end of the week so I can get going on this. Also re-wrapping the rear garnish rails as well, those should be much easier though

Mark Salvetti

The 915 uses "balk-ring syncros". They need some friction to work properly, and the synthetic gear oils are too slippery. Pretty much our entire senior brain trust (Pete Zimmerman, Steve Weiner (RIP), Matt Monson (owner of Guard Transmission), etc.) agree on non-synthetic GL-5 gear oil. A little bit of debate on which one, but you can't go wrong with Swepco 201.

If you use synthetic it may feel like it shifts easier. Matt explained once that those are the syncros wearing faster. Synthetic is fine in the G50 gearboxes.

Mark