First time buyer - need help authenticating

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Adam Wright
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#31 Post by Adam Wright »

Al Zim wrote: Tue Mar 14, 2023 12:54 pm Joe de Avila: What have we learned in these posts? Mr. Wright has characterized the 356 market as Volatile and that the car will vanish (be sold) almost instantaneously grab it immediately!!!
Al, how many 356's have you bought in the last 10 years? I bet I know a little more about the 356 market then you do. You're welcome to come tour Unobtanium anytime, just make sure your tetnus shot is up to date! Stop giving people old and outdated advice and stop being condescending to them and their cars. When you tell someone their car, that you've never seen, is worn out, it's rude and probably wrong.
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Vic Skirmants
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#32 Post by Vic Skirmants »

+1 Adam.

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Jules Dielen
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#33 Post by Jules Dielen »

If we were to all follow Al's grim advice we might as well quit our hobby and immediately send all our worn out 356s to the crusher as they are unsafe to drive and nobody but Al is qualified enough to work on them. Bye bye 356s, hello empty garage!
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Jerry Hynes
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#34 Post by Jerry Hynes »

+2 Adam
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Al Zim
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#35 Post by Al Zim »

Adam, Vic, Jules et all: The statement that 356 front ends do not wear out is incorrect. Employment opportunities are available for skilled technicians...Dallas? Ft. worth is the 5th largest metropolitan area United States. al zim 800.356.2964
Last edited by Al Zim on Tue Mar 21, 2023 11:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Adam Wright
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#36 Post by Adam Wright »

Al Zim wrote: Tue Mar 14, 2023 9:08 pm Adam, Vic, Jules et all: Although ZIMZ has held a Texas Dealers license for almost the total length of our existence we buy and sell very few cars. A) it is difficult to find quality used cars B. Negotiations with the seller are impossible because we are cognoscente of the cost to make the car roadworthy and safe. C. The buyer always knows more about the cars than we do and probably can fix them in their garage. D. Other Registry members will encourage the purchase of cars from scanty evaluations and glossy pictures. People ( armatures) think they can move lead and weld floor pans in place easily I know better than believing that because our German made panels and floors do not sell in quantity because metal can be formed without the use of metal press tools.
My favorite is the statement that 356 front ends do not wear out!!! How do you tell without the proper measuring tools? HOW do you ascertain the link pin wear where the head of the link pin touches the steel end of the king pin carrier. The factory never made a tool to correct this...how is that done. I have seen your front end work Vic. I have never seen your front end work Adam or Jules. Take some pictures and startle me with the heavy equipment in your shop. We dyno every engine that leaves the shop. This allows to make adjustments so the engine will run properly. I should be home having dinner!!
Employment opportunities are available for skilled technicians...DAllas Ft. worth is the 5th largest city in the United States. al zim
Al, I don't know how many times I can explain that I don't work on my car, my mechanic does. And when my front end starting getting loose about 4 years ago you know what I did, I took it to him, and he put new king pins in it. He is Factory trained, are you? From what I remember you learned when you and Ed Mayo started working on them in your garage, when you weren't teaching school. So while it's admirable that you have developed your own tools and techniques I think I'll stick with Porsche trained mechanics.
How does my front end look? Other then the heavy wheels...
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Jules Dielen
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#37 Post by Jules Dielen »

Al, i do not own more than a properly stocked toolbox. I have owned and driven probably 2 dozen 356s, some great some not so great but other than a broken clutch cable and a bad generator (OH NO!) None of them ever left me stranded. The 52 was hairy simply because it had the early vw brakes but I dealt with it. When the SC I had pulled when braking i figured out what side was not working properly, checked and bled the brakes and drove it regularly for 2 years without any issues. Stop scaring people and let's all just enjoy our simple cars. Some are more worn than others but these aren't your daily drivers either anymore. I am just thankful I do not need a laptop to check for a problem.
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Martin Benade
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#38 Post by Martin Benade »

Al that was a political reference you made, to where the Supreme Court declared that armatures are people. You can’t say that here.
As a body man myself I’m constantly impressed at how many of us learn to do damn good metal work and welding. And likewise many people are smart and careful and study and do excellent mechanical work. Some can’t, but I’ve seen plenty of examples of amateurs (armatures?) doing great things.
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Al Zim
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#39 Post by Al Zim »

Each of you have stated your opinion. 1962 started working on Porsche Automobiles. 1968 I was 24 PhD. course work completed. 1971 Started POR-SHA with Ed Mayo and Bob Merrill. Same Freeway location since 1978. al zim
Last edited by Al Zim on Tue Mar 21, 2023 11:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#40 Post by Sebastian Gaeta »

Al Zim wrote: Wed Mar 15, 2023 11:23 am Each of you have stated your opinion. Which is the way this forum works.**** I would like to apologize for my fingers not typing what my brain is thinking. You (plural) will understand as you reach 80.**** A clarification about my (and Ed Mayo's) Porsche experience I started in 1962 in a shop that had a primary interest in 356 Vehicles (there were no others) Ed Mayo completed a College Program in teaching automotive in High School. I completed a Masters degree Personnel Management in June 1966. I started in a Ph.D program that fall (September 1966) I completed the course work and final written and oral exams when I was 24. At that same time I signed a contract to begin teaching college. I was the highest paid starting Associate Professor. Ed Mayo arrived from Cleveland for a visit in at Christmas in 1969. The following summer he was working at a Porsche Dealership In Ft. Worth. He brought his 356 competition roadster with him. We worked out of my garaged for 3 possibly 4 years. Moved into a rented building in 1975. My father signed a loan to assist in the building of the shop where we have been located since September 1978. 15,000 Sq.FT. We also maintain a storage facility for cars and space for used parts. Type in "allzim.com" to have a tour of the shop.
Ed began specializing in 900 series cars. and became the go to person in PCA for information on these cars as well as President of the local region. From my first Porsche a Speedster "race car" in 1964 (except for 1967) I have always owned a 356. al zim

I don't believe anyone is doubting your qualifications and expertise; you've just got to understand that are are more people out there that can properly repair a 356 than you think. And asking repeatedly for us to send you qualified candidates does NOT prove your point.

I have a Porsche specialist at my shop that turns 31 on Friday. Right now he has two 356s in progress with engines out and ready to do some work, but he has to finish up a number of modern Porsches first. One is an intermediate shaft bearing replacement in a 996 and the other is an even more complicated job on a 997 with several other cars in queue. Does that make him qualified to properly work on a 356? Not by itself, no. But it goes a long way in showing that he knows cars and has a good touch with the mechanical aspect of Porsche repair. He is extremely detail oriented and wants things to be just right and even better than expected when completed.

We have all of the technical data and tools at our fingertips (before you start in with needing every special Porsche tool to do certain jobs, just STOP. That has never been the case with any manufacturer and will never be the case and I cannot tell you how many times we've looked at a $500 "special tool" and made it ourselves in a half hour with $20 worth of materials) and he reads everything he can find about a repair before starting if he has not done one yet. Bottom line is he will be around to service 356s for a few decades. That said, there are MANY technicians that are just like him that I know of in my circle of fellow shop owners, but to hear it from you Al they don't exist. I am here to tell you they do and they are being well trained. In my case the young man has been trained by two guys who retired from my shop when in their 70s. They were both dealership techs back in the air-cooled days (read 1960s and 1970s) they know their stuff.

If you are having trouble finding a qualified, young technician that wants to learn Vintage Porsche repair, perhaps look inward because I know of more than a few. And I will say again what I said earlier, asking repeatedly for us to send you qualified candidates does NOT prove your point and writing these constant manifestos only scares away new owners that don't know better. The good news is that us regulars do know better.

Peace to you Al, I know your heart is in the right place but it's time to move on from the worn out schtick.
Last edited by Sebastian Gaeta on Wed Mar 15, 2023 6:15 pm, edited 4 times in total.
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Greg Scallon
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#41 Post by Greg Scallon »

Sebastian x10!
Last edited by Greg Scallon on Wed Mar 15, 2023 7:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#42 Post by Vic Skirmants »

Love you, Sebastian!

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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#43 Post by Al Zim »

Sebastian: Each of our predictions for the continued life of the 356 is different. Since you own a shop I will encourage members to contact you about their situations. From Texas: Bueno Suarte al zim
Last edited by Al Zim on Tue Mar 21, 2023 11:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#44 Post by Wes Bender »

Al Zim wrote: Thu Mar 16, 2023 1:58 pm ..... Last evening after reading the comments on my posts I decided that I will post to assist technicians in obtaining information from the shop manual. ...
I think that will solve the problem, Al. Greatly appreciated.
Some days it's just not worth chewing through the restraints.....

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Re: First time buyer - need help authenticating

#45 Post by Bruce Smith »

I've simply decided to stop reading Al's posts.
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