'79 930 Purchase & Restoration
 

New member to the forum. I have a good friend who's willing to sell me his 1979 930 at a phenomenal price. It's mechanically sound and the body is in very good shape, but it will need a complete repaint (and color change) and interior color change from brown to black.

My goal is to have it professionally restored to "street/show" level. Any suggestions on a reputable Porsche restoration shop to complete the work?

Thanks for your suggestions!

Bobby at manhattan motorsports Roslyn ny
C

Thanks for the suggestion.

CPR classic restoation in California...north of Ocean side, near camp Pendleton...
Pcars only...High quality and priced according. Where are you located?

San Antonio, TX.

Thanks for the suggestion...CPR is exactly what I'm looking for, but like you mention, pricing could be an issue. I don't want a concour restoration so it's good to see they have other options.

Many shops charge $70-$100/hr plus material, etc. depending on what you are trying to do it can add up pretty quick. I don't know a thing about your car and your objectives with the car but bills add up pretty quick. You need to decide what you want up front and how much you want to spend up front, do some homework, and plan the project, and pick a good shop. I can tell you that you can quickly spend $100k on a car and more... Again, it all depends on your objectives...

There are other experts here that can add...

I'd drive as it for a while as is to make sure it's something that you want to own for a while. A full on professional resto is pretty big money, these cars are appreciating rapidly so you might even get you money back but a unrestored car w/ patina can be worth more if it's completely original.
Phil

Hi rushfan83,

Great to hear another 79 930 owner may be joining us.

Do not know if you are aware but although the '79 was built for the World market over Porsche's normal 12 month assembly period the '79 Model Year for North America continued for 17 months. Those North America 1979 Model Year 930's were built side by side 1980 Model Year 911's and Rest of World 930's.

About 800 '79 Early Build NA MY 930's (built over the normal August to July 12 month period) shared most of the '78 parts while just less than 400 more were built during a 5 month extended period from August to December. Those 400 or so '79 Late Build NA MY 930's had many parts found on 1980 MY 911's and 930's.

Hope to hear more and see some pictures.

Bud

Many thanks for the suggestions and words of caution. I'll post some pics once I purchase it, which I plan to do later next week. There's no doubt that I'm buying it. I drove the car yesterday for quite a while, and while it is such a different driving experience over my 2008 997.1, the feeling of actually "driving" the car is intoxicating...extremely visceral experience. But, I know I'm not telling you guys anything new. My objective is to keep the car long-term as a weekly, not daily, driver. For me, it's the iconic Porsche I remember as a kid (I'm 42) and being able to pick one up at the price I'm getting is just too good to pass up. I'll share what I paid for it once the deal is done.

I'll be honest and tell you that I know literally nothing about restoration projects other than what I've watched on the Velocity channel and some basic research I've done on the web. But, the car is really in great shape minus the paint. It's never been wrecked, no body work required, etc. I do want to change the color, which I know is quite a bit more expensive to do. Plus, I want to change out the interior color from brown to black. The engine only has 51,000 miles and it has a RUF 5-speed gearbox, K27 turbocharger, SC Cams, and new radio, which obviously are all not original. Other than those parts, the car is original...down to decals, headlights/foglights, rims, etc. It will need a new dash (severely cracked) and the gas gauge doesn't work.

I want the job done right, but I'd like to stay somewhere in the $40k range on a mini-restoration. Like I mentioned, I'm not looking for a councour vehicle, but I do want the job done right. I know the problem becomes that you don't always know up front everything that will need replacing until you get it someone's shop. I only wish there were somewhere local within TX that I could take it. I still need to do some more research there. If I have to ship to CA or NY, so be it, but local would be best in terms of keeping my eye, and my wallet, on the project.

I plan to make some calls on Monday to get an idea of what kind of money I may be talking on just the repaint and updating the interior. Based on preliminary research, I know I'm probably looking at somewhere around $15-18K just for those two. Like one of you guys mentioned, then the question becomes what else I really want done. Whether or not I want them to drop the engine for a thorough check and clean-up, which certainly couldn't hurt. Yes, I could see where the bills could certainly start to add up. No intent to brag, but I have the money to put into the car, but like everything in life, just because you can doesn't necessarily mean you should.

Once again, really appreciate the feedback. Will post some pics soon.

Why are you changing the color? Back to original color, or changing from the original color to a different one? What color is it now? Changing color is a pretty big job to do right; it also has the potential to hurt the value of the car in the eyes of the serious collector.

Regardless - congrats and good luck with the purchase - they are great cars!

RF82,

As pu911rsr, Igooz, Porsche 930 and TT Surgeon all stated, welcome to the group and congrats on your acquisition !

Because of my curiosity, I glanced over the thread several times and noticed that you mention twice of switching the interior color from brown to black and you mention changing the exterior color of the car but you never mention the current color of your new 930 or your desired color.

Is the current color of your 930 its original color from the factory or did one of the prior owners change it ? I ask because, with the values of the earlier Turbos increasing on what seems to be a monthly basis, history shows that any early Porsche (356 - 911- 930) is worth more in its OE color than a comparable example with a color change.

Color change does not seem to affect the values of some brands ( Lambo, MB 300 SL/Gullwings, Delahaye, Delage, etc..) but with a Porsche, unless it is an Rgruppe or Outlaw, this is often a big issue. I share this with you because you are about to spend a fair amount of cash on this project and if you ever plan on selling this car, I would think you would want to maximize your potential return on investment .......or at least NOT lose too much money!

If you never plan to sell and plan to be buried in this car then have at it :evilgrin: and disregard the previous two paragraphs :thumbup:

I'm certain that you'll get even more input from the folks on this forum upon revealing the current color and whether or not this color the original or a previous color change.

Best of luck with your project.

Try rennsport in Texas.
Agree w the baron, original color and interior only.

Welcome! I certainly agree with what others have said. Truth is without pics it's a little hard to give you sound advice so more details is needed. The original exterior/interior color is important at this point in the classic Porsche hobby. The value of these cars are on the rise. If you are going to invest in a paint and interior restoration(don't forget engine,suspension and brakes) then consider doing it the right way or don't do it at all...as doing anything else is just throwing money away(I'm real good at that...lol). Lots of good shops out there, it's all contingent on how much money you want to spend. What are your goals? Concours, show and go or track? Things can add up REAL QUICK!
In the end it's your car..whatever floats your boats. Knowing your end game can is beneficial to your project(and wallet).

NOW GO GET US SOME PICS..:thumbsup:

All, thanks for your inputs...really appreciate them. The color of the car is pastel yellow with brown interior, or maybe light ivory. I have a note from the original owner that says, "exterior paint to sample pastel yellow," but the original sales receipt from 1980 lists the car as Ivory.

I'm not as interested in maintaining total originality as much as I am enjoying viewing and driving the vehicle; hence the color changes. I plan to keep the car for many, many years and, at this point, not overly concerned about return on my investment. Even if I put $60k into it, I still believe I'll be able to get my money back if I choose to sell many years down the road.