BLACK3.2

Hi All,

I used to own a black 1987 Carrera, which I sold to buy a black 1990 964 C2. I wanted to go faster, and I wanted better handling with less weight transfer in turns. I got both in spades. Absolutely love this car. I was traveling overseas when I bought it out of Texas, so I had it shipped to my friend in Los Angeles. I had it inspected, and the engine oil and fluids changed by Callas Rennsport in LA, then the first time I drove it, I drove it straight to Seattle. I figured that would be as good a shake-down as any. The only time it failed me was when the battery cut-off installed by the PO developed a loose connection. A quick visit to Autozone, and a new batter and gound cable later, I was on my way.

About 3000 miles ago, the car had a 3.8 build done with RS cams, bigger valves, etc. A quality build by Mike Callas (father of Tony Callas) from Sealy, TX, who owned it briefly before he passed away. Mechanically, the car is in excellent shape. I do have some electronic gremlins that I'm trying to track down. John Walker was my mechanic for my '87 in Seattle, but I haven't found a regular shop now that he's retired. For my suspension and alignment work, I go to Prova Motorsports. There's no one better, in my opinion. But for other work, I need recommendations for one, or maybe two shops. Here are my needs. I hope the collective wisdom here can steer me right.

1. Regular shop. I need a regular shop for routine service and more complicated mechanical work that may come up from time to time.

2. Electrical gremlins chaser-downer. I also need a shop to chase down a central locking issue (I think it's the clicking relay under the passenger seat), and to fix what I believe is a mechanical problem with the lock in the driver side door. The car has the stock alarm system so the shop/technician should be someone very familiar with the 964.

3. Interior shop. Eventually, I want to do RS door cards, and RS carpet, but with modification that will allow a rear seat in the back for my kid. Need a shop that can do quality work.

Thanks gents (and the occasional lady).

T

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

John Walker is not retired,............

He simply relocated his shop to his house and still takes on stuff like this.

TideRace

I also have a 1990 C2. On the Seattle side I would talk to Mark Aker's at Aker's Porsche on Broadway / Capitol Hill. http://akersporsche.com/

On the Eastside you can't do better than Chris's German Auto Service in Redmond. http://www.chrisgerman.com/

My C2 had the RS door card conversion and some other interior/exterior mod's done when I bought it but they were done by Pfaff in Toronto. However Mark at Akers or John at Chris's would probably have some good recommendations for you.

uwrasta

Union Autosport in Redmond.
He's not well know but meticulous and knowledgeable as hell. You may want to at least talk to him about it. He will let you know if it's something he's like to take on. My feeling is he would and he would do a meticulously great job for a reasonable price.
He did my gt2 slave, clutch, flywheel and pinned coolant lines on my 996 turbo s. But I know he loves air cooled.

What impressed me most was he took pictured every step of the way and text me pic on almost a daily basis showing progress. Then I got a nice album in the end!!

Anyway not well known but I would give him a shout for sure.

Ralph3.

Unfortunately for some of us Marysville is a little ways away from North Seattle. John did a lot good stuff for me on my car, and his old shop was close enough to me that I could drop my car off and ride the bus back home. I was spoiled because I was able to drop by the workshop once in awhile and ask John for advice on little stuff and peek in to see what he was working on. So I am going to do more of the smaller stuff myself and looking to call John about the big stuff. I have used Prova Motorsports for an alignment after another shop couldn't get my car to the spec that I wanted and was happy with Prova. Squire's Autowerke in Bellevue did a couple small jobs for me and would try them again, talked to Gerber Motorsport but haven't had any work done there. Very interested in other's experiences with independent shops around the area.

nathan1

We are blessed in the Seattle market in that we have lots of great, independent Porsche shops. They each have their pro's and con's, but any of the shops below are qualified, experienced and will do great work. Picking a shop is akin to picking a good primary care Dr. It comes down to your personality, their personality and where you feel at "home". I would check out: Cantrell, Squire's, Chris German, Akers or Gerber. On the father reaches, John is still working from home (Marysville) so a little inconvenient for minor service, but for major work its less of a big deal. Dundon in Gig Harbor is also great. Check them all out and see where you think you have a great fit.

For interior I like the guys at All City in Kirkland or Sunmark in Bellevue.

911passion

I would go to Akers. I have taken 4 911s to Mark and he's always been the best. Also second Chris for east side options.

BLACK3.2

I didn't know that! Thanks for setting me straight. John has been such a reassuring presence, I'm glad he's still available.

Seems like Aker's is the place to go Seattle side.

That's very interesting, thank you. Could you share his contact info? Google was not bringing anything up.

Thanks, and I know what you mean. I'm very busy, like a lot of guys on here, so having a place that's closeby would be great. I already trek my Land Cruiser all the way out to Torfab in Everett-- would be nice to find a shop for my 964 that's within easy reach.

Thanks for the recs on interiors shops. Are they accustomed to dealing with air cooled Porsches with our older car issues?

Seems like Mark is the man. Thank you.

nathan1

Thanks for the recs on interiors shops. Are they accustomed to dealing with air cooled Porsches with our older car issues?

Yes, both of those shops are well versed in anything air-cooled. I just had Paul at Sunmark do a top on my 3.2 and the guys at All City just did my interior on my 73 (headliner, carpets, panels, etc). Top notch with both!

Parabolic

Following thread as I need a good indy shop in Seattle area to take my car to once spring starts to roll around.

I really like TorFab; I hike my 4Runner out to TorFab as well and deal with their 2+ month wait to even get in because IMO, they are the best Toyota 4x4 specialist shop around here.

Parabolic

Following thread as I need a good indy shop in Seattle area to take my car to once spring starts to roll around.

I really like TorFab; I hike my 4Runner out to TorFab as well and deal with their 2+ month wait to even get in because IMO, they are the best Toyota 4x4 specialist shop around here.

BetaSteve

BLACK3.2

Ya, we're lucky to have them in the PNW. One of the best working cruiser shops in the world. I'm planning an LS swap with them next year.

BLACK3.2

I thought I would update and let you guys know that I took the car to Aker's. They did a fair amount of work, including uninstalling the 90s aftermarket alarm hat had tentacles in several different systems. I'm very happy with their work and level of service.

I have one little story that I have to share, because I think it illustrates how Mark runs his shop. We wound up having to install a replacement central locking module, which I sourced from ebay. The part I bought was supposed to be a new old stock unit. They tested it in front of me, and I tested it myself before I left. I collected the car and drove it to my work garage. When I got out to lock it, it wouldn't lock! It also somehow immobilized itself. I called Mark Aker, somewhat alarmed, and worried that I'd have to leave the car overnight in my work garage, which was known for break-ins. Mark first offered to have the car towed. When I shared that I parked it very deep in the garage (next to the other enthusiast cars) for safety, and that it would be difficult for a tow truck to get in, Mark dropped everything and drove down to see me with a toolbox and his head mechanic.

They got the car working, then drove it back to their shop. The next day I got a call saying they found that the central locking module I'd sourced has some bad connections, which they soldered and fixed. He did not charge me any extra. Keep in mind this is all because of a part that I sourced, not him.

I can't ask for anything more than a shop owner and his lead tech dropping everything to drive to my office during rush hour. These guys have my business, long term.