SNOWBIRD

Okay, I finally took the plunge and bought a Porsche.. According to the PPI it needs nothing. Aside from giving her a bath as soon as she gets off the carrier (coming 3200 miles from CA). Anything should I be looking for before I drive it? Never had a Porsche, actually did probably too little research, just stumbled around a couple forums, and skimmed through a couple buyers guide...
Questions:
I seem to have found contradicting info on the head seal problem, they did the fix in '91 correct?
I have a bud with a 993 tiptronic has shift buttons on the wheel, he said his is a Tiptronic S mine is not... Haven't read anything telling me any differences..
It has 'Turbo cup' wheels I am told, not sure, but they are not the ones that came with it.. I like'm a lot better, shouldn't be any problem should they?
I read in a lot of ads while shopping that the cars have a cut in the tops, mine does not, how can I avoid that happening?
Car has 'special edition' package I was told.. Has piping around the seats I've not seen on any others, anything to that? What else would have come with this mysterious package?
Appreciate any suggestions or must reads.
Thanks
Mike

jenskleis

Hi snowbird.

Welcome aboard! And congratulations on your new car. It looks great.

I will leave the technical advise to someone more competent than myself. However, as I also bought my 964 recently, I have some fresh experience in cleaning it up.

You can find very good advise on car detailing at Car Care Specialities (How-To Articles)

http://www.carcareonline.com/

I cleaned the paint of my car with 3M Imperial hand glaze, followed by a quality carnauba wax: Blitz Wax Carnauba.

All exterior vinyl needs protection. Mine were a bit faded and stained white by wax. I got very good results using One Grand Exterior Rubber & Vinyl Dressing.

As for the interior, I decided to give the car a proper cleaning once and for all. This means taking out the seats, dismantling the door panels, transmission tunnel console, popping out the instruments, air con control unit, all switches and the radio. Basically, I took the interior apart to be able to get to the dirt. (Amazing what you find under a seat after 10 years…)

First, I vacuum cleaned all carpets. Then I steam cleaned them, and let them dry. Then I vacuumed them again to get out all the dirt loosened by the steam.

My car has the optional all-leather interior. I cleaned everything with Lexol Leather Cleaner, left it to dry overnight and then gave it a generous helping of Lexol Leather Conditioner. Repeat treatment with Conditioner after a week or two until leather is properly nourished.

Finally, I treated all interior vinyl items, such as sun visors, door handles, speaker covers, etc. with Vinylex.

It is a lot of work, but I enjoyed it because you realize what a quality car you have bought. The materials used in a Porsche are second to none.

Good luck

Colin 90 C2

let me take a best guess at your questions
Head seal was fixed by 1992 model year. If this was a problem, PPI should have discovered it anyway.

I don't think you will have tiptronic buttons on the steering wheel

Turbo cup wheels should be fine, just check the offsets when your car arrives. the offsets can be found near the valve stems. ( if they are genuine Porsche)

Fabric tops are susceptible to tears and rips, especially if you get something caught on them. Just be careful and keep the top open as much as possible. That is the reason you bought a cab anyway.

I don't think there was a special edition package for the MY 92. I think it may have been ordered as an option.

you need to get Adrian's book "Porsche 911, An Enthusiast's Companion"

good luck and enjoy the car.

Colin

Arjan B.

Mike, a warm welcome from the Netherlands.

I hope you will get a fine and much shining 964 soon.
I hope you will use not so much ' Amercan turbo language', thenit's possible for other world 964 owners to read your questions and stories.

We hope to hear form you a lot and........pics please, lot's of pics.

Nice weekend!

Berkley

Without knowing the year model and engine number, the cylinder head issue can't be addressed; however you can request a certificate of authenticity from PCNA and have your local Porsche dealer run the Vin# thru the data bank....Join PCA!

The tiptronic in the 964 can be only manually shifted via the console shifter

Most importantly, please remember you will be driving a "high performance car"....minor things to check, cold tyre pressure, oil level, brake fluid, et.al.

Do yourself a favor and take time to read the owner's manual before you hop in and drive away...

A porsche is not a toy, respect it and ye shall be rewarded......I am 55 years of age and have been driving Porsches for 30 years...Happy to answer questions, if I can

Enjoy

964Dawg

Welcome - I am newbie as well with as 92 Coupe. I just got mine about 3 weeks ago. I am pretty sure that it won't have stering wheel controls.

I've been reading the archives until my eyes bleed. There's lots of good tips in there.

When I got mine, I spent a couple days detailing it. Then I went online and ordered some upgrades. I recommend Eagle Day (on-line) for Billet accesories like interior door handles. Go to Pelican parts and order a Rennline strut brace, and an EVO intake from performance products. Read the board until your silly...

PC2

Mike, Congratualtions on your purchase. As many had and will suggest to you, purchase Adrian's book. It is a must read for all 964 owners. I will try to answer some of the questions to the best of my (limited)knowledge.

1. Head Seal Problem were fixed on late 91 models or those that were produced after November 1990. (I have to double check on the exact month) If you can provide the VIN number, I or someone else can look it up.

2. Tiptronic S was introduced in 1995 with the 993 model. So what your bud said is right.

3. 'Turbo Cup' Wheels - Can't help you until you provide us a picture and part numbers or offsets. Too many variables.

4. Cab Tops - Sorry can't help you there, someone with a rag top can chime in.

5. 'Special Edition' - When you do get your car, open the front hood and look up to find a sticker with all the option codes. Post those codes to this board then we can help you decode them.

SNOWBIRD

Thanks guys. I just ordered Adrians book.
Arjan... Dunno what turbo talk is???
PC2... okay... so what's the difference between my Tiptronic and the 'S' ?
Berkley.... I'm within a couple years of you... It's not a toy? Rut Ro, did I make a boo boo?
964Dawg.... I will presume you added that stuff cause you wanted to, not because the car needs it...

Still haven't seen picts of another with the piping on the seats..
Here's some picts of her...

pete000

Looks like Boxster wheels on your car. The piping could have been a special order many were ordered with the contrasting piping, not sure about any special edditions in 92. The Tiptronics on the 993 had the option of having buttons on the steering wheel (Like F1 cars) to make it a bit more sporting.

Berkley

Wow....great looking cab.....piping usually special order via Exclusive option from factory....nice color combo

In that it is a '92 Tip....no engine or flywheel issues....the Tip. transmission has the earned reputation of being bullet proof......

Toy ?, yes but a serious adult toy.....these are very powerful performance cars

Sure you are in for lots of happy days of motoring!

964Dawg

"964Dawg.... I will presume you added that stuff cause you wanted to, not because the car needs it..."

Yeah, defenitely. I just wanted to personlize it. Wait 'til you get it. If you spend much time raeding this board, you'll be adding a suspension kit and such before you know it. It only took me 6 days of reading the posts here before I had to switch to Eibach springs - You may want to go ahead and get some practice in with your credit card ----- because they are as much fun to buy for as tehy are to drive.

PC2

It's a slippery slope!

SNOWBIRD

OH NO!!! This is gonna be like buying ANOTHER boat isn't it? LOL!

BTW: I do spend too much time on forums that are of interest... AND I have become a member, awaiting Rennlist to show it.

buckdr1

Not Quite! But it is easy to start down that slippery slope!
Welcome
Bill

DonW-Cape Cod

Hey Snowbird. Did you buy the 964 to keep in Florida and do you go there for the winters. We must be blood brotheres in another life or something, because I recently bought a 91 Black Cab/Tip with 29,000 orig.miles on odo. Car is currently in Naples and I'm on Cape Cod 'till October.

We have some friends in Stuart and actually looked around there for a winter home. Finally settled on Naples, close to Marco Island.

If you don't have access to your car but know the VIN#, call 1-800-PORSCHE, and hit option 3 from the verbal directory. When you give the person your VIN# they will register the car in your name and they will also tell you if there were any recalls and if they were attended to by the Dealer. You can also get the option codes from them (but not the descriptions.) Perhaps someone on this Forum can help you with the codesYou can also get the name of the dealer who serviced the car (if one did) at the same time. The dealer should have all the records if you don't. Your questions have been mostly answered, but just to repeat. The Tiptronic you have is a 4 speed. It is an improved one over the 91 Tiptronic. The oil leak from the engine case was solved with late 91 models beginning with engine serial number 62M52757.

The other issues had to do with erosion of the belt connecting the 2 distributors which is an easy fix with a "distributor vent kit" (about $20)

The other recalls for 1991 involved the trunk safety latch; replacement of the rear blower fan resistor. Also, with Tiptronic transmissions the oil cooler fan is very important. It must be in good working order or you will cook the transmission.

My 91 recalls that were done were:
AN07-replaced lube cruise rod link. ???
AR02-Resistor for heater blower
AT07 Inspect/replace steering shaft.
WM02 Replace Fuel level guage sender
WN03 Short screws lower cowl ????

Anyway, you'll find all this out from Porsche, or the dealer that serviced it.

We've got to get together this winter in a photo op of our Black Cabs!
Don