Mechanical -

Initial Assessment

Before turning a single wrench, I wanted a clear and honest assessment of what I was starting with. I arranged for the car to be inspected by Scott McCauley, a respected local Porsche expert whose experience with air-cooled cars is invaluable.

It was a typical rainy day in Seattle and I drove next to the tow truck from Seattle to Scott’s shop, an hour or so up north. We unloaded the car at the top of a big hill. Scott jumped in the car and started coasting down the hill. I panicked and ran after the car, actually trying to hold on and slow it down…I failed and ended up on my ass! Thankfully the brakes worked, and Scott skillfully coasted the car down the hill and directly into his shop.

The inspection confirmed what I suspected: this was a fundamentally solid car that had simply been sitting too long. Years of inactivity take their toll on seals, bearings, rubber components, and tolerances. Nothing appeared terminal or beyond restoration. The challenge would be doing the work correctly, with original or period specific parts.

Here are some early photos as Scott pulled things apart:

Speedometer Restoration

It’s important to me to keep things as local as possible so I was thrilled to meet Buz at Seattle Speedometer. Buz runs one of the best speedometer restoration businesses in the world and I was excited to find him right in my backyard. Buz made fast progress restoring the gauges back to better than new. The previous owner re-screened the tachometer when it was imported to Japan, and I had Buz return everything back to original. Mileage was left unchanged.

Here are some before and after photos of Buz’s incredible work:

The Turbo

The turbocharger is the defining feature of the 930, representing Porsche’s first steps into forced induction for road cars. This isn’t a component you casually replace and I wanted to preserve it at all costs. While the original turbo looked rough, it was a great candidate for a rebuild. Bernie sent it to Charlie Brown at Evergreen Turbo, the best Turbo expert in the Porsche world. Charlie returned the turbo back to me looking as good as it left the factory. It was so cool to see the heart of the 930 shine like new. It arrived at a perfect time and helped me overcome some growing “what the hell have I gotten myself into” worries.

In Bernie We Trust

I decided to consolidate all mechanical restoration work as well as assembly into the l capable hands of Bernie Buschen. Bernie is a long time Porsche air-cooled expert and particularly well known in the 914 world. From the moment we first talked on the phone I felt at ease. It is very important to me that the partners on this project are as excited about it as I am. That’s the only way I know that I’ll get their best work. I clicked with Bernie. His deep Porsche expertise, his passion for the project, and his extensive network of experts have made this restoration possible.

I’m like a kid in a candy store when I visit Bernie’s shop. Here are some photos from an early visit. It was a cool surprise to see how many of the original parts could be restored and reused. Porsche, and the community, really support their older cars and make restorations possible with original and period correct parts.

Camshafts

Another key piece of the puzzle falls into place. My original camshafts were sent off to Web Cam Racing Cams to be brought back to life.

So Many Parts

It’s always exciting to get new photos from Bernie as he receives freshly refinished, recoated and restored parts for the 930. Here’s a collection of photos showing

Freshly powder coated and media blasted suspension parts.
Powder coated engine sheet metal.
The exhaust ceramic coated by Performance Coatings in Kent, WA.
The fan and fan housing cerakoted to look very close to the original finish but with a more resilient finish.
Beautiful magnesium engine parts freshly cerakoted.
Many lovely zinc plated parts.

One day all of these parts will be turned back into a 1975 930. For now they will stay wrapped up and on the shelf, waiting for assembly:

Needles in a Stack of Needles

I knew from early photos of my car that I needed to source a new period correct whale tail. A previous owner replaced the original with a full rubber model that was used on other 911s, but never the 930. Thanks to Ryan’s book I knew exactly what to look for. My car is a 1975 model with no AC so I needed to find a whale tail that had the smaller secondary grill. Thankfully, I came across a gentleman with an original 76 non-AC whale tail that he was willing to part with for a modest price. He was a super nice guy and even built a handmade crate to ship it over safely. You have to love car people!

When my car first arrived, I noticed that the airbox was missing an important piece. Instead of the nice clamp on cover over the air filter, it was secured in place with a bungee cord. Back to Ryan’s book! I was disheartened to learn that the 75 930 had an airbox that was specific to that year only. 76 had a different one as well, and then 77 on they started to standardize. How the hell was I going to find a replacement air box when they only made 274 cars that year! After a lot of searching, I found a gentleman in Germany that had a spare 75 air box. He was looking for a 76 and wouldn’t sell me his, but he was open to a trade. I spent a year scouring the internet and eventually found a 76 air box that I quickly scooped up. He made good on his offer, and I had the 1975 930 air box that I needed. I’m having so much fun finding rare parts for this car. Other than writing checks, it’s my only real value add!

What the Fuchs

The Fuchs were beautifully restored by Peter Nguyen, TheFuchsGuy. Peter has a fantastic reputation, was responsive to my questions and was able to turn the job about in a reasonable time. The 8×15 wheels have 4/75 date codes and the 7×15 wheels have 3/75 date codes. They all need a lot of love after years of neglect but Peter made them like new again:

Transmission

Bernie was able to get a head start on the transmission rebuild while he waited on parts for the engine. Porsche put the identification stamp of the transmission case at the lowest point, so like many Porsches of this era, it was ground off over time. Bernie captured photographs of the original parts within the transmission showing the correct 1975 date stamps. The transmission has new dog rings, sliders and syncro rings. Bernie replaced a few gear sets as they were worn out and of course all new studs and hardware.

Engine

It was a moment to celebrate when we started getting engine goodies back from Ollie’s.

The engine case was inspected, line bored back to standard. Broken studs removed, case oil squirters cleaned, oil gallies cleaned, Cylinder spigots & case bolt holes spot faced. The oil bypass modification was done and finally media tumbled. It looks like new.
Connecting Rods were rebuilt with new wrist pin bushings.
Crankshaft journals measured. Magna fluxed. Oil passages cleaned & micro polished.
Cam boxes were surfaced, new spray bars, and new cam plugs.
Rocker arms were re-bushed, polished & cleaned
The heads are still a ways out but the basic inspection report shows they just need standard reconditioning. Guides, valve job, fly-cut the deck and media tumble.

The machine work was done by Tim @ Ollie’s Machine shop in Lake Havasu City. The heads are being done by Walt Watson @ Competition engineering.

Some updated photos from a recent trip to see the car at Bernie’s shop showing great progress on the engine (still waiting on the heads) and some other bits and pieces that have been restored like the heater control box. I can’t wait to spend time and money perfectly recreating the hearing system in the car so it can work as poorly as new!

Bernie is a great technician and taps into his extensive network to find rare original parts for everything along the way. The wiring harness and wiring are mostly complete, and things are gradually coming back together.

Bernie found the correct turn signal for my 75, and all the original parts needed for the water pump and heating system. Brakes and suspension work is done. Fuel lines are run. Electrical is coming along nicely and the car should be ready for interior work by the end of the month. Note, those aren’t my wheels, just a placeholder he threw on there.

Period correct turn signal.

Bernie continues to make progress on the engine and I’m looking forward to hearing it fire up for the first time early next year. The time it took to find all of the original or period correct parts is paying off.

It’s now January 2026, and this restoration continues to be a masterclass in patience. Thankfully I was able to celebrate the new year with a trip out to see Bernie. The engine is 95% complete with just a few finishing touches to be bolted on. Bernie educates me along the way with all of the peculiarities of the 75. For example, in the photos below you can see the idle stop solenoid coming off the CIS which was specific to the 930/50 homologation motors on the 75 and early 76 cars.

Once my car is back from interior, he should be able to make fast progress putting it all together. I’m hoping to have the car ready for this summer, and a possible trip to Car Week!