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Always wanted to drive your 912 on a long trip, but were concerned about
unplanned pitstops? On the road now, and need to contactor our
Coordinator?
In an effort to help persuade more 912 owners to
enjoy the highways and byways of our beautiful country, Harry Hoffman is
handling the duties of the 912 Travel Assistance Network (T.A.N.) within
the United States (the T.A.N. was originally developed by Craig
Norton). This network is a listing of 912 owners around the country
that can be contacted if help is needed in the event of a breakdown
while on the road. Most 912 owners agree they would much rather call a
912 friendly person than Bubba’s Midnight Tow & Repo if stranded and in
need of 912 help.
Click here for more info.
Read about Rany Weiss' adventure, and how the TAN Network helped him.
(Additional stories are
welcome)
 From:
Randy Weis , '69 912; Trip across America!!!!!
I purchased a 1969 912
from a Registry member who was selling the car on E Bay. This was my
first E Bay purchase as well as my first Porsche. Am an avid German car
fan having Audis, BMW’s and an Opel in the 70’s. The car was a totally
restored 1969, bare metal restoration, new paint, wheels etc. and looked
great on line and when I picked it up. The car started, stopped, started,
and handled great. There was a linkage problem that hounded me for the
first two days of my journey. With some creativity on my part, the
assistance of a local mechanic in Grand Junction, CO, I was able to get
the car home safe and sound from LA back to Connecticut some 2,800 miles,
with an average daily temperature of 95.
I started my drive on
Saturday July 30, the first day of owning my car, and my pre-work prior to
my purchase was reading the Registry website which was invaluable, plus
reading Duane Spencer’s complete Porsche Guide. After starting out of LA
heading up route 15 in CA, I was amazed at how little acceleration the car
had and the top speed was around 55mph. Since I had 2800 miles to drive,
I was very concerned. Around 7:30 on Saturday morning, I decided to call
Duane Spencer at home and find out why the car could be performing so
poorly. Duane’s first comment was to never buy a car on E Bay, just what
I wanted to hear, but walked me though everything it could possibly be,
and suggested that I stop in Vegas at “Carls” and have them look at the
car. I struggled to get through the dessert….creeping, shifting on the
slightest hill, many calls back to Duane….etc. I removed the insulation
that kept falling on the fan, removed the rain tray to get as much air to
the engine as possible. Along the way, I removed the accelerator stop,
and even cut out the floor board to get more pedal for more power. Upon
arriving at Carl’s place, he said I had a problem with the right carb
(Webbers) and there seemed to be linkage adjustment issues. Carl said it
would take a couple of days to sort it out but I was trying to get the car
back home. I asked Carl if it would hurt to drive the car as is, and he
said he did not think so. I should also say that along the way,
Keith
from San Francisco, part of the TAN Network was in contact with me to make
sure I got to where I was going. I made it as far as Grand Junction, CO,
before the part that the linkage cables and the accelerator rod connect
into broke. Thanks to Eric Hermann of Grand Junction, he welded the part
and got me on my way. I continued my journey till I arrived home on the
following Thursday.
Once home, I went to my
local Porsche mechanic, Tullio Ferri of Bridgeport, CT who looked at the
car and admired how clean it was and essentially original. He too said
there was a problem in the right carb, which later turned out to be damage
from a carb fire, that once he rebuilt it and adjusted the valves, has the
car running like new.
I like originality in my
cars. The paint color is from a 72 Porsche, and the wheels are 16inch
chrome Fuchs. I will leave the paint as is as it is a respectable job,
less than a year old, but am contemplating going to the steel wheels and
hubcaps.
Back two weeks now, I am
driving and enjoying the car immensely. My thanks to Keith, Duane, Carl’s
Porsche in Vegas, and Eric Herman the local mechanic in Grand Junction,
CO….I could not have made it back without them. Randy Weis
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