JCGMS

Ok please be gentle, I'm coming from the H20 side.

Looking at a 1987 Carrera coupe, non-local, northern state. Everything ticks all the right boxes (price, records, maintenance, etc.) until I ask about rust and get this pic. Up to this point I was going to pull the trigger on a PPI.

My instincts say run but I might as well run it by the cognoscenti and see what you guys think.

theiceman

That's actually a fairly common spot. The water runs down and gets trapped there. You can actually get that piece from restoration design. Doesn't look too bad tho.

GTgears

If that's the only rust on the car, buy.

r911

check:
- F. suspension points under the car
- transverse tube the R. torsion bars run thru under the car
- under pedal cluster
- pull the headlights and look in there

jabbing at it with a screwdriver will reveal hidden rust tho it may energize the owner somewhat

JCGMS

Will a decent PPI be able to tell if it's localized to just that area? Is there a scenario where this is the tip of the iceberg but you can't tell without taking stuff apart?

JCGMS

Thanks. I think we were writing at the same time.

Pep!RRRR

A competent PPI will find the rust.

Spyerx

Yep, Yep.

But it's an 87. there are a reasonable number of those out there unless its priced right... id' keep looking. if that is the ONLY spot, not a big deal, and it may just be surface, but, its possible there is more. Keep in mind the later calls were much better than the earlier cars at rust resistance. Fixing that one spot assuming no metal work is probably 1k, maybe less. If metal work, more...

theiceman

ya think ?

JCGMS

87 coupe guards red/black. 160K miles. 2 owners, 1st owner owned it until 2 years ago. All maintenance records. Looks to be all original and cosmetically looks good otherwise. Asking $34K (my budget is 35 but you know how these tend to creep up). I'm not looking for a concours car or garage queen, mostly something reliable to drive a few days a week, weekends, and the occasional autocross. I have a 997 with 100K miles for daily, autocross, and rare track duty.

Reasonable deal?

GeorgeK

Respectfully disagree.
We can see large bubbly deformation of the paint, and splitting of the angle below the sill.
What's more this aluminum sill is an early type, with sheetmatal screw, indicating that someone has been there before.

The area has been repaired and if it pops up again, it tends to point to sub-par work. Could easily mean a rather large repair bill.

PPI at a body shop?

r911

A competent PPI will find the rust if the guy is familiar with bodywork on old 911s -- not just on "911s" like a 996, 7 991, etc. or familiar with "Porsches"

Yes, there are lots of '87s - maybe this one is well priced or will be after you point out the rust.

500

As said above, this area has already been repaired once, so that is a concern.

Generally, corrosion in this area is associated with environment coupled with build up of mud etc. Often cars with issues here will also have issues in other areas (such as the kidney bowls and the area above the front bumper mounting bracket to name two).

A competent individual with strong familiarity with pre-1989 911s should be able to find most, if not all of the corrosion areas on this car. It is worth making sure the PPI vendor is appropriate and instructed accordingly.

One always hopes that rust is localized and in only one spot. Something like a battery leak (for which I have familiarity) can fit this bill, but in cases where it is more generally environmental-related, I would expect multiple areas will need work. It can all be repaired, but to do so correctly is a significant undertaking. You are wise to get a full understanding of this. Once you know how much rust, the next stage is to estimate the repair cost and how that fits into the overall deal.

JCGMS

Thanks for your advice everyone. I've decided to pass on the car. People seem to always say the hunt is half the fun, which I think is BS. Sucks to have to sift through the sleazy salesmen and less than forthcoming sellers.

needspeed

Reasonable. I paid 41.5k for a similar mileage '87 with clean body w/ no rust.