Nicholbry

PICTURES BELOW:

Hello guys and gal, I've been searching for a replacement to the yellow oil cap that sits dead center of our 928 engine compartments and couldn't find anything that I particularly liked; so I designed a couple myself and had them commissioned. I tried to keep the price as low as I could, but the cost for tooling, manufacturing and finishing these weren't cheap. I have about 8 per design for a total of 16 available. I think this is a great upgrade to the engine compartment; for show or everyday use. I designed these pieces to be handsomely unique, functional, and sophisticated to compliment the same attributes of our fine cars.

The first picture is the one that I think looks best on the 928. It has a simple tapered, three-pronged design. The other fits the 928 as well, but I commissioned it to appeal to the 911 guys. The flared ends of the three prongs were design cues taken from the hood pulls of the old Porsche 356 as a way for 911 owners to commemorate their model's lineage. I hope you like them. They are being offered for sale through the Rennlist classifieds as well if you want more information.

Details:
*CNC Machined 1061 Solid Billet Aluminum
*Acid dipped, washed, then Clear Anodized to prevent corrosion
*Proper threads, softened a bit to prevent cutting
*Petroleum resistant o-rings (like the factory uses) secured in a pressure fit channel groove
*Lightweight (4 oz) to prevent undue stress on the oil filler neck gasket
*Height of the original part no. was duplicated so there's no interference with the hood or other components
*Easy twist on/off design
*Non-vented

These are a direct replacement to the factory part 944.107.091.01 and 944.107.191.04 and fit the following models, as well as, the 32V 928.

911(964,930,etc).........1983-1994 (w/ threaded cap)
944............................1983-1991 (incl. turbo)
924S..........................1987-1988
968............................1992-1995
928............................1985-1995 (S/S4/GT/&GTS)

Price $79.99 (+7.95 s/h in 48 contiguous U.S.)
Private Message me for payment instructions or any questions you might have. Thanks for your interest and I hope you like them.

heinrich

gorgeous. pricy but gorgeous.

hacker-pschorr

If I had a car to put one on I would order it in a heartbeat. Awesome!

RyanPerrella

really nice!

I think it looks allot better then the typical ones with the porsche crest on it.

$80 is allot for what is really just jewelry, but people buy this stuff. I like the design allot, It could have come out ALLOT worse. (this is NOT a backhanded compliment BTW)

As for the original, I actually like it, they look great once Dr. Bob cleans them up with clorox or whatever he used.

Nicholbry

Unfortunately, they weren't cheap to have made to this standard. Comparably though, the only other alternative that's available is $100 and is just a thin overlay on the original plastic piece that's been cut down. I think this is a better solution for us, and at a better price.

Thanks for the complements.

Shark Attack

really? I dont think so. Im not a real big fan of the design. But it is about what i woud expect to pay if it did trip my trigger.

andy-gts

I think they look great and I am pm'ing now. Great work and effort...thanks.
andy

The_Remora

Nice. I particularly like the design with the round cut-outs, kinda reminds me of the old phone dial wheels. Any pics of it installed atop a 928 motor?

Nicole

Nicholas: Don't let anybody tell you these are too expensive. You put an enormous effort into designing those and making a low quantity production happen - you simply can't compete with cheap mass produced oil caps from China.

I learned that lesson in recent times, and have to keep reminding myself of it. You can either be the quality leader, or the price leader - not both.

Like my clear turn signal lenses, your oil caps are top of the line quality. There might be cheaper products out there, with lesser quality. Some people put those on their formerly $80k Porsches. And that's OK. But there are plenty of others who appreciate accessories that are made to Porsche or higher quality standards. Those are your customers, and they won't mind paying $79, $89, or even $99 for one of these gems.

Best of luck!

Nicholbry

Thanks for the kind words. I can relate to someone saying that $79 is a bit much when there are billet oil caps available for $10 fitting Honda's, Nissan's, Toyota's, etc. The truth is that I set out to have them made for $30 retail, but was laughed at a couple times when trying to locate a manufacturer willing to sell in volumes of 25 pieces. I don't mind explaining to my friends here, but as it turns out, there were many challenges with this project which might explain why there wasn't one available on the market yet in a solid billet aluminum. The biggest hurdle was finding the tool to cut the proper threads. This tool had to be sourced out of Europe (used) at a premium ($$$) since they aren't readily available in this thread profile; forget going to a parts catalog to order it. Take that into consideration along with finding a good coater to do a factory-like uniform anodizing, ruining a few pieces until the acid etch was just right, scrapping others to get the right pitch to the elevated forms, finding the best OEM quality o-rings, getting the channels just right to properly secure the o-rings, added labor to smooth down the sharp edges left after thread tooling, and coordinating all of this between 2 separate shops (machining and coater) in 2 different parts of the country with shipping.

In the end, what might seem like a simple piece of aluminum jewelry took quite a bit of money and effort to be able to offer us 928 owners with something uniquely special with, what I consider, a respectable balance of refinement and value. I realize this will not appeal to everyone, but I hope that the price is better justified. It really is a formidable piece and I don't think buyers will regret their purchase; they may even be surprised by the quality.

I am just happy that I am able to contribute to my friends in the 928 community as we are so often overlooked or under-served when it comes to accessories. I hope to be able to contribute more in the upcoming months with other unique pieces. I was thinking about a center steering wheel plate made of polished aluminum and in the design of large breasts featuring blinking LED's.....what do ya think? And we thought cell phones were troublesome in traffic. Sorry Nicole.

Nicholbry

Sorry, no pics on the motor yet. Many of you are aware that my car is out at Greg Browns getting another engine put in after discovering Thrust Bearing Failure. Perhaps I'll ask my first buyer to report back with a pic and review.

TAREK

I want to say that these look very nice and certainly cost a lot to get done.

However, and without taking away from the skill and work involved in creating them, I think that the term "Quality" is often used loosely. What exactly is the quality requirement? hardness? durability? thermal resistance? pressure resistance? If it's made of Gold, and functions just as good as its cheap chinese plastic equivalent for the life of the engine, then there is no added value and the quality is not superior. In fact, from an engineering and quality standpoint, it rather represents waste.

As for taste for metallic material versus plastic material, well it's a matter of personal taste, not quality. Just thought I'd put in my 2 cents of boring stuff I work with on daily basis

Nicole

Hmmm... Isn't owning a 928 a matter of taste to begin with? I mean, you could get from A to B with a Kia, which is pretty good quality without waste...

I think what Nicholas is referring to is that the materials are made such that this gem will keep looking beautiful for a long time. That's a nice quality to have for an accessory.

It's like when you buy a set of clear lenses, and they turn yellow, or go dull on you after a year or two. They might still allow the amber turn signal or side marker light to be emitted through them, but they no longer look attractive. Which would defeat the purpose of the upgrade and all the work involved in doing it.

TAREK

I really meant no disrespect of the product.

I also don't mean to split hairs but I don't think you got my point about definition of quality requirements. Yes a Kia can go from point A to point B as well, but the analogy is incorrect. In the Kia example you must include speed, comfort, safety, fuel consumption, aerodynamics, and all those things that represent the voice of the customer.

You're also confusing matters in stating the reason why we drive 928 is taste. You're confusing taste in esthetics with taste in specifications/features

Your clear lense example, however, is more correct. I'll get to that later

You're stating discoloration of the cap over time as value proposition - if indeed the weight factor of esthetics of this particular item is high (assumption) with the paying customer, then yes indeed you can claim these caps are of superior quality to the stock caps. From an objective standpoint, superior quality can only be claimed by measuring criteria and analyzing data. Since this is primarily a functional piece of hardware, it should be evaluated based on higher weight factors for its function (pressure/seal) and use (ergonomics/safety) and lower weight factor regarding esthetics. Even though we may believe deep in our hearts this is a superior product, we can't claim that it is yet, because it hasn't been evaluated objectively (long term testing/analysis) of its individual primary functions.

That is why the clear lense example is a good one, because the lense primary function (critical requirement) is visual/optical.

Again, all I was stating is that the term quality is often assimilated incorrectly with arbitrary selection of reliability, esthetics, longevity, strength, etc. regardless of relevance factors or real data. Unfortunately this is also generally consistent with misunderstanding "value".

I'll take the opportunity here - again - to reiterate my great respect for the time, effort, and outcome of this effort

Nicholbry

Your point is well taken, so let me clear the air on what my requirements for quality were and the purpose behind the design.

My quality requirement: to match or better the performance and durability of the original OEM part (performance-to seal the oil system, durability-longevity of the component).

My purpose: to provide a part that is both aesthetically pleasing and embodies a degree of durability and performance that the OEM part does.

For the purpose of sealing the oil system this part is not better "quality" than the original OEM part? Instead it is a design that, some, might consider more visually appealing that does have features designed into it that many would consider quality when compared to alternative materials and craftsmanship that could have been used. This adds value.

Albeit loosely, I'm defining quality here as:
*Petroleum resistant o-rings vs. standard variety
*Anodized to prevent corrosion and resist minor scuffing vs. oxidation
*1061 Solid Billet Aluminum vs. plastic that is prone to warping (as mine has)
*Consideration given to design elements a Porsche owner might be concerned about such as:
dimensions - so they won't interfere w/ other components
proper channel to secure o-ring - so it won't get lost and seals
minimal 4oz weight - to prevent oil filler necks from leaking
easy on/off

"Value" is not always monetary. The value one might get out of buying such a piece is that it improves the look of their engine compartment without sacrificing the life expectancy given the materials used.

Another way to look at value is to ask, would you value a Toyota Corolla more than a Porsche 928 if they were the same price. They both exhibit varying degrees of quality, but which would be more valuable to you as an owner? If I follow your explanation, then I guess you and I spent "wasteful" money on a Porsche 928 when we could have had a durable Toyota Corolla with far less maintenance costs. After all, they both serve the same purpose of transit.

Some owners even spend money and time to upgrade their body work on the 928 while not increasing the overall quality (i.e durability, longevity, performance, etc.) of the car. We do it because we like to see it; it's pleasing to the eye. We, therefore, establish personal value to it.

Just my 2 cents.