LoudC4

I've tried to type a question about seven times now, and I can't get it right, so I'm going back to basics so..........

Anyone with a Euro 87 (or there-a-bouts) got a a/c installed?

If so, is it

a) factory or aftermarket?
b) does it have a evaporator housing located in a smugglers box in the luggage compartment?
c) if it not in the smugglers box, where is the evap housing located?

My Bentley only shows the evap housing in a large smugglers box but I don't have a large smugglers box! Mine is tiny, only allowing access to the steering shafts.

My crappy a/c has the evap housing in the front passenger footwell and takes up too much leg room. Is this normal for factory Euro models with a/c - yuk!

I've got stacks more questions to follow on for this topic but I gotta get these questions sorted first.

Thanks guys,

Cheers
Mark

Adrian

Dear Mark,
The factory versions of ROW and USA with airconditioner installed are the same. From your description you have a ROW (not Euro) 3.2 Carrera that was built without aircon. It appears it has been installed aftermarket.
However to be sure please send me some data.
I need to know the VIN and I need to know what is on the label under the hood/trunk near the lock latch. There should be a C code. What is it. This will tell me what country this 3.2 was originally built for.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

LoudC4

Ok, feel like a real idiot now <img src="graemlins/crying.gif" border="0" alt="[crying]" />

Thanks for offering your help.

My VIN no. is WPOZZZ91ZJS150556

In relation to the C code, all I can find at the hood catch is one label with details as listed below. Is the Paint/Interior No. the C code you are referring to?

118-4035 EG

Vehicle Id No 91 J9150556
Type 911 631
Engine Code 93020-63J G5000
Trans Code L908 SW
Paint/Interior No. C16 058 070 330 383
Options 387 439 490 494 975

God I can't believe all this time I thought my car was Euro and not ROW.

Thanks for any help you can provide in sorting this out. If you can reference me to a decoding site for these numbers that would be awesome. Thankyou once again, really appreciate your time.

Cheers
Mark

LoudC4

Ok, found a decoding site and ran the numbers for the VIn and sure enough its ROW.

If you could run the numbers or a site for the other numbers that would be great.

Going back to my original question now, I'm lost by the fact that if the US and ROW cars were built the same, how come I don't have a smugglers box anywhere near as big as US ones I've seen. Did the factory actually produce a bigger smugglers box just for the cars ordered with a/c?

Thanks again.
Cheers
Mark

Adrian

Dear Mark,
Your 1988 3.2 Carrera Cab was originally imported into the UK. It was built for the UK. It is still a ROW model by the way.
Your cab by some of the options you have listed has a very nice hi-fi system installed, sports seats and being a cab and being built for the UK it does not surprise me you do not have an airconditioner installed. The smaller smugglers box is because you do not have an evaporator installed. That is where it lives. Big one, aircon fitted. Small one, aircon not fitted.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

PS: The are only 2 basic versions of any Porsche, ROW and USA. Everything else is a variant of one of these. ZZZ in your VIN means ROW production line.

LoudC4

Gawd..I feel like someones lifted me skirt and checked out my googlies!!!! <img src="graemlins/oops.gif" border="0" alt="[oops]" />

Thanks for all that info, but where the hell is the link you used to find out about the stereo, seats etc

I've got the site that tells me its a ROW but that didn't say made for the UK. Is there more than one site to check out for this info.

Thankyou very much for taking the time to do this for me.

Cheers
Mark <img src="graemlins/beerchug.gif" border="0" alt="[cheers]" />

Roland Kunz

Hello

All 911 came with the same sized smuglers box.
The box was intentet as battery storage but then the battery moved forward to help handling and the box was used for storage, additional gas heater or the AC evaporator.

As you have a right hand drive the bulkhead is slight different ( too run the stering rack from the right side ) to the LHD cars but afir the smuglers box is still on the same spot and wounder how the Hong Kong and Australia versions could be sold without AC.
I once bought a the improved stuff the HK/Saudia deliverd cars got from the factory.
It fitet easy into a LHD cant remeber to see a difference.

Any RHD out there to clarify that points ?

Is the power assistet brake booster still on the left side ?

Did you still have a smuglersbox yet the lid is different to clear the steering shaft ?

Someone with M559 in a RHD out there ?

Grüsse

Adrian

Dear Roland,
This 911 was built for the UK market and exported to Hong Kong. Very common. The country code and a bit of experience also helps. I have helped many 911 owners in Hong Kong sort these things out. Many Porsches of all models were sold in Australia without airconditioning. For cabriolets of any kind it was very unusual to have airconditioning fitted. The vast majority of Porsches imported into Australia came via the UK, Hong Kong and Japan. There were a number of direct imports, especially in the 3.2 Carrera range and these were USA version based. Many pprivate imports also came out of the USA. 3 letters play a key role in all imported vehicles. ADR, Australian Design Rules. I should have been a little more specific to avoid a literal come back. The smugglers box in physical size is the same in all models. The covers are different and RHD versions have a different cover again. These different covers make the area look smaller. I was asked the same question when I was last home in April 2002.
Dear Mark,
I do not have a link for all this stuff. My house is full of this data as is my upcoming book on the 964. Will be in my book on the 911SC as well. All this data is stored in hard copy and on my computers at work and home.
Ciao,
Adrian
911C4

LoudC4

Hi Roland and Adrian,

Thanks for your interest and replies. Seems like I'm getting deeper here but........

My smugglers box lid measures 11" front to back and 6" left to right. Inside the smugglers box itself, almost all the space is taken up by the steering shafts and joints.

The booster sits on the left of the smugglers box (as you look into the luggage compartment from the front of the car)due to RHD.

I could have sworn that I saw pictures of US cars with the smugglers box running across the car rather than front to back ........................................................................ ..........................sorry just had to go check my Bentley and yes, the picture shows the smugglers box running width ways across the car. It's hard to tell but the smugglers box looks way bigger in the Bentley manual than in mine! It could just be a perceptual thing but also there is now way a battery could fit in my smugglers box (well maybe a 9v torch battery) and the idea of a aircond evap housing fitting in there would be laughable. I think there must be some differences between the US and ROW vehicle smuggler boxes given the layout variations and size.

I apologise in advance if I'm frustrating you with comments/questions you've already tried to clarify.

Just reiterating, I hear what your saying Adrian about the boxes being the same size, just the lid makes it percievably bigger in the US cars, BUT there is just no way you could get an evap unit in my smugglers box which is the reason I assumed for the evap housing in my car, is to be found in the passenger footwell inside the car instead.

Thanks for the continued clarification guys.

Cheers
Mark

teardrop

I have a RHD UK 911 Coupe Chassis No. WPO ZZZ 91K S10 0533. Among the factory options is 559 and a check with Porsche GB confirmed this as factory Air Con (still works once I had it recharged).

The evaporator seems to be in the passenger (left hand side in UK) footwell and there is a wooden panel mounted in front of it to stop it getting kicked by the passenger.

Everything re aircon looks 100% original. If its not then someone did a fantastic job. I have talked to a couple of the previous owners and they had never messed with the aircon.

I think there is a good chance that there is a difference between body types when it comes to the smugglers box and this difference is not indicated in the chassis numbers. Because the UK spec cars had a smaller SB then if you had air con the evap went in the passenger footwell.

Dont know if this helps or hinders :-)

Andy