Hello 968ers. I hope the day finds you well. Lots has happened to me in recent months. First off, after 38 years of being employed by the same bank my bank was bought out and I was not offered a position with the new organization. I got a nice severance so it looks like I will retire early but I’m keeping my options open. Then, no sooner did I lose my job, the phone rang and it was PCA National. They called because they were looking for someone to take over the coordinator position for all the registers and asked if I would be interested. I told them “your timing is perfect, sure” and a couple months later they called back and said I got the job! So that is cool. I will now learn more about how the other register groups are run and try and develop “best practices” for all of them. That said, my role of the PCA 968 register advocate won’t change and you’ll continue to receive these E-newsletters but I may get to meet you in person as I plan to travel and attend many more PCA shows. If I’m going to retire it’s going to be a fun retirement.
We have lots of interesting articles in this E-newsletter issue so I hope you enjoy them. And if you have something you would like to share with the register membership, a tech article or whatever, please feel free to write it up and send it to me for a future newsletter.
For additional 968 eye-candy in this issue you will find photos of UK 968 register member Jake’s CSs (Speed Yellow and Maritime blue). I met Jake on social media and he has taught me much about the ROW CS 968s, especially the 968 Sport. He knows his 968s. Both of his cars are LHD German models and are beautiful.
Who is going to Parade?
The 67th annual Porsche Parade is coming up soon. It will be held at The LaQuinta Resort in Palm Springs CA from June 18th to June 24th. If you have been to a Porsche club Parade before you know what great events these are. A full week of nothing but Porsche related activities held at a great host location. Photos below from the 2022 Parade. I will be there and this will be my 7th Porsche Parade. I usually drive one of my cars but this Parade is almost 3000 miles from my home in CT so I’ll be 968-less this year.
There are always a few 968ers at the event. How about you? Even if you just stop by and say hello that is fine. The Concours is on Monday. Maybe we can get the 968s together for a photo? Please reach out to me and let me know your plans. Also, the annual historics display is looking for a 968 to represent the register group. If you are planning to attend and would be interested in volunteering let me know and I’ll put you in touch with those in charge. Our group would be grateful of your willingness to represent!
So, if you are going to attend the parade let me know. I would love to meet you and see your 968. I’ll be there Saturday through Wednesday.
Seeing double with an Aventurine 968 coupe
Probably 30 years ago my nephew had a second generation 80’s Mazda RX7 in red. The door handle on the car broke and he needed it fixed so he asked me for help. With this version of the RX7 the door handles were painted the color of the car, similar to our 968s. I called a couple of wrecking yards and found one nearby that had the used handle he needed. I gave him the directions to the yard and told him to go pick it up and then bring it to me. We would paint it and then install it on his car. Imagine my surprise when he arrived with the used handle and it was the same color red as his car! How often does that kind of thing happen? Rarely. No need to purchase paint and refinish. We were ready to go with the install. Every once in a while we get lucky like that but imagine that happening with two complete cars!
Enter into this story new 968 owner Dan. Dan purchased a 1994 968 coupe in Aventurine green with a cashmere interior which needed some TLC. Dan registered his car with the PCA 968 Register and I sent him a vehicle profile with all the details on his 968 and welcomed him to the group. After Dan had some time to review the vehicle profile on his car he could tell I was into the numbers and he then told me that his 968 actually had 2 VINs! The VIN in the engine compartment was different from the VIN for the car, significantly different. How could this be? The engine compartment VIN belonged to a 1995 968. Looking at the engine compartment, it was painted Aventurine green just like the rest of the car. A query to the 968 database for a VIN check showed that the 1995 was also Aventurine green in color. What was going on here?
Dan knew the answer to the mystery. Dan’s 968 had been previously repaired using the entire front section of another 968 coupe, and the most amazing part of this story, the front repair section was from an Aventurine colored coupe.
Sure enough, running the car faxes confirms the story. A very nice 1995 tiptronic coupe in Aventurine was involved in a significant rear end collision when it was new way back in 1995. Around the same time Dan’s 1994 Aventurine was involved in a significant front end collision. Somehow, a shop was able to acquire both Aventurine green cars and sectioned the “like new” front clip from the 1995 to the “like new” 1994 resulting in Dan’s car. Dan reports that the repair was expertly done and the car tracks straight and true. What a coincidence that two Aventurine 968s would be
wrecked, find their way to each other, and then be put together like that. A similar story to my nephew’s matching color door handle but on a much larger scale.
Dan’s been busy handling all the deferred maintenance on his 968 and making it beautiful. So the next time you see a sharp Aventurine 968 coupe look closely as you may be seeing double 968s!
ROW (Rest Of World) Porsche 968 database creation underway:
With the North American 968 register database completed for a few years now I figured it was time to get started on the ROW (Rest Of World) database. I had already gathered a bunch of information on the cars over the years so it was a matter of putting it into the database. It will take a while since there are so many more ROW 968s but I am learning a lot. It is very interesting how different markets commanded different requirements surrounding standard equipment. As I learn more I will share my findings with you but one thing I can say for sure, there were some interesting 968s produced for the rest of the world. One of them is featured later in this issue.
My efforts will surround documenting the other 968 VIN series. Those include ROW coupes, ROW cabriolets, and ROW Club sports. Each of these groups has its own VIN series, just like the North American coupes and cabs.
An early discovery I will share with you, there were launch series 968s produced for the German market! Multiple examples of identically optioned cars with consecutive VINs! But more on them in a future E-newsletter.
An Amazing ROW 968 cabriolet:
Speaking of ROW 968s, we had a new member join the group a few weeks back and he owns a very interesting 968 that I just had to share with you. Our new member is Benoit and he lives in France. He already owned a 968 coupe when he stumbled on to this “must have” cabriolet. The story of finding and acquiring the car is below but note that it has an interior code of 99! As you know, code 99 is the code that Porsche uses for Color to Sample paint (metallic). I have never seen the code used in reference to an interior but here you go and when you see the pictures you’ll see why. Another thing to note is that this 968 is a 1992 and is painted raspberry, a 1993 color, so this car was most likely a development car for the color and maybe the first 968 in this particular hue? I’ll let Benoit fill you in on the rest of the story and enjoy the photos of this “one of a kind” 968.
In March 2021, I decided to bring my Porsche Coupé to a garage specialized in Porsche, well known in the region, in order to make a standard maintenance. When I arrived, I saw a 968 parked in the garage. At the beginning, I did not focus my attention on it: it was a pink Porsche, I am not fond of this color. Who is enough “crazy” to drive such a car!!!!????
Well, I discussed with Philippe the boss of the garage, about the maintenance to be done on my car. Everything was planned and I had to come back the week after to bring it back home. I went out and crossed the said 968 once again. I was surprised to see the great quality of the paint. I am used to see 968 in car meetings in France and seeing a nice 968 is not so usual. This pink 968 was really surprising: the rims were perfect, the various body elements were well aligned. No
impact on the body. The level of my curiosity increased step by step. I decided to walk in direction of that car to look inside. Oh great! the seat were colored, the same color as the body. The seats were in very good condition, with a nice leather and black carpets. The difference of color between “pink” and black is so beautiful.
I came back to Philippe to have more information on this nice 968. I get info regarding the owner. I knew that the owner wanted to sell it because driving it was too difficult for the 70 years aged man. Yes? really? Philippe told me that the color was not pink but Red Raspberry, code L83E. It is a rare color!! My opinion on the 968 began to change…. and the pink 968 became a marvelous one in my mind.
Back at home, I decided to tell a word about what I saw to my wife, describing the car, its unusual and finally the exceptional color. After many discussions during the week end, my wife launched the fatal words! Why don’t you buy it?
I gave her the appropriate answer in that situation: you are right my dear and this is what I am going to do!!
On Monday, I called Philippe to make an offer which was accepted by the owner. On Friday, the red raspberry 968 was in my garage with the first one.
When I bought it, the mileage was 92.000 kilometers (57.000 miles approx) vs 102.000kms (63.400 miles approx) today.
I have not a lot of information regarding the history of the 968. I know that this one was bought in Germany first by an Estate company on January 26th 1993. Then, the 968 was sold in 2013 by a French Porsche Center, near Lyon to the famous 70 years aged man. I am the third owner since April 2021. Discussion with yourself, I have discovered that the interior has a 99 code and the paint was not in the catalogue in 1992 when the car was built.
Wow, quite a story Benoit and quite a 968. Thanks for sharing it with the group!
PCA 968 Register hits Social Media:
That’s right, the PCA 968 Register is now on Facebook and we invite you to join us. The idea behind the Facebook group is to supplement your PCA register experience along with providing information in a timely fashion. Every week something 968-related will be posted along with discussions on other topics. You’ll also find out when newsletters are out along with discussion on PCA activities. So come join us.
968 Tool Kits, what is correct?:
A question I get asked every once and a while surrounds 968 tool kit contents. The truth of the matter is there are a number of variations out there regarding tool kit contents and the reason for that is over the years owners have removed and added tools to their kits. I currently have three 968s and each one of them had a different variation of the contents of the tool kit. So, what is correct? After looking at the PET catalog and asking a number of 968ers I have come up with the following list. That said, if you have something to add to the discussion let me know and I may end up amending this article in a future issue.
First off, the contents of your 968 tool kit is the same whether you have a coupe or a cabriolet. Discussion on the contents appears below.
Tool kit bag:
I currently have three 968s with three different tool kit bags. That said, after speaking with a number of 968ers the thought is that the correct bag for a 968 is the grey tool kit bag. All the bags have a colored tag on them and I have found that the red tag bags are found in coupes and green tag bags are found in cabriolets. If you have a black bag that is considered a 944 bag.
Tools:
1) Tow eye – This tool is the most popular tool to disappear from the kit as it used and then never returned to the kit. It screws into the front of the bumper to hook a tow hook up to it.
2) Lug wrench with cross bar – two pieces, used to remove those lug nuts when you have that flat tire. The cross bar inserts into it and gives you extra torque when using the tool.
3) Spark plug wrench with cross bar – two pieces, used to remove spark plugs and to release the cabriolet top mechanism from the cables to put the top into manual mode. The cross bar inserts into it and gives you extra torque when using the tool.
4) Bucket seat removal tool – This tool has an Allen head on it to use when removing the bolts that hold the bucket seats down and give you some torque as they are usually held down pretty well.
5) Power bucket seat adjustment tool – If your bucket seat electronic adjustment fails you can pull off the front lower cover and use this tool to manually adjust your bucket seat forward or back.
6) Open end wrench – A 10mm on one side and a 13mm on the other.
7) Screw driver – With removable handle to change the screwdriver from flat head to Phillips.
8) Pliers set – Made by Everest.
There is some discussion that a Locking lug cap removal pin tool was part of the kit. This tool would have been used by the owners of early 968s. It is used to pull the small plastic cap off the locking lug nut. The later 968s used a special lug style locking lug so the pull tool was no longer needed. That said, I have yet to see one in a tool kit so I am going to say it was NOT included.
Extras:
So, there you have it, the tool kit contents. If you have any other thoughts or findings on this subject let me know. And while we are talking tools we might as well mention three other items you should find with your tool kit, the yellow plastic bag holding the plastic gloves to put on your hands while you change your flat tire and the large clear plastic bag to put your flat tire in while you transport it to the tire shop to get fixed. You don’t want to dirty your clean carpet with that dirty tire and wheel. The third bag is the sunroof hold-down straps for you coupe owners.
968 Tech: Troubleshooting a sporadic horn
Have you had any issues with your steering wheel horn buttons not working? 968er Rob K. did and went to work on fixing them. He had one button that did not function. I was also having issues with the Matador’s horn. Sometime the horn would work, sometimes it would not. Rob tackled his repair first and then shared his findings with me. My repair was slightly different. Rob took his wheel off. I did my repair with the wheel in place. I’ll share with you the findings below.
Removal of the buttons – Rob did this and I followed his instructions. I first surrounded the button area on the wheel with tape to prevent any scaring to the wheel but that may not have been necessary. Then, I pushed the button down at the top to create the largest gap along the bottom so you can get a tool in. The idea is you are trying to release the paws that hold the button into place. Rob used the tool below.
I used a spark plug gapping tool. Both did the job. Start at the bottom. Once you have freed the bottom work your way around the other paws until the button comes out. Note the location of the button paws in the picture of the new one below.
For the repair we went different directions. On Rob’s horn spring the raised ball had disappeared so a replacement was required. Note the part number below.
For my repair it was just a matter of cleaning the surfaces. I used a Dremel wire brush to clean up my horn spring’s balls. I then cleaned the contact surfaces with some 220 sandpaper to make sure they worked well.
The horn spring has a specific seating location so make sure you have it seated correctly before re-assembly.
Then reinstall the button and you are good to go. Both Rob and I reported successful repairs and full horn functionality.
Do you have a repair experience you would like to share with the group? If so, send it along and I’ll include it in a future issue.
968Register.org
Be sure to visit the register website. 968register.org. Thanks to Adam for keeping the website going!
Sincerely,
Jeff Coe
PCA 968 Register Advocate http://968register.org/
968 Registry window clings are available – Would you like an official PCA 968 register window cling sporting our smart looking logo? They are now available for $2 including postage. They are approximately 3” in height. If you would like one please contact me. If you’ve sold your 968 or would no longer like to receive this newsletter please contact me and I’ll take you off the distribution list. If you are looking for a 968 or know someone who is let me know as I am often contacted with 968s for sale. If you plan to change your email address in the future please contact me so I can update the distribution list.
Issue: 2023 #1
