I had a manual '87 which I wish I still had. (Coupe now) At first I wished it had been automatic but I'd heard comments that the motorized ones can be expensive to fix. One thing to watch is make sure the nuts and bolts are periodically tightened. I noticed one of the stuts came loose and thank goodness it was not automatic since it probably would have run a bar right through the top. That car was absolutely mint and my wife constantly reminds me she wishes I still had it.

 

topless all the way!!

 

I have an 89 with auto top and never had an issue. Any upholsterey shop can make adjustments as needed. It cost me $20 to check it out and the top is fine. I put it up/down every weekend during the sunny months in Los Angeles (9 or more months / year).

 

Manual

 

Doug - I had wondered why you had not posted on this thread... what took you?

 

I was near death......



here are 15 cabs....I have a fiew more on the list...

 

repeats?

 

For all the potential buyers looking for a Cab, do some research.

When I bought mine the PO had told me there are some tears in the top and deducted $1000 off the price, after some research I was told about $1000 to $1200 for top including installation....cool, no problem.

Then there were the horizontal and vertical window seals which looked like hell. When I saw the car I figured bah, $60- $70 for all of those seals.......was like $600+ labor, that can make the top probably a $2000 problem. The shop that did the PPI mentioned it but not the cost of these pieces. Said the car was perfect ....yeah......

I didn't car since the body and motor were in excellent shape, not perfect, but a sweet car.

 

Frankly, I like the 83 cabrio best mainly because it is an SC and they are probably the best all around Porsche that has been made. I feel that it will be the most valuable since it was first and may be a little more rare if that is of interest to you. When people ask me if I will sell my 81 Targa, I tell them only if I find something better. Better probably being a cabrio.

I would like the opinion of some people who have driven both targa's and cab's. With the Roof off the Targa is pretty darn wide open feeling not much different than my RX-7 convertible. Who do the 911's compare with each other? Is it worth the difference?

 

I had my 88 cab power top for 7 years, never a problem. I often worried about the day my motor(s) would crap out so I would occasionally cruise E-bay and find them for around $100. After my cat tore a 10 inch hole in my top...... I had one professionally installed for $1642.35, they did a 100% job and replaced the vertical window seals as well. There's nothing like a perfect top and rear window. I agree the manual top must be lighter and if I were to do it again, I'd probably go for the manual top simply due to the amount of time I spent worrying (for nothing) about the motors. I frequently commited the sin of stopping the top mid-cycle and never had any alignment issues. I was always very careful when operating it otherwise.

My Dad has an 83' SC cab for the past 20+ years. It is a fantastic car and quite frankly feels faster than my 88' did. I'm not sure where you're located but I found a very nice 83' SC cab in Winsted CT it's on 'autotrader'. I drove by it on my way to the Vintage Fall Festival @ Limerock, it looked great. 934 front spoiler I can take or leave, I prefer it original or upgraded to integrated Carrera fogs valance w/ chin spoiler.

3.0 or 3.2 - Toss a coin (only partial year 1983 for the SC 3.0 anyway makes it realatively scarce)
915 or G50 - G50
Manual or power - Manual (but don't let a power top be a deal breaker)

Good luck, topless 911 = Joy.

 

Gotta go with a G50 cab, but you always want to buy the best car you can afford and not worry about the year.

 

I agreed the 89 Cab with the G50

 

butzip,

Beautiful car and top

If possible can you tell me where you got the top from?

I am planning on having a new top intalled next Spring with the window seals.
Thanks

 

My automatic cab top just blew out on me 1.5 months ago....repairing it myself.....needless to say it is a very VERY difficult thing to fix. The problem was the it was not adjusted properly. Also the cable that connected one of the motors to the cab top gear box was a 993/964 cable and was too long and out of spec. It popped out of the motor so one side of the top went up and the other side stayed put. Guess what happened next =P SNAP there goes an arm of the top. Dealer quoted 9000.00 for new skeleton, all new seals for the body, and a fresh new canvas. I did it myself with the help of a friend that was a pro. porsche mechanic in germany for 10 years. Total cost of canvas, professional welding, skeleton molding/reshaping, and every convertible rubber seal = 3000.00 roughly. Just take the top in for an adjustment/inspection every summer and youll be fine. In the last two months I have learned A LOT about my car. We also fixed the door strikers, latches for the door, rough idle, throttle body, intake flow, and valve adjustment. The car will be done this weekend ill post up pics. Thank God for the family friend, he really has done wonders for my car. I would still say to go with an auto top. I could have done a cheap fix for 250 dollars but I think new canvas and seals are the way to go. Welding was only 250.00. Do it once, do it right is my motto though! Good luck!