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964 Celebration Restoration - Rise of The Silver Surfer

Zingari

Well-known member
Joined
25 Oct 2009
Messages
14,362
No doubt about it air-cooled cars get under the skin. No sooner do you get rid of one (in excellent condition) that you crave for another. Only this time my mind was made up that I wanted a 964 rather than another 993. :eek:

I'd set my sights on a car cheaper than the 993 to give me the excuse that as it won't be in a good a condition I will be forced to use it more and not have to worry about the weather forecast. £15k should do it – C2 or C4 not fussed but must be a manual to satisfy the clutch monkeys out there. It also had to have AC. Yes I know its shite and at the price I don't expect it to work but al least all the pipe work and ancillaries will be present should I wish to re-commission it (the mechanic is still receiving counselling after he swapped out the evaporator on my 993 I believe).

Now it appears someone has started a trend or there is some world domination plan that involves buying up all the 964s that come on sale in the UK which is pushing up the prices with the realisation that I either need to have the speed of Usain Bolt or the tenacity of a PPI telephone canvasser to actually 'bag a bargain'. Needless to say I have missed out on a few.

I've been watching the usual classifieds for some time and realising there is not much out there made the decision I will buy the JZM cobalt blue C4 which looked the dog's gonads albeit at £28,900. Too late somebody beat me to it! :eek:

Now a top tip. A car sells on the strength of its advert – the more detail the better. I know as my car sold in 24hrs. So a car that has been sitting around in the classifieds for two weeks with scant detail is either a bag of bolts, dodgy history or owned by someone who has neither the time or is perhaps not fully au fait with how to market the car given the market conditions.

Moving forward to today I decided on a run to Yorkshire to seek out three cars, a GR C2 at Specialist Cars (Malton). Top drawer seller, car sounded good from the advert with a full 'blow over' (thought Audrey Roberts did these?) respray. Next a GR C2 with linen leather and bright red carpets at Kevin Martin, Scunthorpe (If Typhoo put the tea in Britain then who put the ***** in Scunthorpe I hear you ask?). The final selection was a private sale.

Given the route I went to Scunthorpe first to seek out the C2. Very nicely presented, polished up well in the showroom and not a bad specimen at £20k (which I have no doubt would have been £15k 12mths ago). It had a dual SS exhaust system and some nice split rim alloys (need a refresh). No details on engine rebuilds but looked clean enough. However it didn't do it for me.

Now my other top tip is don't take the wife out with you – she didn't like it. 'Too much like your old one etc" and migrated over to a silver 997.1, 'I prefer this one" :pc:

Well for me a car has to smell right and having the interior aroma of a tramps jockstrap just doesn't work. Now I don't know what a tramps jockstrap actually smells of but the car didn't have the aged leather smell (probably some polish type smell as it was very clean), and it didn't have AC (as suspected) so time to walk away.

Being on a budget my wife and I repaired to the local service station to avail ourselves of a flask of hot coffee and turkey sandwiches before weighing up our options. Given the time I made the decision to pass on a visit to Malton and go and see the private 'specimen'.

On our arrival said car was on the drive. 'Oh yes I like that" regaled Mrs Z. Hang on don't get excited I've got to play poker with this chap I retorted. The fault finder guide was already out and after the introductions I went into full swing. Black interior. Didn't want black but actually its suited the car perfectly plus it smelt as it should. Very tidy inside. Original Porsche CDR-22 stereo, leather top dash, cappings and door grabs. Sills/hinges all OK. Bling kick plates (they will have to go). Sticker present on NS door jamb. Rubbers looked good and no wear to carpets.

Now I don't know where this car had been but it had deposits of mildew/moss on the exterior rubbers. Having travelled 600 miles in the last two years may have had something to do with it. The engine was fired up on its brand new battery – sweet as a nut. The G-Pipe/Cat bypass whatever you want to call it made the engine sound glorious! Revving freely with a stable tick over. Engine top looked tidy, just needed a few birds' nests remnants removing and a general clean would make it look very good. Rear bumper firm in all the right places on that sweet (big) behind. Bonnet sticker present although rubber needs sorting along front PU (suspect a slight depression). Paintwork nice and bright along with usual stone chips perhaps adding to its originality. Plastic film wing protection had aged yellow.

Time for the magnetometer test and 'Calini stick' for rust. (Named after an old school chum who used a 8" broom handle with black gaffer tape to tap for rust when he came to view my RD400). In the absence of either Mk1 eyeball deployed. Front/rear windscreens. Both good with NO signs of bubbles. Quite remarkable on a 20yr old car suggesting it may have been done at some point and if so it has been an excellent job. May be a few bubbles under the h/lamp surrounds but hard to see as there was some leftover dried polish present. Some crazing to front PU along the top (dead centre – suspect a low impact car park knock) with plenty of stone chips below but PU looked straight and true. Headlamps misted up but lenses look clean. Front wheel arches/sills good. Nothing above the shark fins (but who knows what lurks beneath?). Cup1s presentable (previously done to a high standard) but ideally need a refurb.

Rear arches had both received some gravel rash and presenting some corrosion to the lips (needs sorting). NSR wheel arch has a 1" rust bubble over the rubber connecting the rear PU (common ground here and needs sorting). Rear reflector not bad, a little pink but intact. Rear lights pinked and with condensation (and given the instruments were steamed up when I arrived suspect this is due to cold/damp storage). Rear wiper armed broke in the usual place. Funny plaque mounted on the rear shelf. :puh:

Viewing the underside was tricky, engine shield in place and some clean oil deposits on both sides (assured by the owner the car has never dripped on his garage floor and one side could have been overspill). Given a view of the service history and bills revealing engine work down to the crank with new piston rings and conrods (i.e. a full strip down) with various gaskets at 80K (in 2002) I am suspecting cam gaskets on this occasion. Taking a gamble here based on engine sound (less tappety than my 993) and what I could actually see. Not to mention the drive (more later). I gained the impression pointing out faults wasn't going to have an impact on the price :oops: . Jacking points corroded so think these will need looking at. Plan is to get it all wax sealed at some point.

Underside suspension/running gear looked very original (read surface corrosion) with what looked like original shocks albeit these looked adjustable (thread to compress springs). Discs/pads looked fine. Calipers painted but some sign of repainting and a few areas now peeling. Inside the HVAC was working spot-on and air being directed as needed.

Needless to say the AC wasn't (having checked the paperwork cause points to a knackered evaporator – I can see where this is going). All electrics working fine. Windows have normal speed and sunroof is fairly smooth. Newish alarm system on c/locking with no separate immobiliser just fob operated. Tracker present. Pity it hasn't got the H&P PA1000 as that was a great original system.

Leather in very good condition no cracking/crazing, these seats wear very well indeed. Rear spoiler U/S but may be down to being unplugged under the lid and I didn't have time to investigate. Now for the drive.

Owner drives first. Seems pretty good from the passenger seat. Very compliant, straight, no strange noises (Mrs Z stayed behind) and went round the twisty bits very well. My turn. Steering at parking speeds I would say is lighter than my 993. Clutch nice and light, gearbox very smooth and easy to engage, steering precise and braked well.

Suspension (don't know what it is yet) was very very good, holding well through the corners with no crashing over speed humps (unlike my 993). All in it drove very well and back for a review of the paperwork – plenty of receipts/bills and the odd pre-check for forays over to the Fatherland. It's hard to curb your enthusiasm when it drives this good and you are about to go into bat for a deal. Needless to say some negotiation was had but not by much (chap knew his onions) which I think is based on the fact it was sensibly priced and will come with a fresh MOT. Another but longer drive confirmed I wanted it.

As we all know these cars can demand deep pockets based on personal choices (or you are very lucky) so I'm going to factor £3k to sort out all the issues and maybe some replacement/preventative maintenance which overall brings me well under the JZM C4 I was looking at.

As ever pictures and full details on the actual car to follow (but I suspect the clues are already there) with hopefully a work to do/completed progress report once it is actually in my possession and I can fully itemise what I want doing.

What I have discovered is you either bite the bullet and commit to a fully sorted car that is going to be (now) circa £30k or accept a compromise and get the work done yourself. I always wanted the former but I now suspect the latter will be more satisfactory as along as I dont end up like Pete with 2 x 964s, 3 x engines and gold cam covers. :grin: Think I will get the fan blades painted though.

Zingari. There is no substitute.
:thumb:
 
Congrats and welcome to the 964 club :thumb:
 
Moving forward to today I decided on a run to Yorkshire to seek out three cars, a GR C2 at Specialist Cars (Malton). Top drawer seller, car sounded good from the advert with a full 'blow over'

:) Good job you didn't make it to Malton today because I was already there buying it :D

Its a great car, in far better condition than expected. I spend 3 hours pawing all over it. Half of which was spent underneath on the car lift with all the panels removed :)
 
Congrats Brian :thumb:
If it's the car I think it is (PH) it looks superb and I can see why you would instantly want it :grin: :thumb:
 
:thumb: Congratulations on the belated christmas presents (too your selves).

Zingari - I also looked this car up following what was a riveting read. Looks stunning and the little plaque must make you feel a little bit special too?! 8)

Looking forward to the progress reports.
 
sjl178 said:
the little plaque must make you feel a little bit special too?! 8).

:thumb:
 
All will be revealed in due course. :hand:

What's good for removing moss from rubber :oops: I doubt the OPC will get asked that very often.

Before I bought it I'd convinced myself to pick up a set of sports seats (wide bolster type) but having sat in the standard ones they are actually very comfortable. But it must be one of the very few without them. :?:

Good job I didn't go to Malton - I thought it would be good for the price and quality paintwork with no rust was top of my list of priorities.
 
:welcome: (back)

Zingers, loving the strap line :wink:

... but :useless:
 
Zingari san,

Balls deep indeed, yet great news and congratulations. :thumb:

Having both been afflicted with 993 OCD, we're in the same boat with regards to expectations on taking the plunge with these older cars but yours sounds a good 'un.

Looking forward to seeing the pics, including the plaque, I'm guessing yours is in GR?

All the best,

TJ
 
Congratulations.

Looks a nice car, good to see that 4WD is fetching good money too.

Suspension looks lowered in the pics, although I've havent seen any of the other 499 to compare.

I don't have one that colour yet.

When does it become yours? In time for Saturday at 11:00 at The Bulls Head?

Also: Robt964, welcome on board.
 
robt964 said:
Moving forward to today I decided on a run to Yorkshire to seek out three cars, a GR C2 at Specialist Cars (Malton). Top drawer seller, car sounded good from the advert with a full 'blow over'

:) Good job you didn't make it to Malton today because I was already there buying it :D

Its a great car, in far better condition than expected. I spend 3 hours pawing all over it. Half of which was spent underneath on the car lift with all the panels removed :)


Hey hey hey ,Newbies just can not slip into the 964 section with out a proper intro and pictures :wack:

We need a neeeed a new thread with pics its the rules :thumb: :worship:

Oh and Welcome to the money pit :floor:
 
Zingars,

According or The Enthusiasts Companion there were 911 of those built, not 500.

Plus 12 bodies left over.

Do you have any idea how many we're RHD?*

A couple of links to make you happy.

http://jubi.pocg.de/pages/en/welcome.php

*EDIT, I've found the answer, 151
 

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