Ten Fifty-nine

[orange911]

I wish I had that red under my lid. I presume the oil stains on the cardboard are from the drives pre-TLG. I painted my Leistritz with a can of the grey primer exhaust paint (can't remember the brand), and it made a huge improvement on the rear of the car. I never would have thought such a difference could be made. I remember my wife even noticed it while we were backing out of the driveway. Take an afternoon to pull it off and hang it, paint it, and reapply. My paint has lasted about 3 years and could use another dose, but mine did not look near as good as yours when I started. Are you planning to drop the perma-tune setup for a 3 pin Bosch with bosch coil?

[Mr9146]

I wish I had that red under my lid. I presume the oil stains on the cardboard are from the drives pre-TLG. I painted my Leistritz with a can of the grey primer exhaust paint (can't remember the brand), and it made a huge improvement on the rear of the car. I never would have thought such a difference could be made. I remember my wife even noticed it while we were backing out of the driveway. Take an afternoon to pull it off and hang it, paint it, and reapply. My paint has lasted about 3 years and could use another dose, but mine did not look near as good as yours when I started. Are you planning to drop the perma-tune setup for a 3 pin Bosch with bosch coil?

I try not to post too much in this thread as I don't have much to add beyond what Rick has to offer, but I did want to address the muffler and ignition comments and maybe add a little bit of perspective to the decision-making process.

Olin, I really struggled with the decision to paint the muffler/heater boxes. In the past I've used a VHT ceramic-in-a-can paint for various exhaust components and, on the whole, it's been a pretty good product as long as the curing directions are adhered to. However, I try not to make painting exhausts an SOP (standard operating procedure) like, for instance, powder coating sheet metal when the motor is out of the car. The reason for this is two-fold: 1) every customer's tastes, wants, and desires are different ... as much as we'd like to believe that pretty, restored cars are preferred by all of us, the reality is they aren't. Some people like the rough and ready look (I'm one of those people). 2) while the various products are durable, they do eventually come apart and then, in my personal opinion, I feel they look worse than if the components were left in original, patina-ed condition. In the case of Rick's car, the muffler was in such good, unmolested condition that we - both he and I - felt the decision to leave it as such was the preferred course of action. There's a thematic approach to 1059 that leans toward the functional rather than the beautiful because, in Rick's (and my) opinion(s), functional is beautiful.

As for the Permatune, yes, there is a history of problems with the products. HOWEVER, unlike Bosch silver coils, they are not all junk right out of the box. My father has been running a single Permatune CDI box is his twin-plug 2.8 car for 20+ years without a single, solitary glitch. And while I have seen a number of Permatunes go south over the years, I've also seen a large number of them run on for just as long. There are the blue Permatunes and the silver Permatunes - I think the blue ones came first and they are notoriously better than the silver ones. But Rick's car runs strong and hasn't given him any reason to change it back to Bosch components, so we decided (he and I) to leave well enough alone FOR NOW as he just spent a considerable amount of money on his last visit. And, don't forget, Bosch CDI boxes go bad, too. I've got a stack of boxes that don't work, and there are more Bosch boxes in that stack than Permatunes.

Do I think he should change the ignition system? Yes, of course; if for nothing more than originality's sake the car should be running a Bosch ignition. But I'm also a firm believer in "if it ain't broke don't fix it", and tacking on a few hundred dollars more just because the ignition system isn't original didn't seem like the right move at this point in the project.

However, I will not be sending Rick to Alaska without a Bosch system either installed in the car or, at the very least, wrapped up in the trunk just in case.

[orange911]

Marco, thanks for the detailed responses and I want to state for the record that I wasn't belittling your work because the exhaust was not painted, I was just thinking that it would be a great weekend project. Mine was in much worse shape so I couldn't leave it. VHT was the brand that I used and you are right that it doesn't last forever. I was asking about the bosch stuff knowing that this car is so unmolested, whether Rick would go the additional steps for the ignition. Since mine has a "Bosch rebuilt" unit in the car, I know that they do fail also. I don't know anything good or bad about PermaTune, but they sure sold a bunch of them b.i.t.d. (back in the day). But I also like the "if it ain't broke(n) don't fix it" mentality. However, I will make changes to improve reliability - as in adding Pertronix. Lots of people have had bad luck after installing them, but I believe there are other root causes to those problems, as in they were trying to fix a sloppy dizzy by adding the pertronix (me being one of them). After rebuilding the dizzy, the pertronix worked flawlessly. In any event, I am glad the west coast has great shops like yours, and I am glad Rick has been a great sport to share all the details along the way.

[Mr9146]

Marco, thanks for the detailed responses and I want to state for the record that I wasn't belittling your work because the exhaust was not painted, I was just thinking that it would be a great weekend project. Mine was in much worse shape so I couldn't leave it.

No worries, Olin. I just think that Rick's prose - while entertaining to read - may have needed a bit more clarification in terms of the overall approach to the project.

It's a real pleasure to work on 1059 because Rick allows my father and I to participate in the decision-making process. And while the final decision is ultimately his, he is very inclusive in the process and appreciates our ideas and experience because, in the end, everything we do is done with his and 1059's best interests in mind.

[Jens]

There are some great shops out there, and some great mechanics, but there are not nearly enough Tonys and Marcos in the world. Youse guys are aces!

[LongRanger]

I’m enjoying reading the comments

Running this car brings up a lot of stuff, for me

I’m a big fan of Old Cars, in general, so . . . finding/buying/maintaining/enjoying something like 1059 is a huge topic, just by itself. I will say that, keeping the car as ‘Porsche’ as possible is my first consideration --- my few ‘fingerprints’ notwithstanding. I tell Marco . . . ‘turn the clock back to 1970’ . . . and he nods + understands. Which is why TLG has the car . . .

. . . Family

We’ll do everything we can to try to put back/keep 1059 the way Porsche built her

Still have a short list . . .

Sigla windshield + pass side-glass
3-wire electric window motor
3-pin CDI + back-up
Black coil + back-up
Electric fuel pump + back-up
100l ‘long-range’ tank
Coker's Michelin XWX x 5

More practically --- 1059 doesn’t just have to look like a Porsche . . . she has run like one, too --- everything has to work. Majority/priority of the issues getting addressed are those affecting the car’s immediate condition + operation --- engine performance, oil leaks, rotted exhaust, sketchy lines + linkages, bagged shocks --- even an MiA horn. And if a ‘correctness’ issue can get taken care of along with a ‘function’ issue’? --- fine. But, like Marco wrote . . . if it ain’t broke, etc. There’s more to come --- gauges, especially, and wheels + others. And those’ll take time + money. But the list of short-comings is getting shorter . . . while the car is looking/running/getting better

Which kinda leads into why I’m here, why this car . . . this thread

Regardless of ‘correctness’ or ‘reliability’ issues --- or the time + money spent . . . this car --- from when I first thought about getting a Porsche again, to driving home from this last service --- is a blast

1059 = fun



But, then again . . . I’m an idiot. I’ve got an un-holy amount of money, sitting 25 miles away, in someone else’s garage . . . sunk into a 40+-year-old car, w/ 40+-year-old seat-belts, and a 40+-year-old fiberglass + wood (!)seat, that’ll do almost ~150 . . . on 185-section tires

(Really --- I feel like a hero, every time I drive her)

OK . . . she drips some oil. And I need to fix some stuff. And the nasty dash is cracked

But still . . .



I

Couldn’t

Be




Happier



PS Could use one nice(r) H1 trim ring, too!

[YTNUKLR]

Rick,
Your enthusiasm is refreshing and wonderful. Yours is my favorite thread on this board. The child inside you dreaming of playing with real cars...IS alive an IS *living* the dream!

Keep at it, Sir . . .

[LongRanger]

Apart from my usual ‘charge-the-battery/keep-the-tires-round-type driving, 1059’s only real duties lately are . . . to go to swap meets, occasional Cars & Coffees . . . . and maybe a car show or two. Like ‘Kruzin’ for the Kids’ up in Simi Valley

This was the first outing since coming back from service --- although, since it’s, like, 75 mi back from TLG, two weeks parked wasn’t a bad thing. I don’t really care/worry about the putting miles on the car . . . 1059 is what she is. I am more sensitive to my outta-pocket, though. Fuel economy since coming back from service = ~20 MpG, about what I’ve come to expect. I suppose I could improve that --- gas just spiked ~$4.75/gal, which I actually held-off taking a Drive because of . . . but the truth is . . . driving slow doesn’t really save that much money. And the car doesn’t care. So, I keep her tanked up, and drive when I can . . . about $100/mo-worth

Driving to the Simi Show was fun. Santa Ana conditions --- dry, off-shore flow, warming . . . clear as a bell. Left the house ~8:00 AM, light traffic . . . but a little more than I was expecting. 1059 is small --- and sneaky, almost invisible, apparently . . . judging by the number of no-turn-signal/last-second-lane-changer/whoops --- where’d-you-come-froms I had to deal with. Maybe I need me some better horns? --- Griot’s still sell those special 120 dB Hellas? . . . think it’s that time

Anyway, 1059 loves the freeway, so I just warmed ‘er up, wound ‘er up, pointed ‘er nose 'that way' --- then hung on. Steering wheel obscures any part of the speedometer above 120 kph/multiply-by-three-then-divide-by-five = 72 mph, anyway (Officer), so I usually just drive by the tach. SoCal traffic is always a mess, anymore --- even when there’s hardly any of it! Zero lane discipline. Pockets of slower traffic wandering here-and-there, faster traffic getting forced to the right by knuckleheads driving slower in the ‘fast’ lanes, interspersed w/ jalopy-mounted terrorists who seem to actually enjoy making it difficult for anyone to get around them . . . who needs an AK? --- gimme a Corolla. As for turn signals? Bah!

Mayhem? . . . thy name is Freeway

Fine

Snug up the gloves + belts . . . dial-up the revs . . . . ears back . . . . claws out

1059 is fast. Maybe not the fastest thing I’ve had on the road . . . but the way this little car spins-up + takes-off + carries speed never fails to impress. Suspension is fine --- she scoots over any-/everything and the only secondary noises I ever hear are from anything that’s come loose inside the cab. Body thumps and drums smartly, solidly, real re-assuringly. Lotsa gear noise, higher/lower timbre according to velocity. Engine? Kinda snorty/moany up to ~3000 . . . but crack the throttles and that motor just howls . . . very wolfy

Torquey, too . . . surprisingly. Marco’s had two turns now at tuning 1059 . . . and I think that he’s hit the balance just about perfect. Motor’ll pull smoothly from 1500, even in 5th --- I know, I know . . . sounds cruel, but I have to see what the car can do. Regular traffic speeds are fine, no nonsense. 5000-plus is the same catapult-launch as before ---- car feels untouchable/invincible/immortal in 3rd @WOT. And I think the car’s spit (lightly) exactly twice since service? I know that MFI scares people --- scared me . . . but when it’s dialed-in like this? . . . I cannot imagine running this car without it. Take a bow, Marco

Gear-change is fine --- even changing-down into 1st (!!) . . . as long as we’re moving, ‘cause --- from a dead-stop? . . . I swear, it takes, like, 5 seconds for the d@mn gears + synchros to stop spinning, do a no-crunch select. I would NOT say the 901 is easy to use . . . but I’m used to it

As for handling? . . . in a word? Un-sure. Give an example. Coming down the 405 NB, approaching the 118 WB, the transition ramp is on the right, straight, then climbing/turning into this towering two-lane fly-way that swings up to the left, over the 405, then dives/merges w/ 118 WB. After 5-or-so miles of bumper-to-bumper nonsense, getting over and onto this trans-ramp is always a sprint. Fine. Got that covered. 1059 is no drag-racer . . . but as soon as we have any room? . . . . 1059 has no problem getting into ‘the chute’ and up the trans-ramp first --- and then some

Problem is . . . at the top? . . . there’s this turn --- ~90 degree descending blind-left, lightly cambered, usually litter/debris-strewn, un-lit @ night . . . that’s just plain scary. In 1059. In my little BMW? --- I can come into that corner almost flat-out, punch-down two gears, brake + stand the car on it’s nose, turn-in, pause an instant, hit the gas, swing the tail a touch --- poof! Its fun

Not in the Porsche. 1059’s steering is unassisted but actually vaguer than the BMW’s, anyway --- hey! . . . there’s a two-decade age difference --- not-to-mention wear-&-tear . . . so what would anyone expect? And the e30 is not stock --- there’s more money under that car than the stupid car’s even worth. And I’m OK w/ some amount of shifting/wiggling courtesy of 1970’s tech/torsion-bars/etc. But --- for the life of me . . . I cannot tell what the back of that Porsche is doing. And when I think about it . . . this’s been going on for a while, now. Fixing the shocks has helped the ride . . . but only underlines 1059’s un-sure handling, that much more

Add to The List

Anyway --- the Car Show . . .

Kind of a bust, actually. Mostly ‘Vettes + trucks + hot rods + misc muscle-stuff --- like I expected. But almost no imports . . . just a Ferrari (w/ cup-holders), a Tiger (w/ a 260 V8) and an early ‘70s VW Westphalia beater --- the only other air-cooled anything in the show, turns out

What did I expect? Entrant #13

[Mr9146]

Thanks, Rick. I appreciate the kind words.

I've got a hunch that those tires are probably 75% of your handling problem. They may be the "right" size, but I've never particularly liked the Vredesteins - they feel like they skate around underneath the car and never take a solid bite of the road. Unfortunately, there are not many choices out there if you're looking for "correctness".

[LongRanger]

1059's been sharing garage space for the last month or so. It's taken a while but I finally got under the Nasty Car . . .

I'll wipe-&-tidy down here --- when I have the time . . . and the attire . . .

In the mean time? . . . we're driving