omahaporsche

I'm considering purchasing a 1985 911 Cpe. I'm quite unfamiliar with this vintage. Can someone tell me the strengths, weaknesses, things to know, things to ask, and overall opinion (including value) of a 1985 911 Cpe?

I'd like to purchase this car to drive occasionally to a PCA event eventually track in a DE and just cruise around in. My estimated annual mileage=1000-2000 miles.

Car currently has 47K miles on it, stock condition.

Thank you very much.

early_grayce

Lots and lots of info on these boards with plenty of discussions on this subject. Search around and you won't be disappointed.

Also, Zimmerman's book "The Used 911 Story" is a must-buy.

cal44

The '84 thru '89 Carrera coupes are my favs. I have had a ton o' collector cars but nothing stirs me up like one of these cars. A set of Bilstien Sports is a must and thats it.
I would sell my 356 before letting go my 3.2

Just make sure that a PPI is done and just as early_grayce suggests "The used 911 story" by Peter Zimmerman is the book. If I had a warehouse I would fill with these cars. I'm sorry for carrying on but I look at these and feel like Homer Simpson starring at a bagle. AAAARRRRGGGGG

911Dave

Buying a used 911 without spending a great deal of time researching what you're buying is a very risky proposition. A forum like this is not the place to start. You should start by reading books so that you get your information from reliable sources instead of a collection of opinions by people on a forum that you don't know. The Zimmerman book is great, and there are several other good buyer's guide books that will tell you everything you need to know. Then you can start looking for a car, armed to the teeth with knowledge and confident you know what you want.

Forums are a great place to get opinions. Not a great source of information, as there is an unbelievable amount of MISinformation here.

MUSSBERGER

Or you could get lucky.

joey c

i bought an 87 911 and its the best car i have ever owned..i broke all the rules..never saw the car in person..no ppi..just had it shipped..i paid 17k and it had 88k miles..i had to get the sunroof working,it needed brakes..and a major service..i got it shipped for free and feel very lucky to have it..you must plan on spending something in the beginning..i recently put in a new clutch..a hose..i could not be happier..good luck

omahaporsche

Great. Thanks for the input.

Bearclaw

Sure, while you read a bunch of books and become a scholar, someone buys this potentially wonderful car out from under you. Get a PPI and if nothing major shows up, go for it. That's what I did, couldn't be happier.

I've seen people on these boards, wring their hands, over-analyze, ride the fence and probably miss out on a half dozen cars that would have been great for them. Use your best judgment, and take a shot.

old man neri

The Porsche Hunt by Ian.

911Dave

The market is brimming over with potentially wonderful 911s. It'll still be a buyer's market in two weeks after he's done reading.

911vet

I'm not an expert but I'll act like one! You've come for advice and I will tell you what I think I know. Most of it I read in Peter Zimmermann's book (The Used 911 Story - a book you NEED!).

There will be some things that you will have to do even though the miles are so low. Much a function of old rubber. For example, replacing the fuel line before it leaks, maybe some CV joint boots, etc. The fuel line is a known issue for the 84-89 cars. (I had to replace mine after gas was spraying all over my engine). Figure $800 to $1000 for that as the parts alone are about $600.

You'll need new shocks if they aren't new. Bilstein HD is the usual choice. Parts are $600 (did mine myself).

My car has a G50 tranny so I'm not well educated on the 915 tranny in the 85. But... from what I know, it's a great tranny that, to quote Pete Z, "is a strange mix of super reliable, but incredibly fragile components." I think it all depends on who drove it and how. If they shifted that 915 like it was intended, you can go forever on it. If not, then the tranny is something to consider. Fortunately repairs on the 915 are comparatively cheap.

I will tell you what you are likely to hear many times as you pursue the perfect car: Every 3.2L Porsche is a $20 to $25K car. Meaning, you can pay now or you can pay later.

I think that's pretty accurate. There will be lots of things that you'll want/need to do just as a function of age. Low miles reduce some of the issues, but old rubber is old rubber and you can't get around that.

I bought my 87 in Aug 2007 for $16,700 w/113K miles. I feel I stole it I put $5K in it the first year. That was doing a lot of work myself (valve adjustment, plugs, fuel filter, dist. cap, new tranny and engine oils, Bilsteins, CV boot, hood and rear deck shocks, cylinder head temp sensor, o2 sensor). Parts were cheap in my opinion.

I had to get a new clutch - cost was $2500 installed. I opted for the OE rubber Sachs which I do not think is in the 85??? I think you'll have a metal spring plate and therefore less likely to have the problem I had (again, mine was an old rubber issue). Someone correct if I'm wrong on the clutch in the pre-87?

So... get the PPI. Make sure there are no major engine issues that require a $10K top-end rebuild or a problem with the structure. And then... don't be afraid to get that 85 3.2L machine. Twenty year old 911s are incredible and I feel it's the best car I've owned. It's the only one that I can say is actually "fun" to work on. I quickly recognized the difference in a car that gradually evolved over 30 years in small iterations vs. a car that is re-designed every 5 yrs. This car makes sense.

These are strange times... oil prices are unknown... the economy is unpredicatable... you don't know what tomorrow will bring.

While I won't encourage you to hurry, I will advise you not to wait

Get a 911 as soon as you find a good one. You won't regret it.

Hope this helps you a little.

ked

"Forums are a great place to get opinions. Not a great source of information, as there is an unbelievable amount of MISinformation here."

I think most enthusiasts understand that an open forum is not a perfect source of information - in fact I don't know of any such source - the factory itself makes errors. However, I have found some quite accurate & useful factual information here, on Pelican & other forums. I don't find it takes much mental filtering to recognize what is worthwhile & who consistently provides it - imo, of course.

Omaha, For a thorough review of the 911, read Frere's book, "The Porsche 911 Story", & Bruce Anderson's "Porsche 911 Performance Handbook". They provide great context for evaluating all the info you'll find floating around the forums. Be patient & enjoy the hunt!

rusnak

op, you might just ask the current owner to email you as many pics as he can. Then post them here and get some feedback as to value.

For DE events I think sport seats and a good steering wheel and shifter add tons to the experience. Manual sport seats are better than the electric ones in terms of weight. Sport seats add a LOT of enjoyment and visceral seat of the pants feel over standards seats.

DL Lawrence

+1 for Shannon's post- All good info here in this thread. Pete's book- absolutely. There's plenty of info out there. Something that I don't think has been mentioned is the importance of complete ownership history with service and maintenance records. Very important- it will add the value of the car (i.e. price), but it's a lot of insurance. Leak down test with PPI is also critical, as it will indicate any sign premature valve guide wear, one of the known issues with the 3.2 (1984-1989). As has been mentioned, there's a lot of people dumping toys nowadays, and it is indeed a great time to buy. I bought my 1984 just over a year ago, and it's been a joy. I wasn't too big on the color, but I followed the advice in Pete's book- buy the car, not the color. And just has he said, the color grew on me- now I love my Guards Red Carrera. I had detailed ownership history and service records from the PO, and the PPI with leakdown was very good. Bilstiens are next for me on the list.

"These are all 20-25 thousand dollar cars"- True that!!

Good Luck, take your time, and you'll know the right car when you find it.

OhioMark

Just to add my two cents, don't ever accept that the engine is okay just
because the current owner can provide you with recent rebuild receipts.
I was looking at a 83' Cab. about this time last year that had a newly
rebuilt motor, ( prior 6 months / 2k miles ago), and the owner had receipts
that I verified with the shop. I also inquired about the shop on the Pelican
boards and received confirmation that they new their stuff etc.......

However, I had the owner take the car to a Porsche shop in downtown
Chicago who performed a PPI / leakdown on the motor. The results were
less than steller with a 6% up to 18% loss depending on the cylinder. To
confirm that thses results were correct, the owner also had a PPI done
and it confirmed the original results.

As a result, I obviously walked away from the car that had appeared at
first to be a good purchase. I was told by the mechanic who performed the
tests that owner may not have performed the proper break-in for the
engine. The owner did mention he never reset the valves after breaking
it in and maybe he abused it or even Zinged the motor with a missed shift?

Sorry for the long winded story!

Mark