sy0296

for a few years now i've been wanting to pick up a 911 cabriolet of some kind but never really making up my mind. as you can see from my 2012 join date, it's been a while. the original debate was with a 993 turbo or 997.2 turbo s. then i started looking at the newer 991. it's mostly a weekend toy and so making the decision was never a priority and before i realized it, a few years went by...and the 993 turbos that could be found for $<$60k are now double/triple that and you can't even get a clean non-turbo widebody for that price now. you snooze you loose, but that's life eh?

what prompted the new search is a few car buddies all jumping into the air-cooled scene. i started looking again and was shocked at how much they all cost now! the wifey and i just closed escrow on a new house about 2 months so no additional budget for a new toy...but i wanted one so bad (especially seeing that they are getting more and more expensive to buy)

so about 2.5 months ago i started searching for a 993 cabriolet. then i widened the search to 964 cabs when i saw that it was difficult to find a clean, well taken care of car for <$30k (my original budget). after learning more about the 964 chassis and test driving a few local cars, i actually took a better liking to the older generation.

my criteria were:
964 cabriolet
5 speed
C4 (i preferred the way it drove on the street...and she's not going to the track)
clean tan or black interior
any color exterior because i plan on repainting
recent reseal or sub <90k miles on engine

about a week ago, i saw a listing for what seemed to be the perfect car for me. 1990 c4 cab, 5 speed, 150k on the chassis, recent factory spec engine rebuild at a reputable shop, "concourse" forrest green re-paint (i doubt it's concourse...but i'm going to be painting it anyways), freshly redone interior in factory tan, and asking for $29.5k

the car is from snow country so i asked for a PPI checking for mechanicals as well as rust. although all didn't check out 100% as i hoped, i adjusted my offer based on the findings, which the seller accepted.

so here she is, ta-da! no quite the original plan of a 993 or 997.2 turbo cab, but i do finally have drop top pawsha!!

here's she is, first morning at her new home


i've just place an order for the d.morris hardtop (and also the speedster hump). drop top when i want the wind in my pre-midlife crisis hair, and classic clean 964 coupe lines when the wifey gets sick of the wind in her non-midlife crisis hairdo. i may consider doing away with the entire soft top entirely and switch between the hardtop and speedster hump to save some weight at a high point in the rear of the car.


over the next few weeks i'll be refreshing some worn out part, bolt-on suspension upgrades, and then moving to a engine rebuild, re-doing the interior, full repaint, and so forth.

that said, hi gang, i'm sam

jimq

Nice but why buy a cab to turn it into a coupe. By the time you buy the hardtop you could have bought a coupe with a sunroof and let the hair blow

luckyJ

wow...congrats!....didn't know u could do that with the d.morris kit....what does the hard top go for?....looks just like a coupe!

mfinanthony

Very cool welcome! Can't wait to see the progress

Duck

Congrats! Looks nice.

I have the D.Moris hardtop, just need to have it painted and figure out how to install - instructions are useless. It is definitely nicely made.

Why do you say you will be moving to a engine rebuild when you say it already had a recent factory spec rebuild?

Mixter

Your patience has paid off. Very nice car, looking forward to seeing your upgrades. Enjoy!

sy0296

best of both worlds? i'm really set on a cab but lines of the coupe is of course waaaay sexier. when i saw how close the hard top came to the coupe, i knew i had to get it

right? very legit. there are several threads on RL discussing the hardtop, it's where i learned about it too

i'm following this recent one right now: https://rennlist.com/forums/964-foru...-964-a-13.html

thanks! loving the car more and more everyday.

yup, i'm following the thread that you've been posting in as well. hopefully you and DHC905 and share some first hand experience on installation.

unfortunately engine rebuild was a "mistake" in the listing. receipts show there was a top end reseal a while back. anyways, that was one of "bad news" from the PPI (as i mentioned, i adjusted my offer to what i felt was fair for the condition of the car).

after driving the car for a couple weeks, i want a bit more grunt. not quite sure what route to take exactly to extract/make though. perhaps stock rebuild + supercharger, hot-rod 3.6, 3.8, turbo??? just doing a bunch of reading online right now to see what makes most sense

sy0296

here's the first parts of the "refresh"

full set of keys, as if purchased the car new from the dealer back in 1990 (courtesy of fleabay)


replaced dome light what fell out every time i hit a bump. updated light has metal nubs whereas the originals were plastic and worn or broken. part #911-632-102-00-70A-M100


new "made in germany" sticker is waaaay bigger


no more falling dome light!


i wanted to tackle the new rotors, pads, SS lines, s[rings, brighter lights for the frunk, light(er) weight battery this weekend but valentines day got in the way...oh wells, happy wife = happy life


btw, the battery holder is from odessey. it looks identical to the rennline ones, but like $20 cheaper. picked both up from amazon

sy0296

got around to installing the fabspeed primary bypass yesterday, but i was expecting a bit much and was disappointed at the sound. it doesn't sound as aggressive as the video clips i watched online. just purchased a cat bypass to get a little more grunt and hopefully some more beautiful noise too!


I also removed the frunk carpets, the spare/air-compressor/jack/wrench, and gave the inside a really good wipe down. about 45lbs saved!! also, installed the rennspeed strut brace while i was in there.


some minor refresh mods:
replaced the missing door mirror switch ****. part# 9116130820001C if anyone else's went MIA like mine



replaced the cassette holder with a much more practical tray. part# 964552159001DB for the center console storage tray and 99355209100 for the rubber storage tray insert


going to be dropping off the car at a local shop for a suspension refresh and bushing upgrade. elephant racing supplied the parts and chuck was more than helpful explain everything. can't wait to feel how the car handles!!