The Up-Fixin der Porsche manual has become a popular publication over the years. From 1956 through the present, each volume contains the best technical information on each and every Porsche model. Below you'll find an article written for Up-Fixin researchers and a brief description of each volume in publication.

21st Century Up-Fixin der Porsche

By Allan Caldwell
Technical Editor

PCA is now 45 years old with over 48,000 members and is still growing. One of the bonds that has kept bringing members back over this long period has been the exchange of technical data and ideas on how to keep Porsches running at their best. The early cars were obviously way above average quality for their time, but it soon became painfully obvious that some of the shops servicing them were simultaneously learning about them for the first time along with the owners. Owners quickly discovered that if they wanted their Porsches to run properly, they had better understand how the car worked and what its special requirements were. The total number of Porsches made was such a small fraction of the automotive world that communication was needed among the owners and with the factory in order to keep up on approved maintenance, remedies, and updates.

Now as every new model series arrives or owners upgrade to later models, we hear the familiar concern that the owner probably won't be able to understand or work on the new cars anymore because of their increased complexity. In spite of that complexity, however, owner first-hand experience in real world driving situations continues to provide valuable background on critical features, maintenance and worthwhile updates. In addition, PCA owners have consistently been underestimated on what they have been able to do with their cars. So the PCA goal continues to be interchange of useful owner experience data and factory information on maintenance requirements, repairs, upgrades and modification.

Owner data sources

From the beginning, PCA has offered a forum for owner-to-owner communication at both the national and local levels and still remains a major data source for members. Since the early days, the cars have undergone many variations in several different model lines and have incurred increased complexity. Fortunately, owners have never been reluctant to talk about their Porsches and compare their experience with fellow owners. This can be a major help with troubleshooting, maintenance and upgrades. Panorama Magazine and PCA regional publications have been instrumental in getting a lot of owner information into print. Significant production history and owner experience related to early models are available in the Panorama Magazine reprint anthologies known as Up-Fixin der Porsche, currently published every three years covering all models.

Figure 1 shows a chronological history of the Porsche models and the corresponding Up-Fixin volumes during each time period since 1955. The owner of a given Porsche model can usually find information related to his model in most of the Panorama or Up-Fixin publication years after the model was first introduced or announced. With early models, it is also smart to check the later issues for updated information since things like multi-viscosity oil were not approved on any Porsche until 1977.

During the past 20 years, volumes of Up-Fixin have also included Panorama new model features, articles on the new models when they are introduced that often include hard-to-find technical data, performance data and original cost information. This can be especially useful for evaluating older models that may now be for sale. As an aid in locating articles in Volumes 1 through 8, there is an Up-Fixin index on specific models and subjects (Reference 1) that was published in the fall of 1992 and is still available from the PCA Executive Office. Another valuable reference list is the January Panorama which has a detailed index of all the Panorama articles published the previous year.

Since 1984, the Porsche factory-owned subsidiary, Porsche Cars North America (PCNA), has provided greatly improved owner support in publications and service through the dealer organization compared to the early days. Owners are able to order a whole range of PCNA documents that include ownerÕs manuals, shop manuals, parts catalogs, technical bulletins, new model technical reports, technical specification books and technical reports on specific technical areas. PCNA maintains a catalog of these publications which the dealers' parts departments have and the owner can order the publications directly.

What's in Up-Fixin?

One of the most frequently asked questions about Up-Fixin is which volume should an owner buy for a given model. The answer to this can depend on what type of information you're looking for as well as the model year of the Porsche. For example, each volume contains a wide range of information for the given time period:

• New model introductory data

• Owner maintenance and repair articles

• Owner technical questions and answers

• Upgrade and modification

• Restoration

• Technical meeting presentations and questions/answers

• General technical data applicable to more than one model

• Production and competition model history information

The range of information is extensive and covers all Porsche models. A given volume will primarily cover the models most active in the time period it represents. However, since even the earliest models are still being driven, information on them still shows up in the newest Up-Fixin volumes. Also, important historical articles on some of the earliest models may occur in the newest volumes.

Typically when a new Porsche model or significant upgrade to an existing model is introduced, there will be one or more articles that cover new features, technical specifications, and driving impressions. These model introductory issues, along with initial factory technical data may precede the actual U.S. sale of a new model by several months or a year. As time goes on, these model introduction articles are valuable for buyers of older cars to pinpoint features and characteristics of an early model that are not listed very many other places. On the other hand, it is usually two to three years after a new model is introduced before definitive owner experience data and/or hints for maintenance and modification start becoming available in Panorama. So, if a member is looking for introductory model information, checking the Up-Fixin volumes that cover a year or so before the first appearance of the model is a good place to start and two to three years later is when new model owner experience begins to appear in Panorama and subsequent Up-Fixins.

The arrangement of information in Up-Fixin volumes generally follows the outline of a Porsche repair manual with individual sections for engine, clutch and transmission, fuel system, transmission, etc. Articles on all Porsche models that appeared in the given time period are in each section. Following the technical sections are sections for new model reports, history, modification and maintenance. The first four volumes of Up-Fixin have fairly simple one-page tables of contents that do not list every article or note. However, starting with Volume 5, each Up-Fixin has a detailed table of contents listing each article, so that locating a given article is more convenient.

Most Up-Fixins are for three year calendar periods, so depending upon what models were most active in a given time period determines the bulk of the subject matter in a given volume. However, older models such as the 356, early 911s, and 912s may have some comments in nearly all the volumes although the quantity will vary, and specific models in a given series may get more comments than others. Some of the newer models or those which did not have really high production quantities will have fewer articles.

Which Up-Fixin to get?

The published Up-Fixin volumes now total 11, and the most recent covers Panorama articles from 1996 through 1998. For the 911 series, which was introduced in the U.S. in 1965, there is even some data in Vol. 2, but not a lot. Useful owner experience articles usually appear two or three years after introduction. The early 911 design was used for so long and so many of the overall features have changed so little that the owner sometimes has to go back to ground zero to get a good understanding of why the car is like it is. There is also the problem of changes in Porsche recommendations on service, oils, fuels, mileage intervals, etc., that have changed radically just since the 1970s, so some of the early material has to be carefully considered in light of todayÕs situation. There is also the issue of generic technical articles of importance (tires, spark plugs, etc.) that may be independent of time and may have been published at a time that falls outside of a given model range.

In order to provide an overall view of the model data distribution in Up-Fixin, a partial listing of the primary applicable volumes for each Porsche model series is shown in Figure 2. The purpose of Figure 2 is to show where a major number of the articles related to the model introduction, maintenance, modification, technical meetings and history are located for each series. As mentioned earlier, additional information may also be available in later volumes, but in a smaller quantity. Also note that the types of information listed in Figure 2 may not include all Up-Fixin topics, such as generic components (tires, oil, spark plugs, etc.), non-production cars, competition cars and miscellaneous articles on Porsche factory technical bulletins and publications.

For members who are just getting started with Up-Fixin, the right hand column of Figure 2 lists three Up-Fixin volumes for each model that are recommended as the initial ones to acquire for members new to a given model. The three volumes listed will usually have the earliest significant applicable maintenance data. However, for the models that have been around for the longest time (356, 911, 912, 914), valuable articles extend beyond the three shown, especially after 1989 (Volume 8) when the PCA National Technical Committee was expanded to nine members with a broader range of member questions and answers and technical articles. More recent volumes containing articles covering similar topics are usually more applicable to current situations and expanding your collection to include the latest volumes will be helpful.

It is hoped this brief review of Up-Fixin content and model application will help our new members or members who have changed to a new model find the data they need for their cars. A large percentage of the tech questions currently received are covered by these publications which represent a rich source of Porsche owner experience not available anywhere else.

REFERENCE

1. Up-Fixin der Porsche Index, Vol. 1-8, December 1992.

*Initial three volume set recommended for new owners most interested in maintenance of a given model.