bluehorseshoe

Know that I want an old air-cooled Porsche 911, just not so sure about model. Steering feel, handling and quality of manual gearbox are my top priorities. My budget is roughly $100k. I'm no mechanic so reliability is also important. Where shall I begin my search? Thanks for your thoughts.

Auto_Werks 3.6

nope.... those are all very subjective things, You are really going to need to drive one of each and see which one speaks to you. I sold a 911 SC a number of years ago, and I was really done with the gear box. I purchased a G50 Carrera at that time, which I still have. I very recently added another SC to the fleet, and I find the 915 gear box engaging and quaint now, rather than clunky and awful.

$100k will buy a pretty reasonable amount of "non S" aircooled 911, so you have a lot of potential targets.

Don't buy the 911 that speaks to someone else, get the one that is right for you

Rick-A-Shay

As you well know, the later the model, the more refined they get. 993 series are very easy to drive but have modern (emissions) complications/computers/OBD2. Some like the not so common 964 series. 3.2 w/G50 trans, no power steering appears to be rather bullet proof and fun to drive. 930 Turbo can be a handful to drive aggressively and may require extra maintenance to stay in tune. Others will weigh in on earlier series/issues etc. Maybe Mooty will chime in here.......

union

old man neri

There is a book called 'the used 911 story'. It's fairly cheap and will explain all the differences between the years.

Auto_Werks 3.6

bluehorseshoe

Thanks for your comments thus far. It'll be hard because I don't have the time to find and then drive every model.
Just bought The Used 911 Story: 9th Edition, thanks Neri.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

You've received some excellent advice here and without knowing you, what other cars you have and whether this will be a daily driver or weekend toy, its difficult to make specific recommendations.

Allocating the time to drive several models is a VERY good investment since each & every generation of air-cooled 911 is quite different and everyone's opinion is subjective. There are many things to learn here that are not found in any book!!

No matter which one you choose, don't fail to get a thorough PPI by a shop well-versed and experienced in air-cooled Porsches.

Good luck,

bluehorseshoe

r911

Longhoods:
rawest fun is a SWB car ("watch it spin!")
2nd place to a LWB car - these 2 are are the most beautiful; reliable after they have been fixed up

Bumper Cars:
Middies:
'74 is like a '73 with fugly bumpers, used to be good buys before people figured that out
'75-'77 - have Mg cased engine with CIS FI and often came with the dreaded thermal reactors - maybe not on E. coast but there is some engine risk with these; galv. sheet metal increased over this time period
SC:
'78-'83 - big improvement but still had CIS
Carrera:
started with 915 trans. then the G50 (easier to shift)


CIS is not a good FI system for sports cars & is sensitive to water in the EtOH mix gas used now; the later EFI systems are much better; CIS has much better cold starts than earlier systems however

bluehorseshoe

^^^Thanks for your version of CliffsNotes. Putting it that way, seems easy to want a '72 or '73. What distinguishes short-versus long wheelbase? Different years or trim level?

Auto_Werks 3.6

r911

Short vs. long wheelbase & thus propensity to spin; there are other things like trim, gauge looks etc. - the very best year for the unit body layout is 1972 as it has the oil tank mounted ahead of the R. wheel - this affects wt. balance a bit but is most important for momentum
best year for the trans. is '70, '71 as the typ 911 (often called 901) trans. has a light feel and the wonderful road-racing shift pattern which the 915 lacks; those years also have the higher compression 2.2L motor - but you can always hotrod


If I had it to do over again, I'd get a '72 and put a hotter motor in it with the typ 911 transmission - I have a hotrod '73 with opening front & rear vent windows, gauges with green like the SWB cars, and a worked on 3.2L motor; lots of fiberglass to save wt.

BTW, the big negative on CIS is throttle response

you DO need to drive samples of each or buy and then trade...
winter is the best time to buy for lower prices

the late 911s with a G50 are easier to shift but heavy luxo-barges...

also, as the cars get 'younger' they evolved to have more black on the dash area, more wt., and wider tires (better to stick in the corners, BUT inhibits the wonderful light steering feel)

if someone were to have 2 aircooled cars, the 911 and a Longhood would be ideal

aircooled cars often called 911s include the 964 (horrible blob-mobile bumpers) & heavy, and the 993 which is pretty, and the ultimate aircooled Porsche, but... heavy

all these cars are increasing in price and the market is infested with "investor-collectors" who don't drive them...

bluehorseshoe

Wow. Awesome info, knew that I started in the right place. Here's a dream color/spec for me but out of my budget. https://classics.autotrader.com/clas.../911/100908453

The search begins...

theiceman

For me the sweet spot is a 95 993. If not going turbo
The most refined air cooled 911 yet retains obd1 so no sai to deal with