If you have read some of my early entries you’d know that I’ve made it a point in the 90′s to never use a mechanic again. Unfortunately with life, business and my lack of knowledge on certain issues I’ve had to turn to a few since.

As the story goes; Upon purchasing my 69, 912, driving it across the country and into my driveway. I brought my wife out to show it to her. I hopped in to start it up and all I got was a… nothing. The starter was gone. So, I tapped on the starter a few times with a small hammer and it came to life. Now I knew it was the starter that needed replacing. This went on for a few days until I was fed up with it.

I grabbed my manual to see how the starter was mounted in place and decided this was an easy enough job. I could do it myself. I ordered the starter from Eastern Imports. I’ve had nothing but great service and OEM parts from them at a good price. I pulled my old starter off with ease and brought it in as a core, picked up the new one and was on my way.

I began the installation process of my new starter and had a problem. The lower mounting stud/nut went in no problem. The upper one, which I thought threaded into the flange on the case was just spinning. Since I didn’t use a wrench on the backside when I removed it, I was under the impression the bolt threaded into the Case Flange. I tried and tried and was convinced it had been stripped out.

Here you can see a pic of the case and the mounting area (upper left) where the starter mounts. There’s one stud for the lower mount and a hole for the upper bolt.

I decided I should call around to ask the guys who’ve “worked on these cars for years” what I should do. I’m not going to name who I called but my conversation with the first shop here in Jacksonville went like this:
Shop- “Hello $*#$## Motors”
Me- “Hi, I have a 69 Porsche 912 that I’m replacing the starter on. I’m having trouble with mounting the new starter.”
Shop- “Okay, what’s the problem?”
Me- “Well, the starter goes up in place and the bottom stud goes on easy of course. But, the upper bolt won’t thread in.”
Shop- “What do you mean won’t thread in?”
Me- “Well, I’ve tried everything to get that upper bolt to catch the threads up there and it won’t thread in.”
Shop- “Sounds like you’ll need to tap new threads or insert a helicoil.”
Me- “Uh oh, how much will that cost?!”
Shop- “Well, we will have to drop the motor and tap that flange and insert a helicoil. Anywhere from $500-$750.”
Me- “Oh wow, I can’t afford that right now. Let me do some checking and get back to you.”
Shop- “Okay, let us know.”

These guys are one of the better shops in Jacksonville. They’re known for dealing and servicing 912′s and 356′s. Now, here’s the next shop in Orlando. These guys were very highly recommended and are a father/son team, also known for 356 restoration, early 911 and 912 work.

Shop- “Hello”
Me- “Hi, I have a 69, 912 that I replaced the starter on and I’m having trouble getting the upper bolt to thread in.”
Shop- “Hmmmm, is it stripped?”
Me- “Well, it unscrewed easily and it’s just spinning up there. I had another shop tell me they needed to insert a helicoil although they didn’t look at it. How much would it cost to put a helicoil in?”
Shop- “I guess we should drop the motor to do it right. It’d be around 5-6 hours labor and you don’t know if the flange will crack so it could require more work. You’re looking at around $500 minimum.”
Me- “Okay well when should I bring it down?”
Shop- “You could bring it next week if you could leave it for a couple day’s. We’ll get to it.”
Me- “Alrite, I’ll call you Monday morning to confirm.”

My curiosity was killing me. I just couldn’t understand how it came out so easily and now wouldn’t thread back in. I remembered a fellow I’d met a while ago here in Florida. He had a 1967, Bahama yellow sitting behind his motorcycle shop and was a wealth of knowledge on early Porsche cars.

I decided to stop by his shop and tell him my dillema. He looked at me puzzled. I asked him what he thought. He said, “Are you sure it threaded into the case?”. I said yeah, I thought it did. He said we’d better go look at his 901 transmission and the case he had sitting on the shelf. What a lifesaver. There were no threads in the case. Kirt says to me “Chris, I think there’s a nut sitting up on your engine tin. Feel around behind the engine for it.”

I race home and feel around all over. No nut. I decide to take a flash light and lay under the car to see if I can find out where it went. Sure enough. Through a tiny gap in the engine tin I can see the edge of a nut laying up in there. I grabbed my favorite magnet and zap. We got it! Confetti fell from the heavens and trumpets blew. I mounted up the bolt and nut and took off in my 912 to Atlantic Motosport with some cash. I walk in grinning from ear to ear and Kirt says “Did it work?”. I handed him a small token of appreciation which he kindly denied. I kindly said if you wouldn’t have shown me this I’d be paying 60 times this much. Take it.

Kirt and I have become friends and he’s restoring that 67. I hope to get pics of it along the way.