Jim C

Well, I started a thread for my SY coupe, figured I'd start one for my Riviera blue cab too... Haven't updated the SY coupe thread, will do that in the near future. So here goes!

Things I've done so far:
- replace the trunk seal
- replace hood & trunk shocks - makes a HUGE difference
- added ROW turn signal lenses
- repaired / replaced the glove box hinge thingies with metal ones
- replaced the radiator fan relay
- replaced the original DME relay with the Ftech9 solid state version
- removed the CD changer from the trunk
- had a screw in one of the rear tires - so I had that patched
- new battery
- installed new intermittent wiper relay
- new wiper blades
- installed new trunk carpet
- registered as an antique vehicle in PA - no more inspections or registrations!! Woohoo!

Just did the Porsche Classic freebie inspection at my local dealer. Here's what I am planning on having them do at the end of the month:
- oil / oil filter change
- coolant flush and change, with installation of new thermoswitch and radiator drain plug (the blue plastic one)
- brake fluid flush and change

In general, the cab is in good mechanical condition and the master tech spent over 1.5 hours with me going over the car with a fine toothed comb. Clutch, brakes, shocks, etc. are all good. Belts look good, fluids levels mostly good (see below). Engine and trans are good. We did find the following items which will be addressed accordingly:
- front sway bar was not "centered," this will be taken care of when I take the car in for the fluid changes
- three out of four wheels (oem 16") are out of round and/or bent. Not too worried about it because I am about to get a set of 17" Cup 1 wheels and the 16" wheels will go in the basement!
- coolant leak - not sure of the origin, but it isn't a major leak. Might, unfortunately, be a crack on the radiator somewhere. Dealer will figure it out during fluids change.
- rear balance shaft seal leak - common issue with these engines - tech did the 5 minute RTV goop job on it - no more leaks
- cooling fans issue - already installed new relay, new thermoswitch to be installed during fluids change and there will be no more fan issues
- rubber bump stops and plastic sleeves for the front shocks are toast. Bump stops disintegrated and the plastic sleeves are ripped. Won't worry about this until it's time to do something with the shocks
- rear brake line mount screw broken - I'll extract the remaining threaded portion and put in a new bolt
- power steering fluid was low - no leaks - topped off fluid.
- both bumpers were ripped/damaged at some point - while up on the lift, you could see the patches on the inside surfaces of both, and you could see the paint/compound discrepancy on the outside. On the rear bumper, the fix wasn't carried all the way to the bottom bend in the bumper so it's a stress point. Somewhere down the line, I'll have to remove the bumper and address that crack. Good thing is both repairs are on the bottoms of the bumpers and are not blatantly obvious unless your a body/paint guy.

Other things I need to address or that have happened:
- intermittent wipers - installed new relay and also have a new steering column switch assembly if I need to replace that. I believe the wiper motor is fine. So far the wipers have been functioning properly.
- when I first had the car inspected in PA, there was a battery issue. the previous battery was installed such that one of the positive cables coming from the battery was pinned beneath the battery hold down bracket. When the tech raised the car on the lift the first time, the torque from the lifting motion was enough to cause the bracket to pinch the cable to the point that the cable core made contact with the chassis and started a fire. Luckily, the tech saw the smoke, grabbed an extinguisher and put out the small fire. That particular positive cable is NLA from Porsche, so we had one made locally. Battery was installed properly. No other damage from the fire so I got lucky. When I just put a new battery in a month ago, I damn well made sure nothing was pinched under the bracket!!!
- electrical issue - don't know if this was caused by the battery fire, or if it was/is something else, but I need to chase down a non-working lighting circuit. The circuit that powers the interior roof light, the trunk light, the clock, etc. is not getting power. Fuse is fine. I'm thinking a ground is corroded / broken, or something else is not connected upstream between the battery and the fuse box. Not a pressing issue, but I need to take care of it at some point.
- need to rebuild the temp gauge. Have the repair kit from Germany to fix this.
- seat switches are dead, but only for certain motions. Will replace/repair as needed.
- rear cubby was heavily damaged due to water - wood core was rotted and falling apart - plastic overlay (under the carpet) was cracked, ripped, damaged - I am in the process of rebuilding the cubby with a fresh plywood core and I fixed the plastic overlay with Devcon plastic welder epoxy. I have lots of pics which I will upload at some point.
- rear seat backs were also heavily damaged due to water. Refurbed the structures where I could and got some donor pieces off the net. Getting them covered in leather.
- lots of carpet damage under the cubby along with significant fastener corrosion through out the car. In addition, lots of mismatched fasteners. I'm trying, when doing repairs and refurbs, to use the correct screws / fasteners, or at least matching fasteners for locations that use the same size/type. For instance, on the cubby, I have used mostly stainless steel hardware for the rebuild.
- the seam between the two convertible top pieces is not right - looks like it was never properly "sealed" or secured - I'm not seeing any leaks at the moment, but I will have to address that seam down the road.
- the wiring going to the third brake light is not run correctly and gets pinched by the trunk - I need to see how it is run properly so I can fix mine and prevent further damage to that wiring.
- some speakers are toast or the wiring to the speakers or the radio...
- driver side window is grinding a little in certain positions during lowering and raising
- one rear side skirt had a piece ripped off and it was held on by duct tape!!!! Hilarious!!!! I'll be fixing that soon with special epoxy and some heated staples which will melt into the pieces and provide a secure fix.
- left headlight sticks in the up position

It's obvious the car experienced water damage at some point - either the top was left open or leaked or whatever over time, but the damage to the cubby was due to a significant leak for sure. Things seem to be fairly water tight now and I keep it covered when I'm not driving it so further exposure / chance for leaks is reduced.

Plans and current projects for cab:
- interior refurb which includes: new leather center arm rest cover, new shift boot, new seat covers (both have slight damage), newly covered rear quarter panels, newly covered door arm rests, newly covered cubby doors and center piece, newly covered trim pieces around window, newly covered rear seat backs. Also included in the interior refurb is brand new carpeting. I've gotten all original carpeting pieces where still available. Lots of cab-specific pieces in midnight blue are NLA, but the main ones were. So, when I pull the seats for recovering, I'll rip out the old carpet and put in the new.
- new stereo system, installing all new speakers in factory locations and running new wiring. New head unit - yes, I'm a moron and got the Porsche Classic head unit. Could have spent a lot less and gotten something just as good or better, but the Classic radio looks the part and will perform just fine for me.
- replace the clear stone chip guards - they are badly cracked and yellow
- add Xpel film to the head lights and fog lights
- remove the head light washer system and look into "bumper plugs" to cover the openings where the head light washers were
- clean / protect the top
- get clear tint for the windshield (UV protection) and light tint for the side windows
- touch up the side skirts and fender areas which are damaged from road spray
- install window express (get it if you don't have it!!!)
- install Riviera blue 993 seat belts

I think that's pretty much it for now!!!!

Sorry for the long read!

Jim C

Yogii

Jim,

Thanks for the work log. Question about the intermittent wiper switch:
Mine shows the bottom of the switch is into the dashboard, the top part is still flush with it. I have been told that the plastic tabs that hold it break easily. I have 2 replacement switches on order.

Is there any "easy" way to replace the switch, or does the whole dash need to come apart? Otherwise it is RainX and manual operation of the wiper blade switch on the steering column.

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice

Eyeman

Sounds like you are an expert in tints/films, etc. Tell us more about window express please. Also how much UV is blocked by the stock windshield tint vs how much you gain with the tint you plan to add?

I plan to have some protective wrapping applied to my low mileage car. What do you think about clear wrapping an entire car. I had not considered the windshield outside (I'm sure you meant inside tint) but lack of windshield pitting is one of the things I like best about my low vs high mileage cars. I doubt I'll ever drive that car in the rain, I wonder about applying an outside windshield protective film too.

spark1

Nice write-up, can't wait for pics. For your top...I have had great results over the years with Raggtopp

Jim C

Raggtopp - +1! Just need to get my supplies.

Nowhere near an expert on films, tinting or otherwise... Not sure how much UV gets through the OEM windshield, but what I can say is UV/heat is very, very bad for our interiors. My cab has a near mint condition midnight blue dash - which is NLA from Porsche - and I want to do what I can to keep it in good condition. Especially since I am not able to get a new one. Exposure to heat and UV will fade, crack and cause the dash to deteriorate. The plasticizers in the vinyl outgas quickly and the vinyl becomes brittle. Heat & UV will do basically the same to the rest of the interior. Vinyl tops of the door panels become toast too - look at any 968 classic grey interior that was not religiously maintained. Purple carpet, brown door panel tops, cracked dash, etc. So, I intend to have the windshield covered with clear UV film (on the inside). This will be the first time I've had film done on the windshield. Will help with heat a little, and will increase UV blockage to over 99%. Couple that with regular maintenance and use of a heat shield, I am hoping my dash lasts for another 25 years! I'll also tint the side windows (true tint but not very dark, not clear) which will help block UV and help with heat transmission from the sides. Nothing I can do about the plastic cab window unless I remove the top and take it to a top shop to get a new tinted plastic window installed. Can be done, but guessing it won't be cheap and could cause subsequent leaking if the plastic window installation is half-assed.

You can't put film on the outside of the windshield BTW. It will be damaged in no time due to stones, debris, etc.

My local tint guy will end up charging me probably less than $400 to do the windshield and four side windows on the cab. He's done my truck, one of my other cars, as well as numerous cars in my neighborhood over the last 17 years. Small price to pay to help prolong the interior. It's a unique situation for our cars with non-black interiors. if you have a black interior, most if not all of the interior pieces are still available new or at least you can get decent used pieces due to so many of these cars coming with black interiors. If you have a unique interior color, even classic grey, many interior pieces are NLA. And finding decent used pieces in your color isn't much easier. For instance, I was able to get a new left side sun visor in midnight blue. My original one has tear in it. The right side is NLA. I would have replaced the right side too if it had been available. My dash is NLA. The door armrests in midnight blue are NLA. I think the center console armrest cover is also NLA. I think the door panels are also NLA. There were/are certain pieces of carpeting still available in midnight blue, but some of the most common wearing ones - the left and right kick panel carpet pieces - are NLA. Part and parcel for a older vehicle that was not popular to begin with...

Window express is an electronic module that gets you one-touch up and down for your windows. You would need one for each side. Paragon has them and they are easy to install. A necessity if you ask me!

For the intermittent wiper switch on the dash to the right of the steering wheel... That trim piece is held in by four screws. Two are behind the air condition control panel (this panel pops off), one is directly below the steering wheel - the screw holds the left and right trim pieces together - and then there is one screw behind the side of the rubber bellow thingy I think. I think you can just remove the two right side screws and you might be able to disconnect and remove the intermittent switch. And yes, expect some brittleness on various parts & pieces! Get yourself a good set of trim removal tools - don't get cheapos. You'll regret it if you do. Check illustration 809-00 and 903-00 in the PET - it'll give you a little idea of how the trim pieces go together. If the mounting portion on the trim piece is damaged, a new switch won't help. You'll need a new trim piece - they are still available new from Porsche or you can usually get them used from dismantlers / the bay.

Paul Waterloo

Got a couple of suggestions for you:

Re: - electrical issue - don't know if this was caused by the battery fire, or if it was/is something else, but I need to chase down a non-working lighting circuit. The circuit that powers the interior roof light, the trunk light, the clock, etc. is not getting power. Fuse is fine. I'm thinking a ground is corroded / broken, or something else is not connected upstream between the battery and the fuse box. Not a pressing issue, but I need to take care of it at some point.

I had a similar issue on my 951. In the end, it was a bad connection at the fuse box of the fuse to the electrical spade connector that the fuse sits in. I ended up putting a side load on the fuse with a bolt and it was fixed. It was the lighting circuit and trunk release circuit. So you might try that. In the picture below, you can see the bolt on the left between fuse 10 and 11. That has fixed it for years now. I would have to pull the box and put in some new terminals to fix it. I am lazy.



RE: - seat switches are dead, but only for certain motions. Will replace/repair as needed.

I had the same issue on my 951 when I got it four years ago, the seat switch would allow the base to go up but the down button wouldn't work. I looked at the switch and it did not look easy to replace. After searching online, order some detoxit and spray the OUTSIDE of the switch, don't take it apart, I just basically put some rags under it, sprayed around the switches and immediately they started working in both directions. It's 4 years later and no re-occurrence of the issue! Super easy fix.

Jim C

Thanks Paul!

jeff968

Looking good Jim. I like the headlight washer system. A rare feature on 968s and always a visible sign of a special example.

Jim C

Thanks Jeff! Been driving the cab every day for the last 5 days while my truck is getting some work done. Love driving the 968!

Headlight washer system will stay - won't be able to elegantly cap off the opening in the bumper if I were to remove the nozzles.

Yogii

Thanks for the detailed information. At least the soft interior pieces; leather, vinyl, carpet, can all be remade by a decent car upholstery guy. Dash can be recovered.
Unfortunately, other pieces really are NLA.

-Yogii
AKA 968 Novice

Jim C

Yogii -

For the most part, yup. However, getting original/correct materials in the odd/unique colors is becoming more and more difficult, with some of them being NLA as well. Just as an example - the original style carpet in Midnight Blue is NLA. A very good match, color-wise, is available in the Porsche velour carpet material, but it is different.

An interesting tidbit - if I recall correctly, a lot of interior bits and pieces are available in Sherwood Green!

My cab will have a mix of NOS, alternative and whatnot pieces, but it should come together well. We'll see!

Jim C

Cup 1 goodness - just scrumptious!!

jsheiry

Jim, Nice write up on a gorgeous cab. Cant wait to see some pics with those Cup 1's. The best visual upgrade on any of these cars is either 17" Cup wheel IMHO

rol607

Nice score Jim!