Calypso Restoration Thread, Need Wiring Snorkel Help! Options

[rnellums]

I took some time last weekend to try out my new random orbital from Griot's. I used their machine polishes and found that they were exceptionally gentle. Perhaps too gentle. After about 4 hours of work I was only able to finish the trunk, but it definitely made a big difference! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/w00t.gif)

[rnellums]

Also got some great information about the car from the previous three owners! Just from sending letters out to them!


Ross -

I received, with some surprise, your notecard yesterday with the great news that the Porsche 914 which I regrettably had to part with in 1982 is now in obviously good hands.

I did own the Porsche from July 1975 until I sold it in the spring of 1982. As you're interested in what I remember, history-wise, here are the details of your car's early life -


• The car was initially specially-ordered (paint, appearance package) by a submarine officer at the Naval Base in Groton, CT. I never met him, do not know from which dealership he purchased it, or why he only owned it for only 6 months. As I remember it from my friend, who purchased it from him, the original owner was assigned to a post where it would have been difficult for him to take it (likely Scotland), so he sold it to my friend, who was a submarine medical officer at the base.
• My friend drove the car for only a brief time before he received orders for discharge from his Navy obligation, to return to his residency training in surgery at the University of California, San Francisco. My friend (2nd Owner, now a resident of Cincinnati and whom I had known since college) drove the car from CT to CA ahead of his family's move to San Francisco and asked me to both look after it while he was moving and see if I could assist with finding a buyer on the Navy bases where I was working at the time. After driving the car a couple of times, I realized I had found a buyer.
• I drove the car locally in the SF Bay Area until I was assigned to the Naval Base Guantanamo Bay in September 1976. The car was in a sealed garage storage until July 1977, when I returned to San Francisco to complete my fellowship training at the medical school. I was there until July 1979, when I was transferred to Camp Pendleton, a Marine base in northern San Diego County, until June 1980. When I received a one-year assignment in Washington, DC, I again placed the car in garaged storage until my return to CA in September 1981, when I proceeded to my next assignment in Denver, CO.
• After several months of slipping and sliding in the snow of Denver and as my wife and I were preparing for the arrival of our first child, I reluctantly decided to part with the Porsche, using it as a standard trade-in at a local Subaru dealer, with a mileage then of approximately 22,000 miles. I vividly remember turning over the keys to the salesman, since it represened my turning over so many good memories of my driving the Porsche. After that day, I always wondered what had happened to it.
• During my ownership, I regularly had it serviced by qualified Porsche mechanics. It was never in an accident and only had one mechanical incident - a leaking fuel line into the fuel pump. I never raced it or drove it over 85 MPH, but certainly enjoyed its handing. In fact, I have periodically looked at Ebay and other sites, to see if I could find a "right" Porsche 914 for a playcar, but have never owned another one since driving the car you now own.

The car looks as it did in the 1970's, so obviously you and interval owner(s) have taken very good care of it. I hope you'll continue to enjoy it as much as I did. If you have any thoughts or questions about the car, beyond my recollections above, then I can be reached at the contact information below.

Thanks for contacting me.

[rnellums]

The next response:


Ross -

Thank you for taking the time to provide me additional details about "Calypso," along with the photos. My memory cells have been reprogrammed and updated with the facts you provided. I had remembered selling the car with a low mileage, but as you have reminded me, I think I actually bought the car with about 22 thousand miles on it, and evidently sold it around 7 years and 30 thousand miles later.

I'm astounded that it has held up so well, with limited mechanical and cosmetic interventions and 20 years or so of virtual storage - especially as you've received recognitions for the car at various shows. It certainly is fortunate that you are the current owner. Your interest in 914's will most certainly allow Calypso to live to an old age.

As for the three matters about which you had some questions -


• I don't know the details about the paint. I do remember 2nd Owner's mentioning to me that it was a special paint application, which I assumed meant it was ordered from the factory with the paint upgrade instead of being re-painted. I'd recommend that you contact 2nd owner to find out about the car's early history. I've alerted him of our communications, so I expect he'd enjoy speaking with you and also visiting with you if you happen to come back to Cincinnati. 2nd owner has had several Porsches over the years, including a 916, so I'm sure your passions for the 914 and classic cars would give you both much to discuss. He can be reached at email , (home) and (cell).
• The original seat covers were, indeed, tan corduroy. They became a bit worn when I was stationed in San Diego, so I had the cloth portion replaced at car upholstery shop in Oceanside, CA sometime during early 1980. The shop did not have ready access to corduroy, so it attempted to match the color with the velour cloth which was a denser and more durable weave. Interestingly, it seems to have endured the years all right.
• The "LAMC" decal surprised me, as I thought I had had that "Letterman Army Medical Center" (San Francisco) decal removed when I sold it. This was a required military decal which I had retained since it allowed me to drive onto the Presidio of San Francisco, where I lived, as well as other military posts, including Fitzsimons Army Medical Center, where I worked while I lived in Denver/Aurora, CO prior to the sale. The "LAMC" decal now has some historical weight, since that hospital complex was torn down when the Presidio was turned over to the local government in San Francisco a few years ago. Calypso certainly enjoyed her time driving around the SF Bay Area, as well as the Coast HIghway - with many curves and hills.

Thanks for providing me the 914world link; I was not familiar with it, and willl certainly be interested in looking at it in the future.

If you have any other thoughts or questions about the car, please continue to contact me; emails are more reliable, in general, since I still have a busy clinic schedule most days. I hope you'll certainly contact 2nd owner, since you both have a strong shared interest in 914's.

Wishing you a smooth transition from Purdue to Denver, which Calypso will help you get to know. I will definitely contact you if I should find myself there in the next few years.

[rnellums]

And a response from the 2nd owner of the car:


Mr. Nellums,
Thank you for your photos and note on what remains one of the favorite cars I have owned. I bought the car around October 1974 and sold it to 3rd owner in August of 1975. I purchased it used from a dealer in New London, CT. I was in the Submarine Service at the time and drove it only from my home less than a mile from the base in Groton, CT to the base while in port. So until August of 1975, I put very little mileage on it though I thoroughly enjoyed driving it around. It had about 6,000 miles on it when I purchased it; it needed no repairs while I had it and I enjoyed "babying" it. In August 1975, I was soon to be separated from the Navy to finish my training in general and cardiac surgery. I was accepted at the University of California, San Francisco so I needed to get the car to San Francisco. In one very exciting and memorable trip, I drove the car from Groton, CT to Oakland, CA , where my best friend 3rd owner was currently residing. I drove the car alone across country using Interstate 80 and had a blast! The car performed perfectly the whole trip. Because I would be spending most of my time working, leaving the car in garages in some of the worst areas of the city, I decided to sell it. 3rd owner took one look at it and fell in love. He bought it right away. So, all told, I put about 4500 great miles on the car.
Well, that pretty well covers my history with the car; I have often wondered what happened to that beautiful car. I appreciate your and 3rd owner's update very much.
I am in poor health, but keep us in touch about your adventures with this beautiful car!

Thanks again for the pictures,
2nd owner.

PS Robert, unfortunately I have no pictures of the car, but it looked exactly like your photos show. You have done an excellent job taking car of it.

[Dave_Darling]

Wow, that is really awesome! First-hand looks at the history of the car. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

--DD

[rnellums]

Spent some time getting the car ready for the Colorado Concours D'elegance this weekend! Only have cleaned the interior and the trunk so far!

[rnellums]

Some photos of the actual concours from last summer. I ended up wining my class!

I scored 225/240 after losing a few points for older rubber bumper tops, some detritus in the center console and door pocket, dirt under the spare tire, and some leaves in the engine compartment!

[rnellums]

And now for some heartbreak. I smashed the car up in my garage last week, and now I need to source a new left front fender and get my valuation documents together.

There is slight damage to almost every panel on the car, and I'm nervous State Farm may total it.

Does anyone know of a 98 paint code car selling recently and care to share the price?

ugh. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[dlee6204]

Oh wow that sucks... what the heck happened?

[76-914]

Damn Ross. That sucks. Anything to do with those dollies? You can tell us what happened later. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[rnellums]

The whole thing is pretty embarrassing really. I was working on my silver Porscharu working out some bug with the headlights and my new gauges and decided to run it for a bit to keep the headlights from draining the battery too much.

I turned they key without checking if it was in gear for literally the first time ever.

the 212 hp of modern fuel-injected power kicked over on the first bump and drove into my tool cabinet, which got pushed into Calypso and then pushed them all up against the far wall of my garage. I turned the key off as soon as I felt movement but there are still treadmarks on my garage floor where the wheels were spinning.

Both feet were out of the car at the time by the way, so there was no way to push the brakes.

Just goes to show how valuable a neutral safety switch is. I think there is already one in the new subie transmissions too, I just hadn't wired it in!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

[Java2570]

Oh man, that is too bad....hope you can get it repaired. Love your ice green metallic 914!!

[messix]

that fender looks repairable

[mepstein]

Sorry to see that. I saw the same thing happen in my garage to another members car. He let me take it for a test drive. I live on a hill so I always leave my car in gear. He wasn't ready for that. Tore into the garage wall but luckily very little damage concidering the force of impact. I definately felt worse for the car than the wall.

Talk to your insurance company and see what the next step is.

[stevegm]

Oh wow. Sorry about that. What a neat color. Let me know if you need a fender. I'll sell it to you cheap to help you get it fixed.

[bandjoey]

Somehow this is fixable. Values on ebay now are hitting in the high teens and twenties. you shouldn't have a problem with insurance value. Look via haggerty's, excellence mag, etc too for recent values. yahoo finance just did an article on the upswing in values.

Good luck!

[Chris H.]

Paging Rick 918-S...please pick up the white courtesy phone...

Don't let them total it Ross. It's worth a MINIMUM of $15k. I've seen it in person at Garold's. Very rare color and interior combo. And you have the history, etc.

Sorry that happened to your car. Don't beat yourself up about it. Shit happens. Rick can fix it.

[scotty b]

definitely fixable. If they try and total it be prepared to fight. there have been a couple threads about how to handle insurance issues Rick gave his expertise on

[SirAndy]

Noooooooo ... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

[turk22]

Wow, really sorry to see that Ross.

as everyone says, it can be repaired, and the quality and history of the car makes the numbers work.