Hi folks,

I sold my 991 C2S yesterday with a view to scratch an aircooled or GT itch.

This car came up on my local “autotrader” last night and going to see it tomorrow. It’s a 1989 Carrera 4, japanese spec but modified.

I’m looking for a daily driver and not an investment and do around 8,000km per year although I sold my 991 with a pleasant 84,000km on it (bent over selling it as well).

I know of a couple of mods but not familiar with them as a package so looking for a heads up/questions to ask.

Spec from the ad:

Full repaint (original color - slate grey)
New clutch SACHS
New Bilstein B6 suspension
New battery
New H&R sway and strut bars
Full dynamat sound proofing
Headlights re chromed
Sound system upgraded but original look
AC been overhauled including a new upgraded control unit (CCU) by ÉCU Doctors (Florida, USA)
All fuel lines, filters , pump, idle valve, pressure regulator changed, engine gaskets, all fluids
New brakes (rotor and pads) w/ braided lines (calipers have been sandblasted and powder coated red)
Fabspeed performance package (exhaust w/ air box cup carbon style and chip tuned by Steve Wong) this bring the car from 250HP to approx. 290HP
New set of rims & tyres (Pirelli)

71,000miles

asking $72k

Oh and some pictures as it means nothing without pictures.

 

From that last picture:
Seat is very worn, too much IMO for the claimed milage
Where did that clutch pedal go?
The floor mat is nothing Porsche, and could be downright dangerous.
What's happening with the glove box door?

Approx 290HP? any documents to prove that claim?

Seriously, anyone selling a 964 thinks it is automatically worth 70K+, but can't produce proof of good condition and maintenance.

 

Mods are minimal and easily reversed if desired. They're a bit optimistic on the performance increase.

 

I would ask for records to confirm if mileage is accurate. Also perform a PPI to see if the engine is leaking and or if its been resealed. Compression and leakdown is also a good idea during ppi

 

I wouldn't necessarily walk away, but I would be cautious and go over all the documentation that the seller can provide. No docs - no sale. Not at that price.

 

where are you located?

 

Thanks for the replies so far. The seller claims to have $30k worth of invoices for work done over the last 1.5yrs so will take a good look to see what was done outside of the “upgrades”.

For the region I’m in it’s priced in the lower end of the market and aircooled cars are few and far between due to the desert climate.

Good spot on the clutch pedal. Will see how it sits tomorrow. I will admit that the interior pictures don’t look the best and of course a PPI will be done if I want to move forward.

I’m also going to look at a 1997 993 c4s, US spec with Fsh and stock however it has a silver rubber paint applied. Original colour is zenith blue with tan interior.
10k more miles and 10k more money.

 

Dubai

 

I have seen similar setups in the 275-280 HP range so 290 maybe not that unrealistic. Definitely go for an independent PPI on this one and check for cylinder head leakage. Looks nice but the interior does seem a bit worn.

Good luck,
Walt

 

Price too high,290 H.P. Doubtful.

 

Extremely doubtful! If there were 40 extra horses hidden in there to be released so easily an hassle free I bet the Porsche factory would not have kept them away!

And the CCU may be modified but that does certainly not mean that it's improved!

 

Thanks again for all the replies.

Went to see the car today. Now what can I say. From the outside is tidy which should be expected as it had a full respray less than a year ago. All rubbers around windows and roof are have been replaced so all good.

BBS wheels are mark free and wear on tyres are even-ish so coincides that the geo has been doing and set for the street.

Roof and spoiler work as designed as do windows and seats.

The exhaust, headers and filters look to be as mentioned in the advert.

Now the interior. Well for me this is my sticking point. The seller has full documents and pictures of the rebuild of the car. The car was sourced in Dubai and was pretty beaten up. The leather on the dash and rear window area was completely perished and had to be replaced. Door cards and sound proofing underneath replaced and upgraded(?).

The standard speakers both in the door cards and rear self were taken out and custom speakers (high end, can’t remeber the name) with 3D printed surrounds made to maintain the stock look of the speakers.
A separate subwoofer was installed under the passenger seat.

Now the seats, mainly drivers side bolsters especially are worn. He uses a leather cream to moisturise the cracks but still very noticeable. The physical seat backs and seat cushion are ok.

Gearshift leather gater looks worn and so is the ****er ****.

Now as pointed out by another member was the clutch pedal it was low. A good 2 inch or more the below the brake and accelerator pedal. Action seemed smooth and had no problem shifting into gear with the engine at idle and the clutch pedal depressed thro it’s small amount of travel. Clutch master cylinder has been rebuilt.

Brake callipers have been sand plaster and powder coated then painted red. Again master cylinder rebuilt with braided hoses.

All fuel lines including tank filter were replaced and also oil lines replaced.

When the engine was running on start from cold with no issues there was a warning light that red “CAT”.

the general condition of the carpert was ok, looked original. Under the dash there were the odd wire hanging visible. Not sure if that’s an issue but coming from a 991 it just stood out. AC blew cool air.

Now I didn’t drive the car as I said I wanted to come back in a few days to try that and seller was accommodating with the idea.

Now I looked into the clutch pedal thing and all I could find was a thread with similar symptoms which came down to the torque tube on the clutch pedal actually twisting moving the static position of the clutch pedal.

So what have I missed? I’ll go back for a test drive but as the seller told me it’s a 90-95% complete car and mainly interior that needs attention. I’m not really sure if the value of these modified 964’s but I’m not looking for a collectors car.

Thoughts?

 

I've seen other low mileage cars with history that matches the mileage, but with interiors that look higher mileage. Usually, it's cars that have been in hot climates. The hot climate just puts the leather through lots of wear as the heat/cool cycling stresses it out and the intense heat that regularly get to 120F in the Middle East in the shade simply desiccates the leather. Now add to that a driver that was getting in and out in a race suit or jeans with rivets and the seats can be toast. Sunscreen also does a hell of a job on plastic buttons and the leather shiftknob.

All that is to say that the interior wear looks normal to me for a Dubai car.

 

seems like the car you're looking for so do a test drive and a quick ppi from an independent shop unless you're that confident on your skill to spot potential issues (need to see underneath). If everything is + try to find out if there's any other players after the car or how motivated the seller to sell.

 

Looks clean. Mods are minimal, but also tasteful. Not sure about $72k, but looks like you won't have anything to do to it, but drive.

If it was all stock, I'd be modding it anyway so that's no issue for me. That steering wheel would be the first think I'd be replacing.

Since it's an 89 you won't have airbags to deal with and there a few little quirks vs the news ones. None of them bad, just different.

For that cost I would be expecting zero oil leaks and no rust what's so ever. Check the valve covers too.

What's the engine and fan / alternator look like?

I could go on for days, but for $72 I would expect a perfect car. It does look good and I like the wheels and color a lot.