I am interested in finding out more about this 85 car that is at a small dealership in VA but came from a dealership group in the Charlotte NC area. I have what I believe to be the name of the previous owner. Do you think it is ok to post that name here to see if anyone knows him, or how I can contact him to find out more about the car and it's history while in his possession? In the slim chances I can actually find/contact him, do folks here think it is ok to do so? The cars looks to have upgraded S4 brakes. Looking at the under hood shot, do the motor mounts seem to have the engine sitting up enough to confirm they are not shot?

http://roanoke.craigslist.org/ctd/4455903264.html

 

It's an 86.5 or at least an 86 as it has the upgraded S4 brakes and the vin says it's an 86. Could be a good deal for a solid car.

 

Post the owner name, who cares?

From the side, there are not rear jackpoints protruding downwards, so it is not an 86.5.
I suspect it is an 85. If those are big brakes, they have been recolored, or a 911 version has been substituted.
(The big brakes on an 86.5 are black).
It appears to be resprayed in a colorcoat/clearcoat system as opposed to the original single stage. My wife has a red early 86. Slightly different color.

Probably needs the motormounts.

I think you can get a more original car with less miles for less money.
In fact, I know it.

 

The owner was named William Dunston. The car came from the Charlotte NC area.

Landseer, Please steer me toward any cars you recommend.

 

I test drove it in February.

It's an 85 with "upgraded" brakes. The car needs a lot of work, pictures make it look way better than it is. Had electrical issues, paint looks good from 20 feet but isn't great, transmission did not shift smoothly, brake pedal went to floor twice during test drive, no maintenance records to speak of, passenger seat back was broken would not stay upright, plus assorted other things I can't remember now.

My the feeling I got from talking to the guy at the dealership was that they overpayed for the car at auction by a lot and haven't been able to sell it due to the amount of work it needs to make it even halfway decent. It's been sitting there for a year or two.

I ended up paying less for an 86 in good shape with half the miles on it.

 

Thank you so much for that info Kombatrok. It may have saved me a long drive to check it out.
I am constantly looking on various sites for the right shark. I look on searchtempest and other sites twice a day since I lost my 944S in early December.

 

No problem.

I would stay far away from that car. It was unsafe to drive with the brakes the way they were, I'm not sure exactly what was done to upgrade the brakes or who did the work, but the whole car felt like someone who didn't really know what they were doing had been "fixing" it.

If it were $4000 it might be worth the time and effort to bring it back to where it needs to be, but what they were asking was just ludicrous.