Alon

Hey everyone. I usually hang around the 996 boards but am hoping that I can get some sound advice from a bunch of C2 Turbo owners. I am located in Toronto and looking at a potential purchase of a 1992 C2 Turbo 3.3 (white on black with sport seats) that has 85,000 KM on the clock to replace my lovely 996 (a.k.a.- The most expensive and fastest Civic on the planet). Aside from a tint job, this car is 100% stock and seems to be in incredible shape with full service records. I have access to a local dealer who I trust (for reasons unknown to me) and they will help me inspect the car top to bottom. What I am hoping to hear from you is what the common concern/problem areas are with these cars? This is not my first Porsche as I currently own my third 996 and have had air-cooled Porsches in the past (including a 930 a bunch of years ago). Don't get me wrong, I love my 996 and being a 40 Jahre, it is the best 996 that can be had but it just feels too civilized and I want a toy that will keep me interested (read: scared to death on occasion).

Any advice/help that you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Vince5

Sound like a great idea to me !
Some suggestions on top of the things you always have to check when buying a car. I am sure more tech oriented members will have other ideas.

The original Dump Valve gives up early - You will notice it if turbo pressure drops to 0 in between shifts (should stay around 0,3). It makes the car even more brutal as you have to build up boost again to get her going. Aftermarket parts are best (the Forge unit is a good product, that's what I have and it works really well)

The car also has a valve that opens on start up when the engine is cold to give more air. This valve is also prone to default, either it stays shut and you have to give some gas to start the engine or it stays open and you may have problems starting when the engine is warm. Not to expensive to fix but warm her up to make sure.

Some other issues are the rear heater blower motors (one on each side) that go bad and makes a terrible screaching sound. You can't miss it.

Some cases of oil leaks between the clutch and the engine causing the clutch to slip. Having a slightly oily engine is OK but IMO you should not get oil on your garage floor.

Let the engine warm up so you know the oil fan works on both speeds.

I can only agree with you, these cars are the real deal and really grow on you but the negative side is that I am convinced almost 50% of these cars have been off road at some point (to much thrill !) so be carefull !

Finally these cars are very suitable for engine upgrades. On that front it all depends on your attitude towards it, if you are a purist 100% original Porsche guy you have to keep that in mind and look for potential previous mods. To me the mod ideas you will get from this board will just take this car closer to what it would have been if Porsche had been less politically correct

Otherwise I find this car absolutly amazing, I have had it for 3 years and put 35000Kms on it with over 35 DEs and it has not let me down. It's a high maintenance girl of course compared to a NA but you get a lot out of it with high reliability.

Alon

Thanks Vince. As far as mods, I'm extremely mod-friendly and look forward to a lot of self-tinkering. That is one of my issues with my current car, there is very little for me to do and I really enjoy DIY work on cars that have a huge development and mod following.

Apparently, this particular car has never seen the grassy or gravel part of any road nor has it come into contact with anyone/anything else. It's almost hard to believe at times knowing the reputation of them and most of their owners but in this case, I believe it to be true.

For the money, this car can not be beat and offers (for me at least) the perfect blend of real world old school Porsche performance with some modern ameneties without the bother (or weight and understeer) of all wheel drive, flaky electronic aids and astronomically expensive repairs. After all, it does look like what a real Porsche should look like wit hthat beautiful curvy shape. Not to take anything away from the 993tt but afterall, it is heavy as hell, all wheel drive and over-valued at this point in time. Sure, it may have more power to begin with but over a short period of time, I'll fix that.

SonnyV

Alon,

Great choice of car, of course I am biased, :-). Hope to see you here on this forum more often.

Generally speaking, these turbos (91-92, 94) are very reliable in term of mechnical issues (engine, tranny). There are other problems for a car that is almost 15 years old but these mostly just annoying issues that does not affect the car itself, such as driving it.

If the car is all original with no mods to increase performance, it will last a long long time. The factory was quite conservative in term of boost. Most people here will agree that 1bar boost will be no problem and such. I am one of the few on here that have almost no mods in the engine (performance) department. Although, this might change soon.

You will have a lot of fun with this car for sure. I have mine over 4 years now and still very happy with it. In fact, I am doing a subwoofer/amp installation for it within the next couple of weeks.

Good luck and regards,

Sonny

porshah

I recently went through a buying decision between a 1999 996 C4 Cab and the 1991 C2 Turbo. I had a 1979 911 SC Targa. I ended up with the turbo. The 996 was nice, good power, open top and 4 wheel drive. I could have pretty much used that car all year long with no problem. The turbo is of course a coupe with not as many bells and whistles as the 996, but the fun factor is incredible. The turbo power is just plain AMAZING. I have only had mine for about a month, but I know I made the right decision.

Turbohead

Hi Alon,
I also have both cars but when it come to Excitement the 965 is my choice. in Fact I have two of them .One important point is that from the sound of you experience you won't be happy for long with the stock set up.So figure on spending another $5-6K if you want things to get interesting.{AKA Scared to death"}
Heasders ,exhaust ,lose the cat, 7200 Hfllow turbo, Electronic boost controller or at least 1 bar spring.etc. and now your talking.
Or you could buy one already set and save money without the hassle.

BTW I just happen to have a really nice one for sale like that.
Email me if you are interested.

DrJupeman

Alon, funny line about the expensive and fast Civic. After owning a Boxster S for two years I became rather down on the new "consumer" Porsche quality. You'll find the C2 Turbos are rock solid. Good luck!

Alon

Like I said, my 996 is an amazing car (trouble free) and makes for an incredible daily driver but yes, it is the best and fastest Civic on the planet. It's just too easy to drive fast even though it does put a smile on my face everytime. The problem is that whenever I see or hear an older turbo on the road, my heart beats quickly in desperate need of one. I need a love affair with an older turbocharged mistress

Turbohead, I sent you an email but in case you don;t get it, please email me info and pics to my email address: agat@rogers.blackberry.net

C2 Turbo

Yesterday i saw a guards red slant nose 930 and an arena red 993 TT and ask me which one would i like to buy,hands down the 930 Honestly the 993 didn't do any thing for me,may be it was the color and even though it's alot better car yet i just don't seem to like the shape ( i think they softened it a little bit too much ).
Just put on 130 miles today on my C2 Turbo and even after 6 hours i still have that big grin on my face.

Alon

It took you 6 hours to cover 130 Miles? What's wrong with this picture? I thought that these cars are fast


As for the 993tt, they are pretty (although I dislike the Arena Red) but not as mean looking as the traditional big fendered 930/965. That said, take a black 993tt and lower it with aggressive, big wheels and it starts losing that pretty and soft look and starts getting meaner.

Maybe I'm a bit slow but I think that I just realized what my 996 is all about. It's a 2004 "901" with modern running gear. Fairly flat body (along the sides), clean nose and tail areas (although the 40 Jahre has that big Turbo nose) and split tail lights, all elements of the original 901/911. That's all great but nothing beats those big, beautiful flares. Oh, give me curves, give me curves (aside from the bulges at my mid-sides as I age and get fatter). Man, there's nothing like looking in your side view mirror and seeing that flare in the way as you look back.

My first 996 was a 1999 Black on Black Aero coupe with the then GT3 nose, side skirts and u-shaped tail. Once lowered, with Porsche Sport Exhaust, that car had presence. Kids would run away like mice at the look and sound of the car as I drove down the street. This 40 Jahre is a much improved and faster car but even with all of its glory, still doesn't invoke that type of reaction from people. Now, I'm not all about how something looks but when my friend drives down the street in his black 930 with great exhaust, people think it must be Darth Vader's car very much like when I had my 1984 930 years ago.

cobalt

Turbohead
I can't argue with anything you said. Quite the sales pitch though.

That cracks me up I never thought of it that way. I always likened them to my 740 BMW but I like this one better.

Good choice, just do your research, new cars become available all the time some better than others.

lwilkins

I don't think you will regret "upgrading" from a 996 to a 92 Turbo. I sold my 1994 3.6 and bought a 996. After a couple of years, I started wanting a C2 Turbo again, instead. Now I have 2 1992 Turbos, one for racing and a 1992 Turbo S2 for my daily driver. I personally think that the C2 Turbo is the prettiest shape that Porsche ever made.

And the responses you have gotten are pretty much what I've experienced, too. These cars are pretty bulletproof on the engine, tranny and all the substantial parts. They will have little issues as any 12-13 year old car will have, but I've had good experience with mine.

Truble10

I think your choice depends on whether or not you are a turbo guy. I am definately a turbo guy and I've always owned older turbos instead of a current model year normally aspirated. The turbos are just different and I happen to prefer them. If you wanted a comfortable daily driving car that works well in traffic and can have your drink handy get keep the 996. If you want a sports car get the turbo. In addition of possibly the best lines on any Porsche the turbo is very easy to tune and get huge performance. Headers, exhaust a lowering kit and you will be very happy to start.

VinnyC

The build quality and materials used on the older cars is way better. When Porsche stopped hand building the 911, there was a noticible difference in quality to me.
In addition, my last two "newer" cars were troubled by glitches in the electronics and audio system that were very annoying. The 964 in particular had very few if any of these "Hi-Tech" problems.

Alon

Thanks for all the responses and advice. Everything that I'm hearing (reading) further reinforces my thoughts about this being the right car (especially since for the same money, a newer 993 can be had). I think that the 965 shape is one of the best ever produced by Porsche. Yes, the 993 is pretty and all but the 965 looks like a proper, wide 911 with big, f**k-off flares. As for a turbo versus N/A, I've had many cars over the years and loved both. Turbos aren't great when there isn't a decent amount of displacement behind them but with 3.3 and decent compression, daily driving (yes, in traffic unfortunately) should be a piece of cake. No drinks in my car, not ever. If I want a drink, I'll stop for a coffee break and if I need something more potent, I'll go out at night for it

I am in the process of selling my 996 40 Jahre so once that's a done deal (hopefully this weekend), I'll dive deeper into the buying cycle.

Turbohead, I got your email and pictures, thank you very much. I have to speak with my leasing company about a U.S. based car purchase and I doubt that there will be any issues since it's so easy to bring cars up to Canada from the U.S. but I'll keep in touch and let you know soon. This car that is local to me is white and black and I've never owned a white car. I have to admit that it does look really nice but something always pulls me to black cars (I should have my head examined since I've owned many black cars and always curse myself when I see scratches, swirlmarks, etc).

These cars look amazing in black. Darth vader would approve of the black...