Local independent for air-cooled cars?

[Gator_86_951]

Like a bad rash, I have finally returned to this BORT after many years. I am not even sure if anybody here would even remember me. At one point, we even had a meet up that involved some hooching and }{arlequin and Todd D. crashing my scooter in a parking garage in Dupont when I was a summer associate.

Anyhow, I am finally bringing up my dad's 89 930 and will be needed a place to take it periodically because my brain is very smooth and I don't trust myself to work on something actually worth something. There are no emergent needs, and frankly I doubt there ever will be any, but would be interested to hear from the collective on thoughts of people that work on air-cooled cars. My brain is just wrinkled enough to handle things like periodic oil changes and other checks.

Do expect to do Katies at least once. Maybe also the PCA brunch. Do not expect to do a DE in the 930. 951 project remains "pending" in my garage here in Alexandria.

[BlackTalon]

Same places are still around:

ASG, IMA, Intersport, Autobahn, AutoTherapy, Chapman, etc.

[Gator_86_951]

Same places are still around:

ASG, IMA, Intersport, Autobahn, AutoTherapy, Chapman, etc.

Thanks! Some of these were on my list. ASG seems like it is the most convenient to me.

I think I will have them do a PPI-ish sort of review of the car when I get it up here.

[BeerBurner]

Chapman is my go-to guy and the one who replaced the head on the E36. Unfortunately, he's often backlogged and definitely not convenient to you.

BB.

[flipb]

Another one that hasn't been mentioned yet is RPM in Newington.
https://rpm-performance.com/

[Dr K]

If you are willing to drive a bit, there are 2 MASTERS on the air-cooled cars: Matt de Maria (in the Montgomery County Airpark) and Billy Ring (Performance Autoworks, in Middleway, WV (near Summit Point--Billy was the protege of Dave Coleman). The other shops mentioned are all excellent, but IMHO these two are special. Billy rebuilt my "Peter Dawe" engine in my former 911 race car after I bent a valve, and it came out just as smooth and powerful as Peter Dawe had made it. And Matt diagnosed a 5-year problem on my '86 street car just by the story. The car had been to 4 shops during those 5 years.

[jbailey930]

As a long time 930 owner, consider Charlie Murphy at Intersport first. Inconvenient from your Alexandria address, but doubt anyone else has had as much experience.

Be prepared for sticker shock on parts and labor no matter where you go. Good luck and hope to see your dad's beast running.

[good hands]

As a long time 930 owner, consider Charlie Murphy at Intersport first. Inconvenient from your Alexandria address, but doubt anyone else has had as much experience.

Be prepared for sticker shock on parts and labor no matter where you go. Good luck and hope to see your dad's beast running.

Charlie is unofficially retired. At least that’s the scuttlebutt.

[Gator_86_951]

Thanks guys! I actually called Intersport yesterday and spoke to Jason. I think I am going to have PPIs done at two different places and see what comes out of that. I am not anticipating there are any major issues.

I will also have a huge pile of service records I imagine. And, I have access to the mechanic that has been working on the car for the last several years. Mom has a decent sense of what has been going on with the car. Unfortunately, since Dad is no longer with us, I am unable to ask him. The original plan would have been a smoother and not so abrupt transition, but sometimes things end up suboptimal in that regard.

For now, our next door neighbor is going to drive the car around weekly for me. I also do not trust the fuel that is in the car because they were really not driving it all that much, and my parents have this weird Florida idea to keep all the cars completely full of fuel in the event of a hurricane. So, I will have the mechanic drain that fuel and do an oil change next week. I am also going to check the tires when I am there on Friday since I am pretty sure they are the p zeros I bought in 2017 when I got the repop fuchs. I will be starting a separate thread on tire choice here to see what you guys think since there are so many air cooled cars that probably have the same limited tire selection running around here with you guys.

[Gator_86_951]

I also plan to antique plate the car so I can avoid the property taxes. Seems like the right way to go, unless I am mistaken.

I also plan to contact Hagerty for insurance. My parents were probably using whatever normal insurance they had, so I will need to fix that so I have adequate cover up to the value of the vehicle.

Hopefully the title process with the DMV will be easy once I get all that sorted out with Mom.

[BlackTalon]

????? Historic plates don't dictate personal property tax in VA. But rest assured they will value an '89 car at just a few thousand $ so the annual tax will be very low.

Fun fact -- my PP tax is zero on the '87 and on my 2004 Volvo. The only PP tax I pay annually is for a tire trailer.

[Gator_86_951]

????? Historic plates don't dictate personal property tax in VA. But rest assured they will value an '89 car at just a few thousand $ so the annual tax will be very low.

Fun fact -- my PP tax is zero on the '87 and on my 2004 Volvo. The only PP tax I pay annually is for a tire trailer.

Antique plating a vehicle in Virginia 100% avoids any tax liability. See e.g. https://www.loudoun.gov/FAQ.aspx?QID=394.

That said, if what you are saying is correct about the way they assess the value, I guess I can go that route instead. The only reason I am so sensitive to this is that we now have two relatively new vehicles (a 2023 mini cooper and a 2023 XC90 Volvo) and I have been getting raped by the property taxes. I think my bill last year was like 35 hundo.

Glad I have this resource to ask you guys. Dad had TYPE930 as his plate in Florida. I would like to replicate the same or similar here if I can. Seems like I can get TYP930 in a UF plate.

[red83sc]

TAG Motorworks - Gaithersburg, MD. ( near the airpark ) - Ham's his name - he's an expert, nice guy and reasonably priced 301-258-0859 / good luck :)

[Gator_86_951]

Forgot to include a couple of pictures. These are from the last time I had it out at Sebring during the solo DE for the club race. I was the only asshole out there with regular DOT seatbelts. I actually corded the tires that day, and flat spotted when I cooked the brakes completely blowing T10. What a time to be alive that was. Dave Huey (RIP as well) flagged me in after that, we discussed briefly, and he let me go.

Typing all this out has been very cathartic. Its been a difficult week as you can imagine.

[BlackTalon]

Antique plating a vehicle in Virginia 100% avoids any tax liability. See e.g. https://www.loudoun.gov/FAQ.aspx?QID=394.

That said, if what you are saying is correct about the way they assess the value, I guess I can go that route instead. The only reason I am so sensitive to this is that we now have two relatively new vehicles (a 2023 mini cooper and a 2023 XC90 Volvo) and I have been getting raped by the property taxes. I think my bill last year was like 35 hundo.

Glad I have this resource to ask you guys. Dad had TYPE930 as his plate in Florida. I would like to replicate the same or similar here if I can. Seems like I can get TYP930 in a UF plate.The exemption appears to be up to the local jurisdiction. But here's a snippet from Loudoun County that highlights why there is essentially no tax even if not plated as historic:

Additionally, due to the difficult nature of determining the condition of vehicles 25 years or older, antique vehicles as defined in § 46.2-100 which may be used for general transportation purposes as provided in subsection C of Virginia State Code 46.2-730 are assessed in Loudoun at a flat $100 assessment. At the current $4.15 rate, the bill is below the county's collection threshold. The result is no tax bill on vehicles 25 years of age or older.