When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Car looks pretty good IMHO. Follow all points of advice above and you should be good. The dust in the engine bay looks like left overs from some repaint or body work. I don't see anything missing in the engine bay except perhaps the vacuum hose to vent the distributor drive belt - difficult to see from the pics. The front trunk also looks complete even with jack and toolkit. The carpet there is always a mess but a good vacuum and refit should see that right. Exterior looks very good from the pics shown and the engine is remarkably clean.
Good luck!
Mark
Thanks Mark! The frunk is missing the liner and there is not trim piece under the dash, exposing its guts.
After more photo research online I guess the frunk situation isn’t all that bad.
When people said these air cooled cars are “quirky” I didn’t realize it was to the extent of coming from the factory appearing partially dismantled! :-)
Looks great but yes, you are missing the distrib vent hose - that was an add on for this model year anyway. Whats the interior like..?
Mark
Headliner could be pulled tight. Shift **** cover and outside driver’s seat bolster are beyond repair. The plan is to re-cover them in tartan.
There’s nothing covering the lower dash. A few cracks on the dashboard.
Has the same scent as my parent’s early 1970s Chevy. I’m hoping a thorough steam clean detail will make it smell fresh again. The fact the carpets are removable is really cool.
All great advice. There is a ton of great information on this forum to get the car running. From the pictures the engine appears to be bone try - a really good sign.
Before you go for a drive, you will need new tires. The ones that are on the car won't be safe to drive any more. So in general:
- Give the car a good cleaning inside and outside, including engine bay and frunk.
- Assess and catalog any findings. Get familiar with the car and its history.
- Change the obvious as mentioned: Engine and gearbox oil change, plugs, belts, battery, brake flush, power steering flush, new air filter. There is great detail on this forum on how to do the startup.
- once you have power, are there any warning lights that need to be addressed?
- Gently drive it once you have it running and assess again. How does it handle and take it from there.
Break down the work into manageable projects and prioritize. Otherwise it will become overwhelming. Learn as much as you can about these cars and ask lots of questions. These cars can be quirky but they are so worth it.
Btw, how many miles on the car?
Thanks for the feedback! It’s got about 150,000 miles on the clock.
Your story sure brings back some memories for me. My C4 was also a barn find. Well, actually it was a warehouse find but same idea. It had sat for 15 years. It was a lot of work to bring her back to life but the effort and cost is definitely worth it.
Advice provided here has been great. What I would add is that more than likely you will need to rebuild or buy new diff lock slave cylinders. A Rennlist member (username Goughary) has had new diff lock seals manufactured and has them for sale.
Looks great but yes, you are missing the distrib vent hose - that was an add on for this model year anyway. Whats the interior like..?
Mark
I'd look at the distributor for a vent port, it looks like your heater tube has the provision for the vent but the port for the distributor and the port for the tail light vent are connected together...
Also, post a picture of the "missing" dash piece you're talking about, I suspect you aren't actually missing anything - its pretty open under there on an 89 (no airbags etc).
I'd look at the distributor for a vent port, it looks like your heater tube has the provision for the vent but the port for the distributor and the port for the tail light vent are connected together...
Also, post a picture of the "missing" dash piece you're talking about, I suspect you aren't actually missing anything - its pretty open under there on an 89 (no airbags etc).
Tom
It’s a big gaping hole and all of the wires are visible to the naked eye.
50% of the leather around the shift **** is worn off but the boot looks good. Is there a way to save the boot and just throw a bare **** on the lever?
Driver’s seat may be a candidate for leather repair - not it’s getting some custom seat covers for the time being.
I am looking to prioritize mechanicals and dirt/grime over upgrades other than powder coating the wheels to replicate option code XD9 (see photoshopped image)…
The rear reflector crumbled to dust. A salvaged one is on the way - thanks eBay. Those things are crazy expensive for a new one.
Paint is flawless albeit a clearly cheap job done without care to cover the sunroof seals or sand down the original coat.
Your story sure brings back some memories for me. My C4 was also a barn find. Well, actually it was a warehouse find but same idea. It had sat for 15 years. It was a lot of work to bring her back to life but the effort and cost is definitely worth it.
Advice provided here has been great. What I would add is that more than likely you will need to rebuild or buy new diff lock slave cylinders. A Rennlist member (username Goughary) has had new diff lock seals manufactured and has them for sale.
Feel free to PM me if I can be of assistance.
Okay, next order of business. The door locks:
- Both doors unlock with the key
- Neither door locks with the key
- Driver’s side door will not manually lock with the door open
Current solution is to:
-get out of drivers side
-unlock passenger side
-reach over and manually lock driver’s side door
-manually lock passenger side
I finally got a second pair of hands to help me pop the frunk to snap some photos. It looks much better than I recall when first seeing it in the past.
My original focus was the missing frunk liner. After seeing the prices for replacements online, a cardboard box will suffice for the foreseeable future!
Last edited by Abe Froman; 05-16-2024 at 06:15 PM.
Your frunk looks fine. Battery terminals are not corroded, good sign. These are sports cars so the frunk liner was a lightweight carpet thing that had some backing over the spare tire. Nothing fancy.
The respray may be a bigger concern if it covers accident repairs. Get a small magnet, wrap it in thin cloth and run it over the usual suspects. You are going to find bondo quickly that way.
The rear reflector falling apart is not unheard of especially on a car that lived in hot climate like AZ, TX, etc. These cars are pushing 35 years so any plastic or rubber part will eventually have to be addressed. It all depends on what you want out of the car. It's a different conversation if you want to restore to factory specs or beyond as a concourse car or if you just want a fun driver.
I would write down everything you see, large or small as you see it. Some things you see will raise questions to be investigated further. Once you have list of observation sit down and prioritize into groups. How much of the work can you do yourself vs farming it out. Do you have a trusted Porsche mechanic that knows air cooled cars? You could get a PPE (in your case Post Purchase Inspection) and see what they come up with. They can tell you a bunch about engine health etc. with access to diagnostics and tools you may not have (yet). It's not free though.
Aforementioned under dash area. Should there be some type of shroud covering all of this?
The terms “quirky” and “assembled by hand” are now beginning to make sense.
The last of the West German cars, eh?
Aforementioned under dash area. Should there be some type of shroud covering all of this?
The terms “quirky” and “assembled by hand” are now beginning to make sense.
The last of the West German cars, eh?
Your frunk looks fine. Battery terminals are not corroded, good sign. These are sports cars so the frunk liner was a lightweight carpet thing that had some backing over the spare tire. Nothing fancy.
The respray may be a bigger concern if it covers accident repairs. Get a small magnet, wrap it in thin cloth and run it over the usual suspects. You are going to find bondo quickly that way.
The rear reflector falling apart is not unheard of especially on a car that lived in hot climate like AZ, TX, etc. These cars are pushing 35 years so any plastic or rubber part will eventually have to be addressed. It all depends on what you want out of the car. It's a different conversation if you want to restore to factory specs or beyond as a concourse car or if you just want a fun driver.
I would write down everything you see, large or small as you see it. Some things you see will raise questions to be investigated further. Once you have list of observation sit down and prioritize into groups. How much of the work can you do yourself vs farming it out. Do you have a trusted Porsche mechanic that knows air cooled cars? You could get a PPE (in your case Post Purchase Inspection) and see what they come up with. They can tell you a bunch about engine health etc. with access to diagnostics and tools you may not have (yet). It's not free though.
That’s reassuring RE: battery terminals.
The respray was likely for cosmetics reasons. Nearly all of the original stickers are in place, rear spoiler shows no signs of cracking, and the wheel well undercoating (?) seems to be intact.
My end goal is to have a driver quality vehicle. Someone local to us has a “beater” 1970s 911 with torn up interior, etc. Those survivor cars always fascinate me. Like Jay Leno says: “It’s only original once!”
Now, to remove that “old car sitting for a long time” smell!
Rennlist is an awesome place, digging all the knowledge here.
There is two very reputable air cooled shops here.
Last edited by Abe Froman; 05-16-2024 at 10:38 PM.
05-16-2024, 10:47 AM
