Easy, inexpensive do-it-yourself detail fixes for 65-89 911/912/930

By Tom Gould

There are some easy fixes you can do to your Porsche to make it look fresh and increase the “curb” appeal. Most of these are not going to break your wallet, but will give you a lot of bang for your buck! The first step is to take a walk around your car. Starting in the front of your car, examine the following areas. Sometimes it helps to take a photo to have as reference later.

Headlights.

Are the lenses clean, free of scratches, chips and cracks? H1 and H4 Euro light assemblies can replace the lenses of the headlight assembly. The stock USA sealed beam units require changing the bulb/reflector unit. 87-94 cars with stock USA H5 assemblies require changing the bulb/reflector units, or they can be upgraded to the Euro H4 assemblies with a small wiring modification. If you are going to take the headlight out, it is a good time to replace the headlight to fender rubber seal. The seal will help keep moisture out and help the longevity of your headlight assembly. Later cars have rubber plugs on the trim ring that cover the adjusting screw holes (2 per trim ring) – make sure they are all in place.

Front Fog lenses.

65-68 cars used Hella 128 foglights as the optional under the bumper foglight. Replacing the lens is fairly easy and new lenses are readily available. These lenses come in yellow or clear (white), the color is your preference or what came originally on your car. 69-73 cars used Hella 139 foglights mounted under the bumper, or Hella 118 fog/driving lights mounted above the bumper on a bracket that extends out from the horn grille. The 139 lenses come as a combined reflector/lens assembly and were available in yellow or clear (white). The 118 lenses can be replaced separately and come in clear (white) or yellow. These were also available in a driving light version that has a lens which had almost no fluting in the glass, giving it a longer, narrower beam than the fog lights (they were also available in clear (white) or yellow). Replacement lenses are very difficult to find for these lights. If you cannot find a replacement, your only other option would be to purchase new or used foglight assemblies and have them mounted.
74-89 cars have fog lights mounted under the bumper with easily replaceable lenses, also available in clear (white) or yellow. 74-83 fog lights are mounted to the front of the valance; 84-89 are recessed in the valance. Two screws hold each frame in place, and the lens is easily accessible from there.

Front turn signal/sidemarker lights.

65-68 cars have lenses that are integral to the housing assembly. Replacing the lens requires replacing the entire housing assembly. There are some aftermarket replacement lenses that can be used, but it will require some modification to the assembly.
69-73 911/912 have replaceable lenses. Original Bosch lenses have the best fit. They come in USA and Euro combinations, and black or silver trim. 69-71 cars usually had silver trim and 72-on cars usually had black trim, although you can use them as you wish. USA lenses were yellow, while Euro lenses were yellow and white. Replacing the lens is a matter of taking the screws out of the old lens and screwing on the new lens (make sure you do not overtighten these screws or you will crack the lens).
74-89 911/912E/930 have replaceable lenses (in the bumper assembly). Each is held on with two screws. The lens further forward is the turn signal, and the one rear of that is the sidemarker.

Front hood crest.

Changing the hood crest is fairly simple, but a bit tedious - you need to have patience and be careful to not scratch or chip the paint. Always use a new rubber seal and new mounting clips (make sure you do not overtighten the clips as you can damage the paint or break off the mounting tabs on the crest).

Wiper blades – check the rubber.

It takes only a couple minutes to change the blade assemblies on the wiper arms. Make sure the arms are on the correct way – one of the arms has a slight bend in it near the wiper blade mount – this is the right (passenger side) arm. It is this way so that blade parks itself parallel to the bottom of the windshield, out of the drivers’ sight line. You should look at replacing your wiper blades at least once a year, and especially before a long trip. How many times have you gotten into a car, a surprise rain storm starts and your wiper blades are toast!

Now that you have gone through the front of the car, you can see there isn’t too much, but replacing any of the items that are in questionable condition will really make you car have better appeal or functionality.

Now let’s look at the sides of the car.

74-89 cars have plugs that go in the jack support holes. These are easy to replace and cheap. Just pop out the old one and insert the new ones. The old ones were probably faded and old looking, now with news ones in, the whole rocker panel looks fresher.

Fuel filler compartment.

74-89 cars have the windshield washer bottle filler next to the gas cap. The white (clear) plastic cap that goes over that takes just a few seconds to replace. There is also a rubber buffer the fits just under the release latch. Lots of cars are missing this. It is about 1/2” round and fits in a round opening under the release latch. Another really easy detail piece that takes a couple seconds to fix. Check your fuel cap while you are in there – look at the seal to make sure it is not cracked or broken. Also check the condition of the fuel filler foldout protection flap.

Side mirrors.

75-on cars that have the flag style painted mirror housings. There is a small rubber plug that covers the allen bolt which mounts the mirror housing to the base. Most cars are missing this small filler plug. This is another quick, easy fix.

Doors.

There are about 10 round, black plugs that cover the bolt holes on each door (amount varies). These are just pressed/squeezed into place. Don’t fill any holes on the bottom of the door – these are there to let any water escape.
The interior light switch, on the door hinge pilar, has a rubber boot that covers it. Check to see if yours is cracked, broken (or missing). Takes less than 30 seconds to replace – you just start it on one side and stretch it around to fit over the switch mounting washer.

Also, on the driver’s door latch pilar is the engine lid release handle (T-handle). If yours is broken it only takes a minute to replace. There is also a rubber washer/buffer that goes between the handle and the cable guide tube.

Now you have looked over half of the car, how long is your list? Remember, these are quick easy fixes that will enhance the functionality or value of your car, without breaking your wallet. Move to the rear of the car.

Rear lights and lenses.

Like the front, the 65-68 cars have lenses that are integral to the assembly/housing. Replacement requires replacing the entire assembly. There are some aftermarket replacement lenses that can be used, but it will require some modification to the assembly.

69-89 cars have 3 screws that mount the lens to the taillight assembly. Changing the lens is easy – just remember not to overtighten the screws when installing the lens, as they may crack the lens. Tighten just enough to make the lens touch the rubber seal on the housing. The lenses come in Euro or USA configurations, with silver trim or black trim. The USA lenses are all red (white back-up section), and Euro lenses are yellow in the signal area and red in the brake light area (white back up section). Silver trim was used on 69-71 cars and black 72-89, but the mounting is the same if you wanted to change the trim look on yours. Use the Bosch lenses, as they have the best fit.

Muffler tailpipe tip.

If you have a stock muffler you can replace the tailpipe tip. Chrome or black is available. Chrome was used from 65-73, and some 74 cars also came stock with a chrome tip. 74-89 cars had black tailpipe tips. The stock mufflers from 65-89 all had the same diameter tailpipe, so either the chrome or black tips will fit. If you have an aftermarket muffler you are on your own.

Targa.

Rear targa bar seal. This seal is often cracked and frayed, but it is easily replaced in less than 10 minutes. This is the seal that mounts along the rear edge of the targa bar and seals the rear window and targa bar. Look at the ends closely to see how the old seal fits on the ends, so you know how the new seal should fit. The seal just pulls off the bar (start on either end). Clean the area that is now exposed before mounting the new seal. You will see that the new seal has a metal edging in it – this is what holds it to the targa bar. Just press the new seal in place - start on one end and push it onto the targa bar rear lip. When you get to the other end you can trim any excess – but, since it is easy to stretch this seal when installing, I would let it sit on the car for a couple days first to see if the seal ‘shrinks to fit’ first.

Interior.

Throughout the interior there are small plugs that cover the trim screw mounting holes. These are just pressed in. Door lock knobs – the lock knobs just screw on/off. 84-89 also have round rotating release knobs on the door panel. These knobs and the surround trim are easily replaced in just a couple minutes.

Pedal covers.

Check your brake and clutch pedal covers for wear. They take only a minute to replace, look better, and keep your feet from slipping off the pedals. Check your accelerator pedal, especially on 65-75 cars, as the bottom of the pedal will rust, crack and break after many years of service, keeping the pedal from returning properly or causing it to stick. The 76-on pedals are all plastic and are less likely to wear out, except that some of them are now 30+ years old! Take a close look at it. Replacing the accelerator pedal requires replacing the whole pedal. To replace you need to remove two mounting bolts on the floor and pop off the accelerator rod on the back of the pedal (make sure the rod pops firmly into the pedal when re-attaching it).

Emergency brake handle rubber boot.

65-74 have a rubber boot that has openings on both sides of the brake handle, for the heater and hand throttle levers. 75 and later cars have the heater levers on one side of the handbrake. Replacing this boot is just a matter of sliding the old one off and sliding the new one on, and then fitting it around the base of the handbrake assembly and the carpet.

Shifter boot.

65-71 cars use the same shift boot as late 356 cars and 914’s. It requires removing the shift knob to replace. 72-86 911 used a bigger rubber shift boot, which also requires removing the shift knob to replace. If your shift knob comes off easily, then just pull the shifter boot off the lever and slide the new one on the lever. The shift knob is held on with a metal crush sleeve – if your knob keeps coming off then it is time to replace this sleeve. Hopefully somebody didn’t fix the loose shiftknob by epoxying it back in place!

Heater knobs.

The heater handle knobs next to the handbrake are easily replaced by pulling off the old and pushing on the new (unless somebody epoxied on the old ones). Also, the dash vent slider control knobs just pull off and new ones are pushed on. The knobs are readily available for 75-on cars. Earlir cars will probably have to find good, used knobs.

Ignition Switch cover trim.

The round piece surrounding the ignition switch just screws in place. This plastic cover constantly gets scratched up by the key, and also fades over time. 74-89 cars can replace this cover by just unscrewing the old cover and screwing on a new one.

Visors.

The visor clips are easy to replace. One thing to note on the original Porsche visors is that the pivot pins are not part of the visor, but part of the mounting bracket. The visor should pivot on the pin. The pin does not rotate – it should be stationery in the mounting bracket. If you tighten the screw too much where the visor mounts to the pin, the visor will not rotate on the pin and it will cause the pin to rotate in its’ mount. Targas and Cabriolets have pin mounts on each side and the visor does not swing out to the side window. These pin mounts are held in with two screws. Coupes have a pin mount towards the outside (of the car) of each visor and a plastic clip mount toward the center (of the car). The visor can be pulled from the center clip and rotated toward the side window. The visor clips toward the center are held in with one screw. The pin mounts are different for Coupe and Targa/Cabrio visors.

Wheels.

The obvious dress-up on the wheels is to replace or re-paint the alloy lug nuts and the center caps. All 65-98 Porsches with stock alloy wheels used the same lug nut. Originally anodized black, they can be re-painted or replaced. Center caps had two mounting styles; 3-prongs on the back and the cap ‘snapped’ in place, or a sold ring mount on the back and the cap ‘pressed’ on to the center of the wheel. Most early alloy wheels used the prong type mounts. Later wheels used the ring-style mounts. Using a Soft Socket on the nuts lessens the scratching of the finish, but over time the wear and tear will be noticeable.

Engine compartment.

There are a few simple fixes available for dressing up your engine compartment. First, look at the decals on the rear panel. Replacements are available for most of those decals, and they are self-stick labels. Replacing hoses is usually easy to do - some are obviously easier than others. Check your belt(s) while you are looking (while you are thinking about it, do you have a spare belt and the correct tools to change a belt?). Make sure the oil filler cap has a good seal. Misc hardware is easy to replace and really dresses up the engine. Also check out Bev’s article on cleaning your engine compartment.

Let me know if you have any questions, I can be reached at tom@tcsgarage.com

Tom Gould has been involved in PCA for over 30 years. He is the PCA Parade National Rally chair and has held many positions within the management of the club. Tom has been in the business a long time. In the late 90's he started Pelican Parts with his then partner Wayne. Over the years he has won numerous Rally chamionships. Today Tom rallies with his daughter Lisa and friend Revere. Tom is President of TC’s Garage which he owns together with his wife Bev and can be reached at tom@tcsgarage.com .