Porsche 959 Car Detail By Barry Theal of Presidential Details in Lancaster PA

[Barry Theal]

Porsche 959 Car Detail

PERMISSION OF THIS ARTICLE AND ITS CONTENT WAS GRANTED BY THE OWNER OF THIS CAR

There is no doubt that the Porsche 959 is one of the most respected, and sought after Porsches ever made. It`s that one Porsche you just may never get to see in your lifetime, with only 337 being built. It`s a pretty scarce piece. To truthfully tell you how scarce this car is, Ferrari only produced 1315 F40`s. Thats a little over 4 times the amount of the Porsche 959. Once produced, this car easily became the worlds fastest production car ever made in 1986.



The car itself was not actually legal in the United States due to the fact that Porsche refused the fact to give the standard 4 cars for crash testing to the United States Department of transportation. This made the Department of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration not able to certify them. However a few of them made their way over illegally. Owner of Microsoft Bill Gates had imported one in 1987 and the car remained in customs for 13 years. This particular car known as the Gates 959 helped pass a new law at the time called The "Show and Display" Law.



The "Show and Display" rule is a statutory amendment in the United States that allows certain privately imported automobiles to be exempted from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) if the vehicle in question is deemed to meet a standard of "historical or technological significance". The amendment, which became law on August 13, 1999, is intended to apply to vehicles that could not feasibly be brought into compliance with the FMVSS, and that do not have a federal counterpart that was originally built for the United States market. Because of the expense and effort required to import a vehicle with this exemption, the approved vehicle list is mainly limited to high-value sports and touring cars.[1] Applications under the "Show and Display" rule are reviewed and managed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which allows the vehicles to be registered for limited use on public roads (2,500 miles annually).[2]



The approval for "Show and Display" import is granted if the prospective importer is able to show historical or technological significance of the vehicle in question, and if the vehicle was produced in limited numbers (with 500 being used as a threshold value.) Import approval is granted on a combination of make, model, and production-year; thus, there is no need to re-apply for approved vehicles when further examples are imported in the future. Because the manufacturer of a "Show and Display" vehicle does not necessarily endorse its import, such automobiles would be considered grey imports.



The NHTSA originally proposed an annual mileage limitation of 500 on-road miles, and also required that a certified mileage statement be submitted annually during the first five years after import. During a comment period on the wording of the statute in May 1999, the Special Vehicles Coalition recommended that the figure be increased to 2,500 miles (a figure already in use by the insurance industry as a threshold to describe a limited-use vehicle.) The Coalition also recommended the elimination of the annual mileage statement requirement, as such a statement would not accurately reflect on-road mileage for vehicles that are also used off of public roads. Both recommendations were incorporated into the final wording of the statute, though the NHTSA retains the right to inspect an imported vehicle for the purpose of verifying mileage.



Citing unspecified concerns about public safety, the NHTSA reserves the right to approve a vehicle for "Show and Display" import, but disallow it from being registered for use on public roads. The administration also reserves the right, at the time of import, to place any other arbitrary restrictions or limitations on the use of an imported vehicle. Regardless of "Show and Display" approval, imported vehicles must also meet the import restrictions defined by the Environmental Protection Agency.



With that being said lets talk about just how cool this super car is. This Fuel Injected 2.8 liter 6 cylinder came with 4 valves per cylinder and a sequential twin turbo. The six speed manual transmission allowed you to shift your way up to 585bhp at 450lbs of torque. All this in its one of a kind standard all wheel drive displacement. At a top speed of 196 miles per hour and a 0-60 time in just 3.7 seconds. This car in its time was a modern-day masterpiece of performance. To this day it`s still a competitor and not outdated.



After all the super cars and modern-day exotics I have had a chance to work one. This particular car was one that was on my bucket list. When this car came out I was a young child who had posters on his wall of action figures and toys. Man I miss them He-Man and GI Joe toys. As time passed into the ninetys my interest became really fast cars that ever child loved. Having posters of Ferrari F40`s the Lamborghini Countouch and Porsche 959. On a personal note this particular car was one of the last two cars I had to scratch of my bucket list of cars that needed detailed.



Before we go any further, I want you to understand that there are replica`s of this car. If you ever come across a Porsche 959 one of the first sign`s that you`re looking at a replica will be the wheels. Usally replica 959 Porsches will have aftermarket wheels. This is probably due to the fact the 959 OEM wheels are valued at $30,000.00 dollars. Another key giveaway is the steering column. THe steering wheel will say Porsche 959 on it. Last but least you can always check for the Vin. The Vehicle Identification Number will be the only real way of telling. It will always start with the letters WPO Followed by the more digits which represent the body style and other details then the 7th and 8th digits will be 95. Also Unlike most cars the VIN Plate is not on the door, Its in the front cargo area. So before we go any further, Here what the VIN plate should look like. As taken from the vehicle I worked on.







I knew about this particular car for over a year and about a month ago I got the phone call with a voice saying " Barry the 959 is here and parked." It was a long journey from across the pond after being held in storage for several years. Prior to working on the car I had about 55 hour week and headed south at like 9:30pm with Nick who will introduced to everyone in this write-up. We finally arrived to our hotel at 2 am and we up by 7 ready to make it all happen. Talk about a long week that was just getting started. So let`s get onto it.



Upon arrival I noticed the car was in overall great shape. It had lots of surface dirt, but no major paint correction was needed. Although there was some light swirls in the paint. In general our mission was to keep the original patina while maintaining cleanliness.



Now lets get started with some pictures. Now due to the fact that this car is not an everyday car that will have high a resale value for years to come. The owner asked that I keep any pictures that show swirls or other defects out of the publics eye. However the paint had some minor swirl issues. Please respect the owners choice. Thank you



Upon arrival here are a few overall condition shots.



The wheels were a little dirty as you can see in the picture below.







Here is a breif photo of the interior condition.







Here is the heart and soul of this modern-day classic. It`s a beautiful thing isn`t it!







Moving forward a little it was time to start this stunning piece. We started with a quick rinse with de ionized water and a hose. Taking safety into play, normally we would use a pressure washer to complete a decontamination stage, but at this point we choose a garden hose to avoid heavy pressure on any part of the vehicle. For effective and safe cleaning on these pretty rare wheels I choose to use 3D`s Orange Citrus Cleaner and some good ole fashioned hand cleaning with some effective yet safe brushes. These consider of a boars hair brush and a wheel brush made from natural lambs wool.









Here is a photo of Nick using agitating the front right wheel.







Up next was time for a good wash, we choose a good ole fashioned handwash using 3D`s Wash and Wax.







It was a 2 man team, Nick massaging one side and me on the other.







Here is a shot of Nick using HD Car Care`s new Nano Prep towel to remove all the embedded contamination on the paint and glass surfaces. Since using this product I have found that Final Touch from 3D is an excellent choice for lubrication.







After masking the trim and doing a heavy inspection, I started polishing using HD Car Care`s new HD Polish. Nick Began to work on the interior using 3D`s Citrus cleaner diluted to the proper ratios for safe cleaning, then he choose 3D`S Liquid Leather for soft supple hides and protection of interior surfaces.















While Nick was finishing up the interior I began to tidy up some of the engine bay area.







Laying down the finishing touches after a Nitro Seal application from HD. The car was later topped off with my own in house Barry Theal Signature Wax.







Once completed It was a little overcast so I broke out my LED Light to show final correction shots.















Here are a few final photographs of our work. It was getting late so we didn`t have time photo shoot this car, but in general I wanted a few final shots for the portfolio and write-up.

















A quick photo of Nick and myself after a long week of work.







Finally the reason this was all possible, one of my best clients happy with another Presidential clean car!







In conclusion I would like say that this writeup didn`t go in-depth as many of mine often do, but this car was an honor to work on. Its great knowing that my name will be apart of this cars history. Thanks for viewing.



Barry Theal

Presidential Details

717-875-8686



Also for anyone interested, this exact car was featured in Octane Magazine, years ago while the previous owner had it. The article is a great read. It compares the Ferrari F40 to the Porsche 959. I provided the link below in PDF Format.



Porsche 959 vs. Ferrari F40

[DaGonz]

awesome car, awesome work!

[David Fermani]

Nice job on scoring a very unique vehicle for your portfolio. This is the 1st writeup I have ever encountered on a 959. Kudos dilweed. :loco:

[Underdawg736GTC]

Simply beautiful.....`nuff said!

[maxepr1]

Well Barry, the only thing left on your bucket list now is, climbing a Pyramid and riding a Unicorn! Seriously nice work! Your client should feel at ease with a car like that in your hands!

[Leadfootluke]

Beautiful car!

Definitely 1 of a kind.

[DeanSweet]

My all time favorite car. Had a poster of a red one of these on my wall as a teenager.

Back then, the pro tennis players who were like 18 were buying them? Boris Becker(mom made him sell it bc it was too much car for a kid) and Andre Agassi?

I`d be all crazy nervous cleaning the engine?!

Simply stunning. Wonder what that car would sell for at auction? $1Mill?

[mikenap]

That`s an amazing opportunity Barry! Awesome job on a truly legendary, ground-breaking car!

[911fanatic]

Nice job on a fantastic car. I still have a Porsche calendar from the year that car came out with a 959 on the cover. Congrats on the opportunity.

[JohnKleven]

Great work Barry. That is quite an amazing car, and it really shines now!

[MarcHarris]

Amazing car with an amazing history. Once again Barry is working on some of the finest automobiles ever made and for good reason.



You`re the man!

[BigAl3]

thanks for sharing barry, you and your team always seem to never dissappoint... :up

[Dan]

Awesome write-up, I love the historical aspects you included about the car.

[Garry Dean]

Very nice work, Buffer Barry.

[Concours.John]

Beautiful car. The historical write up is great.

The first one I saw was at The Taj Ma Garaj here in Dayton. It was totaled a few years ago by a lady running a light off a freeway exit.