Batman 357

I impulse bought this 82 911SC for 15k without any professional inspection. ( Probably not such a good idea) The miles are high at 187k but it appears to be in good shape with some service records. I had the oil changed at a reputable Porsche shop. They thought it appeared sound as well. The weather has been crap & I’ve only had it out a couple of times. It’s got a cold idle oscillation from 8 to 18 hundred RPM and the 1-2 shift is not good after it warms up. The RF locks up first under hard braking but the others are not far behind. The drivers window only operates occasionally but does not appear to be in a bind. The latches are stiff but everything opens and closes with all the glass matching. It does not seem to be real fast but I have not been much over 4k RPM.

I guess my first questions are, did I get hosed, what are the service recommendations for transmission fluid and how fast should a stock 82 911 be.

Any info appreciated.

old man neri

Well, first off congrats on the new car. Secondly post pictures quickly before they ban your account. :P

As for the transmission, change the fluid with some fresh Swepco (I forget what kind, I don't own a 915 tranny) to see if it helps.

As for the oscillation I have heard it could be a dirty ICV or a number of other problems, I am sure if you search here and on Pelican you can find some answers or suggestions.

As for the brakes, I don't have a clue, hopefully someone else can answer. And the price, well if you enjoy what you got for your money who cars. My advice is to stop looking as used porsche adds for the being. I make this recommendation to anyone who just bought a used cars.

Batman 357

I had always wanted a air cooled 911 coupe. The motor starts easy and sounds good.

73-911E-Targa

The first thing I would do is go to your local Barnes & Noble and pick up a copy of 101 Projects for Your Porsche 911. It's a terrific book that is reasonably priced (about $20.00) - you can't say that about much connected with Porsche. The book is filled with loads of great pictures which help make the projects easy to follow. Tune-ups, shifting improvement and replacing brake pads and bleeding the lines are all covered in detail.

I would follow the advice old man neri gave and go one step further by recommending that you change all the fluids immediately (this gives you a good baseline for future maintenance). The recommended transmission fluid is Swepco 201. A high quality DOT 3 or DOT 4 fluid should be used on the brakes and, given the high mileage on your car, I would recommend a high quality 20W-50 oil (make sure the oil is designed to run in "flat tappet" engines). The most popular choices for these types of engines are:

Brad Penn 20w 50;
SWEPCO 306;
Castrol GTX High Mileage 20w-50;
Mobil 1 V-Twin MC 20w-50;
Royal Purple Max Cycle 20w50;
Amsoil Harley V-twin 20w50; and
Castrol Syntec "Classic" 20w50.

I hope this helps!

Have you contributed yet? Early S Man Needs Our Help!

Mike S.

Batman,

Someone will chime in with exact factory numbers, but ballpark for a stock '82 SC is about 6.5 - 7.0 sec. 0-60 mph and a top speed of about 140 mph.

Mike

Amber Gramps

Batman you have just signed up for the ride of your life. you should check your option codes under the hood. You can de-code them in the General Opt. Decoder it would be great fun to find out you have LSD. get to know our site sponsors like Pelican and Performance.

Rick K

No point in wondering if you got hosed now, you already bought it, so enjoy it and post some pics.

Regarding the idle oscillation, its probably the ICV, but if its happening under cold start conditions, I would check the head temp sender as well.

Don't know how familiar you are w/ the 915 tranny (or if this is the first time driving one), but they take a little getting used to. Quick shifting, especially from 1st to 2nd (or back into first) is a no-no, and the car will fight you if you try it. Patience is your friend, and some new fluid certainly won't hurt.

You said the car wasn't terribly fast - well, compared to some modern day beasts, these cars aren't incredibly powerful to begin w/ (but they are fantastic through the twisties). However, SCs especially, are light and should have a ton of power on the top end. Don't be scared to run the car through the revs after warm, these cars are built for that and love it.

cal44

What defines getting hosed? The issues you brought up are nothing in the scheme of things. 1st and 2nd on the tranny....typical. Either you live with it or get it fixed and that is not cheap. I am about to buy an '84 911 that I know has worn out syncros in 1st and 2nd. Am I an idiot?, probably, but the rest of this little coupe is darn near perfect with low mileage so one picks their battles. As long as other things on your car are not an issue such as rust, wrecks, engine etc. then you are good to go.

As for being slow, well the engine could be tired or you may be used to V8s' and/or modern day cars. Keep in mind that your engine is about 184 cubic inches.

The thing is with these cars is how they preform as a whole......not just a hole shot. The kids in my area are into Subaru WRX SI something or other.
Talk about doing it all? I was in shock to wittness how fast these car are, and corner? Holy Cow. Your car is old, so is mine and so am I. Enjoy it for what it is. Will you lose money?, you bet. There is nothing more satisfying than the sound of an air cooled flat six and a little UB40.

Mike Murphy

Take a look at the 3.2 engine torque & power curves. Your engine is not much different. The engine only starts to get serious above 4,000RPMs. In fact, on the track, the car has to be redlined in every gear to extract the most power from the engine.

These 3.0 and 3.2 liter flat-6 engines don't have that low-end torque pull that you might be used to in other cars, but they do like to rev

Batman 357

Thanks for the info. When I can get things to work I’ll attach some more photos. I looked for the trim tab under the carpet in the trunk with no luck. I did find the C-VIN and it matched the public number. The only number I found in the engine compartment is on top of the fan. A couple of stickers are missing from the rear are of the motor compartment. There is an area of wrinkled paint by the battery but it looks like it supposed to be there. No obvious rust so far.

elpresidente

I definitely have to second the advice of going to purchase "101 Projects for Your Porsche." I'm a newbie too. That book, the Bentley Manual and Peter Zimmerman's book have been my nightly reading since I purchased my car in November. Oh, and I also read "Gold Plated Porsche" for some levity. The books and advice from Rennlisters have helped me tremendously.
Welcome to your new obsession!

Sailmed

Wondering if you got hosed after the fact?
It's been said - stop looking at other cars - and start enjoying, learning, and playing with the new toy! The books are wonders. These are one of the easiest cars to work on and I don't know of many other 25 year old cars that every part is readily available for!
I'd say speed depends on the driver anyway - I have beat turbo's through the twisties with the wifes VW 100 hp TDI. The Porsche gives the advantage over most cars in handling - if you have the cahones -
Cahones beat HP anyday in the twisties
The funnest part of P cars is the owners!
Watch this..........
5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1
If you wanted fast - you should have bought a 928!

Bob S

I agree with the others that wrote that it's a little late to start wondering if you got hosed or not. Most of the problems you described I've had over the years with the P cars I've owned. I'm not an expert, but they don't sound like major ones.... As for the brakes,more than likely the calipers need rebuilding or replacement and/or brake lines need replacing . As for as the window, it's probably the switch, not unusual and a simple fix.

You'll find that your car won't be the fastest from 0-60, but then again they weren't made for drag strips... It's it the twisties, as someone said where they shine... Join the PCA, get involved in DE events, and you'll understand your car better.

dsmith

It's probably not the ICV, since it doesn't have one. Do a tune up, check fuel pressures and get the mixture set properly, so you have a baseline.

-replace plugs, cap, rotor
-adjust valves
-set ignition timing
-adjust mixture

Enjoy.

Ron Minson

The fun starts at 4k. You need to go out and streach its legs.

i was out for a 4 hour drive today, it was great.