The best Porsche (MY85 or older) to recondition?

[gandrade1]

Hi guys,

Eventually I will go back to my country in South America and I grew to love Porsches so much that I won’t be able to go by without one :eek: …Also, I go there twice a year for vacations and I do miss a great drive.

The issue is: price of Pcars in my country (dollar based) are between 2 to 3 times the US price, used or not; my country does not allow an individual to import a used car unless it is 25 years or older.

Given these circumstances, I have been thinking for a while about getting an 80 to 85 911; get a new engine and parts mounted to it and export the baby home, for my visits or for the event that I do go back to live there.

Since I am a novice to the Porsche world I was wondering what route to take - what year to get; what model, MY to search for; what to look for in the car (body probably, since I intend to replace the main mechanical components) and how much to expect in expenses to get the car in good shape. It will be a weekend drive as well as some track exposure.

I understand this is kind of a curve ball, but what better to think about during the weekend. Just kidding (maybe?!?) :cheers:

Thanks,

Gus

PS: I am budget conscious!

:renntech:

Edited March 29, 2008 by gandrade1

[RFM]

I should go for a 911 3.2 liter, as young as possible, with the newer gearbox ( depends on your situation ). Easy for DIY, no electronics except the L-jetronic management all the rest is conventional, interesting in some country's. More than reliable car in generally spoken and worth the money. Trey to get one in original condition ( all non original upgrades so to speak, reduce the value of the car and so the price in Europe ) and in good shape from California for example consurns the climate - humidity, results in a minimum on rust.

[70Sixter]

There is a book on buying used 911s. Cannot remember the name, but find it and buy it. I'd search Amazon first. Then get a friend who knows 911s of that era. Join PCA. Hit their website and study the pertinent pages.

This a not a good car for an inexperienced guy to buy if you do not have expert help. They can look great and be dogs. And have huge prive tags for repairs.

Bruce Anderson's immortal advice is to buy the best Porsche you can afford.

Good luck.

[gandrade1]

There is a book on buying used 911s. Cannot remember the name, but find it and buy it. I'd search Amazon first. Then get a friend who knows 911s of that era. Join PCA. Hit their website and study the pertinent pages.

This a not a good car for an inexperienced guy to buy if you do not have expert help. They can look great and be dogs. And have huge prive tags for repairs.

Bruce Anderson's immortal advice is to buy the best Porsche you can afford.

Good luck.

Thanks guys...

I found several books at Amazon, but this one seemed very interesting The Used 911 Story, 8th Edition (Paperback).

I am a member of NNJR PCA, but I am not so sure how to leverage that to learn about earlier 911.

Best,

Gus

[geoff]

I strongly recommend The Gold-Plated Porsche: How I Sank a Small Fortune into a Used Car, and Other Misadventures by Stephan Wilkinson. Well written, highly entertaining, and gives an excellent insight into what you can end up with if you don't have specific objectives, budget and price. Maybe more than you want to get into as far as taking a 25 year old Porsche back home, but you will probably get a lot of useful insights from the book, but it's also a quick read. Best place to buy is the RennTech store at Amazon (look under Special Offers at the top of the page)

[70Sixter]

As far as leveraging PCA goes you have several options. Go to Tech Q&A on the PCA website

http://www.pca.org/tech/tech_qa.asp

and read and/or query to your heart's content.

Also there are members with very specific areas of expertise that will help you and give free advice. To include car inspections and valuations.

You found the right book at Amazon! Geoff is right about his choice also.

[Bob S]

The book everyone seems to recommend is The Used 911 Story, by Peter Zimmerman...Check out Rennlist he's always answering questions, seems like a really nice guy. Good Luck with your search..

Bob

Edited April 1, 2008 by Bob S

[gandrade1]

The book everyone seems to recommend is The Used 911 Story, by Peter Zimmerman...Check out Rennlist he's always answering questions, seems like a really nice guy. Good Luck with your search..

Bob

Thanks, guys....

Got both The Used 911 Story and the 'The Gold Plated Porsche'. Should be getting them this week.

This is a long-term project so I will take my time and get informed. So please, if you have new ideas feel free to share them, most likely they will aid my research a lot.

All the best,

Gus