That and the fact that I've never seen an engine catastrophically fail from a broken head stud. Most times, you can't even tell they are broken until you pull a valve cover.

 

I think tensioner failure would cause more "instant" damage but a broken head stud(s) is a very expensive (labor) fix in most cases and should not be left unattended. A good PPI will tell the story regardless..

 

Since you have chosen to withold where you are we can't properly determine much about the condition of the underside of the car. If you're in a benign climate then don't sweat the stuff about broken head studs. You also don't need a pop off valve in the later 911SCs. I have to admit that I'm a bit surprised that the original owner consciously elected NOT to upgrade to oil fed tensioners. They arrived on the scene in 1984 and were a no-brainer to install and woudl give you considerable peace of mind. Was the owner just thrifty? (or cheap?)

They're nothing to put in. If well garaged and thoroughly driven and warmed up after each wash you mine have a gem. $14K is not out of line for that era.

 

Russell,
I'm going to echo what Dan said above. Please add your location to your profile.

Cheers,

Paul.

 

I'm in Pennsylvania. The car's in Rhode Island. If driven in winter corrosion could be a factor.

 

If the car was properly undercoated it will survive! Plan on spraying the undercarriage w/power washer, avoiding wheel bearings, etc...

 

PS, I'm in PA too and I'll drive mine till the salt goes down!

 

Thanks to all for the info and advice. I spoke with the mechanic who did the recent work and surprisingly, to me, he was very positive about the mechanical condition. However (isn't there always a however?) he said there was obvious paintwork done. This one's not for me--I was prepared to deal with mechanical issues but was going for the low mile original paint, interior etc.
Thanks again,
Russell

 

Paintwork on one area or the whole car? When I bought my first porsche it was a 1978SC targa. The front fender and door were the slightest bit off color (the car was guards red). I had just the two parts re-painted for a couple hundred bucks and it came out perfect (this was back in 1989). If the chassis is straight and no rust, you could still have a great car- if you worked it to say $13,500 and paid $500 to repaint the bad fender or whatever panel has bad paintwork. If the whole car needs a re-paint, the chassis is bent, or there is rust, than that is a different story.

 

I agree with Andrew above. If it's just minor paint work like a fender or hood, that's not much of a problem. Even PCA concours rules allows for up to 25% of the car to be repainted in certain classes. These are old cars. Stuff falls on them in garages, minor fender benders can happen even with the most careful of drivers, etc.

Investigate fully I guess is what I'm trying to say before completely passing it up. Very low mileage cars in nice condition (like this one seems to be) are pretty rare.

Jay
90 964
84 3.2

 

If the mechanic's initial report is correct, it could be a lot cheaper to fix the paint on a panel or two than get a mint condition car that has $2,000 of mechanical work to do... Not many original owner SC's out there!

 

The owner never brought up the paintwork What is his explanation? Was the paint done for cosmetic reasons or was the car in an accident? If for cosmetic reasons this is still a nice car and now you have haggling room.