Car Taking My Life Over

[porkersc]

What do you reckon guys. My '82 Sc is turning me into a manic obsessive. Got the car in at the Body Shop where i work to have a few blemishes sorted. Having bumper, headlight surrounds, rear bonnet lid, o/s/f wing painted.(To sort a very minor rust spot under the smile). Just had the car fully steam cleaned under the arches and floor pan. All original the bodyshop lads couldn't believe how clean it came up!! Having all the inner arches re-stone painted with Porsche reccomended protection paint and the re-sprayed body colour. All this is being done by our brand new state of the art bodyshop (I work for a BMW dealership) and the painter who is working on the car and the bodyshop foreman who is a 911 nut and factory trained 911 specialist telling me the car is straight, and having a local specialist telling me to buy it as it mechanically A1(No oil leaks!!) i still strive to find fault at the smallest thing and get paranoid that it will blow up and fall to bits. I keep telling myself that it is 22 years old. IS THIS OBSESSION NORMAL. Sorry for the length of this post but had to get it off my chest. Ah that feels better.

Migration info. Legacy thread was 23502

 

[Fuchs]

Relax - deep breath. Its perfectly normal - once you have had the car a while and its proved itself to you how tough it is - you will relax.

I was the same with my 3.2 carrera - i took it on a long trip to Gmund in austria, at the beginning i was nervous about the trip in such an old car, but after 9 hours of hard driving, blasting past German bikers 8)
and several mountain passe, all in 90 degress heat i realised that it was capable and it could take it.

With regard to the cosmetic issue - im a bit like you, little blemishes bother me, but i keep telling myself that stone chips are a badge of honour.

Bring it back to its home land this summer and really put it to the test.




Migration info. Legacy thread was 23506

 

[Carrera]

You'll go through phases. First you'll be paranoid about anything and everything, esp when something does need fixing, then you feel like selling it, then when all the problems get sorted you'll start using it as it should be and adding up-grades to make it even better. That's the time when you really find out how much the car can do, and do it well, then you'll reaaly enjoy it and decide never to part with it.

Migration info. Legacy thread was 23507

 

[Maxy M]

So you've decided never to part with yours, Mick??!!

Migration info. Legacy thread was 23512

 

[porkersc]

Phew at least not on my own. Taking over to Le-Mans in the summer. I know it's 22 years old and that they should be driven and not laid up. Where do you draw the line. Have got the smallest bubble in the paint on the top wing which is driving me mad, but i am going to control myself and sort it next year. After all the car is only used at weekends and the summer. My bodyshop foreman has told me to get a life and enjoy the car. How far do you guys with older 911's go with rust and paint issues.

Migration info. Legacy thread was 23514

 

[Carrera]

Yup, until I can find another car that takes my breath away the same way as the 993 did, I'll just have to keep it.

I still remember a yr or so before I got mine, a friend of my neighbour turned up with a dark blue 993, I saw it and wanted it so bad it made me feel nauseous, a mixture of envy, admiration, desire, self-pitty and desparation. No other car has ever made me feel the same.

Besides, over the years I've slowly fixed all the bits and pieces of niggling faults, done a few up-grades. I will never get the money I spent on it back by selling it.

As far as paint issue, I used to get really upset every time I see a new scratch/mark, and keep thinking about re-spraying it every 5 minutes. Now I've graduated to a stage where I'll drive it as hard as it deserves withou worrying about the paintwork, while regularly clean/polish/wax to get the rest of the car as shiny as it can be. I did put the Armourfend on to reduce the amount of stone chips but other than that, just enjoy the car!

One day the paintwork will get to a stage where it's so bad that I'll get the whole car resprayed, full glass out job. But by then the engine will need a re-build, transmittion re-conditioned, interior re-leathered, and have a medical every yr to renew my driving liscence!


Migration info. Legacy thread was 23522

 

[Porsche]

me too every day !

Migration info. Legacy thread was 23523

 

[Maxy M]

Just as well you've got therapy waiting in your garage, Mick...

Migration info. Legacy thread was 23524

 

[Maxy M]

Oh, meant to ask: Armorfend - how much and is it worth it?

(After my front-end respray [1st week in Jan] I have a stone chip already!)


Migration info. Legacy thread was 23525

 

[Carrera]

Armourfend on the 993 cost me @£600, inc install (don't even try doing it yourself, esp the big piece, guess how I found out!).

There's a company called Smartguard (Ad in 911&PW) tht uses the same thing but cheaper, and they can install it outside your house (5-series cost @£500).

I think it's worth it. On the 5 there are a number of small rip on the film, could have been massive stone chips! Dosen't look too bad either. My 993 is Polar silver so can't really notice it until you get close. The only more obvious piece is the bonet line. Our BM is darker grey but even so it's not too noticable. I guess for darker/black/blue cars it'd be more visible.

To replace the film will be cheaper/better than to respray.


Migration info. Legacy thread was 23526

 

[poon]

Maxy, get the armourfend on pdq, thought it would have been a must after a front end respray. Mind you I dont like the way it looks!

Migration info. Legacy thread was 23529

 

[Porsche]

Quote: Originally posted by poon on 31 January 2005

Maxy, get the armourfend on pdq, thought it would have been a must after a front end respray. Mind you I dont like the way it looks!

aye.. got mine done and even on the black car it looks fine !

although I didn't get the bonnet done but have resorted to a dozen zymol layers <<< which helps !

already done a track day and nothing on the front at all........ (pity the bonnett wasn't already clear
when I bought the car!)

had it fitted at Armourfend which is north of London/M25 for about £450... although not doing the bonnet helped !


Migration info. Legacy thread was 23536

 

[Maxy M]

Hmm. There's the looks issue, and the price! How far back up the bonnet/wings does the film go?

Migration info. Legacy thread was 23541

 

[Ray]

I saw a red 993 at the weekend, the bonnet strip came up about 150mm it looked ok. This car was a 95 and it had done an excellent job with no visible chips that I could see.

Migration info. Legacy thread was 23542

 

[Carrera]

I think you have a choice of how far up the film goes, mine stops @ about 10-12" from the front. Sod's law dictated that if you do get a stone chip, it'll be just a few mm beyond the end of the film!

As for the price, it'll be cheaper than a respray! Worth investing if you're keeping the car for a while. Much easier to rip it off when it gets knacked and put a new one on than to have a respray!


Migration info. Legacy thread was 23570