Life with a legend, the Porsche 930.

"16volt" (thecrashingdoor)
08/05/2014 at 14:10 • Filed to: Porsche 911, Porsche Turbo, Porsche 930, Poster Child

(Originally written 1/6/2014)

Day One (28 miles)

So the first 24hrs of 911 Turbo ownership….lets first assess the current status. Its 8:30pm, I am still at work, I am covered in oil, I smell like a I just crawled out of a catalytic converter and Im soaked. Well, how did we get here (thank you David Byrne)?

So when I test drove the car in question (a 1986 911 Turbo aka 930) the owner mentioned that the oil level gauge was inconsistent and often wrong. I think OK, no problem, always manually check oil and get gauge fixed at the first service. Yesterday I noted that gauge reads at about a third. I get in the car this morning and spot a dollar coin size puddle of oil underneath the sump tank, I am slightly annoyed but I think to myself, "Self, you own a 911 now, this is part of the charm". During the drive to work the gauge is reading lower than yesterday, I am not alarmed but concerned. I decide to turn down any requests for rides and resolve to check the dipstick before I leave.

At 6pm I go down to the dark basement of the parking garage for the 5th time today to stare at the car. I say, "hey Self, lets check that ol'dipstick before the ride home". Consult the manual just to be sure and discover that you should check the oil with the engine running. Never heard of that before but hey, its part of the charm. Fire up the car, let it warm for a minute or two and consult again where the manual says the level should be. Remove oil cap, withdraw dipstick and oh ****. Oil is just barely on the tip. Put dipstick back in quickly and….!!!! The dipstick dodges its little guide and into the bowls of the oil tank it goes. AAAHHHH! I run and shut the car down and think to myself, "Self, are you a total f-ing moron?". I spend a few seconds trying to reassure myself that I did not just do quite possibly the stupidest thing in the world, once all doubt was removed that indeed I had, out comes the flashlight. Impossibly deep in the tank neck lay the dipstick, panicked I stick my impossibly short fingers into sed tank, nope, that isn't happening.

Ok, we can fix this. We need the coat hanger I always keep in my emergency kit present in all my cars (old VW MK1 owner habit)….."Self, you remember thinking that you would put the kit together tomorrow right?". Ok, we can still fix this. I trudged back up to my office trying to channel my inner McGyver. Get a heavy duty paper clip and a 3.5mm stereo cable. Form paperclip into a hook on one end and attach other end to cable (lord knows at this point I wasn't taking the risk of allowing the damn paper clip to join the dipstick). Back down to the garage, secure safety cable, insert hook, remove dipstick. Pheww. Make note to add paper clips to emergency kits.

Well that was a close one, lets go home……crap still low on oil. Check service history and note the last weight and type of oil at the last change (2500miles ago natch). Walk to autoparts store in pouring rain (hey Self, hows that whole "I live in Seattle I dont need a rain jacket" working out for you?). Purchase 4 quarts, a flexi funnel and some shop rags. Walk back and make note to add a rain jacket to emergency kit.

While the oil tank filler is not in a terribly awkward position we all have a little trouble hitting the hole the first time right fellas, no big deal, happens to everyone at some point. Wipe excess with quite possibly the least absorbent cloth to call itself a rag. Ahh, perfect, now we are all coated in oil. Fire up car, recheck and proceed to add about a quart whilst letting the shame, guilt and fear of damage wash over me. Check the gauge in the car and low and behold, smack dab in the middle.

Apologize to the gauge and car for ever doubting it and vow to never again, so much shame. I ended up taking the car around the parking garage to get some heat into it. Turning all levels into a space where you would not dare light a match. Proceeded to check the oil level about 25 more times. Each time cursing myself and whoever designed a rag which only transfers oil to your hands.

So in short, a humbling day. Its good to be humble.

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DISCUSSION (36)

RS63_AMG > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 17:52

Great article! will totally be following this. Forgive the dumb question, but is there really an oil LEVEL gauge in the dash on 80s porsches? That's awesome, I would've assumed it was a pressure gauge.... those Germans!

16volt > RS63_AMG
08/05/2014 at 18:03

No dumb questions (this is my first Porsche so I have probably asked the same questions). Yes, the oil level gauge is in the same unit with oil pressure. It simply takes a reading from the oil tank as this is a dry sump system. Granted, its accuracy is debated but you can only take it seriously when the car is warm, not moving and idling. HTH

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 18:08

Walk to autoparts store in pouring rain (hey Self, hows that whole "I live in Seattle I dont need a rain jacket" working out for you?)

Been sitting on this story for a while? I know it rained for, oh, about 10 minutes Saturday morning. (Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. October-April brings all the rain I need.)

Manuél Ferrari > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 18:26

WUT

You have dat Bimmer too?

Are you trying to win the Opponaut with the Coolest Car collection award? Cause you're damn close. Add a classic Vette and I think you take gold.

mopo > Manuél Ferrari
08/05/2014 at 18:38

Seattle, eh? Does Jalopnik do meetups? Because I want to see this fine example of a 930/source of anxiety/car that tries to murder you.

KSEGGFTW > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 18:40

Great article! You've got me intrigued on your emergency kit..........

16volt > Manuél Ferrari
08/05/2014 at 18:50

Hah, yeah thats my '86 635CSi. One could say I have a "thing" for cars from the 80's.

Manuél Ferrari > mopo
08/05/2014 at 19:29

I think you meant to write to the OP. But I support your idea! Would be cool to see those awesome German cars. Too bad I'm in So Cal

Manuél Ferrari > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 19:32

So cool! When I was a teenager I wanted a car just like that. But it was out of my price range so I bought a '81 633CSi beater for cheap. Still cool, but not as cool as having the more powerful car and one with less miles on it.

I test drove this one low-mileage black on black 635CSi. It was so nice. I think it was around $15-16K back in '98. That would have been a nice car to buy and hold until now.

16volt > Manuél Ferrari
08/05/2014 at 19:49

To be clear, my E24 is a 5spd with 210K on it and I bought it 4yrs ago for $5k. There still isn't much movement in the E24 (non-M) market. Truth be told, its a fantastic car on pretty much all fronts, hence why its still in my garage though it only gets driven a couple times a year.

Manuél Ferrari > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 19:53

Still sounds better than mine!

Mine had similar mileage but had been beat up pretty bad.

And yours has MOAR power

16volt > Manuél Ferrari
08/05/2014 at 19:56

It really is sad but E24's seem to in general have lived hard lives. My car was someones passion so I intend keep treating it as such while its under my care.

Manuél Ferrari > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 19:59

So true!!

The good thing is that if you maintain it dat big six will last forever.

Maybe the most reliable BMW engine ever made? Or tie with the E30 318i engine?

16volt > Manuél Ferrari
08/05/2014 at 20:11

The m30 is a heck of a motor. Sure, its a bit "mail truck" in its delivery but its got quite allot of German steel to haul anyway.

Maybe I will post up the article I wrote on my E24 sometime.

Tom Wiley > mopo
08/05/2014 at 20:14

I'll be there on Thursday with my hoopty e30

Manuél Ferrari > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 20:16

That would be awesome! I hope to see that post

16volt > Dead_Elvis, Inc.
08/05/2014 at 20:32

Indeed, since Jan. 29th to be precise. Wasn't sure anyone would be interested in my giant run-on sentence writing "style".

dperkins001 > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 22:34

Riddle me this: What's the best car from 1985? Interested in buying a fun/cool car from the year I was born and can only ever think of these Porsches, which seem to be getting more expensive...

16volt > dperkins001
08/05/2014 at 22:46

Hmm..."best" is a tricky word. The follow-up questions you should be asking are:

1. Whats my budget?

2. What role does it need to fill?

3. How much can I stomach in yearly maintenance?

All together, if I were to add to my 1986 (pretty much the same as 85) collection I would be considering a Testarossa or 308/328. If I wanted some more "affordable" fun I would be looking at convertible Mercs.

16volt > dperkins001
08/05/2014 at 23:03

Oh...and I forgot. Anything with a AMG badge. :)

dperkins001 > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 23:19

Not necessarily anything particularly pricey, and I suppose ruling out imports narrows things down a little too much, but they seem too finnicky and expensive/difficult to fix or find parts.

My brother, for instance, has a beautiful 70 Chevrolet pickup in that bright orange/red color, fully restored. I do currently have an '85 LeSabre Collector's Edition... lol.

I considered a V12 Jag for a hot second, then thought better of it, seeing horror stories about electronics, etc. Europeans, for the most part, frighten me a bit when it comes to finding a good shop to work on them, finding good replacement parts, and the true cost of ownership.

Answers to your questions:

Up to $20k, maybe.

Won't be a daily driver, but I'd like to be able to run a quick pre-drive check, hop in, and go.

Won't see too much driving, but it would be nice to mostly only deal with oil changes, brakes, etc., rather than anything that requires significant engine disassembly.

dperkins001 > 16volt
08/05/2014 at 23:21

Might be ready to sacrifice a bit more effort and money for a Porsche or something, but that depends on how much I ends up liking the car, I suppose.

16volt > dperkins001
08/06/2014 at 02:22

For that kind of money and those requirements I would be shopping E30 BMWs, E28 M5s or Targas.

Salmanorguk > 16volt
08/06/2014 at 04:56

Congratulations on the 930!

Funny article as well - (read the day 3 one first) - hope you have more to come.

FlugpanzerCmdr > 16volt
08/06/2014 at 07:56

Is your 6er Bronzit ? I had an E30 320i that colour, thankfully my E24 is Black.

Thanks for telling your story, wouldn't mind a 911 to go with my E24 :)

copperheadclub > 16volt
08/06/2014 at 09:00

Getting a semi-beat targa at age 59 was a huge mistake. Why? I waited 30-years too long; could've been driving one all those years. It took three patient years to debug 95% of the '87 911 problems and, all told, it became a magnificent car. The 930 (I drove one, once) was a little too scary for my fading hormones and reflexes.

You got the wheels though and your blog is a pleasure to follow. Once you figure out the basic, uh, engineering oddities of the 911/930 it's smooth sailing. Glad you figured out how to check the oil. Figured out how to change it without a mess yet? :D

copperheadclub > 16volt
08/06/2014 at 09:00

You got the wheels though. Once you figure out the, uh, engineering oddities of the 911/930 it's mostly smooth sailing. Glad you figured out how to check the oil. Figured out how to change it without a mess yet? :D

copperheadclub > 16volt
08/06/2014 at 09:00

16volt > FlugpanzerCmdr
08/06/2014 at 10:25

Yes, the sixer is Bronzit.

Thank you for saying so, they do seem to get along quite well in the garage.

n1zm0 > 16volt
08/06/2014 at 16:35

All this oil talk reminds me of my friend's dad's 78 911 SC. We were just 1st year apprentices working for an Acura dealer at the time. His dad is somewhat of a classic/odd car hoarder (who never took care of the things either) who amongst the 911 had a fiberglass british roadster car of some sort that we never figured out the name of, bunch of old bmws, a Subaru XT and a Lotus Eclat (with all these cool wooden James Bond center console knobs we knew nothing about).

Anyways so we offered to do some revival maintenance of this plaid seat, now almost orange clear coatless red Porsche of his in return for some hooning time.

All I could remember was we couldn't find any oil capacity info on this thing on mitchell database or on the internet (this was 2004 or so), so we stick the shop's overhead oil hose gun in the filler and start off with 3L to be safe, then 5L, then 7L, 10L, 11L. 11L of oil until the dipstick registered to be at spec! It was alot to us after working on Honda products only for a year or so.

Start it up, wow, so cool we did an oil change on this antique, lets go drive the shit out of it. Start backing it out off the hoist area, I yell "STOP!!! shut the car off!!". So the classic old 'pull off the old filter and the gasket sticks then put the new one on over top of it' apprentice mistake happened. 11 L of oil dripping out from underneath into the shop sump grate. Luckily no one was around and the oil was... 'free'.

I got to drive a few nice cars working there like the head accountant's E30 M3, but that 911SC once we got it going was such a cool car (especially for a 20 year old), it was bare bones, no options and those shitty plaid seats but man was it a blast to drive.

Jon > 16volt
08/07/2014 at 00:26

Maybe I missed a post but did you mention how many miles are on the car when you bought it? What are the specs on those wheels? great posts - will enjoy following along.

16volt > Jon
08/07/2014 at 10:37

When I bought it the 930 had 69K on it. I intentionally sought out a "high" mile car, 930s and aircooled 911s in general do not seem to handle sitting well. Plus I wanted something which had had a good life and was kept on the road. I am weird that way.

I haven't actually measured the widths on the BBS's, my gut tells me they were 16x8s and 16x9s.

mopo > Manuél Ferrari
08/29/2014 at 13:44

Yup! Longtime Jalopnik reader, but Kinja newb.

Mosqvich > 16volt
12/01/2014 at 21:49

Your tale of woe with the dipstick reminds me of the time I destroyed a perfectly good water pump cover on my old E46. That was a $100 in parts mistake. It happens to the best of us.

16volt > Mosqvich
12/02/2014 at 11:34

Its amazing we are let out of the house unsupervised sometimes.