911vet

Pete Zimmerman's book will help you tremendously.

After having my 87 for nearly a year, I can tell you that owning a "classic" 911 is one of the best ways to handle your midlife crisis For me, doing my own work is very much a part of the joy of ownership.

You'll spend several thousand on repairs and upgrades the first year whether you do it yourself or not. But that's the beauty of buying an SC or 87-89 -- You'll have money left over for the mechanical stuff.

Which is the best? Since you've posted on the 911 boards, you're gonna get bias towards the pre-964s. Perhaps you should consider the 964s (C2 and C4) in your search. They have a more "modern" feel and some nice improvements in the heating/cooling system. And they retain the classic lines and raw feel unlike the 993.

Like Pete says in his book, "I never met an 89 I didn't like." I was looking for an 89 when my 87 came along that was too good to pass up. I haven't looked back.

Before you buy an SC, I suggest you drive one and a G50 car. I didn't like the 915 tranny. The long throws and "sloppy feel" turned me away. But that's personal preference.

Make sure you do several test drives before you buy.

Kids in the jump seats?... I know it's done but it's tight back there. If you have long legs, you're kids better have short ones!

By the way... MINI wouldn't fix my transmission when it went out at 34K miles and 4 months out of warranty. Sold my BMW and MINI and happily told them they had just lost a customer to Porsche. The MINI was a fun car until I took a curve a little fast and ditched it. I can take that curve in my 911 much faster... and believe me, I do! You won't miss the MINI

Mike Murphy

You're headed exactly down the right path. The SC will be a better mid-life-crisis car than the newer 993 cars, in my opinion.

500

+1,000 on Pete's book - great move that you have ordered it already.

I would consider any SC or 3.2 Carrera as a possible candidate. They are ALL very solid cars, if you get one that has been properly taken care of.

Condition will be the number one determinant. Some of the crucial things are:

1) Body condition (any rust? accident damage? any paintwork, if so quality?

2) Mechanicals - get a good PPI with a compression and leakdown test - for SCs important items are the cylinder head studs, does it have the Carrera tensioner upgrade (if not budget for it straight away) For the 3.2 cars, the valve guides are sometimes a problem - excessive smoking and oily plugs are clues. Valve train may be noisy too, but that can also just be an overdue valve adjustment.

3) Transaxle: The G50 is certainly has a more modern feel, but a worn one will likely be more expensive to set straight than a worn 915. The other thing about 915 cars, is there are numerous variables, such as the shift coupler bushings and clutch cable adjustment that can make a dramatic difference in the fuctionality of the car. In some cases, what may seem like a worn transaxle can be transformed by new bushings (cheap), proper clutch cable adjustment and new tranxaxle fluid (Swepco - I forget the number but any search should pop it up). However, listen to the mechanic who does the PPI when it comes to assessing the transaxle. Bottom line is 915s can be pretty good too.

4) Suspension: On all of these cars the suspension is very robust and trouble free. However, depending on mileage shocks and/or bushings may need replacement.

5) Interiors are high quality. Dashboards and rear decks can be warped from sun. If they need replacement, the dashes can be expensive and will require windshield removal for pre-86 cars. Everything else interior-wise is pretty easy to deal with.

I love these cars and am very happy with my '85, but they are very different in their feel to "regular" cars, so do drive as many as you can!

Batman 357

My 82 SC is in very good conditon & about a 15k car. It is so solid in the corners you cant wait to jump on the interstate. It will also top 100 all day. I bought mine with 189k on the clock. It's the care that counts.

theiceman

I have the very first SC //a 78 .. i have spent tones of time working on it as i enjoy this stuff. Don't get me wrong it needs nothing ... well, it doesn't until i satrt working on it . but that's another story alltogether.

it is a simple car to work on and a blast to drive...

OhioMark

Hey Murph:

If I remember correctly, you're getting married soon! So how are the
plans coming along? Good Luck!

Mark

Mike Murphy

Yes, I recently was married. I also landed a new job. Soon, we will be looking at houses. So lots of changes. Thanks for asking!

Here is a link to a short 3-minute video that sums up our wedding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ORwQJv2GAI