rxtrom

Hey everyone,

I am about to pull the trigger on my first air cooled Porsche, unless someone here tells me otherwise.

Basically this a Cali car has 146k miles and looks relatively clean with a recent engine and tranny rebuild totaling 20k. I offered 38.5 for the car. Below are pics of the undercarriage and there are large black patches near the front of the car almost like they are from an oil leak. Is this something to be worried about? I am having a PPI done before I fully commit, but I figured I would check here too.

Any other advice anyone can share would be greatly appreciated too!

Thanks in advance guys!

mrgreenjeans

Appears to me it's the wax-oil product Porsche used to lightly rustproof the car before delivery. If this was a 'deleted' option and they skipped the cosmoline spray underneath, you would show a '666' on the build code tag.

Your car was a European delivery. A pickup @ the factory or a designated Porsche retail seller in Germany, as denoted by the 900 code. My '88 Carrera had the same good fortune to be picked up, broken in, and properly driven in the country it was built in. Then shipped by air transport to the S.F. Bay area to the Dr. who bought it, awaiting a reuniting with his new love.

Best wishes with what appears a very nice 911.

rxtrom

Great! Thanks for the input. I really appreciate it. It is really difficult to purchase something like this from the other side of the country sight unseen.
The final price is 39.500. Is that relatively on par with the market? I compared it to Hagerty's and it seems like a really good price but that doesn't dictate market...

theiceman

that car looks in really good shape. i think you right on par with a g50 911

even if it is not cosmoline i wouldn't worry about it . looks like a non issue

rxtrom

A keen eye from another forum picked up on the cleanliness of the RR trailing arm. He thought it may have likely been an abandoned cleaning job rather than a new replacement.. Any thoughts on that?

Amber Gramps

The undercarriage had cosmoline everywhere it normally does. ....then when the tranny and engine were rebuilt it was stripped off. All the black you see is cosmoline, not oil. LOLz... It's the lack of oil and the obviously new hardware that makes it clear the engine and trans have been out and apart.

mrgreenjeans

I noticed it as well, but since there is no indication otherwise to damage in the mounting areas or any thing at the floor pan level indicating a jumped curbing or collision damage, I would not be too concerned other than this area got cleaned and the other side didn't.

There is a slight bend on the rear valance but could be from backing over the neighbor's rose bush by the driveway, or other object in the garage.

If the ppi comes back a good report, I would comment it appears a nice job in finding a great rust free, dry car. A typical CA. find if not a transplant from elsewhere; one doesn't just find a 911 this sanitary on every corner in the N.E.

The recent engine work or re-seal is a definite plus, because it can get very spendy doing a top end valve job to stop any oil burning issues which are very common with this mileage. Some needed this done around 60,000 depending on how it was driven, where it was driven, how often the oil was changed, and how good those guides were when 'Helmut' or 'Horst' put them in that day in 1989. Some lasted, some didn't. Heat and oil quality are in the mix on these variables as well.

mrgreenjeans

Another option which is kind of cool is the factory short shifter which up till now hadn't been offered. I think they came out with the G50 and after Porsche noticing the aftermarket sales was going great in short shift kits.

You also were given the Reno stereo originally and hi-fi sound system with amps and 2 speakers added. This is not a highly optioned car, but the way one sees many of the cars which were dealer ordered as lot fillers or for sale to prospective clients with an eye towards frugality. No high dollar full leather interior, or special wishes added, no metallic paint or special features other than what one would want in a nicely equipped 911.

Since this was obviously a personal car ordered out and picked up on a Treffen or a trip to Germany to tour about after arriving and picking up one's new 911, the original purchaser probably opted to spend his money on making memories driving it around Europe and optioned it comfortably to do just that. When all was said and done, Porsche shipped it back to the owner in CA. and most likely by air transport as most during this time frame were. ( these weren't really high volume sales days for Porsche and they did experiment with this mode of transit back in this era. Remember when if you bought a new Porsche Mooney Airplane, you got the option of selecting a free two year lease on a new 930 ? ). They were doing all the creative imaginative things a great marketing team could to boost sales and keep customers feeling needed and happy.

Amber Gramps

It also has expandable oil-return tubes.

rxtrom

Thank you all for your feedback. I have scheduled the PPI for the middle of next week and will post an update on his findings. I am using Jason from RS Enterprises in Ventura, CA and he was very knowledgeable on the phone, good experience so far.

69-912-SWT

I wish my 87 Carrera was that clean underneath !! You need to check how old the tires are before drive it cross country !!

n8kruger

Someone did a decent job with the pressure washer cleaning the bottom of this car. They forgot one of the rear trailing arms. The oily bits are where they avoided the more sensitive bits.

No car with nearly 30 years is that clean on the bottom without some intensive work. The pressure washer is not always your friend and can wreak some havoc if we wielded in the wrong direction.

mrgreenjeans

Thanks for your kind words of support.... I returned your p/m with some thoughts on the other car.

To me there is no choice between the two, as this one has so many more positives to be said over the other older car with less miles. Condition and originality, the engine refresh, the dry original look to the under carriage.
The cleanliness could have been easily been obtained by walking under it on a lift with a bottle of P21S car wash in a spray bottle, spritzed, gently brushed, hosed clean, dried and left with this effect. That is how great west coast cars can be if driven on dry, clean highways. It's amazing to folks in the Midwest or East who deal with gritty, muddy, chemical laden or snow filled roads how good a well cared for western car can be. Even on the bottom.

I see nothing here to be concerned with; that black car you sent me a link to has no equal to this car.... it's quite a few notches down in quality.

Hope that PPI comes back positive.