1976 Porsche 912E
Comments:
The engine was rebuilt by Mark Stephens, Inc. a shop in Tahachapi, CA who
specializes in type 4 VW and Porsche engines. They replace everything but
the crankcase. These engines are very popular amoung the racing community
because of their longevity.
The engine was installed by Balcones European Motors here in Austin. They also went through the car and checked and repaired anything that needed it, including, shocks, brakes, axels and CV joints etc.
When I bought the car I thought it needed work on the fuel injection system. (full maintenance records came with the car) When we checked it out it was clear that the valves were badly burned and since the engine had 158,000 miles on it, I decided to do a full rebuild. At that time I intended to keep the car for years. When we analyzed the service records, we found that a valve job had been done only a few thousand miles ago. My mechanic finally figured out that the filter on the gas tank was clogged up and that was causing the fuel injection system to run too lean and therefore burn the valves. By then we had already replaced the FI system with the Webber carbs.
The car seems to have had some collision damage to the undercarriage and to the front end. There is evidence of sheet metal repair in the inside of the luggage compartment. My guess is that the car was completely repainted at that time. The paint is in exceptionally good condition. The repairs were not extensive and were properly done. All the running gear works properly, there seems to be no residual damage.
The interior is in original condition with sheepskin covers on the seats. Mechanically the car is in top condition and cosmetically it is very good. The interior is the weakest part. It is clean and original but that means 22 years old.
The car originally had air conditioning, but we left it off when the engine was rebuilt. Many of these cars had overheating problems, which I believe was caused by the way the drive pully for the compressor was attatched to the end of the crankshaft. In the stock configuration, the coupling blocks the airflow to the centrifugal fan which cools the engine. In its present configuration, the car shows no tendency to overheat, even on the hottest Texas day. The sun roof makes it tolerable without air.
My main objective in this project was to produce a car that drove at least as well as a new 912E Porsche. This objective and been achieved and exceeded. On trips the car is a joy to drive. When you get there you kind of wish it had been a little further. On windy back roads the manual 5 speed has a great feel as you run through the gears. On the highway at speed it has plenty of pull in 5th gear to accelerate at whatever speed. 3000 rpm is a little over 75 mph and the car will cruise there easily all day long, and probably would at 4000 rpm if you were so inclined.Red line is at 7000 rpm.
The oil has been changed twice since assembly and has been replaced with
synthetic lubricant. It cruises comfortably at eighty and has plenty of
kick at any speed. Because of the lengthened strock of the engine, it has
lots of lowend torque. It seems to have about the same 165 hp as the stock
6 cylinder engine with much more
reliability. The engine should last 100,000 miles.
Subject: 912E
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 1999 20:48:23 -0700
From: "Kevin R. Benham" <kevin@peak2peak.com>
Organization: Peak2Peak Netwerks, Inc.
To: bbott@ausbcomp.com
Hi Bill, I just recomended your car to somebody that is shop'n on the
net for a 912. I read your ad and liked the part about having one that
is just as good as new.....well guess what? I just did last Nov. This
car was part of a rich doctors collection for 21 year. He sold it in Jan
'97 with 59 miles on it! YES, that's 59! I bought it in november and it
had 8200! Still has the original uniroyal rallye tires on it! I paid far
too much at $21k, but to me it's the perfect car and well worth it!
You can see her at www.peak2peak.com/carnet/76912e.html
Did you know that there were only 2099 912E's made and only 500 had
sunroofs? Good luck...kev
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Contact Jim Davis 316-221-3249