diabolos88

I need some help here, what are the tech differences between a 3.2 Carrera and a Widebody

I have looked over all the archives and cant find much on the subject. I am contemplating buying my 1st P-car, and got it pinned down to a Turbo Widebody Cabriolet. I found an '85 for 18k with 66k miles on her in mint cond.

First of all is this a good price? Edmonds, KBB and NASCAR are BS in my poinion.

My question is do the improvements in a widebody justify skipping the non turbo body cars? and additional cost?

I will probably track the car a little bit, not really looking to become fulltime racer though. I wouldnt mind dropping in a 930 used engine in at a later time as well. I think to do this I need the extra width of the turbo widebody anyways.

I like the look of the turbo widebody alot and want to find as much info on this P-car but cant find much of anything besides what is up on Rennlist and , but really nice cars seem almost non existent, where I can find good non wide cars.

I was told that if I do the 930 engine that I should also drop in a 4spd Turbo trans with the engine and get a 5th gear from Gemballa or Ruf.

I was also trying to search how to find out if a 911 is a true factory or after market widebody?

any ideas?

imcarthur

see Link for some info. I quote:

"M491 - otherwise known as the SSE (Super Sport Equipment) or turbo-look/wide bodied car.

Officially factory coded as the M491, within the Porsche option codes 491 says “Turbo-Look”, the 911 Carrera SSE was not an independent model but came with the following variations over a standard Carrera – Turbo Body (wide front & rear wheel arches), Turbo Rear Spoiler, Turbo Wheels (rear – 245/45VR16 tyres on 9 x 16J rims, front – 205/55VR16 on 7J x 16 rims), Turbo Brakes (285mm diameter discs to front and 290mm diameter discs to rear – front & rear with 4 piston callipers) and Turbo Suspension."

There is also a M491 registry somewhere. 18K for a 66K '85 is a very good price if it checks out in a PPI. Turbo looks often seem to sell for a $4 - 5K premium depending upon color & condition.

Ian

Jay H

As Ian mentions, to find out if a car is a true M491 car, you need to confirm that the M491 option code is part of the car. A call to Porsche Cars North America with the VIN of the car you are looking at will confirm if the car left the factory with this option code. If the option code M491 is not associated with this VIN, then it's not a true factory wide body (unless it's a Special Wishes car).

The M491 cars came about when Porsche realized that they were missing out on some sales of widebody cars to the aftermarket and introduced this option as a way for customers to get the Turbo bodywork and suspension when the Turbo was not available in the US from model years 1980 to 1985. Porsche started this option in 1984. The most Turbo Looks were produced in 1984 and 1985. When the Turbo became availble in 1986 in the US market, sales of the M491 declined a bit for obvious reasons. If it's a 1983 or earlier Turbo Look, it's most likely not a factory car unless it was a Special Wishes program car.

$17,500 or $18,000 is a very good price (you could almost call it a steal) for a nice Turbo Look Cabrio. I'd snap it up at that price, especially if the mods this car has are desireable to you (rims, brakes, G50). As I mentioned in your other thread, you could drive this car for awhile and still come out ahead if you maintain the car well.

Narrow body cars are all over the place. Check the classifieds here. Pelican Parts has a whole board devoted to Porsche's for sale. www.autotrader.com www.cars.com www.pca.org etc are places to look too.

Honestly, if this is your first 911, I'd skip worrying about dropping a 930 motor and related transmission (and the related expense) into a perfectly good 491 or narrow body car. The motor will fit and you don't need the flares for fitting the motor in the car. However, a 911 is a difficult car to master and it will take a while to learn even a normally aspirated 911. I've watched very good drivers take a relatively stock, low hp 911SC and drive around much faster cars on the race track. These are incredible cars right out of the box (right off the factory floor).

Again, just my $.02.

Jay
90 964

friar93

did Porsche produce a NA factory widebody 3.2 cab in 1987 or would one have to be an aftermarket conversion? would the option code be the same M491?

I assume a 1987 3.2 would have the G--50?

thx

ked

did Porsche produce a NA factory widebody 3.2 cab in 1987?"
yes.
would the option code be the same M491?
yes.
I assume a 1987 3.2 would have the G--50?
yes.

spence88mph

Hey, I have a widebody and I love it, I have driven both but not to the extreme so I can't really say much about the performance difference, I think they both look just as good as eachother, just different. If you think you need a widebody for turbo power look at the Ruf yellowbird.

I do think it may be a more convenient as you will already have the spoiler to fit your intercooler, bigger brakes and thicker torsion bars. The stock 930 torsion bars sag pretty badly under boosted engines, let alone thinner carrera bars.

If you are ultimately after a lot of power I would opt for a coupe with it's additional stiffness, I also read that cabs and targas are 40kgs heavier but I ondt know for sure.

No need to do a 3.3 turbo transplan, it's probably more of a step backwards, you are better off turboing your carrera engine it's a great platform for a turbo engine for a few reasons. It shares the same crankcase, crank and conrods as a 930, the 930 has different pistons and cylinders.

Also it has the carrera intake and Motronic which will allow more power than the 930's old school injection system which becomes a hinderance above 450hp. (so I'm told) Then you have the 5 speed G50 although it's not the strengthened model the 89 turbo uses, people are using it infront of 550hp rigs and they hold together.

Anyway, there is so much info about this around, I've been reading up as I plan to do my turbo conversion mid year.

madmmac

If it is a true low mileage m491 and a PPI checks out, buy it and "flip it". You should come out about 5-7k ahead.

Put that towards a coupe if you want to go to the track. If you want a cab...keep it and do a little track fun. You really need to know what you want the car for.

An 85 would have the 915 tranny, not the g50.

Norske

I think you would be money ahead in the long run just to buy the turbo. There are plenty of them out there.

spence88mph

that looks like a mean setup steve, any pics anywhere?

wholberg

If it is a factory M491 in good condition, then it IS a steal at that price. It makes me a little suspicious. Even so, by the time you add a Turbo and all the other stuff, you will probably have spent more than a decent 87 930.