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Depends, do you like driving or looking at garage ornaments?... answer that and you'll know the right move.
I get what you're saying, but it could also be argued that the Raw and Visceral™ 964 is the purer driving experience for real enthusiasts, compared to the tamer 997TT that you can never really even wring out on public roads.
This thread is relevant for me because I'm constantly thinking about making the same trade. It'll almost definitely happen some day, my biggest hangup has just been that it seems like $20k rebuild/reseal jobs await any 964 Turbo that hasn't had it done recently.
997 Turbo is a go-anwhere, do-anything, ridiculously high performance car. Daily driver, canyon blaster, drive the kids to school, whatever. It's also pretty flat on the depreciation curve.
964 Turbo is a classic that is a thrill but definitely not something most folks would want to put 10K/year kind of mileage on from a pleasure or cost-of-operation perspective. But if you've never experienced a dialed-in air-cooled 911, might be something worth experiencing.
Equivalent to a strong stock. Money in the bank guaranteed
with future values in th positive direction. Last of the rear wheel drive Turbo. Will get noticed at every cars and coffee. All attributes the 997.1 will never have. Do it quickly. One other thing, no coolant leaks or smells ever to worry about.
Keep the 997TT and buy a nice 964 non turbo, if you want visceral and raw. The two are highly dissimilar and thus, work great together. That's the winning combo.
An acquaintance has one of these. If it were mine I would have set it on fire and rolled it off a cliff. The amount of cost, hassle, and headache for a car that frankly would get crushed by any stock hot hatch today just isn’t even close to worth it for me. Some think that is character. I call it a constant irritation. I get the allure, but after seeing this guy actually live with his and try to use it as something other than a garage ornament, I’ll not be venturing down that road.
I've owned both. 997, as stated before, is a do everything, go anywhere car. A bit sterile, though. The 964 certainly has more character. Turbo lag is hilarious. That being said, it's not particularly fast. Steering is heavier (not a bad thing, per se) and the G50 box, while better than its predecessor, is obviously a lot more clunky than the 997TT. Gears are long and sometimes wished it had a 6th gear (actually unwittingly tried shifting down and to the right once). Be prepared for quirks. Mine didn't have any leaks but did have a 'weep' which would leave a spot of oil on garage floor if it sat. Aesthetically, the 964 wins hands down. But for me, I ended up looking at it more than driving it, so I sold it to another member here who will enjoy it more than I. I highly recommend you get a little seat time before making the jump. Porsche enthusiasts should all experience an aircooled car, but it's not for everyone.
Look up the EZ69 Ignition controller.. If it fails your car will just sit until you find one.. It's not available for purchase. I still own a 1992 965 and one of the last cars to run down the production line as the last aircooled 3.3 930 engine. The 5 speed is one of the best mechanical boxes made. The turbo lag is like watching paint dry LOL.. The smell of the air cooled engine and heat exchangers puts you back 25 years.. It's a nice weekend driver. The only car that would rival this was my 93 964 RS America.. My take.. It's nice to look at and fire up and take it for a short drive>> I'd rather find myself driving the newer cars I own..
Bad idea imo. I've owned an 89 930 and a 94 3.6T. Both cars are slow as molasses compared to my 997TT and they're worth so damn much that you'd probably feel guilty modernizing or modding them. If you really want an air cooled car that's fun buy an 80s 930 or Carrera 3.2 that's been soup to nuts redone by Protomotive or Proto Tech. They pop up every once in a while. The big twin plug TT motors those guys built put out a reliable 500+hp on pump, just make sure the suspension has been done and they're wearing big reds or equivalent. Like it or not, any unmodded 964T car you find will always be a collector car that you'll feel guilty putting miles on or strapping mods to. A 997TT with exhaust and a tune will perform just as well as an air-cooled car with $50k worth of engine mods and you won't **** your pants every time you mash the throttle.
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