rluciano

I am a long time Porsche fan. I have owned an '86 944 since new. Also had a '91 Targa (never should have sold it) a '97 911 Turbo (nothing but electrical problems(but a lot of fun when it worked). I now own an '03 Ruf 3600S. (A lot of fun, but not a lot of soul.)

I am looking at an '80 911SC that has just undergone a fairly complete (interior, exterior and top end of the engine) restoration. The work was done at California Porsche Restoration in Fallbrook, CA. What does this group know of and think of their work?

I tried a search but couldn't find anything. I want a 911 with the 911 soul again.

TIA,
Richard

rusnak

You can get some good used California air cooled Porsches right now, you just have to be patient and look hard. My own $.02 is that it's awfully hard to focus on just Porsche restoration and still charge fair prices. They must be a part of a larger auto body shop, or something other than restoration.

rusnak

You can get some good used California air cooled Porsches right now, you just have to be patient and look hard. My own $.02 is that it's awfully hard to focus on just Porsche restoration and still charge fair prices. They must be a part of a larger auto body shop, or something other than restoration.

Trader220

No first hand expereince with that shop but I have seen some of the finished products and they appear to be fantastic. I will say this, all the cars I have seen from them have been long nose cars and they are very very expensive. The workmanship looks to be top notch and they ask top dollar. If the car you're looking at has been restored by them why not just have a PPI done and ask the shop who does it for their remarks on the body prep and paint. Whats the approx price of the car you're looking at and the spec on it?

bullfighter

I had the same question. Just wondered if anyone on this board had bought from them.

EDIT: I spoke with Steve the parts guy at the shop and will be visiting tomorrow.

theiceman

make sure to tell him yo are representing us and your opinion will weigh heavy with the rest of the Porsche world .. maybe he will look after you

rluciano

From my homework, after I posted it seems that the body and interior work is really well done. As is the mechanical work, but sometimes less mechanical work is done than you would do if you were having it done on your car. Less while you are in there...

Amber Gramps

Are you saying you are going to go look at the car in Fallbrook? It's about an hour south of where I am at. A friend that has helped me alot on my car has a car in the shop in Fallbrook. It's a mercedes, so probebly not the same shop, but I may be up for a drive if you want me to go look at it??

bullfighter

I'm going to check out the facility and assess the work they do, with an eye to purchasing a car there in the near future. I live in north county San Diego, less than hour's drive from Fallbrook.

Depending on how my schedule goes, I'll be there sometime around midday.

GR997S

Any updates on your visit? I am looking also...GR

bullfighter

Yes, I should have posted sooner.

I spent two hours there on Friday with Brian Doherty, the owner. I hadn't planned to do more than just swing by, but Brian gave me the grand tour, from the nuts and bolts to a completed viper green 73 911S they had just finished for an out of state buyer. He even insisted (!) I test drive an oxford blue 911T they have for sale. Just a nice car, from a well known Florida collection. Much of what they do is take worn out 911s and restore them, being faithful to the COA and original assembly methods. They will deviate based on customer request, however.

I was very impressed overall. Brian actually worked for Porsche, and spent some time on the assembly line during the 1970-73 era. He also raced IMSA cars. Long story short, he knows the early 911s inside and out - literally.

At the Fallbrook facility, they do all bare metal bodywork, welding, paint prep/painting and assembly. I'm not doing it justice here, but suffice it to say they have several cars at a time moving through a series of restoration stages. They do restorations -- where they freshen up and replace what is needed to make the car roadworthy and attractive -- as well as remanufacturing, which is a nut-and-bolt disassembly and reassembly. Expensive, but the end result really is about as close to a "new" early '70s 911 as you're going to get.

The engine rebuilding and interior upholstery work are outsourced to two very reputable local outfits in San Diego.

Almost all of their work is in the LWB 911 range, and they do nothing (that I could tell) after 1973. Because of the number of common parts, this allows them economies of scale with regard to re-plating and stocking hardware. Also, Brian maintains his associations with the Porsche factory, and has a decent stock of NOS Porsche parts -- no reproduction stuff unless the OEM is unobtainium.

I was impressed. I'm looking for an early sunroof coupe (probably an E), and I'm considering having Brian do one for me. His quotes seemed reasonable if you're looking to have a great early 911 to enjoy, but you're probably not going to re-sell the car for a profit anytime soon.

Still, what I liked most is that you end up with a vintage 911 with an as-new suspension, hoses/fuel lines and no body rot, as well as a tested new engine. So you can really trust the car on the track, which is one of my personal aspirations -- autocross, vintage touring and hopefully some track time.

GR997S

Thanks for the update. I have to make my way down there also....GR

Only1Buck

I am having CPR do the full restoration on a 1973 911 E Targa signal yellow/black if you look on the site it is in the in progress section, just scroll down a little...http://www.caporsche.net/carsinprogress.html

ked

I have never met the man or visited CPR. A good friend of mine has bought 2 cars & sold 1 there + has 1more (a 356 Roadster, red) for sale there now. This guy is in the machine tool biz, German native, has owned 30-40 Porsches. Needless to say, he is very experienced, has very high standards & won't waste time or $$$.

I checked out his '73 S that has returned from CA, am very impressed with the level of restoration. It was like a new one from back-in-the-day; tight (down to door latches & headliner), correct parts & materials, very smooth driving, no untoward noises, balanced handling (some upgrades there) & very strong performing. Paint was show-quality, gaps were same (one minor adjustment to decklid), detailing was complete (inc underside). There were a coupla minor interior items that required attention + one electrical fault - Brian handled everything professionally & to the owner's satisfaction. I was also impressed with Brian's availability for communications & his focus on making his customer happy. I understand he has recently moved into bigger, better facilities.

My take (so far) is that he is in the "middle of the bell curve" in terms of market prices on the cars he has, Bullfighter's comments apropro; "His quotes seemed reasonable if you're looking to have a great early 911 to enjoy, but you're probably not going to re-sell the car for a profit anytime soon." - especially these days. So, this car is a great keeper, can be further detailed to kingdom-come for competitive concours or (better yet) - driving!

& don't overlook a PPI if you aren't an expert (& maybe even if you are - 2nd set of eyes might save ya a 2nd mortgage... or a divorce).

scott watkins

Richard, it's not an "E", but a very nice original "T".

I may even consider a look at it.

http://www.themotoringenthusiast.com/cars/72-t