Kempus

Hello,

So I’m still on the hunt for my next P car and tempted by air.

I’ve been to look at 993’s, 964’s and 3.2’s. The former two are to be honest a bit out of my budget as had to sell my last Porsche to fund house.

Now I’ve been to see two cars. Both have there pro’s and cons.

First is an 87 in GP white (yeah) with burgundy interior (nah).
Euro spec with a G50 box and 77,000km on it. It has had no rebuild to engine or box but suspension been done.
Biggest issue with this is that the air con is shot. When on the ramp the from condenser has had a significant impact (maybe a kerb) and the grill cover is completely missing. I looked at electric AC and man it’s expensive. I need AC as it’s currently 45 degrees C outside (113F) and I need to use the car 3 days a week (no start stop traffic). What work could I be looking at to not only get the ac up and running again but future jobs with engine and box? There was a small puff of black smoke on startup as it had been sitting for 5 days but that was it. Nothing leaking underneath.
This white car doesn’t have a whale tail however and I want it to scream 80’s so what do I need for that?


Second car is a 1984 guards red non sunroof 3.2 with a tail, 915 box and a black and white interior. It’s Japanese specs which I know little of the difference except side repeaters are a funny shape, the electric aerial seems massive. The ac is also troublesume (owner thinks it maybe be the compressor but it looks new).
biggest thing for me was the exhaust. Never seen anything like it on a carerra. Maybe someone can shed some light on it?

I have included pictures as what’s a thread without pictures but I would like to know which way to lean. Both are the same price of £35k/$44k and rust free.

ksluna

The muffler on the '84 looks like a M&K sport exhaust or the GT style muffler. M&K allows customers to custom order their muffler lengths so I'm assuming the PO wanted to go the hotrod style and opt for pea shooters on his car. - this is the GT3 style, there is also a Sport style you can find on pelican/M&K's website - https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_In...BoC28QQAvD_BwE

They sell custom FG valances if you don't want to cut your OEM one which it looks like the red one has (Or maybe he cut his OEM one)

Can't tell much from the photos, I would go with the one that's in better condition. If they are in the same condition and same price, then I'd go with the G50. You can add a whale tail to the 87 if you want. And the 87 seems to have low mileage and I personally would've loved to have that interior. Black interior is boring.

Regarding the A/C, my car has 134 conversion and while it blows cold, I wouldn't consider it a great HVAC system. But I drive windows down 90% of the time.

FWIW, I do believe Japanese cars, while sometimes modified in a strange way, are usually very well taken care of.

rxtrom

From the information in your post and the photos the red one would be my choice. Excellent condition interior and color, the gray market attribute I view as a positive. The exhaust is not something I am familiar with, M&K mentioned above is usually high quality and the welds on this one make it look home made. Not a big deal I would just replace it with something else. Dansk for stock or a real M&K.
The 915 is fine as well.

500

I can't help much on the AC, as I deleted mine, but search for "Griffiths", one of the better known upgrade names. Generally speaking, 3.2 Carrera AC in top condition is so-so at best. Aftermarket systems can be better, but a lot of $$.

Condition is the number one factor. You said no rust, but do take time to really examine the battery area, kidney bowls and top of the bumper shock mounts on the outer face of the inner front fenders. A good, independent PPI from a 911-knowledgeable mechanic is always a good move.

Just some general comments:

1) The white fuchs on the white car are quite desirable and look great IMO
2) The leather in the red car looks new, and the stitching on the steering wheel indicates that its been re-done too. This could be a nice plus, but I would try and find out about who did the work and the quality of materials used. Also, the stitching along the top of the dash is a tell-tale as the original dash covering was not stitched in that area. This is not necessarily a negative.
3) Adding a rear tail is best accomplished by sourcing the decklid and tail together and replacing as a unit. Holes have to be drilled otherwise and if you ever sell the car, you will find that many people prefer no tail...
4) The newer car also has the later dash, introduced in 1986, which has larger vents - will be a factor in the ultimate potential of the AC
5) That the red car is no-sunroof can be a good thing, it is desirable to many (me included), but if you anticipate wanting the extra ventilation of a sunroof, that would be a consideration
6) May be the lighting & dust, but that color on the red car does not look like guards red. You will want to assess whether the car has been repainted. If it has, try to determine the quality and extent of the job.
7) The G50 in the later car is objectively a better transmission, but do make sure it is in good shape. G50s are VERY expensive to rebuild (915s are not cheap to do either, but not to the same extreme)
8) It looks like the entire exhaust and bottom of engine in the red car was painted silver (likely just some spray can job). The short hoses that connect the headers to the heater crossover should be red, and the clamps cad plated FYI. The concern here is to make sure it isn't hiding something.
9) Stock Porsche mufflers are stainless steel and don't exhibit the same level of pitting corrosion - just an observation

Kempus

Thanks for replies. I had a good poke around the white one (pretty much free ppi) including underneath whilst at a specialist and they did comment on how clean it was with the exception of the front condensor, which had taken a hit from something.

Red car had the interior done locally. It was originally light grey so the now (off)white leather is all new including the headliner. The 915 box has also been rebulit but thats a good point about the paint underneath. Could it have been some kind of anti corrosive?

Kempus

Thanks for the quick replies.

Red car had a grey interior originally. The work was done locally so unsure of the quality of materials used and the headliner was also done. The colour is a cream white.
The 915 box was rebuilt as well. I see what you mean about the underside being sprayed, I did wonder about that. I would replace the exhaust but the rear valance would be left with two holes in it.
The owner has the 488 as well as another 6 cars with another 4 on the way so I hope that he wouldn't have went cheap on the car but of course how the other owners treated it I dont know.

Front valance is there on both cars. I had good poke round the white car including on a lift with a specialist (almost a free ppi) and he did comment on how clean the car was. Suspension done with olhins at the rear (should i assume front damper were done? They were black with no markings) brake upgrade, (possible boxster?). Car has a CAT with an exhaust temp light which I've never seen before.

I would be looking at putting in another $10k to either car just hopefully not all of it on AC

Auto_Werks 3.6

Even when working correctly the stock AC will never be great in these cars. The later dash big vents could help.

The G50 is far superior, and for the same money I would probably always get the car with the later transmission. The 915 can be perfectly usable, but I would say at least 50% of them have not been set up by an expert and do not work as well as they should.

I like the white with white fuchs personally. The red interior is kind of terrible, but at least its in good shape

Not a fan of the spray painted engine things on the red car.

Don't let inoperative AC sway your decision... I think you should plan on needing to update the AC in any pre 1990 911 that you might purchase.

I would certainly pass on the red car, and there's no shame in passing on the white one if you can't live with the red interior.

WolfeMacleod

The white one would be my choice, for sure. And those sport seats are comfy.

rusputtin74

I hate to post a msg here, but i'm a new user and I can't seem to post a new thread/question i've.
Can someone plz tell me why? I have the basic membership not the paid one.

Kempus

Thank you everyone for the replies. I've already got it in my head what I want the white one to look like. I would be doing the interior in both cars as the white and black I just cant see myself in. I have a budget of around 15K USD for upgrades which may be a bit on the tight side to do what I want.

rusputtin74 you need to contact the admins for the reason why you cant start your own thread.

AG81

^
I went over budget on my 88 GP white build. Things add up fast. Most of the work I did myself including the interior. At $15K you might not get everything you want initially. I just found that if you can get it to a dependable driver state you can enjoy the car and add to it as you go.