First off, let me apologize for the delay in getting this newsletter to you. Believe it or not, when I started writing it the title was “March 2024”! Now, here we are and it is September and I’m just getting it wrapped up. But it has been that kind of year. Many retired people have told me, “How did I used to run my life AND work a full-time job?” That is a good question and yes, retirement has been busy. But that is a good thing.
Anyway, 2024 has been a very busy year with plenty of 968 activities. I made the PCA swap in April and the Parade in June. Some big news was that I was invited down to PCA headquarters to take part in an episode of “Tech Tactics Live”. I worked with Manny, Vu, and the team to create a 968 buyers guide. I was a little nervous but they made things a lot of fun and I had a great time doing the episode. You can find it up on YouTube.
Additional big news with the Register is that the CS database is completed! All 1,538 of them are now accounted for and Adam and I will be rolling out the information on 968Register.org this fall so watch for it. And there are a number of very interesting CS oddities which you’ll get to read about. (Colin’s CS #2 below). Work on the ROW databases continues.
Another task, I spent the last 8 of months restoring Minty’s 17” Cup1s. They are now mounted along with new Michelins. Note the correct 92-only non-painted crest center caps.
I’ve also been busy enjoying the resurrected Matador. It runs and drives great. I had Jim take care of some oil leaks and just a few more mechanical things to sort out and then onto a new paint job. The Matador attended its first show at Limerock in August where we ran into Erich with Magenta and Mike. Great to see the Matador at the event considering it was close to being parted 12 years ago. I hope you have been enjoying your 968 as well.
Thanks to RJ Wilmoth for not one but TWO articles in this issue. If you have something you think the group would be interested in hearing about, please write it up and we’ll get it in a future newsletter. BTW, the register email distribution list is almost at 800 members! So, enjoy the newsletter and more importantly, enjoy that 968 of yours.
PCA Parade 2024 – Birmingham, AL
The 68th annual Porsche Parade was held in Birmingham AL this past June and I was in attendance. It was a great and surprising event. Birmingham was a wonderful city and a fantastic location for the Parade. The concours and many of the events were held under the main 10-lane highway! In NYC, that would be the last place you would want to hang out but the city planners in Birmingham did a great job designing the space and the best part is it provides great shade.
The Parade was well organized, the food was great, and the events were quite fun. I met a number of PCAers. As for 968s, we had 4 in attendance and a few representatives in the events.
Horace had his midnight blue coupe in the concours and took first in class. Way to represent Horace!
Peter S. from NJ competed in the time distance rally. I also saw Joe L. at the event with his beautiful Amazon coupe.
The Alabama weather cooperated and we enjoyed pleasant temperatures all week long. The Parade was great and I’m looking forward to Oklahoma City in 2025.
And in case you haven’t heard, the 2026 Parade was announced and the location will be Lake Placid NY. Since that is close to me, I’ll look to organize some kind of 968 event.
Meet ORIGINAL 968 owners, Dan Deegan & Rich Tobin!
We feature a lot of rare 968s and items regularly in our newsletters but with this issue I’m bringing you something 968 related that continues to grow even rarer, two original 968 owners! Two individuals who shopped 968s back when they were new, purchased one, and STILL own their 968s to this day!
First up, let me virtually introduce to you original 968 owner Dan Deegan. Dan is a busy guy so I was excited when he agreed to sit with me for a few minutes and chat about his 968 history.
Dan’s first relationship with Porsches started in 1978 when he purchased a 1973 911 Targa. It was just a few years later when he wandered into his local dealership to purchase parts for the Targa only to discover the amazing new red 1986 944 Turbo sitting on the showroom floor. He was smitten by the car right away and had to have it. Fortunately, he had some ready cash and was able to make the deal happen after negotiating just few hundred off the sticker price. The new 944 Turbo was in hot demand when it debuted in 1986 so prices were fairly firm. With this purchase, Dan’s transaxle Porsche ownership began.
Over the next few years Dan drove the 944 and enjoyed it as it was meant to be but then he got the racing bug and the modifications began. Dan built the car into a formattable driver’s education competitor while continuing to enjoy it at many PCA events. It was during the PCA Parade in Lake Placid NY when he first came upon the 968 and he liked what he saw and thought he might like to own one someday. As an Autoweek subscriber, he would get the new issues and always see the new 968s listed for sale in the back of the issue.
You may recall an article I wrote a few years back about how close I came to becoming an original 968 owner when one of my local dealers received 8 of them to sell and they were greatly discounted. Dan encountered the same thing but added a little more detail to the story. Porsche had the Boxster ready to come out shortly and they wanted no distraction from the remaining new 968s so they wanted them gone. To assist in making that happen they told the dealers that they would provide an incentive in the form of $10,000 off the sticker to pass on to buyers. Now that was a deal. Dan had been watching the 968 so it looked like now would be a good time to make ownership happen.
Dan was thinking of picking up an unusual colored 968 but then he visited his local dealership, John Holtz Porsche of Rochester NY, and found a beautiful red 968 cabriolet sitting there. It had the expected $10,000 off but by the time Dan was done with the dealer he had them down to $13,000 off sticker. What a deal. Dan took ownership and loved the car. He had considered a cabriolet for the open car experience, but he had to admit, it was the amazing deal on the car that made it happen.
Since taking ownership Dan has truly enjoyed his 968. Dan regularly takes advantage of PCA events and has been concouring his cab for many years. Matter a fact, that is where Dan and I first met, at the PCA Zone 1 concours around 1997 or 1998.
Dan is a self-admitted perfectionist and takes great strides in caring for his cab. He like the Griot’s Garage products and uses them regularly to maintain the car’s interior and exterior. Dan uses an old school Bra on the front of the car when traveling to events to keep the front end in good shape. Dan admitted to me that he doesn’t put the top down too often anymore because he doesn’t want to damage the plastic window.
Dan has had very good performance out of his 968 and he performs almost all his maintenance himself including the timing belt replacement. He went on to tell me that once he had noticed the car was vibrating a little more than normal and when he went in to do the belt job he was surprised to find the balance shaft belt had broken but fortunately, had not taken the timing belt with it. During Dan’s tenure with the cab it did suffered from the dreaded 968 “Achilles heel”, the pinion bearing issue, so he had the tranny dropped and it was rebuilt by a specialist so that issue has been dealt with.
After all these years Dan’s cab now shows 75,000 miles and he told me he has a couple of minor repairs planned for 2024 including the new door handle gaskets but the main order of the day is to continue to enjoy it. Dan also keeps himself busy as part of race car crew. So, the next time you come across a beautiful red cabriolet at a PCA event take a close look as it may be Dan’s and if it is, you are looking at a rare, one owner 968. Be sure to say hello.
Our second featured original 968 owner is Rich Tobin. Rich’s journey with 968s is one that many of us share, starting with a 944, or in Rich’s case, 2 944s! Rich was struck with the new transaxle Porsches when they made their debut and found himself taking delivery of a 1983 model in the rare moss green color with beige tweed cloth interior. A membership with PCA started shortly after. Loving the ’83, a new 1988 model was ordered in white and although a great car, Rich still remembers his ’83 as his favorite of the two. Being a transaxle fan, Rich was well aware of the pending arrival of the new 968 and when it finally showed up, he knew he wanted one. Rich recalls his first impressions with the 968 noting the budged fenders, smooth rear end, and an overall improvement in the “user-friendliness”. He noted the improvements in safety of the new model with the standard ABS and dual airbags. He liked the positioning of the horn button on the steering wheel. After that first test drive the deal was sealed, he just had to pick out which one he wanted. When he visited the Porsche dealer in Virginia and spotted his oak green 968 (1 of just 20 NA coupes in Oak Green) 6 speed coupe, memories of that favorite Moss green 944 pointed him towards the car and that was the one he purchased.
Over the years Rich has taken meticulous care of his 968. It currently has 52k miles on it. During his ownership time he has handled all the common repairs that most of us have including replacing the cladding rubber after they shrunk. Rich focuses on keeping the 968 in tip top condition. One product that is his favorite is “Back to Black” which he uses on the black trim around the car. I also use this product and have had good results. Rich shows his 968 regularly and has attended many events in the DC area as well as Porsches in the Park event in Longboat Key Florida. Rich was there at the 968 Celebration in Hershey back in 2004 when we had 67 968s in attendance!
Just like Dan, Rich still loves his 968 and appreciates its uniqueness. Like many of us, he often finds himself as the only 968 representing the model at PCA events.
So, there you have it. Not one but TWO original 968 owners. How great it is to find these two gentlemen in our community that have held on to their machines for all these years. Thanks to Dan and Rich for sharing their 968 journeys with us. Safe travels gentlemen and keep enjoying those great machines and remember, you are now rarer than your machines being original owners!
Discoveries from the ROW 968 database:
In the last newsletter I told you that the ROW (Rest of World) databases were underway. I also promised to share with you interesting findings as I learned them. That sharing starts with this newsletter.
The new, Porsche 968 LAUNCH EDITION:
Often, when a new model is introduced to the public, the manufacturing company will select a certain configuration and produce a number of vehicles in that same configuration. Then they will send them out to introduce the world to the new model. The manufacturer will often go to the trouble of deciding which configuration would be the preferred format to show-off the new model. When Porsche Cars North America wanted to introduce the 968 to America, they chose a red cab and a horizon blue coupe. You will often see these two cars in period 968 promotions. But PCNA only used the two cars, far from a “launch edition”. However, things were different with the 968 in Germany.
Porsche did indeed produce a “launch edition” 968. I don’t know much about them. I assume they were used by the staff to get out and show-off the new model but I don’t know for sure. What I can tell you is that they were ALL produced during the first two months of production, their VINs are not consecutive, they have C00 German emissions, and they were configured in exactly the same way. They were all early production cars so they would have the recessed hood badge and the larger, edged rear emblem. So, what did they look like?
For the launch edition COUPE, the cars were Midnight Blue in color. They had FULL leather interiors in classic grey. Optional equipment included dual heated, full power 8-way seats, Symphony am/fm cassette radio, dual airbags, air conditioning, and a power sunroof. And you couldn’t have a launch edition 968 without those beautiful 17” Cup1 wheels. 75 identical coupes were produced as stated.
For the launch edition CABRIOLET, the cars were Horizon Blue in color. They had FULL leather interiors in cobalt blue along with a cobalt blue top. Optional equipment was just like the coupe and included dual heated, full power 8-way seats, Symphony am/fm cassette radio, dual airbags, air conditioning, and the 17” Cup1 wheels. 106 identical cabriolets were produced as stated.
I think you would agree that both of these “launch edition” examples would make handsome 968s to take out and brag about the new model. I have seen a few of them pop up for sale in Germany. I’m sure the owners don’t know how significant their 968s are in the history of 968s.
Another Amazing Code 99 ROW 968 cabriolet:
As I have been working on the ROW databases, I’m amazed at some of the great 968 examples that the Rest Of World had made for them. A few weeks back I had added a late 1992 cabriolet to the database. This car was black with a black top but what made it truly unique was the code 99 custom interior code. You’ll recall that in a newsletter last year we featured Benoit’s Raspberry cabriolet which also had a code 99 matching Raspberry interior. I wondered what the interior could possibly be on this second code 99 cabriolet as all I had was the code. Well, a few months later I found out.
I received an email from 968er Alex with a “for sale” link to this very 968 and wow, what an interior. I’m not sure how best to describe the interior color? Red/Orange? Clearly it is full leather and very unique. You’ll note the very rare option code X26 custom leather steering wheel. The interior looks great with the black as well. A truly special machine which has had some day-2 mods added to it. Do you like it?
PCA 968 Register on Social Media:
Wow, what a difference a year and 5 months can make. It was March of 2023 when we launched the new Porsche Club of America 968 Register Facebook group. Since that time, the 968 conversations have heated up and we currently stand at 387 members!! If you haven’t joined the group, consider it. It is a great way to get your 968-fix on a daily basis.
You’ll also note we changed our name to make the group easier to locate.
968 Tech: Porsche 968 Headlight/Fog Light Protection
By RJ Wilmoth WeatherTech vs Automotion
Years ago, when I bought my first two 968’s, precut headlight/fog light film was readily available from the catalog/online source of the day, Automotion. I put this on both cars and never had light damage after many, many miles. These are much thicker than PPF.
The current cost for a headlight is around $500. Fog lights $800. So, three years ago when I bought another 968 one of the first things I looked for was these protectors. Automotion is long gone, and I never found another source for these. Fast forward to today and a friend dropped and cracked a fog light, that got me looking again. I found some in France from a company that I had never heard of “Rose Passion”. Interesting that under their Rose Passion logo appears the old Automotion logo. Maybe they bought up Automotion’s old stock? I know these were made in the US. All the labels are in English and even includes the warning label for children choking on the plastic bag. Plus, the turn signal piece is for US cars.
They are quite expensive at 76 Euros and they only ship DHL or FedEx air, so add another 25 for shipping. To me a hundred bucks is worth it, but for others that don’t want to spend that much I’ve included the templates so you can make your own from the thickest PPF you can find. The attached PDF should print in the templates correct size. I added the size to the photo below also.
I wouldn’t waste time with the turn signal covers. With the raised SAE lettering and Hella logo you will never get the air bubble out with the thick Automotion piece.
WeatherTech
Another option is “Lampgard” from WeatherTech. I’m glad they are thinking of the 968 owners.
However, even at half the price, I don’t think the thickness is going to do much against a rock. These are probably good for newer cars with Lexan/plastic lenses.
https://www.weathertech.com/porsche/1993/968/lampgard
968 Detailing: Stickers
Recently 968er John had been detailing his car and noticed a missing sticker. He contacted me about it and asked what it was? John, the answer is a sticker with your VIN and your VIN in a bar code. What is it used for? I can only guess production handling. It is a somewhat fragile paper-type of sticker. Below is the photo John sent me and my sticker from Minty. I am not aware of any replacements but I don’t think it would be complicated to replicate.
And while we are discussing 968 stickers, I had one reproduced by my friend Shelley. It is the “Unleaded Fuel Only” sticker found on the gauge bezel in 1992 or on the lens from 1993-1995. Mine was old and shriveled up. They came out pretty good. If you are interested in one contact me.
Porsche Option Code Sticker Reproductions By RJ Wilmoth
When I got my latest 968 the option code sticker was so faded that not everything was legible. I made my best guess and was able to confirm the options with Jeff, but the last two digits of the Production Number/Body Number, Engine/Trans codes were not readable.
A few years back I was able to get a reproduction sticker for my 928GTS that was very accurate looking from a guy in England. I’ve seen some really bad repro stickers on several Porsches while judging at PCA concours events and in photos of cars for sale. I couldn’t find him online but found his email address and found out he’s still doing these. The price has gone up considerably since my last order. But if you want one, they are available.
Chris at info@911-247.co.uk
He also makes the smaller sticker for the Maintenance book and the color code sticker for under the hood. More on the color code sticker later. I ordered the whole set. He was able to find the production number for my car. Apparently, there were different sizes over the years, and he will make whatever size you need for either sticker.
What I got is shown below. He included the data sheet that had the Production number and other codes I had never seen before, like the carpet color code (it’s not the same as the Trim Code).
I’m very pleased with the product. The paper even looks and feels “right”.
Now for the Color Code sticker.
I had gotten one earlier from Classics Stickers in Germany for a much lower price, so I wanted to see how they compared. Both are vinyl so they might actually last. They are slightly different, but both are very nice, and I doubt if the best concours judge could tell that it’s not original. I like the one from Classics best. www.classics-stickers.com
Sincerely,
Jeff Coe
