rkwfxd

So yesterday, after a ton of research and months of searching, I bought a 1990 964 C2 Coupe with a Tiptronic. Red over tan. Under 60,000 miles. Considering no one wants Tips, I was surprised at how hard it was to find one. Even at that I had to make several 200 mile round trips to look at it before I pulled the trigger.

Anyway, like most 27 year old cars this one has had some work done to it and needs a bit more. It has been my experience that it is easy and fun to do cosmetic stuff because you see the results instantly. It's a bit harder to do mechanical stuff because those don't always result in a visual upgrade.

Hence, the name of my thread. I hope it reminds me to focus on function first, cosmetics later. ie replace the distributor belt before installing a cool steering wheel.

Thought I should keep a list here on the first page of all the Rennlisters that help me out with parts on this build.

BesideTheBox - Door pocket re-enforcement plates
jcorenman - Adjusted CDR220 display so that I can see it while driving.
Gus - Red tint tail light kit
John McM - Possibly the last set of NIB clear turn signal lenses in the world

jimq

Remember a lot of people dont know how to drive a manual any more. I like having the TIP especially in traffic and chances are you will never have any trouble with it. Nice looking car ! Enjoy.

Derek911

There is a parts manufacturer that frequents the forum with the name "Function First."
This thread will mislead some people. Lol

Derek911

A cool steering wheel trumps a distributor belt any day. If the belt breaks and messes up your engine, you can still sit in the car and play with the steering wheel.
The stock steering wheel has to go.

rkwfxd

Thanks guys. I modified the title to hopefully avoid any confusion. My current car is a 2016 C2 with the MT. I've owned a bunch of MT cars and still have a MT Toyota truck and 64 VW Bug.

I'm looking long term and I just don't want to mess with a MT all the time. Gotta say, I sure enjoyed the Tip in heavy traffic on the 100 mile drive home after picking it up.

I added up service receipts last night. Over the past 18 months the previous owner put $8,000 into this car. Good for me. Still needs a lot of work but that's the whole point. Something I can drive and enjoy and fix up as I go.

I just don't need guys like Derek encouraging me to install a steering wheel before I get it all mechanically sorted out. LOL

Rey Gunn

Hi Rich,
Welcome to the 964 group and congrats on getting yours!!! As far as getting your car up to speed so to speak, did you get a PPI done prior to purchase? That should have revealed the things that needed sorting out. If not, I'd recommend taking it to a reputable shop to give it a onceover. The shop I use and I believe you're pretty close to them is Sleepers Speed Shop in Costa Mesa. Ask for Mark or Len. Super helpful and knowledgeable.

tjb616

Welcome! From where I'm sitting, it looks pretty good cosmetically to me. Keep us posted on your journey.

Santa Cruz Red

Congratulations with the new acquisition... red cars rule! :-)

John McM

If you change out original parts like the steering wheel don't sell them. Fashions change and those OE parts are difficult to find, then inevitably expensive. I know because I've been there done that with a steering wheel.

rkwfxd

Couple of interior photos

rkwfxd

John. One of my plans is to do mods that can be reversed. Someone some day might want it to be all original. Only problem with that is that it came with H&R coil overs. Stock suspension is long gone. But that's someone else's problem as I really like the current stance and ride.

Spokes

If you are going to change the steering wheel you should look at putting buttons or flaps for manual tip mode. A few threads on that conversion.

cool whip

Awesome car! You really don't see that many tip coupes.

rkwfxd

OK now here's a great idea. Because by installing paddles with the new steering wheel I am technically putting function first over appearances.

Thank you, tell me about it. They just don't show up much and I REALLY did not want to buy one from another state.

rkwfxd

As with every used car I have ever purchased this one is also missing a hand full of screws, washers and clips. So simple and actually pretty inexpensive to replace. I don't understand why owners and even shops don't bother to take care of these minor but important details. After all the only way for a car to ever feel fully bolted together is to actually bolt it together. LOL.

So I spent about an hour going through the PET and I'm pretty sure I now have the part numbers for a dozen +/- little wiggets I need. I'll double check against the car later today and get my order in to PP this week.

Also, during my PPI we put in on the lift and the underside of the engine was bone dry. Dirty from use but no evidence of oil drips. The top of the engine, under the oil filler and filter were a different story. Clearly some sloppy work had been done. And while it had no oil "drips" before I bought it, once I got it home it immediately bleed all over my garage floor. So..... this weekend I got it all nice and warm and while it was running used a liberal amount of biodegradable engine de-greaser, hosed it off and repeat several times. (Note - If you do this, Don't get water into the Air Filter. I would also advise against spraying water at too many electrical connections. They should all be water tight but you never know).

Anyway, after a couple of wash, rinse and repeat cycles I put it back into the garage and continued to let it run for a while while I checked the oil again and washed all the chunks and gunk off the driveway.

This morning there does not appear to be any oil under the car. So it looks like, at least for now, our original diagnosis was correct, no actual oil leaks, just sloppy work from previous mechanics.