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I bought this '83 30k miles, Slate Blue Metallic SC from Japan earlier in the year. I'm completing a mild restoration of the car with the assistance of Chris Moore at Autobahn Extremist, Avon OH. Chris is painting the car, upgrading the head studs and chain tensioners. I'm doing all the cleaning (5 gallons of Simple Green HD & 2 gallons of Lacquer Thinner so far!) , disassembly and reassembly. The car is ready for paint prep next week.
Looks great. You might have to hurry things up a bit to make it to the Fall DE at Mid Ohio.
Left hand drive made for Japanese market?
Funny! This car will probably never see the race track and won't be finished for a few months. I'm making every effort to keep it as original as possible, apart from upgrading the A/C, head studs and chain tensioners.
Most Porsches of the period delivered in Japan were LHD, I believe it was a status symbol there to have a European sports car in LHD.
Also, do your seats have the pinstripe velour in the center panels? My 86 928 had the same dark blue interior, with sports seats and pinstripe velour. Rare as hens teeth!
Also, do your seats have the pinstripe velour in the center panels? My 86 928 had the same dark blue interior, with sports seats and pinstripe velour. Rare as hens teeth!
This is a full list of options from Stuttcars, the COA is a bit misleading on some of them:
026 With activated charcoal canister
156 Low Noise Muffler
186 Rear 2-point seat belts, manually adjustable
187 Headlamps with sealed-beam insert asymmetric
193 Version for Japan
197 Stronger battery
395 16" Fuchs forged alloy wheels, front 6" with 205/55, rear 7" with 225/50 tyres
467 Driver side mirror convex, electrically heatable and adjustable
474 Sports shock absorbers
476 Brake pads with higher friction
528 Passenger side mirror (convex, electrically heatable and adjustable)
559 Air conditioner
568 Tinted glass
576 Without rear fog lamp
592 Brake fluid level indicator
The interior is navy blue elephant vinyl on the seats with cloth inserts called "cloth of a uniform color", I would describe it as a herringbone pattern.. The headliner, dash, sun visors and carpet are navy blue as well.
These pics are as the car arrived from Japan, the interior appears to be completely original (apart from the radio and steering wheel, which I've sourced OEM replacements for) and in fantastic condition.
The seat cloth must be Japan-specific too. I've never seen anything like that in a Porsche. Crazy back seat too! Is there anything about the dash or controls that's different than US models? Is the speedo in kmh or mph?
The seat cloth must be Japan-specific too. I've never seen anything like that in a Porsche. Crazy back seat too! Is there anything about the dash or controls that's different than US models? Is the speedo in kmh or mph?
The seat cloth was an option in 1983 (see pic), not much seen in the USA. The speedometer is in kmh, all other dials, switches are standard in English. There are a few factory info decals in Japanese. The rest of the car is in ROW trim, bumpers, lights etc...
The few times I've been to MidOhio at DEs, I insist on being placed in D group (where I belong, at best) and treat it as an opportunity to drive the car faster than normal with an instructor.
The last time I went, my agent told me I was covered since it was a DE and not a true HPDS.
Now with needing track insurance, effectively doubling the price for 2 partial days, I haven't been back.