R32kid

Hello all

I have lurked here long enough, and a recent acquisition prompts my registration here - my father has given me his 1992 Carrera 4 Coupe as an early wedding gift

Brief history of the car...

Bought brand new in 92, my father had his heart set on a 959 - but didn't have Bill Gates budget, so he settled for a black on black C4 sunroof coupe. After falling into hard times financially, the car eventually sat unmoving for about 5 years. A bit of better financial luck turned into a project to get the car running again, and many thousand dollars later, it was achieved! Unfortunately, this lasted only a few years, as he moved onto his S4 as a daily, and needed the money to keep that running. This was back in 2008, and the car has been sitting ever since "something went wrong" (he mentioned the alt. belt snapped, but hasn't looked into it at all)

So now that he is getting ready for a move, and I am getting ready to be married, he wants the car to go to a better home, and knows that I have loved it since my first ride back in '92. It helps that I have the money to fix it

So now on to the situation at hand:

Car is located in LA, and I am living in SF. I have a place to store the car in LA at a friends, and a garage in SF for my current BMW, but no place to keep a non-running car. The car is PNO registered, and according to my father, the basic list of needs for it are as follows...

Diagnose alternator? Hope it isn't a major issue!
Rear brakes
Tires all around
Fluids/filters: oil, fuel, trans, diff.
Clutch/flywheel, slaves?
Belts
Suspension components
Valve/timing adjustments.

So here is my dilemma. I desperately want to keep the car in the family, no matter the decision to fix or not. I see my two options as these:

1) store car at friends, wait until I have a garage of my own/more money, and fix later.

2) get car in the shop, sell the BMW, and fix the Porsche up to make it daily drivable. (99 323i)

Any other suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

BR

crap photos I know, it's from an iPhone in 2009

justin-in-athens

Option 2. This is almost certainly your best option, as the time an money will always allude you while trying to fix the old girl up--and then when will you ever drive her if parked at a friends?

A 964 is an excellent daily driver, and will be very reliable once up to par. Perhaps even more reliable than your e39 in the long term.

Goughary

My 964 is a daily driver - I'd say, do what you can to get it running - so it doesnt deteriorate further - and learn to do the things that you want to do - most of the work on these cars is not that hard with the right tools a a shop manual. if it ends up that it's just an alternator belt that went - your in luck - cuz thats easy enough - but do some research here and talk to some of the guys that can give you some pointers on how to get it running, ie, battery, fluids, old gas in the tank etc. I have no experience starting a car that has been sitting that long - only advice - don't "just start it up" do some prep work first so you don't hurt it further...

Once it's running - you won't have hopefully too many things it needs....and just tackle those as they come -

911Jetta

I totally agree with the comments above.

I've used my 964 as an occasional daily driver for the past 6+ years. It feels just as solid as the day I bought the car, if not better. My car is now 24 years old and I can can easily see it running for the next couple of decades... and I'll be driving it with a huge smile on my face the whole time.

Your one-owner story is just too good to not get the car running again... then take your dad on a road trip!!!

Jaye Bass

I daily drive mine as well. However, my wife has a car suitable for long interstate trips and I have a beater SUV for honey do's.

HoBoJoe

If it was your dad's car new in 92, do whatever you have to do to keep it. However, the longer a porsche sits the more problems it will develop.

Cape Dory

If you have to sell your car to finance a repair bill for the 964 that is a completely unknown, how does that equate to "having the money to fix it?" Is the BMW a disposable toy?

I don't mean to be the "wet blanket" here, but I really hate to see people get in too deep with something that really is a luxury item. I see this happening way to much to not say anything.

I wholeheartedly agree that you should keep the car, but I would go for Option 1 and make sure you are in a good place financially and have the proper support before you dive in head first. After all, as long as you have a safe place to store it and it's already been sitting for a long time, what's another few months?

R32kid

Thanks for all the responses.

As far as my car situation and finances go... Living in SF the car is completely unnecessary, but my passion for cars has always led me to having a toy... First the R32, then a Miata, and now the current E46. Since I do not want or need two cars, the BMW is going no matter what, either to finance the repairs or start the repair "fund", which without the car is hovering around $5k, and should be bumped closer to $10k with the BMW sale.

So any advice for a plan to diagnose the problems myself? Anyone have some guidelines to preparing the car for a possible start? Obviously I can't run the car for long without the fan spinning, assuming it can actually start. If I was to start working on the car myself, what would be the first and most important items, and so on.

My hopeless father hasn't sent me pictures yet, and I am having trouble digging my old ones up, so I will be updating soon.

BR

Goughary

As an FYI. I replaced my alternator a few weeks back w an alternator rebuilt unit from pelican. Total cost of the repair was 250 for the alternator (approx) and the new belt.

If yours doesn't have a belt, easy enough to stock on on it. As long as the alternator isn't seized you'll be fine...it may be that just his belt broke and nothing else was wrong...

I don't know abt the rest of the prep. But fixing the belt and or the alternator are easy and an hour DIY, maybe 2 if you have never done it...

911Jetta

It's definitely a do-able DIY, I even did it... and I never even changed the oil on any car before I bought the 64.

Probably everything you need to get the car running has been described on this forum. Get a plan together, search around the forum (and don't forget there's a 964 section in the DIY forum), add a comment to an old thread to bring it to our attention and the group will help the best it can...

Some inspiration shots (ungraded to a single RS style single belt system while I was in there ;>)

njansenv

In my experience, one of the keys to an 'affordable' 964 experience is to have backup wheels. If you don't, you might be forced to pay dealer prices on parts and labor if you can't find the time to order parts online, wait for a deal, or do the work yourself.

Example: I bought my C4 without working PDAS/ABS, and waited until I found the necessary parts for the right price. Now, in this case, the car was drivable, but I waited until I found a controller for $200, wiring harness for $80, and paid $80 for two accelerometers.
If I had to get the parts 'right away', I easily would have spent 3 or 4 times that.

PelicanParts.com

First, welcome to Rennlist! You sound passionate about the car so give it a shot! Create a spending cap to get it running, just the necessities, belts, alternator, oil change. In the end you have to be the judge but suspension and the other items on your list can be addressed after this first stage of getting the car going again. Plus, you'll need to get it registered as an operating vehicle which means smog.

How many miles on the odo and have you visited the car since '09?
Mark/Pelican Parts

R32kid

Thanks again for the replies and support, it helps to have others interested (needless to say, the wife doesn't share my passion for cars... go figure)

Goughary and 911Jetta, thanks for the DIY tips, I have limited experience with cars, but am a very handy guy in general, and have a 'go for it' attitude, so I am gaining confidence. 911Jetta, any chance to have more info on the belt upgrade? I will search the DIY section right now..

njansenv, I live in downtown SF and work about a mile away - car is not necessary at all, so that is all good. I can wait for a deal

Pelican, Thanks, I think the car has somewhere around 110k miles, and haven't been down there since 2009 unfortunately... and of course, my father refuses to take pics, I think he is ashamed of the current state and doesn't want to face it!

Current plans: Move car to friends, and try to asses the problems; I might prepare myself to get a bit dirty if it turns out to be a DIY job. If it looks too complicated/involved, I can either get it to a mechanic friend in LA, or tow it all the way up to SF and have a very reputable and reasonably priced mechanic, Aldo, work on it here.

Thanks again everyone!

JJJMCD

This is an absolutely unique opportunity! I can't imagine how exciting it would be to inherit my father's 964, which he bought new. I have driven my 91 c2 cab over 80,000 miles over 14 years. They are very well engineered and durable cars, if properly maintained. However, they are not simple mechanisms. Unless you are an expert mechanic, I would recommend that you bring it to a trusted mechanic in your area who knows aircooled 911s for an assessment - it will be much faster for an expert to tell you what it needs. Once you know what it needs, try here and pelican parts for info on DYIs and let an expert do the rest. Best of luck!

R32kid

OK, the BMW is gone... didn't get as much as I wanted, but that is to be expected. I guess the plan is to tow it straight away to someone who can look over the problems, and maybe do some quick work to get it running.

Can anyone recommend a shop/person that would be close to Malibu, CA, where the car is currently located?

Thanks!