Si Mitchell
Carrera 3.2
Year: 1986
Mileage: 119,256
Current Mods: Removed the spoiler and fixed a gearbox shifting problem
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I’ve been into cars for as long as I can remember and have owned everything from big engine Volkswagen Beetles through to Fiat 130TC Abarths, but being an avid Volkswagen enthusiast have always wanted a Porsche and the 911 seemed like a logical progression. So the hunt began for a project 911 that I could use on a daily basis and, gradually over time, restore, tweak and slightly modify. I knew I wanted an impact bumper car and preferably a 3.2, so after months of scouring various classifieds and viewing numerous vehicles I found a car that sounded perfect. I arranged with the owner to view the car on the evening of Saturday 24th May - the same day as the Husbourne Crawley swap meet. I was due to work on the 911 & Porsche World stand at this meet and could pop along to view the car when the event was over. I took along the funds to purchase the car, but after arriving at the event I noticed a 1986 Prussian blue Carrera 3.2 on a trailer for sale, and the best thing was that it was well within my budget. After having a good look around the car, checking all the usual areas for rust and accident damage, the car was removed from the trailer and taken for a test drive. That was it, a deal was struck and the car was mine! The drive home was great fun (except for the usual M25 traffic!) and once back in my garage I could begin to plan the project and have a better look over my new car. After a couple of weeks of use the gearbox started behaving rather strangely and I was unable to find 1st, 3rd and 5th gears, and all sorts of strange whining noises were coming from the 915 box. I spoke to numerous people about this and it was suggested that I should firstly change the linkage bushes, then the engine and transmission mounts and then the gearbox oil (for the highly rated Swepco oil). All of the above were changed, but to no avail. One very odd thing was that when I changed the gear oil a 10mm headed nut attached to a small stud came out of the box. Not good. This was serious, was I looking at a £1500 gearbox rebuild? After a little more research the name Mike Bainbridge came to light as a very helpful and knowledgeable Porsche gearbox specialist, so I thought I’d drop him an email explaining my shifting problems. He replied straight away saying it sounded like the selector fork had come loose from the cover plate and it was a very easy fix. All I had to do was re-drain the gearbox oil, remove the plate from the underside of the box and check the selector fork was securely attached. Mike was 100% correct and after half an hour or so the fork was bolted back into place and the box feels as good as new! I strongly advise anyone who is changing their gearbox oil to look at this area as, if I had driven a few hundred more miles the selector fork, studs and bolts would have been flying around the inside of the box on a path of destruction! Thanks very much Mike, and what they say about you is true! I have a number of plans for the car; the rear spoiler has now been removed and a Carrera script badge and grille fitted, and I can’t wait to remove those 17” Boxster wheels and fit original style Fuchs wheels. A slight lowering job and suspension upgrade is also on the cards along with a little tidying. Watch this space as my car develops into a usable, fun and affordable daily driver project. Big thanks to Mike Bainbridge. For more information see: www.mbporsche-engineering.co.uk |
