Svaha

After attending Tony Callas' Rennlist 993 Tech Session, my infatuation with these cars has spiraled into an ever deepening obsession (I call it love). Having sold my business 2.5 years ago to become a stay-at-home-dad (among other things), I've had plenty of time to indulge myself. But the kids are getting older, my youngest is about to start pre-school, and I'm looking for an opportunity to gain experience working around and with Porsche's, specifically on the mechanical side. I have no formal training, but have spent the last year and a half working on (and underneath) my 993, fixing everything and anything I found wrong. I thoroughly enjoy this work, but now there's nothing left to fix.
The knowledge base of this board has impressed me mightily, and the generosity has amazed me. So I submit myself to your wisdom. Is there some training that I should undergo to prepare myself, or is there any possibility of learning on the job with someone? I have considered Bruce Anderson's 911 Engine Rebuilding Class, with the idea that I could buy 911's with blown engines and repair them for resale. Reading Stephan Wilkinson's "The Gold-Plated PORSCHE" has made me question the wisdom of this. While I am a glutton for punishment, I usually don't pay for the privilege.
I live in Riverside, CA and am willing to commute any reasonable distance to pursue this dream. So, is there a school I should consider attending, an apprenticeship available, or a job where I could learn while working? Is it possible to make a profit buying, fixing, and reselling 911's?
Thanks for any thoughts,
Mark

Svaha

Any feedback, afternoon crowd?

tj90

Good luck Mark! I was captivated at the Tech Session as well. Pounding away on my keyboard in my cube makes me think a few skinned knuckles wrenching on a P-car would be more enjoyable. I looked around his shop and thought how fortunate some of the younger guys were working with Tony. The knowledge gained is priceless.


Sorry I dont think this is the response you were looking for, so Ill sign off with this comment:

Are you sure youve covered everything? How about inspecting the evap core for kicks? Or replacing the syncros in your tranny - you know those wear out eventually...

FLYT993

Mark--

You took the words right out of my mouth! I've been thinking along the same lines, and I live pretty close to you. I have a 95 with plenty to fix if you need to put a wrench to something In any event, I'll see what comes back from the rest on this board.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Call me sometime,........

Tim993

I think a lot of the answer will be related to you finances. If money is not much of an issue to you (at least in the short term) then I would think that you could find a place to learn on the job. If you are in a postion to provide the capital, you could look into openning your own shop and hire some mechanics with Porsche experience to do much of the work initiallly. I know you have probably thought of these options yourself but I thought it might be worth stating since in the back of my mind I have had similar thoughts (usually in conjunction with the fantasy of winning the lottery and being able to do something I really love). I am sure that Steve Weiner will have much more practical advice. I wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.

anguilla1980

I'd give ANYTHING to work on cars for a living. I tried buying a local speed shop a couple years back but I didn't have the credit. I make due tuning cars (changing parameters in the bin file on the eeprom in the mem-cal in the pcm on obd-1 and ii stuff) through word of mouth and trying to make as much of a full time hobby out of working on my own cars as I can. I never pay anyone to do anything, I will always learn what I don't know and then apply it. I'm far from an expert but I know more than most. I'm just a little weak on automatic transmissions right now and trouble shooting harnesses.

I'd really like to tune full time but my real job just gets in the way I'm a computer technician for a very large petrol chemical company, I'm going for admin right now but it's just not satisfying like working on my cars. I love even teaching people about cars. I'm rebuilding another engine right now and fine tuning my process for prep and assembly (ring spec and grinding, rod and piston balancing, using a torqe plate, etc) but I really want to learn from the best and get in on all the secrets to becoming a real pro.

Anyway, I wish you all the luck I've never had! If I had the chance, I'd take sweating in a metal building building learning how to fab anything and everything from scratch to working a "J.O.B." for stupid money in the rat race...

Pete Lech

I heard that Tony was looking for a Tech, but fully experienced however. Call him. Maybe he would do the trainee thing?

Svaha

Thanks for all of the responses guys. I called and talked to Steve Weiner and gained much valuable information. He is an amazing person, incredibly accessible.

Dream lead Pete, but I'd better try to walk before I run.

I'd be interested to hear from any Rennlisters that have had experience buying, fixing up, and reselling 911's. From talking to Steve it seems that the possible downside is greater than I might have thought, but that tackling cars that don't have significant problems might be a place to start. If I consider the time spent as time spent learning, it seems that I might be able to buy cars with minor problems at the right price, and resell them for at least what I paid plus whatever parts cost that I incur. I'm still fishing for responses to this aspect of my post. Thanks for looking.
Mark

Monique

I fully understand your thoughts. With my P in pieces on the garage floor, not enough time to get on with the tasks, I wish you lived closer...

Good luck

Svaha

One day I hope to live outside the US of A. For now I'll just drive as though this freeway were the autobahn.

ed devinney

Sorry, I don't have any real experience but do have a suggestion if you haven't already investigated this part. You'll probably need a car dealer's license. This is usually required to gain entry to the auctions and may be required by the state. If you're going to do it as a hobby you should check to see how many cars you can buy & sell in a year. You may also need to check out rules for doing such work at your house if that's what you're planning.

Considering the euro/dollar spread and your location in CA you might specialize in finding and preparing nice rust-free cars for export to the EU.

Macster

environment.

Say you were magically set up to service/fix Porsches, you'd probably find yourself spending more time running the business than actually wrenching. An individual is hard-pressed to be able to charge enough for his time alone to make ends meet. There are exceptions: Rebuilders of older Porsche engines seem to do alright, but part of their success is alot of very hard to come by experience and a huge collection of spares that are sometimes very hard to find in any shape.

(A friend of mine had a Wisconsin stationary engine business and did very well at it, selling new engines, servicing new/old engines. (As a side-line he sold imported machine tools and welders and such.) In fact a very large portion of his income was from repairing the older engines, thanks in no small part to the large stock of spare parts for the older engines; Farmers/ranchers are very careful with money and don't just walk in and plunk down alot of money for a new engine. But my friend by having these parts available did a very good business servicing these older engines. He was set up to rebore cylnder blocks, re-grind crankshafts, have camshafts redone, etc.)

If you want to develop/hone your car repair skills, there are various community colleges around that offer classes in car repair (all aspects of it from engine rebuilding to electronics). At some you can get an AA degree with which you might possibly land a job at a dealership or independent shop. Another friend of mine went through just such a program at De Anza College and went to work for a large USA car dealership even before he got his degree.

I attended a similar program for machining and ended up working for a decade or a bit longer as a journeyman machinist both for various companies and for myself. When I worked for myself, I spent nearly as much time behind a desk, bookkeeping, working the phone, collecting bills, arranging work, buying materials, supplies, dealing with insurance salesman, etc., than I did standing in front of a machine tool making parts.

I did the most machining, made the most money, working for someone else who took care of the headaches of running the business while I was able to focus on machining, which I very much enjoyed. I didn't enjoy the busines side and had no one with which I could partner that could handle that side.

(My friend in the engine business was married and his wife ran the office, took care of books, answered the phone, ran errands, etc., (that etc is important for she did the cooking, cleaning, laundry, all the house-keeping things that unless one does them is probably not aware of how much time they can consume) leaving my friend free to work on engines, and in his spare time on his cars (various models including some Ferraris), model and full sized planes, model and full sized boats, scale model live steam trains, etc.)

I'm sure it is possible to make a good living servicing/fixing Porsches but the cost of entry into the business is going to be high and it will come with no guarantee you'll recoup your investment, let alone bank money.

Check for various community college programs in your area, trade schools, and industry/state apprenticeship programs (though these can have age limits).

Sincerely,

Macster.

Laura

Good, experienced Porsche tech's are very hard to find. As with many trades, ther has been a decline in people going into a profession that requires physical work and does not fit the "GQ" image. Salaries aren't too bad. I heard of gentlemen with law and business degrees making less. (I'm in Orange County, how may lawyers are there per person here?) I am always looking for an excellent, experienced tech, I really need one now! and would take 2 if I could find them. If anyone knows of an experienced tech looking, please send him my way.

Laura
www.hergesheimer.com
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

TomF

Take Bruce Anderson's/Jerry Woods' class. I did it in 96 when I was living in Japan. I flew to the Bay Area for a week of vacation and p-car fun. It was worth every penny and more. I am actually thinking of doing it for a second time sometime in the near future. BTW, if you do take the class, be sure to stick around after hours for a beer or two. I learned an amazing amount from Jerry there. Those guys are absolutely amazing.