1968 Porsche 912 (smurf blue)

So I've bought another of these. This one is in much better shape than the white one.

All the problems I've found with it so far are typical of cars of this age and mileage. It wanders a bit at speed -- probably due to being lowered and to worn-out suspension bushings -- and it has some drivability problems from idle. I suspect that at least one idle jet is clogged.

In this photo, you can see some of the smurf-blue overspray on the engine compartment noise insulation. The paint job is actually quite sloppy, considering what it cost (I have the receipt). Generally, though, you've got to look really close to see the problems. Call it a 12-inch paint job.

The engine compartment is incredibly clean. It hasn't got particularly dirtier since I've been driving the car around, either, which is a good sign. The tin could use stripping and powder-coating, but I'd consider that a very minor cosmetic detail -- especially because the places where it's needed are under the intake manifolds.

The throttle linkage needs a little bit of attention, as do the carbs in general. The car runs rich, and has severe Weber first-gear hesitation, as I mentioned above. I'm going to attempt to sort this all out myself, but experience tells me that I really don't have the patience for it.

And of course, the mixture being set too rich may merely be by way of compensating for some other problem. The carbs may need rebuilding, and the engine could probably benefit, too, which is not to be unexpected on a car with 130,000 miles.

The interior, including the working vintage Blaupunkt AM/FM radio. Everything works, though the speedo cable needs lubrication or replacement. The door panels are from a 1967 911 or 912, and the carpet is all wrong. This is good, because the 1968 door panels were nasty, and the original carpet in these cars was awful (think VW beetle).

The shift lever had the wrong cup bushing in it; I replaced that and it shifts much more precisely now.

So it's not a show car, and it's not perfect, but barring any hidden problems it's a good value for the money. It's been driven a lot, but it's rust-free. The interior was installed by an amateur (which means, in part, that the rear windows are held in by grossly incorrect screws), but it's new and in good shape (except for a crack in the $1000 dash piece that I wouldn't replace either). The paint job looks bad in places if you put your nose up against it, but I don't feel the need to do that too often.

I got precisely what I paid for, which is why I stopped looking for bargain 912s after dealing with the third crazy person trying to sell them for suspiciously low prices. You rarely get a bargain by trying to save money.

The pendulum also occasionally swings the other way, of course.

Consider this red car, also a 1968, that I saw while I was down in Charlottesville buying the blue one. The asking price is significantly more than I paid for the blue one:

This car has rust problems underneath (though not yet dire); it's got a hole chopped in the dashboard for a modern radio, and wedge speakers screwed into the shelf above the engine compartment. The paint is starting to oxidize, and the chrome is pitted. It's got the wrong mirrors, placed so you can't see them from the driver's seat. It's got 1968 door panels that have had the junk pockets crudely removed. It's got an awful "sport" steering wheel that obscures your view of the gauges and that does not give you enough mechanical advantage to work the fairly stiff steering. It's got black plastic horn grilles. It does not have the fancy and expensive alloy wheels. And it is missing its original engine, another having been substituted in the meantime -- and God only knows what's been done to that engine.

I told the guy at the car lot that the thing was worth about $6000 -- a figure I now think was itself high -- and was effectively laughed at. I suppose the car sales people know better than I do what they can get for the thing. I just feel sorry for the poor guy who pays $9900 (or even close to that) for this car.