Namvet

I have a V8 ( 1984 928S)...., and a 1978 911SC is available near me for 9K. Just want to ask your opinions on first year 911's. Gotta watch my wallet, but Love them all! TY!

theiceman

try reading my posts on the "excelence" thread .. a 928 is twice a 944......

also it would be interesting to read what the 928 guys post , as I am sure you have posted there also .

Loaded

Former 928 guy here I still love them sexy as hell slow as snail snot for all that noise and size of engine. The 928 suffers from OLD luxury car syndrome.....Damn nice car for its day now half the stuff works less then half the time. Most Mazdas have more luxury equipment. Nobody makes parts for it. Hard as hell to work on unless you have SOME mech talent and tools and a place to wrench.
But damn is it sexy

The 911's have support all over the place and nearly regardless of the year.
Two thumbs up for 911's


EDited for ED

Jay H

It sounds like you are asking about if the 1978 911 SC is a good 911 due to it being the first year of the 911SC models.

The 3.0 liter motor is essentially bullet proof if you find a car that has been well maintained. Some feel the 3.0 was the best motor Porsche built in the 911 line up. The CIS fuel injection that this motor uses had been in place for several years prior to the SC's, so that too is robust. The CIS system does need a good tech to adjust it periodically, but again, it's a very solid fuel injection system.

The 915 transmission used for 1978 was also in use since 1972. This transmission is also very robust, though having one rebuilt or freshened up every 100,000 miles seems typical.

Rubber centered clutches on SC's were weak points, but these cars are so old, most of the clutches have been replaced at least once by now. I highly doubt there are many original clutches left on these older cars.

Materials that Porsche used to build these cars were first rate and really hold up over the years. However, a '78 is an old car, so there can be a lot of age related issues with rubber, plastic and leather components/coverings.

I would not hesitate on purchasing a "first year" SC. They are robust cars built to high standards and with good materials.

Good luck,

Jay
90 964, 84 3.2

Ed Hughes

Loaded: Don't start this stuff again. My 928 is quite fast, and there are others faster still. EVERYTHING on my car works all of the time. You had a bad one, other people have good ones. Same as 911's, there can be a bad one there from time to time, or one that had less-than stellar upkeep.

Loaded

theiceman

I have a 78SC and can definitely echo Jays sentiments.

When I bought it was in good shape but some of the stuff had been damaged through allmost 30 years of UV hammering it. I found replacement parts easy to get and not to expensive. The engine is in fact rock solid on mine and the car does not have a pop off valve .. starts smooth as silk every time. I have had to do work with some of the exterior rubber as it had cracked and shrunk but nothing serious

The key is Petes PPI for the 911.. get a good PPI on both cars, it will be worth it . I know a couple of guys with 928s and they are really nice machines ( personally I don't care about how fast a car goes ) before I considered buying one I would take one of these guys with me to see any one I was interested in as these guys know there cars as we do.

earlyapex

This is not a 928 versus 911 thread so we can calm down.

The SC's are very nice cars but a also very old cars. The motors and transmissions will last a long time as long as they are maintained. The description of the 3.0L motor as being bullet proof is an over simplification and implies that they are trouble free, which they are not. It is better said that with regular maintenance, these motors will last a very long time for a motor of their vintage. A 78SC for 9k will likely need some TLC. You should conservatively budget 10k over the next year to fix everything that is worn out or broken. This figure will be less if you do some of the work yourself. Pete's book on used 911's is invaluable. Pick up a copy.

Daniel Dudley

You want to make sure you have good compression, and that no head studs have snapped. If the car has had a top end rebuild, it probably had the lower studs replaced, which is a plus. Same syncro issues as an OB, but overall, everything else is robust, and easier to service than a 928, so a guy like you will make out like a bandit.

I agree that Peters book is well worth buying, and read the top post if you haven't. BTW, a lot of people ditch the smog pump and AC, which cleans up the engine compartment nicely and lightens the tail end up considerably. Exhaust upgrades and cam reprofiling really seem to wake up the SC engine, but the header style heat exchangers are pretty pricey.

Been driving the 928 quite a bit lately myself. Looking forward to pulling the SC out of mothballs. I really like the even balance of the 928 chassis, but the way a 911 hooks up in a tight corner is amazing ! Both are great cars. Once again, make sure you have a good engine on the 911. The price is good, but there are lots out there, so take your time and choose wisely. Then again, you could do a lot of upgrades with half that money on your current car. If you get a chance to drive a good SC, you will probably want one. They are a great drivers car, and a good 500 lbs lighter than a shark, which explains why they can do so much with a 3.0.

Good luck in your adventures.