MexicoBlueTurboS

I grew up wrenching and horse trading cars of all types. Eventually became tired of the scraped knuckles in the early 90s. But before then I marveled at what I called the 'golden age' of automotive times where there were some differences between manufacturers and even models within OEMs. Here's an example.

In the late 80s, I had a 1986 VW Quantum station wagon, it had a couple of electronic units on it that controlled fuel and ignition. It could up in the mountains and back down again without any issues. If one of these units needed replacement it was a less than $100 plug and play swap.

A friend had a 1988 Buick, something went wrong with the gauge motherboard etc and it was a $2000 repair at that time.

Another friend bought an 87 928 in the early 90s. It developed some problems and for years he swapped out $1000-2000 computers and control units trying to chase down the problem.

Before computerization it was a bit of an art to get a car to run well in various environmental conditions (altitudes, humidity, temps, etc), at some point there was a golden age where 98% of the performance could be had with a minimum amount of computers and control units.

For 911s when might this era have been ?

theiceman

The first real ecu or" DME" was in the Carrera. If you don't count the lambda control with O2 sensors in the later SC.
So 84.
But like everything , things get gradually more complex as you move forward and its difficult to establish a demarkation line of that type

evilfij

My view has always been right before OBD 2 so 95 is the Goldilocks. But Carrera, 964, and 95 993 are all good enough from an electronics perspective. Yes, a new ECU is expensive, and there is some dumb stuff like the CCU, but it is not bad.

AG81

To me the "Golden Age" is probably related to one's age. I grew up in the 60's and 70's. I came to appreciate cars and all things automotive in about 1969. Maybe it had something to do with the Apollo missions or just the cool cars my dad's friends owned. I remember Shelby Cobra's, GTO's, T Birds, Camaro's, Jag's and all sorts of other British cars around my house. Certain things stick with you..... I remember my dad's pilot buddy cussing the Lucas systems in his Triumph GT6. Sorry for the ramblings.....I would say that anything prior to reliable fuel injection was the golden age......

Dave Inc.

Well after dealing with my wife's '14 VW Beetle's battery dying over the weekend and it needing a charger unit plugged into the car to stay hot while I replaced it...not that.

r911

I agree with the EFI 3.2L thru OBD I for altitude changes, etc. (despite going full cave man with carbs on my own 3.2L hotrod motor in a '73...)

Spyerx

The 3.2 and 3.6 motronics.

Man i love efi

i am renewing my fatal attraction to carbs again but I’m about a 10k check away from putting efi on my 71 :-)

MexicoBlueTurboS

Your 71 is definitely golden age, having had a 66, I long for the vent windows in front (I know easy to break in) and green gauges

r911

me too - that's why I had the gauge faces changed to green and vent windows fitted to my '73 -- you can do it too

dr914

as far as 911s go, 65-73 are the golden age. The cars then started with the troublesome CIS injection and then much more sophisticated Motronic (which was more reliable)

However I always find that the golden age for the individual car enthusiast was when that guy was 14.Those were the cars he still loves today. For me:

Ford GT
Chevrolet Corvette
Porsche 912
Mgb gt

theiceman

You make it sound like mfi pump driven cars weren't troublesome 😉

evilfij

And every pre-galvanized 911 has rust somewhere (even if you can’t see it) which makes dealing with engine reliability look like child’s play.

Yes, long hoods are beautiful to be sure. But there is a reason so many people backdate to get the long hood look without the issues associated with them.

JDS968

I agree the brief OBD1 era was a real golden age. The cars were like the Battlestar Galactica (in the reboot series). Yes, they had computers, and the computers did important work, like accurately metering fuel in any atmospheric condition or pulling spark in response to knock. But they weren't really networked together, so if one computer had a problem, the fault was isolated. Now if one computer has a sneeze, it propagates throughout the network and the results are completely unpredictable.

NickyP

Modern car thoughts and desires have been creeping into my brain as well. I have 2 oldies, a 73S (with a genuine RS motor installed) and a 72 911 that I built to ST specs. Both awesome and I’ve always loved the involvement these cars require. Then I watch videos of new GT3 RS’s zipping around a racetrack and I think about how fun that looks. I’m starting to think I may consider selling one of my cars (probably the hot rod ST) in order to obtain a pretty new RS. Never thought that bug would bite me.....maybe its just that Porsche’s new offerings are starting to interest me and the fact that I’ve owned the longhoods for 15 and 7 years respectively.

r911

Everybody needs a Cayman as a parts runner