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Hi to all, my name is Jeff and I'm very new to the 911 world but have owned a couple of water cooled in the past. I just purchased a 1979 911SC coupe that I'm trying to get a history lesson on from the experienced persons on this site. The car is a European model vin# 9119302861. It spent it's first 6 years in Germany with 2 owners before being imported to South Carolina in 1985. The car has some paperwork with it from Germany that indicates the previous owners names and addresses and even license numbers. the same paperwork also has a car description page with a list of specifics to this car. It lists the car as a 1979 911 SC 3.0. This paper work also describes such items as wheel base, hp metric, top speed Km, wheel and tire option, key code number, VIN, wieght, length, width, and other descriptive items to this car. The last item on the list says turbo model; and then lists all the Porsche part numbers for the front and rear spoilers,front and rear wheel spacers, bolts, and the new track width. I've asked others without any true answere. Is there such a thing as a factory wide body for 79 911 Euro cars ?? the fenders are no doubt metal and the original owner from the states indicated the car was imported this way. It also has the 16" wheels on it. Please help if you can, I'm interested in finding the truth.
Thanks in advanced,

Jeff

pjc

I din't think the Turbo look (M491 option) came in until the 1986 model 3.2 Carrera? First shown at the Swedish Motor Show in 1985 as a Cabrio to demonstrate the look.

PJC

logg

Was the 79 turbo wider than a regular coupe ? Could they have made a Euro turbo body without the turbo engine as an option ? I'm trying to understand the way this car came to be a wider body with external factory spoilers and wheel spacers to fill the wells. Is there some code somewhere on the car to check the body ?

pjc

What is interesting is that Patrick Paternie's "Red Book" on the Porsche 911 does quote option M491 for the SC - so maybe it is a genuine wide body. Isn't the car's handbook stamped with the options? The 16" wheels were an option from day 1 on the SC.

PJC

Doug&Julie

FYI, in the US, 1984 was the first year for M491 Carreras.

Could it be a Turbo model that had it's motor replaced with a 3.0? Are the brakes cross-drilled? Four speed or five? Hmm...

logg

PJC, Are you refering to the owners manual as the handbook ? The book I have is in German and I've not really looked in it because I could'nt read it. I do believe the car to be factory but have not been able to proove it. The few people local that I've asked did'nt know of this option in the SC model. and gave me the same answere as you did initially. I know it will take some digging, I just have no idea who would know for sure. Thanks for your responces

logg

The car is not a US model based on the VIN #(911930XXXX) . I saw on some web site that a turbo vin started with 930. It is a 5 speed and I've not seen the front rotors.

Peter Zimmermann

Every factory-built Turbo-Look that I've ever seen included all of the Turbo suspension bits, as well as Turbo brakes. In this case the brakes would have been the large, black 4-piston calipers and cross-drilled rotors. I've never known the factory to use "wheel spacers" to "fill out a fender," although spacer rings are used on the rear of 911 Turbos. If the car were fitted with SC trailing arms the spacer/wheel offset would present a large problem to overcome. It would be extremely expensive for an individual to replace the rear torsion bar tube with a Turbo unit, and then update the rear trailing arms, brakes, etc. If your car is widebody, and is fitted with SC trailing arms and brakes, I would guess that the body mods were done sometime after the car's original purchase. Both SCs and Turbos were fitted with 16" wheels (6 & 7 - SC, 7 & 8 - Turbo), so that's nothing unusual. The VIN indicates that the car is a '79 911SC coupe built for RoW/Japan consumption. My literature indicates that the first Turbo equipment, in this case the rear spoiler, became available as an option on SCs in 1982. The first time, also according to my literature, that M491 (Turbo-look option) was offered was for model year 1984. What exactly is this "paperwork" that you have? For the true story you should contact Porshe Cars North America, I'm told that they've been helpful regarding tracking down actual build sheet information.
Pete

2002M3Drew

The car was probably modified at Porsche Werks II. Back in those days, you vould get pretty much anything you wanted. Anderson cites in his book that people were picking up their brand new 3.0 SCs, driving down the small hill to Werks II, and have the engines bored out to 3.2 liters. I'm sure that adding turbo body parts was entirely in the realm of possibility. This change would not have to have a factory option code.

logg

Thanks Peter, how can I tell if the suspension is turbo or not ? When the car gets out of detailing, I'll look at the brakes as well. It seem nobody knows for sure what I've got and that make me all the more interested in finding out the story. I guess the question still is, Did they make a turbo look in Germany in 1979?? Anyone Please

Peter Zimmermann

As Drew stated, the car may have been done without a code, which I think would be highly unusual, or it might have been modified through the Special Wish program, in which case it would have been prperly documented. (Perhaps someone on this forum knows when the Special Wish program began?) I have never researched Werks II, but with Porsche much was possible. There is nothing in the literature that I own that states that a Turbo-look 911 coupe was available as an option in 1979. The reason that codes are used is so Porsche can track every car, what's been done to it, what might void a warranty, etc. I maintain that I don't believe that the factory would have done a widebody without all the Turbo suspension/brake goodies, which tells me that the car would have a 930XXXXXXXX VIN, and an option code for delete Turbo powertrain, etc. Remember, there are liability issues with mechanical one-off cars. Mechanical modifications are far different than painting Hugh Heffner's ex-wife's Carrera in Pearl White. It'll be interesting to find out which trailing arms and brakes the car has. The Turbo parts are all visually identifiable, but that's not so easy for someone who isn't intimately familiar with the cars. The best thing to do is take a couple of digital pics of the rear brake caliper (wheel off) and the trailing arm where it attaches to the torsion bar tube (under the car near the nose of the trans). The best way to take the pics is with the car on a lift, if you do it at home make sure the car is properly supported before you go under it!
Pete

DanS911

This is fun Jeff good luck!
I too have a "mystery " Turbo look car, also a European model.
Nothing too exciting though, it's a non-factory job, came without the brakes and supension (been in there redone all that). I would like to know who did the conversion though

It would appear to the uninitiated from the vin # that this might be a 930 but the numbers all mean something. The 930 vin #s all started with 930 the model number.
The SCs did the same the first three #s 911 were the model
the fourth # is the year, in your case 9 for 1979
fifth is the engine type 3 means RoW 3.0
sixth is the body type 0 for coupe, 1 for Targa
The last four numbers are the build number you have number 2861 Congratulations!!

theiceman

What is with the turbo look ? is it just wider fenders ? ... well how about a real red- neck check to see if it is a turbo look . take two yard sticks stand them perfectly straight up at each rear fender and measure the distance in between. Then email me and I will tell you the measurment on my "normal 78SC.. " done... still a lot of fun figuring out these mysteries... I was in fact under my car and noticed a "930" series number on my gearbox i think ... got distracted by the big glob of CV joint grease that fell in my eye , but I will have to get back to that mystery !!

logg

When I get the car back, I'll see if I can get under the car for a peek at the brakes and trailing arm. I may have to ask what it is I'm looking for. I'm not sure I know what a trailing arm is ? Next Monday I'm scheduled to take the car in for a good check up. I'm sure these guys may be able to help with the brakes and suspension identification.

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I looked at the rotors today and they are not slotted. It's still a mystery to me.