Well, I bought another Special Edition last week – 800 mile round trip to pick him up. This purchase brings the inventory to five…yea, five Special Edition cars in the fleet. Here is a recap – by name.
- Moe: 27,000 mile original condition
- Larry: Complete restoration with rebuilt original engine, fresh paint, new interior. Should be finished this summer.
- Curly: Running and driving Special Edition, but someone painted it grey. Slated for a paint job back to black.
- Shemp: One step away from being a parts car, but will preserve it in some fashion. Low on the priority list.
- And Introducing Otto (We ran out of Stooge names) Special Edition Automatic Trans, 80,000 miles, but abandoned six or eight years ago. Needs everything. Has an “Otto-matic” trans.
Otto was locally advertised online as an 86 Porsche 924S, but the photos showed maroon carpet, grey flannel and crank windows. The VIN and trunk tag verify he’s an ’88 Special Edition. Amazingly, the last three in the VIN show that when he was built there were two cars between him and Curly on the assembly line.
He needs everything, including paint, interior, suspension, brakes, wheels and tires, and a ton of little bits. Since he doesn’t run, we are not sure if the engine or transmission actually work. It will cost a small fortune to make him perfect again. Between the interior, paint, and who-knows-what in the engine and trans, the cost vs. final value is going to be close. But, he needs to be rescued.
Someone apparently tried to install Nitros on the engine in the form of a plate right before the AFM. It does not look like it was successful – none of the other bits needed are present, and there is nothing to indicate that anything else was installed. And that’s a good thing.
We will be cataloging the progress on restoration of Otto here. Stay tuned.
