Can someone please help with the original question on this thread.
Other than the motor,
is there any difference between a Turbo and Turbo Look Carrera?
Thanks

 

There are substantial differences in the chassis between the two. I just upgraded from a 87 Carerra (basically stock) to a highly modified 1978 930 Turbo. The 930 has different suspension, brakes, tie rods and transmission than the 3.2 Carerra. Most of these were incorporated into the "turbo look" (assuming that we are talking about Factory Turbo Look; there are aftermarket wide body conversions done as well) with the exception of the drivetrain. When I look at a 1988 Porsche sales brochure for the 911 line, it states the Turbo look incorporated "the body and chassis modifications of the Turbo".

There is a huge difference in driving the two. I drive my car to work on a mixture of city and highway, and the Turbo is a total blast to drive. The 3.2 was quicker off the line in city traffic, but above 20 mph the Turbo rocks. Granted I am driving a modified 930 (441 fwhp) but you should definitely drive a 930 before you decide to modify your car or switch to a 930. Prices for the G50 3.2 cars are high now, and prices for 930's are low, so it is good time to consider an upgrade. Expenses are potentially greater with a 930 (upgrades and regular maintainance) but you can find well-modified 930's now for $30-35K easily.

Hope this helps.

 

911Rod, the turbo-look doesn't have the turbo tie rods that the 930 has, but everything else is the same (body, brakes, chassis). However, I don't think they got the same suspension setup also.

Nothing a set of Koni adjustables and stiffer torsions won't fix tho

Oh, obviously the turbo-look has a larger A/C condensor, since it covers the whole width of the turbo wing. The 930/911 turbo has a smaller A/C condensor because the wing also has to accommodate that sad excuse of an intercooler too

 

Thanks ProtoCab and SEW QUIK
My intent is not to modify my current 3.2 or buy a chop job.
I would only buy a factory Turbo Look.
My understanding is that a late 90's Turbo Look is as fast as a late 80's Turbo.
My concern on an actual Turbo is Maintenance. If it has been modified the maintenance will be even higher.
Thanks
Rod

 

I looked into the late 90's cars as well. I assume that you mean the 993 C2S and C4S air-cooled cars. These are about as fast as a stock late 80's 930. The build quality on the post 1993 cars is not as good as the 1980's cars, and the maintainance is potentially worse (have you read about the wiring harness issue with 993's, and the need for engine rebuilds at 50-80K miles?). Acquisition costs are substantially higher ($38-50K for a C2S or C4S that you would actually want). For that kind of money you can get a well-sorted out 930 with the right mods and have 10-15K left over in case of mechanical trouble down the line. Such a car will blow away any normally aspirated 993. Case in point is my car which I acquired for about $30K, had a 441hp engine/trans/chassis rebuild by Imagine Auto about 25K miles ago and does 0-60 in 3.8 (timed in a magazine article documenting the rebuild). Could there be engine problems (Read $$$) down the line? Sure. But I did not have to stretch as much on the purchase and am saving money for either future problems (or mods :-).

But the cars are also fundamentally different. Any modified 930 will ride, handle and feel totally different than a 993. The 993 will be more luxurious, have better AC, be easier to park (power steering) etc. whereas the 930 is much more of hands-on road car. Personally I felt the 993 and 996 to be disconnected from the road and heavy, and would have rather kept my 3.2 Carerra. The look is also different, and was a deciding factor for me. If I had gotten a C4S, every time a 930 went by, I would silently say to myself, 'that's the one I really really wanted'. Thus each to his own.

BTW - There was a fellow (Geoffrey?) selling a highly modified EFI red '89 930 for $45K recently on the boards. That car is a steal, and is something you should look if you want a street rocket 930...

 

Looks like you did a lot of research.
I appreciate what you have to say.
I did mean late 80's Turbo Look. I don't want a 964 or a 993 and so on.
Would like to stick to torsion bar set up.
The only question is do I go for a 930, a Turbo Look, or keep my Carrera?
I'm figuring either way I will have the car for a long time.

 

My advice...if you keep the Carrera keep it a "Carrera"...avoid the Turbo "look". I think if you do some sort of conversion on your Carrera, you'll have more trouble trying to sell it, if you ever needed to. I ALWAYS avoid "conversion" cars...as a perspective buyer, it's a total deal breaker for me. If you want a 911 Turbo (930), then get a 930...a real one.

 

I would never change my car. It was produced as a Carrera and will always stay that way.
Under the same note (see above as well) I would only buy a factory Turbo Look or factory 930.
No chop jobs or mechanics experiments for me.

 

Okay...thanks for clearing that up! Then my response is this (don't laugh too hard): having a factory Turbo Look car, is like having an orgasm out of one nut (sorry Lance Armstrong)!!!

 

It's not how many nuts you have, it's what you do with them.
I'm just thinking how fast do I need to go, compared to the Maintenace.
I would like a car that handles better on the track,
As the saying goes, "fast in faster out"

 

Two buddies of mine have turbo looks. They are nice fast cars. I can obviously pull on them but 911 3.2 motors ARE quick. You dont notice much different until after 60mph.

From afar they look like boen stock 930s. Good cars. I would not persuade you against getting one. Pretty rare. Only about 1000 ever imported. 400 or so in 1984, then the last 600 spread over the last 5yrs through 89 I think.

 

The reason I am thinking of the Turbo Look is handling at the track without the maintenance of the Turbo.

 

I havde owned both Turbo and Turbo-look. have to recommend Turbo. Since I also did all my own work, i found the Turbo maintenance not that much more and the instant smile with boost cannot be beat. Go turbo.

 

I always loved the classic lines of the turbo's and my first Porsche was a turbo-look Carrera Cabriolet.

To be honest, I was extremely disappointed with the performance of the 3.2 Carrera. It just had no ballz, so I decided to do a Protomotive turbo conversion on it and never looked back.

Now I have the classic lines and aggressive stance of the pre'89 turbo's with significantly more grunt than a 930

Either way, there's no substitute for forced induction