All Great Things Come To Those Who Wait: Jared Aguila’s 1989 Carrera 4

When thinking back on our youth, many would agree that it was filled with a lot of daydreaming about things we couldn’t have, didn’t have, or shouldn’t have. Perhaps that yearning is what shaped many of us into the fanatics we have become today. I think it is safe to say that anyone reading this is a car lover to some degree. Many of you might still be looking for a time you will be united with the car of your dreams, but converting the dream into reality is a sticky proposition.

You see, the element of meeting your hero and how that will play into your final experience is something you probably haven’t considered. What I mean is, imagine dreaming about a specific car all of your life. Then when you get to the place where you can finally afford it, you find out that the vehicle drives nothing like you dreamed it would. Or maybe the maintenance costs during the life of ownership transform the dream into a nightmare. Either way, these realities alter desire.

For many builds, the project starts off as a nightmare and then develops into the dream build over time. However, for many seasoned builders, wanting a car with a clean slate is sometimes more ideal because bodywork can be extremely extensive with years of intense labor. When Jared Aguila first found his 1989 Porsche Carrera 4 on Facebook Marketplace back in March of 2017, he rushed over to the neighboring town of Irvine, California, to get a jump on the onslaught of other buyers attempting to beat him to the punch. Caught in a tough position, Jared ended up buying the newly painted 911 before another buyer had the chance. Finished in Porsche’s Grey Black paint, it came with receipts to show it had a motor rebuilt not too long before. However, he purchased the car without doing a pre-purchase inspection, a decision that would cost him dearly later.

Many of you who know Jared know that he isn’t new to the automotive world. Long before he owned multiple air-cooled Porsches, Jared had a well-known Honda S2000 published in many tuner magazines back in the day. However, there came a day where he wanted to pursue the marque he first started driving. In high school, Jared began with a 1985 Porsche 944. Pained by terrible reliability issues and an automatic transmission, he quickly moved away from it. His interest in the German marque started again in 2008 when he bought his first air-cooled Porsche, a 1987 G50 G-Body 911 that was recommended to him by his mechanic. A vehicle that wound up being the start of a new obsession leading into the present day.

In 2016, he sold his first 911 and got into a 1995 Porsche 993, which he still has today. He hasn’t done much with it other than some wheels and light suspension tweaks. He also bought an ’89 Carrera 4 964 in Linen Grey but sold that after a year. Then he found his current ’89 Grey Black 964 soon after.

Once Jared started driving around the newly acquired Grey Black Carrera 4, he noticed that the car had a noise — one he initially thought was an exhaust leak. Jared took it to his nearest exhaust shop to get it fixed but soon found out the issue couldn’t be welded and wasn’t exhaust related. The shop’s owner suggested Jared go see a mechanic, as he thought it was more serious. Sure enough, the mechanic’s diagnosis ended up being devastating news.

Even though the car had a freshly built motor, something had gone terribly wrong. When the mechanic opened up the engine, they discovered that it had broken head studs. When Jared dug deeper with the shop that built it back in New Jersey, he discovered that they reused the original head studs during assembly. It turns out, a measure that saved funds for one of the previous owners would ultimately cost the current one.

This news left Jared in another tough position. As you can imagine, trying to figure out his next move was not an easy task. It becomes a game of “while you’re in there,” and if you are in there, why not go 3.8-liter? Faced with an enormous bill, Jared decided to stick with the 3.6-liter engine to stay on budget and hopefully on time. These projects can drag on, so Jared stayed focused on making extra ends to pay for the rebuild. It was a long and challenging time, but eventually, everything was settled, and the car was on its way to fulfilling its destiny.

The team at HD Motorwerks in Glendale, CA, freshly rebuilt a top and bottom end and upgraded to ARP head studs, a Patrick Motorsports lightweight flywheel, a Rennline reinforced engine carrier, and a Wevo semi-solid motor mount. These upgrades really made the car feel like new again, but it was the SWChips, B&B headers and exhaust, and Bosch MAF (mass air flow) upgrades that really brought it to life. To add some aesthetics to the engine bay, a Rennline carbon fiber heater bypass was installed along with a Sleepers Speed Shop heater speed hole block off plate.

For those of you who have never owned an air-cooled 911, you may be asking yourself what the hype is about? It is usually easier experienced than explained, but what it comes down to is: feels. The way the metal clunks when you open the door, the way the aged German leather smells, the sounds of the flat-six motor at wide-open throttle, and the timeless classic lines. These elements captivate the hearts of owners like Jared as they move from other marques such as VW, Honda, and BMW and into a Porsche. But nostalgia is not enough for owners like Jared, who look to take builds to new levels.

Once the 964 was back to driving condition, Jared quickly shifted to taking care of the interior. Ominous Grey Black paint with a docile tan interior wasn’t going to do, so Jared promptly removed the existing parts. He traded in for OE black RS lightweight interior components, including rear seat delete and RS door panels. Of course, being the modification loving guy Jared is, this would later escalate to Recaro Pole Position seats in black leather. Pairing that up with a Momo Porsche Motorsport Cup steering wheel, it really tied in the interior beautifully. To finish off the cockpit, Jared decided on a Sleepers Speed Shop short shift kit with a Circuit Hero shift knob and an FD Motorsports solid transmission mount. This gave the car the shifting feeling Jared desired and gave the 964 an overall rejuvenated feel.

As you may already know, naturally aspirated air-cooled 911s aren’t really known for their straight-line performance. So having a good set of suspension is vital to enjoying the car’s performance. Jared went with an H&R Suspension Street Performance coilover with Ground Control camber/caster plates, ERP race control arm bushings, Tarett Engineering trailing arm bushings, Eibach 25mm and 22mm sway bars, and a Sleepers Speed Shop stainless steel strut X-brace. He keeps the car nice and low but is still able to achieve a well-balanced ride.

With that being said, the one thing that everyone knows about Jared is how much he loves to collect hard-to-find wheels. Here is a quick glance at his current 964 wheel collection: gold BBS Motorsport E88s, silver RH Speedlines, silver Advan Racing TCIIIs, bronze flat-face Volk Racing TE37s, and his coveted Mercury Silver concave TE37 wheels that were custom drilled to the 5×130 bolt pattern. His good buddy, James Camarador, suggested a more aggressive set of TE37s, and it paid off tremendously! A one-of-none set, specially made for the Grey Black Porsche. You may have seen his car on various types of wheels because he likes to cycle through different looks throughout the year. I have no doubt that he will continue his collection into other rare forms of wheels coming up soon.

To add to the list of custom modifications, Jared’s good friend Willy from WillyWerx created a custom 964 chin spoiler just for him. Jared’s own requirements entailed that it didn’t hang too low and was somewhat OEM-looking in nature. Willy nailed the one-off lip perfectly, and it has survived many miles of driving without getting beat up. The lip’s unique design allows it to easily get over speed bumps and aggressive driveways without any issues. The front of his 964 was finished off with a set of Bosch Euro H4 headlights and FVD brake duct fog light deletes, giving it the race look he was aspiring for.

Jared is close to about 95-percent finished with his build, and what started off rough, he was quickly able to turn around in his favor. It came with a lot of stress, time, and expenses. But, you can see Jared smiling proudly as he drives it every Saturday for an early morning cruise. Every build has its share of hurdles, but Jared somehow did what he does best — built the car to his spec and never compromised on any part of it.

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Jared Aguila's 1989 Porsche Carrera 4

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