Mister Quickie

first off the ad says "steel slantnose turbo", not sure what the "steel" means in this case.

I like the way it looks but am concerned that the air-cooled engine will over heat if sitting in traffic since there's no movement to circulate air and in the DC area no matter where/when you drive you'll always run into some blockage.

other than that I understand that 78-82 were bulletproof years and then the quality improved again from '91 to present

what about this?

VERBOTN

Not sure about the specific car but air-cooled is really not an issue. I drive a 78sc (air cooled) in sunny Florida in mid 90's no problem. I think you will find the AC system very different than your avatar's. In the 78 its so pathetic I yanked it out.

Peter Zimmermann

The expression my shop used to use when discussing Turbos, "You want to play? Then you must pay."

Your question is impossible to answer because every car is different (service, usage, maintenance, repair history, etc.).

theiceman

i think a lot of widebody were made of fibergalss so a steel one is a bonus if done correctly. We have a few guys around that know a lot about this. Doug Brey is the one that comes to mind for me . 78-83 is a very solid car in stock form, but the AC does suck in stock form.

Dino944

"Steel slantnose Turbo," may mean that its not a factory done slantnose, and that it was an aftermarket conversion. Some aftermarket conversions are fiberglass some are steel. If done at the factory, I'm sure the seller would mention that. It would be on the options list if its a factory slantnose.

My Dad had an 86 3.2 Carrera and an 87 930 Turbo and no problems with either, so I'm not sure why you think there was a drop off in quality after 82. Most 78-83's undergo the change over to Carrera (84-89) chain tensioners. I've always heard the 78-89s were great cars. The 87-89 having the benefit of the G-50 transmission. The years I had heard to avoid were 74-77 which were when Porsche experimented with thermal reactors (as did BMW & MB) before going to catalytic converters. The thermal reactors tend to fry lots of parts around them. My Father's 75 BMW 530i with thermal reactors was a nightmare.

I'm sure you will get many opinions on which years to go for. You also have to remember, part of how costly or problematic used car can be depends on how well previous owners treated the car...so that may be a gamble with any used car.

Another quick point, an 89 Turbo is the only year to get a factory 5 speed transmission in a 930/911 Turbo. You may want to post your question on the 930/911 Turbo forum for more info.

Best regards,
Dino

Amber Gramps

In stock form the normal 911 had it's oil cooler in-front of the right front tire and behind the headlight with a nice fan. This 935 or "steel slant-nose" has it's oil cooler in-front of the right rear tire behind the wheel vent. This one is just around the corner from me.

racer

is this the car: (guessing based on your geography only ) http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/m...379668814.html

If so, back in 1989, these were $110,000 cars. One item of concern is that the lower front bumper looks like its from a 964 series car. I don't think most people would have modded such a rare turbo cab to begin with. Makes me wonder if in fact there is more of a story behind the "slope nose". Not sure where the market is for an original example.. could be a $40-55K car?

never mind.. re-read the ad.. "not a factory slope nose" so.. started as a regular 930. Did someone do the conversion because they simply had the time/money/desire? or was there accident history that made the conversion "make sense" to try.

Generally, 930s are pretty reliable. You do need to "drop the motor" to do some of the maintenance iirc. AC in these early cars is pretty weak and in the DC area, it gets pretty humid so I'd consider how badly you need/want cold working ac vs dropping the top.

ked

aside from all the other caveats, there's no way I'd drive an old turbo in DC traffic (mind-numbing torture for humans & excessively damaging to perf machinery) on anything approaching a regular basis. it's an occasional use, open-road car for a committed ($ & time) enthusiast.

Mister Quickie

the point is moot since it got sold.

based on:

"You want to play? Then you must pay."

and

"there's no way I'd drive an old turbo in DC traffic"

I would've passed anyway

Thanks for the feedback