Just bought a 83 SC....Questions and help needed!
#31
Team Owner
Based on what? The SC and Carrera tails are different. The fact is a few different tails were available on the SC. However, the most seen tail was the tea tray, exactly like the one on the original poster's car. Perhaps you should go do more research on the topic. I'd hate the OP to remove what is likely an original tail just because a bunch of internet yahoos told him it wasn't original.
#32
Team Owner
Op look for a user sargepuge
He had your set up and then went back to a Carrera tail. He will have some nice before and after pics of the turbo and Carrera tail.
You can make your own choice on what you like best. I personally like the Carrera tail far better.
But then again I have a Carrera tail on my sc and People tell me the no tail looks better. To each his own.
Good luck either way and welcome to the club.
He had your set up and then went back to a Carrera tail. He will have some nice before and after pics of the turbo and Carrera tail.
You can make your own choice on what you like best. I personally like the Carrera tail far better.
But then again I have a Carrera tail on my sc and People tell me the no tail looks better. To each his own.
Good luck either way and welcome to the club.
#33
I'm in agreement that the turbo tail is too large for a narrow body coupe. There are "tail guys" and there are "no tail guys" - to each their own... but if you want a tail I will second what others have said and get either a weissach or Carrera tail, or go with a ducktail. If this is the way you want to go, you can buy a used tail without the decklid and mount it to your decklid (remove the turbo tail, sell it, and the new tail should line up with the same holes). If you want no tail, then I would second the idea of buying a new (used) decklid and keeping yours in case you ever want to go back. Either way, keep the decklid itself as it is original to the car.
When I bought my car it had no tail, and I purchased a Carrera tail complete with decklid to install. I have kept the original decklid in bubble wrap and blankets in case I ever want to revert back.
When I bought my car it had no tail, and I purchased a Carrera tail complete with decklid to install. I have kept the original decklid in bubble wrap and blankets in case I ever want to revert back.
#35
Instructor
Hey Yahoo no body told him it wasn't an original Porsche tail Just it wasn't original to that car. You obviously are an uninformed nube if you are stating the turbo tail was the most common tail seen on the SC. I stated sc and Carrera had their own tails Sc is a weisach tail Carrera is a Carrera tail And turbo is tea tray turbo tail. With much more girth and down force designed for the wide bodied turbo car. You can put any on any car you like. In fact I run a Carrera tail on my sc. I don't go around telling people my car is original. Go do your home work and thanks for coming out
OP - If you spend ten minutes on google, you'll see that those saying the tea-tray wasn't a factory 911SC tail are incorrect. This obviously has no impact on you if you'd like to replace it regardless. I just don't like seeing people repeat incorrect information over and over. The Porsche forums are good sources of information, but don't take everything as gospel.
#36
Instructor
And, in the end-you're a yahoo too, based on that definition.
He's the one who said he wasn't a fan of the tail. If you'll read, it's been counseled that if he wants to remove it, get another lid ready, and to hang on to the tail.
Most would say that the tea tray doesn't look good on NB cars.
He's the one who said he wasn't a fan of the tail. If you'll read, it's been counseled that if he wants to remove it, get another lid ready, and to hang on to the tail.
Most would say that the tea tray doesn't look good on NB cars.
And that said, I prefer the duck (mine left the factory sans tail):
#37
Team Owner
Iceman - I'm not a nube. Go do research and prove me wrong. Simply reading it on a forum and regurgitating doesn't make it so. BTW, the Weissach tail wasn't the only 911SC tail. OP - If you spend ten minutes on google, you'll see that those saying the tea-tray wasn't a factory 911SC tail are incorrect. This obviously has no impact on you if you'd like to replace it regardless. I just don't like seeing people repeat incorrect information over and over. The Porsche forums are good sources of information, but don't take everything as gospel.
Stating " it was the most common tail equipped on the sc" is uninformed and irresponsible. Go back in your hole and go run a poll if you like. I don't have time or the inclination to do your research for you.
I have a feeling you just mixed up turbo tail and Carrera tail and have gone too far down the road now as your pride has been hurt. Either way rock on dude.
#38
Rennlist Member
But, I'm with ice in that I've rarely seen tea trays on SC's and Carreras.
#39
Tea table spoiler available on the SC
My '82 SC has a tea table spoiler as a factory piece. It was listed as an option on my Certificate of Authenticity (COA) and it looks a lot like yours. You may want to contact Porsche Cars North America about getting a COA for your car. I think they are pricey now but it may be worth it to solve any mysteries about the car.
Unless you really hate the looks, you should probably keep the factory spoiler since it does a lot of aerodynamic work. I've run both my factory spoiler and a standard flat deck lid and the spoiler is the way to go if you care about performance and high speed stability. The tea table creates some down force but, much more importantly, it breaks up the aerodynamic turbulence just behind the car that Butzi Porsche's original design didn't account for. He didn't have the benefit of an advanced wind tunnel or computer modeling in the early 1960s like they have now. He was going for beauty and as I'm sure everyone here agrees, he hit a home run.
Your current wheels have probably been altered. Porsche didn't offer polished wheels stock. Anything was available in their Special Wishes department but I doubt a customer would special order polished wheels. 16x6 and 16x7 wheels were a pretty common factory upgrade on an SC and are not too hard to find now. 16x8 & 16x9 Fuchs wheels were for the Turbos and are now harder to find so they are pricey. The 8s are actually rarer than the 9s. A popular mod is to find 16x8 wheels for the rear (get the 911 part no., not the 944) and then put 16x7 911 wheels on the front. They are a tight fit but work if the car isn't lowered too much. Keep in mind that the bigger wheels create a lot of extra work when steering (No P/S!) and more drag so the car will handle better but be a little slower at the top end. If the COA shows your car had 15s you may want to store yours away for when you sell or show your car someday.
SCs are actually a pretty low production car, so they will become collectibles. There were only 2,599 USA SCs coupes built in 1983 and only 12,613 SCs in the 1983 model year for the entire world. Just to put that in perspective, perhaps the hottest 911 model year for appreciation right now is 1972. There were 12,962 1972 911s built so your car year is actually more rare. My model year, 1982, is even more rare at 9,847 SCs built worldwide.
You may be able to get an auto glass company to remove the cell antenna rig and put in a plug. I know I would try if it was my car.
Factory A/C is awful in our cars. There are a lot of aftermarket A/C companies that sell custom equipment for an SC that will freeze you out but be prepared to pay about $3K. Griffiths (Kuehl) may have the best stuff but do your research if A/C is a must. Here's a link: http://griffiths.com/porsche/ Again keep all your old stuff for a collector to reinstall someday. I went the A/C delete route and it took out about 120 pounds of weight.
Be prepared to spend about $1K to $2K per year in fixing things that will start to break or rubber that dries out especially if you aren't comfortable turning your own wrench. That doesn't count any major things. As with any car, SCs have known issues and you can search this forum and Pelican Parts and get a lot of insights. SCs are built like a vault but they are now old cars. Care for yours like its an airplane and it will reward you with much joy. Let maintenance go and you will wish you never bought it.
Unless you really hate the looks, you should probably keep the factory spoiler since it does a lot of aerodynamic work. I've run both my factory spoiler and a standard flat deck lid and the spoiler is the way to go if you care about performance and high speed stability. The tea table creates some down force but, much more importantly, it breaks up the aerodynamic turbulence just behind the car that Butzi Porsche's original design didn't account for. He didn't have the benefit of an advanced wind tunnel or computer modeling in the early 1960s like they have now. He was going for beauty and as I'm sure everyone here agrees, he hit a home run.
Your current wheels have probably been altered. Porsche didn't offer polished wheels stock. Anything was available in their Special Wishes department but I doubt a customer would special order polished wheels. 16x6 and 16x7 wheels were a pretty common factory upgrade on an SC and are not too hard to find now. 16x8 & 16x9 Fuchs wheels were for the Turbos and are now harder to find so they are pricey. The 8s are actually rarer than the 9s. A popular mod is to find 16x8 wheels for the rear (get the 911 part no., not the 944) and then put 16x7 911 wheels on the front. They are a tight fit but work if the car isn't lowered too much. Keep in mind that the bigger wheels create a lot of extra work when steering (No P/S!) and more drag so the car will handle better but be a little slower at the top end. If the COA shows your car had 15s you may want to store yours away for when you sell or show your car someday.
SCs are actually a pretty low production car, so they will become collectibles. There were only 2,599 USA SCs coupes built in 1983 and only 12,613 SCs in the 1983 model year for the entire world. Just to put that in perspective, perhaps the hottest 911 model year for appreciation right now is 1972. There were 12,962 1972 911s built so your car year is actually more rare. My model year, 1982, is even more rare at 9,847 SCs built worldwide.
You may be able to get an auto glass company to remove the cell antenna rig and put in a plug. I know I would try if it was my car.
Factory A/C is awful in our cars. There are a lot of aftermarket A/C companies that sell custom equipment for an SC that will freeze you out but be prepared to pay about $3K. Griffiths (Kuehl) may have the best stuff but do your research if A/C is a must. Here's a link: http://griffiths.com/porsche/ Again keep all your old stuff for a collector to reinstall someday. I went the A/C delete route and it took out about 120 pounds of weight.
Be prepared to spend about $1K to $2K per year in fixing things that will start to break or rubber that dries out especially if you aren't comfortable turning your own wrench. That doesn't count any major things. As with any car, SCs have known issues and you can search this forum and Pelican Parts and get a lot of insights. SCs are built like a vault but they are now old cars. Care for yours like its an airplane and it will reward you with much joy. Let maintenance go and you will wish you never bought it.
#40
Rennlist Member
There are other tail options that will look better, and enhance stability. The benefit of the wing in the rear is negating lift. The 911 shape is much like an airfoil. My 84 had no wing when I got her-I added a Carrera tail at first, then ended up with a duck. My promise to her was never to be tailless again-they are highly effective at speed.
Of course if anyone ever adds a tail, they need the front spoiler as well to keep the car balanced.
Of course if anyone ever adds a tail, they need the front spoiler as well to keep the car balanced.
#41
Nice find Johnathon and welcome to Rennlist!
For about $100 you can get the Certificate of Authenticity for your car from Porsche. Amongst other things it will detail your vehicle's original factory specifications, production completion date and MSRP.
Here's a shot of the stock deck that came with our '83 SC. Looks clean enough on the exterior but they mounted the the AC condenser to the deckled along with supports for the plumbing to it without increasing the strength of the struts. Guess the functional engineers weren't speaking to the marketing guys at Porsche back in the '80s.
For about $100 you can get the Certificate of Authenticity for your car from Porsche. Amongst other things it will detail your vehicle's original factory specifications, production completion date and MSRP.
Here's a shot of the stock deck that came with our '83 SC. Looks clean enough on the exterior but they mounted the the AC condenser to the deckled along with supports for the plumbing to it without increasing the strength of the struts. Guess the functional engineers weren't speaking to the marketing guys at Porsche back in the '80s.