Why Preserve a Vintage 911, 912 or 914 Porsche? -  The air-cooled Porsche 900-series cars were built over a 30-year period from 1963 to 1993.  We consider the 911 to be one of the first production "super cars" of its day and this became especially true as they adopted turbo charged engines in the mid-1970s.  The six-cylinder 911 was a huge departure from the 356-series design and was totally focused on high-speed race car performance and low weight over creature comfort.  Only once a person has actually sat behind the wheel and driven a 911, can they understand what this actually means.  There are not many production cars that rarely see the use of 5th gear in normal off-track driving.  In fact with redline at approximately 60 mph in second gear, city driving of a 911 rarely sees the use of 3rd gear!  In professional racing circles, the Porsche 911 was seen as a thoroughbred stable-mate of true race cars like the Porsche 917.  Porsche factory sponsored race teams campaigned 911s with great success through-out the world.  The thoroughbred image was cultivated by the advertising for the 911, usually directed at young professional men and found in magazines like Road & Track, Car & Driver, Playboy and Sports Illustrated.   The 911's racing heritage was apparent in features such as a big tachometer placed prominently in the center of the instrument cluster and a left-hand operated starter switch so the right hand could be freed to manipulate the shift lever in those quick, drivers-sprinting-to-their-car racing starts found in European road racing. 

Care & Feeding of a 911, 912 or 914 - Like most vintage, mechanical controlled cars, the 900-series cars require a great deal of discipline in the "care and feeding" department. Things like keeping fresh fuel in them, driving them frequently for a long enough of a duration to reach full operating temperature and dry out any water vapor in the crankcase and exhaust system are part of the "religion" one must practice faithfully.  Keeping the valves adjusted at 6000 mile intervals is extremely critical in a 911 engine since lax maintenance spells burned valves. Letting a 900-series Porsche sit in a damp garage for long periods of time is asking for trouble since the sheet metal bodies were not dipped in any type of protective coating, such as zinc, like those produced after 1976 were.  The 900-series car also utilized a type of construction which was very prone to body rot because of the multiple layers of sheet metal simply spot-welded together which trapped moisture in key structural points like the front a-arm mounts and rear torsion bar tube braces.  Rust detection and repair is always the biggest factor in any early 900-series restoration project, especially 914s.  Nearly every 914 restoration project starts with a replacement of the right rear suspension console where the battery sits and the longitudinal channel and floor sheet metal.  911 and 912 restorations usually require attention to the battery boxes and as time goes on more and more outer rocker panel replacements.  The good news is the aftermarket for body replacement pressed sheet metal parts provides an ample supply at low costs.  Restoring a 900-series Porsche is much more economical than an earlier 356-series car.

Engine Rebuilds: Economy or Concours? - Choices for the 6-cylinder 911 engine are somewhat limited to Porsche supplied parts with some aftermarket parts available but usually at equal or greater cost than original Porsche parts.  914 and 912 engines provide quite a few opportunities to economize.  While we're always happy to spend your money on original parts, we are also able to build vintage Porsche 914 or 912 engines using more economical aftermarket and custom fabricated crankshafts, pistons/cylinder sets, cams and push rods.  Our goal is to provide a reliable yet "guiltless use" alternative for the owner who is more interested in function over originality.  Externally these engines look, sound and perform virtually identically to their concours "cousins" but they will not "break the bank" the way that acquiring NOS or used original Porsche parts for the rebuild would.  Just promise us that you'll run it and not park it in your garage and admire it!

Carburetors as an Art Form - Perhaps the most crucial element in achieving top performance and reliability in a 900-series Porsche is mastering the complex carburetor set-ups.  Re-plating hardware, machining and bushing throttle shafts, oversize boring worn throats and retrofitting with oversized butterfly valves are some of the techniques we use to restore (or recycle) worn-out units to original performance.  We also have the metering tools and expertise required to tune and synchronize tricky Zenith, Weber and Solex multi-carburetor set-ups found in these cars so not only will they look like new but they'll work that way too.

Early Fuel Injection Systems - Early 911 and 914 fuel injection systems are getting to be more and more difficult to find NOS parts for, especially true for the 914 2.0 liter D-Jetronic set-up.  We strongly suggest keeping stock fuel injection systems from a performance and fuel economy point-of-view, however converting these systems to carburetors offers another approach for those wanting to economize or increase the engine displacement beyond the ability of the stock fuel injection system settings.

Transaxle Rebuilds - Porsche 901 and 915 (model) transaxle parts are readily available and  while not cheap can be rebuilt without any special challenges. 

Repairs and "Freshening-Up" -  If you’ve purchased an already restored or well-preserved original Porsche 900-series car needing a little “freshening-up,” we’re more than happy to take on these projects for you as well. 

Contact Jack:  No repair is too small or too large, discuss the possibilities with Jack Morris by calling him at 206.789.0182 during normal business hours M-F 9AM to 5PM.