ltc

As long as no one mentions the terms "crinkled paint", "blueprinted hand selected engines", "seam welding" or "rolled fenders"....no one gets hurt.

Flagg

My RS America is in the first of 3 production batches with no sunroof. It has all the features in the above post!!!! There is a red chalk "RS" on my engine block too

---------------------

Seriously though........I have never been offended by peoples comments toward the RSA. My Porsche dealer was able to find out that my car rolled off the production line 18 years ago on June 29. I had a 6 month wait for mine, and was following its progress as much as I could. I remember there was an RSA for sale on the showroom floor, but I had to order mine with no sunroof.

Now get this - June 29th is also my birthday. I always light an extra candle for my car, and always thought that was kind of special.

I could not be happier with my RS America for 18 years. Took it for a birthday drive today, and am always amazed by that car.

I don't really care if it is just a stripped down C2, or a urban seam welded legend that slipped into the county. I just love my 911.

And I think that is what binds us all together. WE love our 911s, and have good fun writing about all the little details here on this board...........

Enough said........Flagg

RSA_27149

^^^ very well said and can't agree more. Happy birthday to you and your RSA!

J richard

Posers! Everyone knows the real RSAs have blueprinted welds, rolled paint, hand selected seams and crinkled fenders...

VVVV I like em too...VVVVV

Oracle

One will get spanked... hmm....which one??

race911

Locally? Remember who, or even the car color? Good chance I worked on it......

Funnyism is that one of the first RSA to be run around here was bought by a guy who rolled up to my house in his near-new Corvette one day, intrigued since I had all these 911s around. I'd just come back from an autocross, and had the R compounds on. Car was a decently set up '79SC with a short ring and pinion and probably running a Euro 3.2 at that point. (3.5 went in later.) So we go for a ride up in the hills. Skyline/Pinehurst, if you know Oakland. Blew his mind. Then I let him drive it. Absolutely the best first time 911 driver I've ridden with. Two weeks later he finds a six month old RSA that prepped for, but never tracked. Car gave him 4-5 good years of track service before he bought a proper 911 race car. The couple that bought it probably put 50+ days a year for the next 4-5 years on the car; a fixture on the local DE scene.

911Jetta

My good friend Justin has done it, and fortunately for us he also tells a good story about it. Feel free to contact him if you are serious about this, he's a true Euro adventure enthusiast. One of the best guys I've ever met! You'll see all of that in his awesome thread...get ready for a good read!

The thread can found over at Pelican Parts:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showt...4&referrerid=0

Some nuts and bolts from the thread:

A lot of people think that getting your ride to Europe is expensive and complicated, but is actually quite reasonable and straightforward, but there are a few hoops you have to jump through. I'll go through the steps i took, which i sort of built on from my experiences with shipping motorcycles over there for touring excursions over the last several years.

First, find a good and reliable shipping line, preferably one that services a port near where you live, as this will allow you to simply drive your car there and they 'roll it on' This will allow you to save money from having to have the car shipped to the port, if you can cajole a friend into following you there to drive back. I use the port of Charleston, SC, which is an easy 3 hour drive, and simply rent a one way car rental home. The shipping company which i use has been dead reliable in the past, and is Wallenius-Wilhelmsen out of Sweden/Norway http://www.2wglobal.com/www/WEP/index.jsp They ship from numerous east and west coast ports to just about anywhere in the world, and handle most of BMW's shipping from the US to Europe. They are very professional and efficient, and have a great tracking system which is realtime, to see if there are any delays en route.

Unfortunately, unless you have a special shipping license, or permit or something which i do not have, you have to go through a shipping 'broker'
While they charge a fee for their services, it is worth it, as they handle all of the paperwork required, including customs documents, the bill of Lading, and working directly with the shipping company. Again, find a shipping broker that you feel comfortable with, and whose fee is not too exhorbitatant. I use the John S. James company http://johnsjames.com/ who have been in biz in the south for over 60 years.

The shipping company will get you to fill out a POA (power of attorney) form to allow them to act on your behalf to fill out customs paperwork, and will then generate a shipping quote, which cannot be done until 30 days prior to the shipping departure date. Also, you must send them copies of the title of the car, you drivers license and passport, and registration. On the day the car is to be shipped, you will need to give the broker the original title to show to customs.

Important: In years past, individuals only needed to put down a Social security number. Either due to 9/11 or the IRS, the government is more closely tracking shipments, so you will need to apply for an EIN, or Employer identification number that must be listed on your shipping records. This rule litteraly came into effect as i was getting ready to put my car on the boat (August)! Luckily, i already had an EIN from my business, and was able to use this, otherwise i might have been screwed as it takes may take some time to obtain an EIN from the IRS. Make sure you apply for this wayy in advance so that you dont get surprised.

The cost of shipping will be determined by the dimensions of your car and the weight. Sorry to inform you guys with super-light, sub 2000 lb Carbon-fiber,etc go-karts, the weight is less important than the dimensions, so all 911's will cost about the same. No discount for less weight!

Most shipping companies require you to get your car to the port one week prior to sailing, to clear customs, etc.

From the east cost, the average time to get to most European ports is 10-14 days. Keep in mind that, like the bus, ships stop at multiple ports to divest cargo, and that your port may be at the end or beginning, so check the schedule carefully. Also, keep in mind that ships are subject to delays of weather, etc, so the day they are due to arrive may be 2-3 days later than scheduled, so plan your trip accordingly. I got 'stuck' in Paris for a week waiting for my motorcycle to arrive in Europe two years ago when a storm delayed the boat. I lost a week of my trip, but if i had been anywhere else, it would have been a bummer.

Important: When u drop your car off, remove the license plate!! For some reason, US plates are in demand in Europe as souvenirs or something, and a lot will 'disappear' from your car by the time it get to europe (ask me how i know) The plate will not be needed while the car is en route

What can you keep in the car when it's being shipped? Not much. the gas tank must be no more than 1/4 tank, and only the stuff which the car came with (jack, spare tire, air compressor, etc) is allowed. U will not be allowed to keep fluids (oil, brake fluid), spare parts, or anything else, nor would you want to, as sticky fingers could get them while en route. (i did put the 'smugglers box' to it's named use by stuffing in a spare oil filter, plugs, fuses and relays tho!!). i removed the face plate to my stereo, and left a fire extinguisher under the drivers seat, which the customs guy said was ok.

Also, as i am ****, i taped a message on the dash of the car addressed to whoever would have to more the car, letting them know to let the car warm up a minute or two prior to driving, a sticky drivers side pull door strap, etc as nuances of the car just to inform.

That's pretty much it. On the day your car is to be shipped, simply drive to the port (dont forget to take a copy of your original title), stop by the broker office to pick up the customs paperwork, and then drive to the port. A customs guy will the check your paperwork, and then look over the car (perfunctorily in my case, he was very cool) and that's it.

You get the official bill of lading and your original title back in the mail several day later from the shipping company, which will be needed in order to pick the car up in Europe.

The shipping company maintains an office in each port which will assist you in picking your car up. However, you must go through the customs office in each port in order to actually pick up the car, and while the EU has streamlined regulations, each country maintains slightly different rules for picking up a US registrered vehicle. (Keep in mind that everything that i am talking about applies to civilians... you guys in the military have everything handed to you on a silver platter when shipping the car and picking it up)

Standard items required for picking the car up include a port 'fee' and taxes of around Euro 150-200 (cash) that is paid directly to the customs office when u arrive. You must also present the bill of lading and ORIGINAL copy of the title.
Note:One of the small differences that i found out exists, occurs in Germany. I was originally planning to pick my car up in Bremerhaven, Germany. However, i found out that in order to pick your car up, German customs requires you to deposit an amount in cash equal to the 1/3 the value of the car as 'collateral' that will be returned to you when you ship the car back out of the country!!!!!!! This means that if you plan to ship out of another port, you have to go through probably a mountain of paperwork to get this considerable amount of $$$$ back. Furthermore, as i had an older car not listed in the blue book they use to determine 'value' there was no telling how the German customs Gestapo could screw u for. Needless to say, i bailed on entering through Germany, and opted for Antwerp, as Belgium (thus far) has no such regulation. The lesson learned here, is that when u decide on where u want to ship your car, demand to know in advance what you will have to actually do in order to get your car. As they say, the devil is in the details.

Finally, you have to show your Insurance 'Green Card', which brings us to the main thing required to drive your car in Europe - Insurance valid in Europe.

Most people dont realize that you can easily and legally drive your US registered car in Europe. EU laws allow you to drive you US registered car for up to six months as a tourist, as long as you have European insurance. European insurance can easily be obtained from several US insurance agents - as long as you have a good driving record, which means not more than one speeding ticket or violation in three years (!) While i haven't had an accident since college, i have had two speeding violations over the last couple of years, which made me 'high risk' for most US insurance companies. Some companies will make you have your car inspected by a mechanic and 'certified' ok as it is an older car. Geico is one of the major companies which will write European policies for their US customers. However, even though i have been a Geico cusotmer for over 15 years without an accident, they wouldn't write me a policy because of these two tickets on my record!!!! (Usual a-hole US company that doesn't give a *&it about customer relations, only about it's bottom line - pissed me off so much, I have new insurance company now) Anyway, i checked with several other companies before i found one that would write a policy for a 'high risk'(LOL) client like me. BTW, regardless of my record, many US companies would not write a policy because i was shipping a 'Porsche' , categorized as a 'sports vehilce' LOL. I could have more easily have gotten a policy with a 300 hp turbo mitsubishi or subaru I was finally able to get a policy with Clements International http://www.clements.com/ by talking with a rep and explaining my situation. Very professional. I understand that it is also possible to obtain insurance once you are in the country, but keep in mind that you cannot get your car off the dock until the insurance is obtained. I was not comfortable with the prospect of being gouged by some local insurance guy at the dock.

Note: Keep in mind that if your car is older than 5 years, you may have trouble getting liability.

The take home message here, is do your insurance homework early, as you may have to contact several companies before you find one.

And, that's about it. I'll keep you posted on the pick up next week.

Hope this info was informative for you guys thinking of doing the same.

ltc

race911

Thanks so much!

jlr

Whether a real RS or not, the RSA is the last 911 in the US (to my knowledge) without power steering, and one could delete the radio, sunroof, and a/c. Also, the seats are some of the best I've encountered. I'm not a fan of the power-steering of the other 964s I've driven, and not a fan of the handling of the 3.2 Carrera. What you end up with, is a old-school 911, with old school feel, better suspension, and a/c that works (provided you've chosen that option) -- simply the best of all worlds. You can always build whatever car you want from parts, but all of this was offered from the factory. That's why the RSA crowd is so in love...

RSA_27149

This was back around 96', and soon after I moved to the East Coast for a few years and have not seen him since. I remember his first name is Jim. Do you think you know him?

Good points, jlr.

Flagg

JLR - All really good points.............it gives me more things to think and talk about!!!

ITC - "BAN HIM?" To think you would do so over a little crinkled paint

Flagg

race911

Remember the color? Blue was Jeff Skyes, Black was Tim Gallen, Red was Bill Lusk, White was Ken Masuda. All we were missing was a silver one! (I couldn't afford a 964 until a couple of years later, so I was making due with a 3.5L torsion bar car. I set up a whole class to equalize us modified-but-still-streetable torsion bar cars with the 964s, and it was amazing how close we ran.)

RSA_27149

^^^ humm...car was red...now you're making me wonder if I remember his name correctly.

atcbi5

For all the RSA haters, whether you like it or not they are very sought after


http://rpmsportscars.com/door18.htm