DM

My search continues for the right 911sc or Carrera. Found a '79, concours condition, 49k miles, white over brown, aftermarket spoilers. No leaks, perfect interior and paint. BUT:

1. Tensioners rattle like hell. Can't drive it. Needs tensior upgrade.

2. Tires rotten. Need to be replaced ASAP.

3. It has only been driven a few hundred miles over the past two years. No brake bleeding of late.

Price is $15,900 as it sits. What else do I have to worry about with a car sitting this much? I restored a euro M5 years ago that was sitting a few years, and had to replace every stinking brake component, from the master cylinder on down. What else do I need to worry about with a stored 911? How reasonable is this price? What is the going price for a tensioner upgrade?

Jay H

DM:

I guess the next question is how WELL was the car stored? Was it prepped before being put away in a dry storage area (fuel stabilized, oil changed, fluids flushed, etc)? Or, was it driven hard, put away wet and just left to sit in a damp garage? How much has the owner driven this car with bad tensioners?

With the tensioners being bad as she sits, you can't even drive it to see what else is wrong. You could end up spending the $1000+ to fix the tensioners and may find other major problems.

Or, you could fix the tensioners, replace the tires, service the brakes (brake fluid flush/inspect everything else), change belts/plugs/filters, change all the fluids and win the next concours with it and have a near perfect car.

Price seems high to me for a non-running car... If the car ran well and just needed a service and tires, then the price might be very fair since low mile, mint '79 SC's are rare.

What are you looking for in a 911? Do you want a daily driver? Do you want a car to concours? If you want a daily driver, find something else in good running condition with more miles for a bit less. As soon as you fix this car, you may have over $17k in it and it will depreciate quickly as the miles pile on. You could quickly spend $2000-$3000 on this car to get it running correctly.

If you want to concours a car or want an excellent garage queen and this one has an untouched, perfect body and interior, buy it and fix it. Those cars don't come around all that often.

Good Luck

Jay
90 964

Bill Gregory

DM,

With an SC, unless the gas had a fuel stabilizer added to it, as many of us do for winter storage, I'd proceed with caution. Fuel starts to break down within around 90 days - adding fuel stabilizer can keep it in good shape for a year or so. The concern with an SC, and other CIS-based engines, is that the gas touches the CIS fuel injection system in many places. So if the gas is bad, you have a strong potential for gumming the works up.

On the tensioners, they run around $350, as I recall, for the upgrade kit to the 84+ oil-fed tensioners, plus labor will put it up into the $800-$1000 range.

When looking the brakes over, I'd plan on replacing the front and rear rubber brake hoses, as they are good for around 10 years, and may be originals. Over time they can swell internally, affecting the hydraulic operation of the brakes.

I agree with Jay that it sounds a little pricey for essentially a non-running SC.

dial911

"Tensioners rattle like hell..." is not a good sign. One must wonder how long the car was driven that way. The collateral damage could be substantial.

Generally speaking, when it comes to Porsches, there are no diamonds in the rough.
Cars that have been 'abandoned', are not likely worth your time and money.

Sonic dB

If the car is not running right...how can you be sure that it only needs tensioner upgrade? over $15K no way. Have the owner do that tensioner upgrade first, and then buy the car...or have him reduce his price significantly.

john d 81SC

DM,

IMO, 1st step is to arrange for a PPI. Certain things are obvious (e.g., the tires). Other things, such as tensioner upgrades, along with any of the other SC 'issues' (i.e. pop off valve, rubber centered clutch) can also be addressed by a competent professional familiar with P-cars. (Don't you love the PC term 'issues'? Sounds so much more less confrontational than 'problems' *G*. Good luck with your search!

Steve Zitelli

DM,
Another problem could be broken headstuds.It seems when the car sits the studs get rusty and break.Also I agree at that price you should get a pretty perfect car.

geo.aigel

DM:

I agree with others. Get the seller to fix the car and after a clean PPI, the 15k are justified. I'd not touch the car in it's current shape for that money. If I'd touch it for less, I'd pay a small price (about HALF of what hes asking). And that is with assuming that I'd do all the work. I would plain stay away from it in unfixed shape unless you are an advanced DIYer.

My main worry is: If you own a 911, why would you drive something only a few hundred miles in 2 years? Usually something major is shot and it is expensive to fix and the car gets abandoned. You don't want a P car owner that doesn't have the spare change and attitude to keep their car at least in good running order. Many shortcuts may have been taken in ownershipof this car in general.

E.g.: I just recently bought a car that sat for 12 years. Seller: "Oh, the spark plug hole was stripped when changing plugs on it. The head would have had to come off to fix that. Then we just didn't drive it any more." Guess what it turned out to be? The spark plug hole threads were all fine but the engine was completely gone, blowing smoke past the rings. That's why it was abandoned!

So, to get back to that SC, if it only were a $800 bill for new tensioners (and you could even put original ones, making the repair cheaper), why would you park the car instead of fixing it? And why wouldn't you fix it now before selling it? Something is fishy, be careful.

George

PS: That car with the bad engine was $200, so it wasn't like I got a bad deal ...