Cameron

I am considering a '91GT to replace the '90S4. I always wanted a 5 speed. I am dealing with the original owner. The thing is, he had the car made to his spec in Germany and has since imported the car to the states. He has all paperwork since new, most of it in German. He also has the DOT and EPA docs with respect to the importation which was done by
Champagne Inc.
200 West 5th St
Lansdale PA 19446

I need your advice on any gotcha's, since my 928 mechanic is going to do the PPI on Wednesday. I want to give him a head's up. My immediate concerns are:

1. Verify cats - owner states that he has a document from Porsche stating the cats on the car are the same for europe/usa in this model year - this doc was used to obtain EPA approval

2. The car has been used only on weekends since imported in 1998 - only 3k miles since then and a total of 65k miles - potential oil leaks now

3. What can I do about the fugly side marker lights that have been slapped on in the importation?

I have already planned for the timing belt change which he did previously at 42k miles but in 1995. I love the car, guys. It's got the dark rootwood and 'almost' all leather interior as well. Blue exterior with what I think is Linen interior. Price is significantly discounted compared to other GT's I have seen - makes sense since not an original US spec car. CarFax is clean since importation date.

All advice is appreciated.
VIN WP0ZZZ92ZMS801507
M2847
c00 xf2 xg8 xk7 xl4
xv1 x26 139 328 340
538 567 530 533 380

I couldn't find option code xg8? Maybe he typoed it?

Cameron

bcdavis

I dealt with a Euro that was improperly imported, and it can be a pain. Basicly, what you want to find out, for sure, is if they now have the EPA sticker on the car. If it does, when you go to do a smog check, all they will do, is look to see if Cats are there or not. The EPA/CARB is a pain in the ***, and they care about every vaccum line and fitting. To get the sticker, everything has to be in place, and it all has to work. But once you have the sticker, things should be easy.

As far as the ugly marker lights, just fill them in, and repaint. If you don't want to repaint, you are somewhat out of luck. You could do a "touch-up", and try to match the color, but I doubt it will look very good.

I have some pictures of my car before and after the removal of the marker lights. I also removed the roof antenna, and replaced the mirrors with Miata mirrors. As well as eliminating the stupid front license plate and bracket.

<a href="http://www.TheDeathKnight.com/928/928_My_Stock.html" target="_blank">Before</a>

<a href="http://www.TheDeathKnight.com/928/928_My928_2.html" target="_blank">After</a>

Good luck with your car. It will be worth it when you have a nice fast Euro, without all the stuff they slap on the American cars, like the bumper caps.

tdelarm

Cameron,

I'm not much help regarding your original question but you stated the side marker lights were slapped on for importation. You do mean the original Porsche side lights right? If so, my thoughts on the side marker lights are that you'll probably have plenty to worry about aside from the lights plus, IMHO, the side lights will make the car stand out that much more from our US versions. I have nothing against EURO cars providing that they have been converted to US emmissions specs properly and the car itself is'nt a POS. Just my 2cents worth.

Good luck and post your results from your PPI on Wednesday.

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

Cameron

Guys,

Thanks for the posts. All input/comments are welcome.

Tdelarm,

I wish the side marker lights were original Porsche. From the photos (I'll see the car tomorrow) they are clearly added on. This was a common practice from what I have seen on early Euro importations since the fenders have the light cut-outs in different locations on the EURO vs US spec autos. The appearance is certainly one of my concerns as well. The color is Amazon Green, so if anyone has had to match paint on this color, please let me know how it went.

With respect to the vehicle being a POS, I will find out for sure tomorrow, but all indications are that it is not. The original owner, who I will spend the day with tomorrow, had the car custom built to his spec of unique options, has only had Porsche do the maintenance (which is not neccessarily a plus), and paid $4.5k to have his baby brought with him to the US. I hope it is as advertised.

Thanks guys, keep the comments coming!

Cameron

John Welch

Cameron,

The fact that the car is already registered in Florida should indicate that you shouldn't have too many problems registering it. Why not call DMV and talk to them?

Sounds like a nice car...

bcdavis

Regarding the marker lights, the ones that were on my Euro were ugly square lights that looked like they came from your local corner discount auto parts store. I do not think the Euro cars have corner markers. So when you make it legal for the US, you have to add some. Unfortunately, some people do not use the real Porsche lights, and they just slap on some ugly ones...

Normy

BCD-

Those Miata mirrors look HOT! How much of a pain in the glutes was it to put them on?

-As to the added side marker lights on my '85 S2, I simply removed the bulbs and painted them black to match the paint. Sure, you can still see them but they are effectively camouflaged until I get the car repainted and the holes filled. An easy low $ solution.

John, my car was brought over from Vienna immediately after manufacture in 1985, and has been flying the Florida colors ever since. Still, when I went to register it to my name for the first time in 1999, the lady at the tag and title office had to call Tallahassee in order to build me a registration because the computer would not accept my "ZZZ" vin number! I've heard that this can occasionally be a problem in some states.

Normy
'85 S2 5 Speed

Cameron

As pointed out, the car is currently registered in Florida so I am not too worried about that. I have already spoken with my insurance company and they had no problem with the vin.

With respect to valuation, I am having some trouble. Assume that the car passes PPI or that I discount the value by the PPI identified repairs. Knowing that I am in it for the timing belt, I could see someone asking north of $25k for this car ('91GT, 65k miles, one owner history complete, rootwood + leather int) if it was US spec. I read somewhere (excellence mag?) that grey market cars' values should be discounted by about 15%. To me that means that if I can get the car for around $20k (plus timing belt) I have a decent deal.

Sound about right to you guys?

Cameron

Cameron

OK Guys, the jury is in and the deal is done. I am now a GT owner.

Long story short on the PPI:

- motor mounts
- 2 interior light assemblies need replacing
- tires have flat spot - from sitting
- shift linkage plastic joint broken
- very slight leak passenger side valve cover
- washer elbo at hood broken
- radio noise supressor req'd for radio buz

Aside from this:
- needs detailing
- owner agreed that timing belt should be replaced
- fugly side marker lights are not quite as fugly as I thought - I can live with them for a while

Words of my mech - it is one of the cleanest he has seen - BUY THE CAR - which I have now done

2 Questions:

1) The car has an all leather interior. I thought from the option codes that it had only a partial leather interior. The one code I couldn't find was XU1 (that's a one). Does anyone know what this one is?

2) The face on the instrument cluster was changed in the importation process. The LED readouts on the computer were not. They still read in German and in km/h - Celcius. Porsche tech in Pompano tells me to bring the car in for 1 hour shop charge and they can change the display to English and MPH etc. I also called one of the big three and they confirmed that it is the same unit/part number for Europe and USA. Question is: does anyone know how I can change this myself or do I need to take it to Porsche?

I will pick up and register the car on Saturday. I won't be able to sleep until then!

Now, is anyone interested in a white over black '90 S4?

Thanks for your help guys. I'll post picks next week.

Cameron

Donald

Cameron-
Congrats. Re: the computer display- on mine (US model) all one has to do is flick the left computer stalk toward the driver "twice within 2 seconds" to switch from km/liters/Celsius to miles/US gallons/Fahrenheit.

That should beat an hour of shop time, if the Euro is the same.
Cheers,
Donald

Cameron

Donald,

Thanks for the reply and the welcome.

I found the language change for computer display on Greg Nichol's web site. It refers to MY '90 but I imagine '91 is the same:

------&gt;

Here's the procedure for changing the language on the dash computer display for MY 1990.

It consists of:
1) Turn on ignition
2) Plug contact bridge 9293 in 19 pin diagnosis socket (not sure where that is)
3) Pull operating lever 3 seconds.

The display language will cycle from English, German, French then Italian.

-------&gt;

I don't have a clue how to do number 2) so it looks like Porsche will get 1 hour labour out of me unless someone here can describe this to me.

Thanks,

Cameron

bcdavis

Well, we are now off-topic, but oh well...

Regarding my Miata mirrors, they were an easy install. The holes from the stock mirrors are not too big, and the Miata mirror mounting plate covers them without having to weld shut any holes. There are just two bolts, with nuts and washers, and you are mounted to the door. You do need to repaint, because despite the fact that the stock holes are not big, the mounting plate on the stock mirror is larger than the Miata's. I looked at the cost of swapping in new Porsche mirrors, and it seemed just too pricey. So I looked at junkyards for Z3 mirrors, Corvette mirrors, and Miata mirrors. Anything aero, but mounts to the door, not the window... Miata mirrors were the cheapest, and most prolific. They were only $60 for the pair. Better than $300 or whatever the new style Porsche mirrors are...

sweanders

[quote]Originally posted by bcdavis:
<strong>Well, we are now off-topic, but oh well...

Regarding my Miata mirrors, they were an easy install. The holes from the stock mirrors are not too big, and the Miata mirror mounting plate covers them without having to weld shut any holes. There are just two bolts, with nuts and washers, and you are mounted to the door. You do need to repaint, because despite the fact that the stock holes are not big, the mounting plate on the stock mirror is larger than the Miata's. I looked at the cost of swapping in new Porsche mirrors, and it seemed just too pricey. So I looked at junkyards for Z3 mirrors, Corvette mirrors, and Miata mirrors. Anything aero, but mounts to the door, not the window... Miata mirrors were the cheapest, and most prolific. They were only $60 for the pair. Better than $300 or whatever the new style Porsche mirrors are...</strong><hr></blockquote>

Do you have any pictures of Miata mirrors on the car?

/Anders

WallyP

The diagonstic connector is under the cover between the passenger seat and door. Large round screw-off cover. Pins should be marked in socket (tiny numbers).

Randy V

Using Wally's guidance to that plug, do the bridge and display change yourself.

Time to start weaning yourself off the 'Porsche Techs' (and their cash register), now that you have found Rennlist... <img src="graemlins/wave.gif" border="0" alt="[byebye]" />