flock

Hello, i am 15, 16 in less than 2 months. My dad is considering giving me his 1986 porsche carrera targa. Its either that, a lexus is300, audi a4, or some sort of suv/truck. He bought it new. For the past few years, now that me and my brothers are too big for the back seat, he has been driving suburbans and the porsche has just been sitting in the garage.
I have a few questions:
What engine do i have?
What are some good performance/suspension mods?
Is it hard to install an aftermarket head unit?

Thats all i can think of now, im sure ill have more later.

Larry Harris

Flock,
Take a couple months and cafefully read all the postings on this site. Many of your questions will be answered.

Larry

emac

I would start with kissing you dads *** for a few months and then worry about mods. I guess Im just showing my age,, I first seen my dream car when I was about 15, I WORKED for years knowing that one day I would own one. That day came two years ago and I was 52yrs. of age. Dont get me wrong, what your father is doing is wonderful however I feel that kids today are handed what ever they want and pout if they fail to have their wish fulfulled. I believe if you worked out a deal with your dad and worked out some type of payment plan you would enjoy the car much more. Might be wrong but "that's all I got to say about that"

S4drifter

Welcome to the board Flock!

Hope the car comes through for you! However, I have a piece of advice that you must trust me on. I had a trans am when I was 16.... for two weeks. Before I totalled it I told everyone that I was a good driver and that i wouldn't wreck it. Fact of the matter is that I just did not have enough experience or knowledge of vehicle dynamics to understand what they car would do under different circumstances. I was showing off to a friend (which YOU KNOW you will do) and I hit some sand on a corner and went into the guardrail. No injuries. Just pride.

Here's my advice no matter what you get. Get your father to enroll you in a Skip Barber driving school course. Do it together for a weekend. its a blast and you learn a lot about your car and vehicle dynamics. I did it at 30 and wished I'd done it sooner. There were two 16 year olds there with their dads who wouldn't let them take the car to college without taking the course. As a reward, they let you take the viper out on the autocross at the end of the weekend.

One other thing to consider is that you might want to go with the A4 or Lexus to start. If you get in an accident (and almost everybody does when they are a teenager) the ABS and airbags could be life savers. If your father is the original owner of the Targa, he may hold onto it for a couple of years while you drive a safer car to get some miles under your belt.

Hope I am not preaching. But listen, "I've been there, done that" and I have the t-shirt. Staying alive and learning how to drive like a pro should come way before getting in a Porsche and just trying to look like one.

Best of luck whatever you do. Tell dad to hold onto that car for you!

993chaz

S4drifter,

good advice..........DIDDO!!!

Bill (NC)

Let me tell you a little story that I'm sure will go right over your head, but pay attention to the last paragraph.When my son turned 16 in 97' we started him out in a 82 Datsun truck. After 6 months we got a 98 two door Explorer (wich I had hoped would get him through college) but due to the fact the Explorer was a LEMON when he graduated from HS (nothing less than B in 13 years)I got him his "dream car"...2000 Camaro SS Convertible. Now he had driven the Datsun 8,000 miles, the Explorer 46,000 miles (30 rt to school a day) and had never put a scratch on anything, or had a ticket. So in preperation for the camero I took him to the Chev driving school outside Las Vegas. He did a great job. So we get the Camero and he puts 12,000 uneventful miles on it in 6 months. Then one day he deceides to show one of his friends how much he learned in the driving school. Through an S turn he hit some loose gravel (no loose gravel on the track- swept twice a day) and the back end came loose. First 360 took out a telephone pole and literaly cut the car off behind the right rear wheel, second 360 the car went between two 18" trees that if the car had still been full length it wouldn't have fit and ended up in a field. Both kids walked away, thank God. Car was totaled. So, even after 66,000 miles of safe driving his age caught up with him. I sometimes wonder if it was a mistake to go to the driving school, it made him think he was better than he really was.
Now that he is a Senior in college, still driving the 4 cyl Toyota truck his mother picked out, he told his mother the other day....he has done a lot of things he wishes he hadn't...but the only thing he gets up thinking about at least once a day.... is what he did to his dream car that fateful day. Take care out there.

flock

the chances of me getting that car is not too high, but its still there. I just wanted to see what kind of aftermarket there was for it. Im just getting a car to get me through high school, when i go to college my parents said they would buy me a fast car. The car i really want is an audi S4. I'll get one when i go to college, hopefully it will be stage 3.

Hugh R

IF you get the Targa, take it from someone whose almost 50 years old who found out with old sports cars himself. If you try to hot rod it (smoking tires, fast off the line starts, etc.) you'll kill the Targa real quick. If you want THAT kind of car, buy a mustang or camaro, and even they won't take too much abuse for too long.

S4drifter

Good luck Flock, I have a Stage 2 Audi S4 in addition to my 930 and It is my daily driver adn i love it. Very fast, safe, AWD good all season car. A stage III S4 is a 12-sec car. be very careful with that as well. The Audi can be very expensive to fix. Blown turbos require the engine to be pulled and will set you back $6k. A stage III will have upgraded turbos but still, repair costs can be high.

One final note of caution (hate to keep being a wet blanket)... I recently read a thread on a VW forum where a 19 year old bought a 400hp GTI and was saying what a great and responsible a driver he was and that it was not too much car for him. 2 weeks after buying it he is dead. It is tragic for everyone. A stage III S4 puts out almost 400hp. BE CAREFUL.

flock

I wont get the stage S4 untill college in 2 and a half years. So hopefully by then I will be a better driver.

Paul (Weissach 911)

I bought my car from a 17 year old high school student (well his dad, but he drove it). If your looking for a car to "tune" go with the Lexus. You don't need to do anything to the Carrera, it will be a handfull for you as it sits. These cars are no good for drag racing, I would suggest getting involved in your local PCA & participate in some autocross & driver education events. That is the only way you will be able to legally enjoy the full potienal of what that car & yourself can do, plus you'll get to meet some cool people who can teach you how to drive & appreciate the car.

Saakey

I have to say one thing here...it doesn't sound as if you (flock) are going to appreciate anything you get (car wise) and it's probably just a way for your father to keep you happy...Which is not too smart on his part...but, I can only hope he shows you how to properly take care of such cars and to know they are not toys....Although I want to give my son a my 911 as his first car, i would also make sure he knows how to properly handle one, appreciate one, and would have no reason to come to a site like this and ask the kind of questions you are asking...as he would already be properly informed. Also, i would take S4drifter's advice. Good luck

emac

Saakey
Thanks,, I was starting to thing I was from some other planet.

g-50cab

Or you'll be dead.

I hate to put it in those terms - but many can not handle 250 hp and a tail happy Porsche. Go to PAP or Parts Heaven or DC Automotive and look at the wrecks just in. And I would care to say most were wrecked by older than 16 whith many more miles under their belt...

I know that at 16 I pushed every car I drove to it's limits and well beyond my abilities. By the grace of god I am here today. I can't imagine what I would have done - or how long I would have lasted with a car that will do and honest 149mph.

I know I'm just some d!ckhead on the internet - but good grief.

KC911

I must be one too, 'cause I'm trying to figure out how anyone could even THINK about giving a sports car (particularly a 911) to a 16 year old! I'm SO glad my parents didn't 'give' me anything so dangerous at that age...I got into enough trouble on my own with much less dangerous weapons (cars)! Good luck to you Flock, and please don't take this wrong, but I REALLY hope your dad isn't seriously considering this...