911 Crazy

I'll go with "E", both A & C and sometimes B.

911 Crazy

I wouldn't tug on Superman's cape if I were you!

pbarch1

I had an 86 cabriolet. Loved that car. Imo drives like a porsche should. I've since owned a 99, and a 06. All fantastic automobiles, maybe its the first love thing, but it truly drove like a sports car..
I ramble..
I thing the 87 had additional items sorted.
Transmission,
Updated lighting
Electronics

Ed Hughes

I believe the lowering of the seat in '86 was to correct the raising in '85?

rusnak

I like Peter's point regarding seat positioning. My '84 sport seats are much lower than standard SC seats, and they transmit way more butt dyno/accelerometer info.

Nate2046

Best advice I can give is to have him take the car to Bob Farmer for a going-over;
http://www.farmersautomotive.com/

I took my 74 there to have a fuel leak repaired and Bob spent over an hour going over every inch of the car looking for problems. He didn't do it because I asked him to, or because he was getting paid for it (he wasn't), or even because he was looking to find more work (he mostly suggested small things I could do myself). The guy knows these cars inside and out from decades of experience and has that mechanic/enthusiast compulsion to see these cars put right. I would trust him for an honest assesment of must-do vs need-to-do vs nice-to-do and how to accomplish that within a certain budget.

Best of luck

bkcarrera

I ordered and picked up the '86 in late '85.
I did order the sport seats with all the options - pretty pricey at the time. I was coming off a '75 Carrera (wish I still had- as usual).
I did not notice seat height from that or my '71. Interesting about the 1/2". If I was a better driver it would probably make sense.
By the way - I'm up to 32,000 miles on the "ghost"
86 is a great year - just missed the G-50 - but no issues.

nettles503

I love my '86 Coupe. It's got 119K miles on it and runs like a champ. I'm in the process of replacing much of the rubber bits on the car; suspension bushings, vacuum lines, etc. Mine has a few oil leaks as well that I'm working on fixing. But nothing seriously wrong with the car.

When I was looking for my 911, Peter's description of the '86 was a major factor that led me to zero in on that year. It was good advice; glad I took it!

vracer

A truism in cars is: 'Buy the seller'. An '86 is a good car even if not worth quite as much as '87-'89.

NC 997

Great advice, guys.. I really appreciate it. He's picked up a (used) copy of Pete's book off Amazon, along with another book on used 911s, and he's spoken with Bob Farmer, who has graciously agreed to do the PPI.

I don't know what the mileage is (80K I believe) but I believe the price is right ($11K +/-).

Thanks again,

eddie_993

I have not followed early to mid 1980s 911 prices for about a year but isn't 11k fairly cheap? Sounds like a good price to me, depending on what needs to be done to it.

Ed Hughes

It would be "cheap", if it checks out mechanically, perhaps. With an engine build north of $10k, that could make a car $20K+ in a hurry.

Denndy

As the author of The Used 911 Story, currently under development as the 9th Edition, I will provide the OP with a treat - the just finished new text for 1986. Obviously it's not the whole story, and the chapter is designed to be used with the rest of the book, but here's some of the story. Enjoy. (The 8th Edition will be available from Amazon.com until 9th Edition production is completed.)

Hi Peter,

Came upon this thread as I'm considering a 1989 Targa, but would like to get the new edition since I already own a 2006 Cayman S and would be interested to see what you have to say about it as well.

Thanks,
Dennis

Denndy

"As the author of The Used 911 Story, currently under development as the 9th Edition, I will provide the OP with a treat - the just finished new text for 1986. Obviously it's not the whole story, and the chapter is designed to be used with the rest of the book, but here's some of the story. Enjoy. (The 8th Edition will be available from Amazon.com until 9th Edition production is completed.)"

Hi Peter,

Came upon this thread as I'm considering a 1989 Targa, but would like to get the new edition since I already own a 2006 Cayman S and would be interested to see what you have to say about it as well.

Thanks,
Dennis