Printable Version of Topic

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 22 2017, 06:54 PM

Ok Guys,

I am really torn about this, but it looks like I will probably be buying a early long hood 911 in the next couple of weeks and can't fit more than two Porsches in my garage.

Yes I could probably come up with some place to store the third car, but frankly I love just being able to walk out to my garage to look at and tinker on my cars whenever I want to. Having an offsite location for one of the cars just would not work for me.

So in any event, this late 1970 Six (#2615) has been a part of my life for nearly 25 years now and has been a Northern CA car its entire life. During my entire ownership history I have also been incredibly anal about the care of this car, never ever driving it in the rain and, in fact, I am so paranoid about water that the car has only been washed twice the entire time I have owned it. On those two occasions I also made sure to use my air compressor to blow out ever little spec of water that may have gotten into in crevices in the car when washing. Since the car has always been garaged, it only ever gets a light layer of dust so all it takes to keep it clean is to wipe it down with a paraffin wax mop and some quick detailer spray. So aside from one tiny rust bubble right below the driver's side vinyl sail panel about this size of a small flat head nail that has never gotten any larger and would be a relatively easy repair, when I say no rust that truly is the case.

When I bought the car way back in 1993 it had just been repainted in its original metallic green finish, a color that to me is just gorgeous. Yeaman Auto Body in Palo Alto did the repaint way back then and I dropped by Scott's shop about a year ago and he was blown away that the paint looked that good after all these years even with its minor road rash sustained over the years.

The other real joy of this car to me is the 1985 3.2 Carrera motor I had installed by Henry Schmidt of Supertec back in 2002. The motor was not rebuilt as it was such a clean running engine with 70k miles then and still is. The engine now still only has approx. 90k miles at this time (less than 120k miles on the body). Goes to show you how little I have driven the car over the years, but the motor never fails me when I go out to the garage to fire it up after it may have been sitting for a month.

Henry just cleaned it all up with new plug wires and engine shroud and mounted my original triple choke webers from my original 2 ltr power plant. It took some time to dial in the webers to the much larger motor, but after 6 hours on a dyno trying just the right combination of jets, it has run superbly ever since!

Henry was also the one who fabricated the extremely unique exterior oil cooler location, mounting it right under the engine lid with a separate cut out in the panel of the metal with the same mesh screen inlaid over it. It works great and frankly am surprised that I have never seen such external cooling done in this way before or since. When the engine lid is closed, you hardly even notice anything out of the ordinary since it was so nicely integrated.

We went this direction on the cooling as I was adamant about not making other holes in the body of the car to run an external cooler in the front bumper like what is usually done. Naturally I also kept my original unblemished engine lid and sourced another lid for this fabrication.

And of course I still have my original motor stored safely in an enclosed crate ever since 2002! For those of you who have never driven a 6 with such substantially more horsepower, it is quite a rush to have more than double the original HP right behind you!

The car also has original deep 6's. Not original to the car, but sourced many years ago during the early days of my ownership.

It also still has its original six air cleaner housing in addition to the K&N filters with the water shield covers currently on the engine.

The only other slight modification to the car are the very subtle slight flares on the rear fenders. This was done by a shop way before my ownership known as Metal Craft in the 70's. I've been told that apparently the process involves simply rolling the rear fender lips between two rollers to give it this perfectly symmetrical curve on each rear fender. I love it because it is so subtle it is barely noticed but allows for larger size tires if so desired. I am running 215's in the rear. So it is still all the original body metal, just slightly reshaped.

In any event, I have been pretty long winded here talking glowingly about my car, but just wanted you all to know that I will be more earnest in marketing the car for sale in the coming weeks assuming the other Porsche acquisition occurs.

I would describe the car as in very good driver condition and based on my high standards, I believe that's a very fair assessment. I'm sure that those who know my car in the Bay Area would vouch for this assessment as well. I have obviously not done any compression or leak down tests, but I am quite certain that anyone that ends up doing a PPI on this car will be very happy with such results.

A couple last things I need to say. The car also retains its original H/E's that were ceramic coated years ago in a light grey factory looking finish and still look great today with no drips of oil on them. That's because the mid-80's Carrera motors are so oil tight!

Below are a few pics of my trusty steed.

Posted by: My 914 Sep 22 2017, 07:26 PM

Beautiful car! Is it officially for sale? If so, how much are you asking?

Posted by: Front yard mechanic Sep 22 2017, 07:37 PM

Let's face it . If you can afford two bitchen cars then you can afford a new garage

Posted by: burton73 Sep 22 2017, 08:00 PM

Yo Redwood City,

How much do you want for your clean green machine? More picture please. Also what did you get on the dyno after tuning that 3.2 with small Webers from a 2.0?
Did the eng. Lid stay up with the oil cooler weight or did it need some help.
Nice to know the set up for our members.

Thanks,

Bob B

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 22 2017, 08:26 PM

It all depends on how the PPI goes this coming week on the potential new acquisition. Assuming it goes well, My car will be going up for sale. Based on the prices I have seen for cars in not as good condition as mine plus all the ownership history I have with my car, I would expect to get at least $75k or I will not sell it.

The car means way too much to me to let it go for less plus the buyer will have to be a true lover of 914-6's. If I get a sense it's just a flipper, I will not sell it to them. This car needs to be cherished as I have all these years. In the end, we are all just custodians of these truly great cars and we all have a responsibility to preserve them for generations to come.

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 22 2017, 08:29 PM

Yes the engine lid stays up just fine. I'd have to look back thru the dyno graphs but for sure the HP is north of 200, and you are absolutely right that more could be gained from bigger carbs plus a different cam profile installed. It's plenty good for me though.

Posted by: Jett Sep 22 2017, 08:41 PM

Beautiful car! Well done!

Posted by: burton73 Sep 22 2017, 09:29 PM

$75,000. Is a solid price for this car if it looks as good as you describe it and have pictures to back it up. It should bring at least that. You would want to put it out for bidding like BAT so you can get the most for it.

We are all waiting to see what happens. Good luck on the early long nose.

Bob B

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 23 2017, 12:02 PM

Holy shit. Decided to take my car to have the undercarriage steam cleaned to make it look evev cleaner and realized it really doesn't need it much at all!

Remember what I said about the condition of my H/E's? Look also at the rust free pans taken BEFORE the steam cleaning!

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 23 2017, 12:10 PM

Here is a shot of the undercarriage before steam cleaning.

Posted by: warrenlu Sep 23 2017, 12:30 PM

How much please email me at
Warren@WildAboutCarsGarage.com

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 23 2017, 05:11 PM

Hello original patina!
i

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 23 2017, 07:19 PM

If you can't read back thru my initial post to figure that out then perhaps you are not worthy. Lol

Posted by: Cairo94507 Sep 23 2017, 09:20 PM

That is a beautiful Six. I hope your deal goes through and you are able to sell this to another loving owner to take care of this terrific Six. If I did not own my '71 I would be all over this car. Cheers and GLWTS.

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 23 2017, 10:28 PM

Thanks. I appreciate that. Why is it we have never met seeing as you are also right here in the Bay Area and another huge fan of 6's? What color is yours?

Here's a good shot of mine glisening in the sun right before the steam cleaning today.

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 23 2017, 10:39 PM

Ops! Sorry about the upside down photo. If you tap the pic I think it enlarges with the correct viewing orientation.

Forgot to also mention that years ago after the 3.2 was installed I had Palo Alto Speedometer build me a custom 3-gauge VDO with oil pressure, oil temp and fuel gauge all combined into one VDO. I did this because original 6's only had a bar graph for oil temp, no #'s, and with the bigger motor I wanted to make sure I knew more precisely if it ever got too hot. Here's a pic. All three gauges btw have chrome bezels instead of factory black. I think it just makes the whole gauge cluster "pop" and better compliments the same chrome framing around the vent levers and original blaupunkt frankfurt radio.

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 23 2017, 10:43 PM

Thought I would also add another pic of the engine lid closed this time so you could all hopefully appreciated how nicely integrated the external cooling system is.


Attached thumbnail(s)

Posted by: Cairo94507 Sep 24 2017, 03:17 PM

Hey Steve:

Yeah, I live in Alamo. My six was black when I bought it but it never saw the roads around here as it was unsafe to drive due to mechanical issues. I drove it briefly when I bought it, but the r/f brake was dragging, it leaked oil like the Exon Valdez and had a host of other gremlins after sitting for so long.

Though it was black, it left the factory metallic gold and was repainted black around 1972 the first time. It was painted back at least once more around 1988. I had it stripped to bare metal and it will not return to either of it's former colors. I will paint it an original '71 Six color. Hopefully by the end of the year we will see that happening.

Most people actually began to doubt I had a Six as it had been gone so long without much progress other than stripping it apart and blasting the paint off. Then it languished for years and is now on the fast track to completion. I see no hurdles that could derail the project at this point. Famous last words.....

Funny aside - I had my Six steam cleaned at the exact same place (I am pretty sure) in San Jose before I decided it was in need to way to much work not to completely restore the whole car.


Cheers,
Michael

Posted by: thegoat Sep 24 2017, 04:40 PM

I would second the suggestion to post on bringatrailer.com. I have sold one car through them and got 30% more than I was asking on a specialty forum for the car.

Selfishly, I would also like to see this one go through there to watch it bring solid money in real time.

GLWS!

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 24 2017, 11:27 PM

The problem with going the BAT route or any other auction venue is that I have no control as to who will end up buying my car. As I said earlier, I want this car to go to another individual as passionate about these cars as I am and who will be committed to caring for it for many years to come.

It will likely be sold thru private channels.

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 24 2017, 11:35 PM

Cairo,

Wait a minute. I think perhaps I have met you before many years ago at one of the Danville Wash & Shines as I distinctly remember trying to convince you to restore your car back to its original metallic gold finish, which in addition to being a stunning color to begin with, is also one of the rarest 6 colors ever made!

I believe the shop doing the work was somewhere back East wasn't it? I still think your crazy not going back to its original color, but it's your car.

Posted by: Cairo94507 Sep 25 2017, 06:39 AM

That would have been me. Yeah, the shop that had the car in Virginia was unable to do the work and it sat for a long time. In July my brother and I picked my car up and moved it to Torrance, CA to Auto Art Customs where it is in the extremely capable hands of Kent Simmons. The car is now making great progress and the work is perfect.

Aside from Kent, Jim (Banananose) and Andy (SocalAndy) are all over this build.

Yeah the color is just one of those things. I dislike metallic gold - sorry fellas. Had the car come any other color from the factory, it would remain the original color. Additionally, the engine is a 3.2 with Motronic injection and it has a GT front oil cooler set-up. I know that upsets many folks. But I make the decisions (mostly, since I am married).

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 25 2017, 11:15 AM

Didn't know you were installing a 3.2. In that case I would seriously consider removing the motronic fuel injection system entirely and going with the classic retro look EFI/ITB set up. Your engine bay would look much more like the engine would have come from the factory with the motor looking much less cluttered and clean looking.

I feel so strongly about this this that my potential 911 hot rod I may be buying also has a 3.2 motor in it that I plan on immediately converting to EFI/ITB's.

Check out Al Kosmal's site http://www.x-faktory.com/contact.html for a gallery of engine porn with this great set up. The PMO ones look the most like the original webers.

Posted by: mepstein Sep 25 2017, 11:47 AM

everybody has their own view to making the perfect 914. The 3.2 motronic engine is a super motor for our cars even if it doesn’t have the eye candy appeal of carbs.
No matter how pretty you make the engine look, it hardly shows in a 914. Certainly much less than a 911. Even the fan faces the wrong way.
Good luck with your hotrod build.

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 25 2017, 11:56 AM

Same to you! BTW, have you decided on what color the car is going to be yet?

Posted by: boxsterfan Sep 25 2017, 12:02 PM

This sounds like a "not enough garages" problem not a "too many Porsche's" problem. Nice ride!! I wish I could afford to buy it from you (come on lottery....please hit the jackpot!!).

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 27 2017, 09:26 PM

Here's a good angle showing just what my subtle rear flares look like. I think I may have found the perfect buyer for my car already. Will keep you posted.

Posted by: JmuRiz Sep 28 2017, 09:04 AM

Such a cool car, I've seen pictures of that setup posted by Henry on the Pelican Board.

I love the idea....how does it cool in traffic, ever have any issues with oil running too hot?

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 28 2017, 10:43 AM

Thanks.

For my needs it provides ample cooling, never getting above 210. I do, however, not track the car to know how it would hold up under more demanding driving conditions.

Posted by: stevesc_us Sep 28 2017, 10:48 AM

Funny story about that rug the car sits on in that picture. It was our dining room rug at one time and has been under the car for 15 years now. It could still to this day be put back in our house to use as there has never been a single drop of oil on this rug all this time!

Posted by: Larmo63 Oct 7 2017, 10:38 PM

Did this car come from the factory in that color?

What is the color code?

Posted by: stevesc_us Oct 8 2017, 10:55 PM

Yes it certainly did. Metallic green was also offered on the early 911's of the same year and I believe in 71 & possibly 72 as well. The color code is 83. It's really a stunning color when seen in person. Here is a pic I took on my early morning run to EASY for the first Saturday of every month get together with the R Gruppe crew.

Posted by: altitude411 Oct 8 2017, 11:01 PM

Very beautiful car.

Posted by: stevesc_us Oct 8 2017, 11:04 PM

While I was filling up at that gas station I thought why not take a pic of the rear trunk so all of you could hopefully appreciate the pristine condition on my car that I have painstakingly pampered all these years. Note in this pic that it still has its original hard foam heat pad that came from the factory when the car was built so many years ago!

Posted by: stevesc_us Oct 8 2017, 11:07 PM

Here's one more with the foam pad removed so you can see the entire trunk is in the same pristine condition.

Posted by: stevesc_us Oct 8 2017, 11:15 PM

This picture is even clearer to better represent the luster of this color! God I love this car!

Posted by: achman_73_2.0 Oct 9 2017, 01:18 PM

You'll never find another one like it, it is truly lovely...so I hope the next P car is as special as this one is. Think hard about selling it.

Posted by: Mike Fitton Oct 9 2017, 06:20 PM

Beautiful car only 11 behind mine #2604.

Posted by: stevesc_us Oct 9 2017, 06:30 PM

Thanks Mike. Coming from you that's quite a compliment. BTW, next to metallic green, tangerine is one of my other favorite colors on a 6!

Posted by: stevesc_us Oct 17 2017, 01:42 PM

Update: Looks like I have found the perfect type of buyer for my car so it will likely be sold within the next few weeks. As I had hoped, just going thru private channels by only posting on this website has resulted in connecting with a potential buyer with the same type of kindred spirit of care and passion for my car.

I did want to share with you all a pic of the mostly original interior of my car, including the Blaupunkt Frankfurt Radio. I had forgotten how good a shape it is in after all these years. Notice how the chrome bezels make the gauge cluster pop? The car will be sold with its original and highly coveted steering wheel that is the basis for the RS 380mm wheels so I will be keeping the steering wheel shown in this photo. It is a pretty unique early MOMO wooden wheel with drilled holes on the paddles that likely came off a Ferrari since I sourced it from such a shop years ago.

Im really gonna miss her, but will have a right of first refusal to buy her back in the future so that does give me some level of comfort to ease my angst!

Posted by: Cairo94507 Oct 17 2017, 05:10 PM

Absolute beauty for sure. Glad it will be going to someone who will appreciate it.

Posted by: stevesc_us Oct 17 2017, 06:28 PM

Thanks. When will yours be done? You never did say what color you are going to paint it.

Posted by: 914 Oct 17 2017, 07:14 PM

Been following the posts.. Its great you sold to the right guy..When I bought my "6" the owner interviewed me over coffee before looking a the car.. Then into the garage we went.. The "6" was there with a lot of history and paperwork since new.. Wow..Now for the test for the drive..Then when driving it for the first time the owner said your the perfect one to own my "6".. Well that been twelve years ago,And if I ever sell It will go the the right guy..Its 2385 canary yellow..
914/Alan

Posted by: Cairo94507 Oct 18 2017, 06:39 AM

Hi Steve- When will mine be done....well, that's hard to say actually. I am hoping it will be in my garage w/in 1 year. But the way these project go it may be longer or not. I am doing all I can to maintain momentum so we do not experience any dead time due to missing parts.

Posted by: markhoward Oct 18 2017, 10:18 AM

Saw her at the October EASY meet. WOW!! Absolutely beautiful..

Posted by: stevesc_us Oct 18 2017, 04:32 PM

Thanks Mark. I'm gonna really miss her!

Posted by: stevesc_us Oct 19 2017, 03:22 PM

So nice to hear there are other "responsible" 914-6 owners out there who understand how important it is for the succession of ownership be given to those that realize the significant duty to maintain these truly unique and rare cars for future generations to come!