svtlrtls

Hello ,

The usual story here....a friend is looking at a 1980 911 SC but unfortunately I know nothing about them being a 944 turbo owner.

I'm just starting the pre-purchase information gathering and I'm hoping you can point me in the right direction.

Attached is some information but I'll be collecting more this coming week.

What should we look for as "soft" spots on this car?

Based upon the front - below the bumper - I don't consider this car "excellent".

Thanks for looking and your help.

Cheers

theiceman

wow an EXCELLENT car with over 200,000 miles ... wow .. tell them to ease up on the armourall

go to the PPI sticky at the top of our forum , that will be a great start .. if you don't know these cars well get a PPI. and even then, get a PPI ...

The list by Pete Zimmermann pretty well covers it all..

The biggies are rust, broken head studs, does it have carrera tensioners and does the targa roof leak ,, they are expensive to fix..

good luck

911SC_Coupe

Have owned an '80 SC for 20+ years. Great car. One of the best features is that it doesn't have all the problem parts of later cars. '80s were the only year without a smog pump, so that's good, too. Just be sure you can live with the 915 gearbox; if not, a G50 car isn't that much more expensive, but there's more to go wrong...

gtihop

I'm in Dartmouth. I can go see the car with you this week if you want. I have done alot of work on my SC over the last few years.

Batman 357

What does the interior look iike. What is he asking....

svtlrtls

Thanks for the offer gtihop. We'll give it a first look and determine if it's worth pursuing so we don't waste your time.

I've only seen pictures of the interior and it looks normal for the age but I'll wait for the in-person review before I can commit to anything.

The seller is asking $25K Canadian. I've searched rennlist, eBay, autotrader and I think he's about $10K too high in the US market but I have to adjust for the local market.

Off to do more reading.

Cheers

guydawger

You cant adjust that much for the local market jeez. The car is worth maybe 13-14000 US $ tops. Check for updated tensioners and possible broken head bolts are common in that car. The SC is a great car, however the Targa is probably the least desired of the 4 body styles of that year. The Above poster suggested a car w a G50 trans but that would be a 1989 car and would be alot more than this car should bring. Good luck!

theiceman

25g is out of this world for an SC , even in Canada..

gtihop

Many of the 911's I see here are selling for the high teens to low twenties. One with 200k miles probably would be mid teens. When I bought mine 4 years ago, most were going for 18k + that needed major work. The prices are definitely alot less south of the border.
Is that an older guy selling that car? I might have seen it at a car meet last summer, I think he said his had 204k miles on it when I talked to him.
Things to look for:
Tensioner update, pop off valve, headstuds replaced, decent trans shifting, no noise from it, suspension bushings all good, any rust, targa top fit properly (this is most annoying if it has noise or leaks), body panel alignment and previous repair, the list can go on for a lot.

User 4221

To help calibrate you a bit..... Two weeks ago, I purchased an '89 Targa with 78k miles on the clock for a little more than half the asking price of the SC in question.

At first glance, the rust on the chin piece would scare me off.

svtlrtls

Thanks for all the input folks.
My friend has decided not to pursue this car.

Cheers

merrellbr

From the owner of a 1980 SC Targa.....why is the Targa the least desired....? No offense intended, just curious and new to the Porsche mystic but love my Targa!
Thanks.
Bruce

Todd951968

I think some people prefer a coupe because of its stronger structural integrity, which makes them better for track use. And, their interiors are less likely to have suffered from sun or rain damage since they are less exposed. Those would be objective reasons. Some also say the coupe keeps with the original design profile so it has better lines and thus look better to them.

I can't really say why a cabrio would be preferable to the Targa, other than because its true open air motoring. Perhaps someone else will chime in.

GothingNC

Wow, how much Armor-All was applied to the tires

John

wwest

For the pre-water-cooled 911's if you're over 6', 6'2" me, to be comfortable you either need to delete the sunroof or get the Targa. Were Porsche to bring back the TRUE Targa, or even a T-top, I would immdiately get in line for a new DFI 911/997.

Meanwhile I guess I'll have to continue to make do with my '78 SC Targa.