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Back in the Fold - Bought a 993 Cab From Cemoto (Al)
So, a little background. My wife & I have been married for 41 years. When we were married she had a 1973 Datsun 240Z and I had a 1972 MGB. Within eight years of marriage we had four kids and the sports cars were replaced with kid haulers. Once a couple kids were in college we special ordered a 2001 Boxster S. Then in 2005 I was promoted and as a result lost my take home company car. I have two friends that own a salvage yard and I visited them and there sat a 1997 993 Cab with some front-end damage. And, it was a tiptronic. The perfect commute car for the Los Angeles freeways. And, after a hard day at work it was nice to walk out to. It was a great daily driver. I bought it with 58,000 miles and put 40,000 miles on. In 2007 I got a new assignment with a company car. But, I was hooked on the 993 models. I was not hooked on the tiptronic. I shifted the tip manually 99 per cent of the time, but I longer for a manual. So, in 2009 I sold the 993 Cab and I bought a 1997 993 Turbo. The Turbo was an amazing car. It was a piece of art. But, I liked the Cab better. Odd, I know. So, I sold the turbo and had the Boxster S for my sports car for the next six years.
After 16+ years of owning the Boxster S I sold it with the intention of finding another Porsche. The search was fun. I looked at everything from the early 911s to the later 997.2 and the 997.1 turbos. I even looked at the 991s. All cabs…. It had to be a convertible. At first, I stayed away from looking at the 993s. I had already had two and figured there were other Porsches out there to experience. But damn…. Everything the other Porsches I looked at were missing the 993 had. The new ones from 997 on were too nice if that makes sense. They were missing the raw factor. So, the hunt was on for another 993 cab. I was pretty open on colors. Anything but Guards Red. The Boxster was red and after 16 years I wanted something else. The interior had to be black and it had to be a manual.After looking at all of the regular places for one I decided start a thread on Rennlist asking if anyone had a cab they were considering selling to please let me know. I preferred to buy from Rennlist enthusiast. Cemoto (Al) sent me a PM offering me one of his 993s. Oddly, I found the cab he was offering me on Craigslist in August 2012 and posted it here on Rennlist - https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...-26-5-but.html - It was nice and a great price but the green interior just didn’t do it for me.
After talking with Al and taking a very in-depth look at the car and the options I decided it would be a great cab to own. And, Al was a mere 3,000 miles away. Ugh…. Al not only agreed to allowing me to have a PPI done on the Cab he told me I could come out and drive it for a week. Great, we set a teneitive date and I was going to book the flights. The next day Al called me and let me know an unexpected storm was coming in and they forecasted 7 inches of snow. So, the trip was off. I ended up having Chris at Musante Motorsports pick up the Cab in an enclosed trailer to take it to his shop for the PPI. The results of the PPI were amazing. Compression was 200 in four cylinders, 210 in one and 215 in the other. The leak down was 1% in 3 and 2% in the other three cylinders. There were a few minor things, but nothing serious at all.
This all took place the first part of December. We settled on having Interstate transport the car out west. When the 993 first sold in 1997 (yes, a 1995 first sold in 1997) it was sold by Ogner Porsche Audi in Woodland Hills, CA. That dealership is 10 miles from where I live.
During the weeks of waiting I had time to do a lot of digging on the 993. Al had sent me a box with a ton of paperwork on the car. Also, in the five years Al owned it he put some time and money into sorting it out. He put a nice black top on the car like it came from the factory with and cleaned up a seat bolster with new leather. And a bunch of maintenance and fixes. Everything Al did was first class top notch and OEM. Exactly as I would have done it and wanted it. Over the weeks Al and I exchanged countless emails, text and a few calls. And, Al sent me a lot of photos, a lot.
The MSRP on the Certificate of Authenticity was $100,643. They loaded it with a ton of leather options. I contacted Chris at Stuttgart Studios and had him recreate a replica window sticker. Chris said he had only seen a few Porsches with that many options. According to Chris, when there were too many options to put on the window sticker they would simply put a last line stating “Add’l Exclusive Options” with the a total cost.
Wednesday morning at 10 AM I met up with Joe, the Interstate Truck driver. Even after looking at all the photos Al sent me it was still surprising to see the 993 in person. The Paint to Sample is Silver Metallic, color code 982. It was a color used on 1986 to 1990 Porsches. I can’t find which models it was offered on or how different it is from Artic Silver. I am looking forward to parking next to one to see the difference.
As I first sat in the car I remember the smell of my past 993s. So neat. Then the look of all that leather. My God. And, even though the Cedar Green was not on my “want” list it is pretty cool. In person it is far from being overwhelming. And, it is unique.
Al gave me some great advice. Sit back and enjoy the car before I make any changes. I had a lot of fun modifying my white 993 cab. This one will be left pretty much alone. Pretty much…. I will have the exhaust modified my Fister. And, I will get a black canvas rear cab boot cover. The leather green one was a $1,500 option and is beautiful, but IMHO it is a tad too much green. A black one should help. I actually bought a used one, had a small tear repaired and replaced all 8 Tenax fasteners with new ones… only to find it was for a 964. If you have one you want to sell, please let me know.
It is nice to be back in another Porsche and a 993 at that. And, one last shout out to Al (Cemoto). He was the exact seller I wanted; a Porsche enthusiast, fanatical about the care of his cars, someone that wasn’t really looking to sell his Cab, assisted in every aspect of the sell without hesitation, returned every call, text and email in short order and best of all his integrity is beyond reproach. Thanks for that Al.
Great story and welcome back! That is a beautiful cab. The color combo must be seen in person to appreciate. I had the pleasure of seeing this cab when I visited my ol buddy Al in Boston back in ‘12 iirc. Congrats to you both!
Great story, great seller, and a great car! I have also seen this cab in person, and the craftsmanship and attention to detail with all the leather bits is astounding.
~ The Eagle ~ _________________
'96 Polar Silver/Black C4S, manual, litronics, LED's in the positioning lights, alu/leather shifter & handbrake,
silver face gauges with alu rings, hardback sport seats, leather interior, motor sound airbox, stainless door sills,
valve caps Porsche crested brushed alloy, front protection bar, with split rear grill and layered with Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax
_________________
'92 Carrera 2 (Sold)
'89 Carrera 3.2 (Sold)
That's the 2nd highest MSRP I have ever seen on a NA 993, amazing! Green on paper doesn't sound good, but in photos I love it! Great RL buying experience, enjoy!
I'm happy you are, and told you you would be. It is a very special car and "one of a kind" does not even come close to describing it's uniqueness.
The cab did not see much use up here in New England as there are a few other cars in my barn and I would only take it out on perfect weather days and when timing for me was right. As a result I felt I wanted it to go to someone who would give it a special place in their coral. When Chuck posted he was looking, it made perfect sense to me to reach out and see if had any interest as he was the one who had pointed it to me (through a thread) in the first place. Thusly, I felt as if I would be selling it to a good friend (if it wasn't for him I never would have found it) and priced it accordingly, well under market value, and shipped it at my cost.
This PTS silver is much brighter than Artic and can be a challange to photograph (for me). The Cedar Green is an amazing color, it is a deeper, darker green not the strangely odd Neophrite Green some are familiar with. Think of a dark evergreen fir branch color. The leather boot demands attention as it in itself is a unique piece of crafstmanship.
Congrats on your "new to you" can. Thanks for sharing your journey and it's always great to hear how when the buyer and seller are so much in sync. I have met Cemoto and he is an upstanding and accommodating guy....this is why rennlist is such a unique place.
Welcome back Chuck. I recall being disappointed when you left. Your white cab (and Mike's RivBlue cab) inspired me more than 10 years ago to start slope-sliding (for good and bad). I feel just as you do about the 993 and still have my tip cab. If you ever come up to the Penninsula to visit family let me know.
Congrats and welcome back to the air-cooled world! Are you going to tweak it a bit like you did with your last Cab (Turbo bumper, red calipers, 18" wheels, etc)?
The combo of PTS Silver Metallic with the Cedar Green leather might be the nicest pairing for a classy 911 that I have ever seen. If I ever build a ground-up 911 or do a factory order it will probably be silver on dark blue leather. Does anyone have good pics showing the difference between Arctic Silver and Silver Metallic?
01-20-2018, 12:01 AM
Back in the Fold - Bought a 993 Cab From Cemoto (Al)
