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It has been nearly 20 years since I've owned an air-cooled 911, but I've had a few in the past. Last month I bought a 2018 GT3 manual and I've been watching BaT auctions for awhile and generally getting obsessed with another air-cooled car to put next to it in the garage. I found an extremely original, low-mileage (43k) 1984 Targa, with a just-completed full service, new oil lines, brake lines, rebuilt calipers, and a pretty complete service history from new. Other than an impact bumper that has been touched up, the paint and leather are all original and the car is completely stock except for the radio head unit.
I bought it sight-unseen and had high confidence in the reputation of the selling dealer, who has experience as a factory certified Porsche mechanic for 40+ years, owned a Porsche dealership, and was the longtime GM of a legendary Florida Porsche dealer through the 80's.
The car arrived and I've spent the afternoon going over it, and ran it by a local air-cooled Porsche specialist who had very good things to say about what he saw. I expected some minor cosmetic stuff with a 36 year old unrestored car, but none of it is major and I'll be addressing them pretty quickly. The driver's seat has a number of cracks in the piping of the outer bolster, which should be pretty easy to repair. The door pockets are split at the screw in the usual place, but only an issue if you pull on them. The underside of the rear muffler valance edge is a bit wavy, which may end up being replaced anyway for a new exhaust system. The engine deck seal is dry and has some cracking, and the cap on the rear wing (no wiper) is also dry and cracking (I've already ordered both). The interior door handles are perfect, but I guess the '84's didn't have the glow-in-the-dark dot on them, so I ordered new ones. The front bumper has an area that has been repainted and has noticeable orange peel, so I'll have it refinished. It has quite a few little spots where rock chips have been touched up with a touch-up pen and needs a good wet sanding of those spots, paint correction and good detail. The records indicate that the tires are almost 7 years old, so I'l replace those. Rear speaker grills have splits in the rear edge.
I'm planning on an M&K cat bypass pipe, sport muffler, and Steve Wong chip. Also going to replace the radio (either Continental or Blaupunkt Bremen) and upgrade the speakers and replace the rear grills.
Any suggestion on the door pocket repair? I was thinking about just pulling them off and either plastic welding or glassing the crack at the hole. Also, what are most people using for a max performance tires on these cars? Also, the car doesn't have central locking, and I was hoping to get some sort of remote door locking kit for it. Does anyone have any experience with installing that on a car without central locking? Any suggestions?
The car drives unbelievably great! It idles perfectly, revs quickly and cleaning to redline, brakes awesomely, and tracks perfectly at 100+ mph that I've taken it to. The 915 gearbox doesn't like a rushed 1-2 shift, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.
Myflat6: To answer your question.....it's a '71 Super convertible. Total pan off restoration in process, pretty much done with mechanical, did it all by myself with my Son. Now at finishing shop to do interior and top. Car will be totally period correct except for custom built 2276 cc engine.
^awesome! I could tell something was going on out back by the sneak peak of the exhaust. That is a huge motor! It all started with VW's with me - I had a couple. Good memories. Nice work with the car and I'm sure it was a great experience with your son.
12-04-2019, 09:07 PM
Just arrived! 1984 Targa
