whos had experience with porsche 911's?

[Stanley Rockafella]

the newer the better. Earlier ones had gearbox issues and the 2.7's weren't as good as the 3.2's found on the later 80's models.

Ideally something like an 87 or 88 is best IIRC

[GillesBigCowboy]

My aunt has an 80ish 911sc whale tail, turbo grey, CA rust free life, but now it sits in her garage and I was the last driver like 6 years ago.
I've driven it many times over the years, but my first time behind the wheel was 1988. I drove my uncle Mike around some canyons in SoCal, and he kept telling me to rev it to the redline... He would get pissed if I wasn't revving th piss out the thing in 2nd or 3rd. That first drive was the best. Last time I drove it some dweeb in an escort zx2 nearly beat me in a stoplight drag race. That sucked. And in my humble opinion the shifter feel was pretty crappy, the pedals are like a vw bug, and the air-cooled engine noises just aren't that appealing. It is a nice car to accelerate, and nice to brake, but there's just no balance while cornering... Anyone who could win a drift competition in a 911 would be a driving savant.
In around 1978, I watched a race at Road Atlanta and the 935s were uber dominant, spitting fire and obviously nasty to drive. Race was won by the Whittington brothers, who owned the track... There was no kink on the back straight back then and they would catch air as they went under the bridge and plunged downhill. Track owners won cause it was a frightening car on a frightening track.
I am sure the newer versions are much more forgiving and smooth, but they also seem somewhat bland and haughty.

[2mAn]

im just going to save my money for a 993. saw one on the way home along with a 80's era targa and i was convinced.

[dback]

911 perspective

There is no car on the road that compares to a 911. I'm not stating that the 911 is better than any brand, though properly maintained they are incredibly reliable on and off the track.

The boxer engine is smooth and predictable. The weight distribution makes them challenging to drive at the limit. Hard acceleration lightens the front end and pitching it into the corner can be unpredictable with all the weight behind the rear wheels.

Up through and including the Carrera 2's/4's the engines are air cooled and an oil change requires typically on average about 10 quarts of oil plus or minus a bit.

The valves require periodic adjustment, typically every 15,000 miles. You'll need 4 valve cover gaskets, a .004" feeler gauge, a leak down tester and a good touch to do the job properly.

Early models don't require as many parts removed to accomplish this unless it's a turbo, but the C2's/4's will require the removal of 87 fasteners to access the valves. I know because I counted them because the Mercedes techs wanted to know why a C2 valve adjustment paid 6 flat rate hours.

With an oil change, safety inspection, topping off all of the other fluids it was an 8 hours service on a C2 a bit less on the older models.

The benefits of the C2 over the older 911's, the C2 has an oil cooler behind the rf headlight with an electric cooling fan so sitting in stop and go traffic is less taking on the oil temperature and the climate control system is much improved with an air conditioner and heater that really works.

Older 911's the heater operation varied from year to year, but most were controlled by knobs or levers between the seats and not the fresh air system on the dash.

If you want a 911 that will pamper you, and has a drink holder, go with a C2 or newer. If you want a spartan go cart that's no nonsense, lean and mean go with an earlier version.

Whatever you do, always, always have a pre-purchase inspection done. I've put several on the lift and only 3 out of the 4 lift arms would touch the lift pads. The very early 911's are prone to rust like any German car. (what happened to the millions of VW bugs that once roamed the earth?)

Overall the car is simple but some repairs are labor intensive...ie a clutch requires the entire drive line to be dropped out. OEM parts are expensive but the quality is very good and if cared for by someone who knows how to work on them, very reliable.

I own several e30's and love them, but nothing compares with a 911. A BMW is no better or worse, its just different.

[LJ851]

im just going to save my money for a 993. saw one on the way home along with a 80's era targa and i was convinced.

It sounds like you would be happier with a newer 911. One thing to remember about the first 20 years or so of the 911 is that it the same basic car the whole time. As in a '69 model is basically the same as a '88 model. Hell, the foot boards are made out of wood! In 1988! To me this is a plus because i like simple, old cars and most of my cars are from the sixties.

To others that are looking and considering a 80s 911, in '84 they went to Motronic fuel injection and a 3.2 liter engine. These are very similar to E30 as far as engine management and electronics and are very durable.

If you are willing/capable of doing your own work you can pick them up for a reasonable price, i paid less than 8k for my '85 and my '82.

[lgb240]

I've had my '87 3.2 carrera for about 6 years and absolutely love it. It's a great all round car and does everything very, very well. I've used it for long distance tours, track days, and just driving around for errands. The build quality makes my e30's seem cheap - (yes, the P-car is built to a different price point)

Drive many examples through many years to decide what flavour is right for you. Pre '89 cars are becoming very collectable and prices are creeping upward. '87-89 cars have the g50 transmission which most feel is better that the previous 915. Rust is also a problem on early cars. Engines cost a lot of money to make right if something internal goes wrong. Wrenching on them isn't difficult, but there are tricks you need to know to do things right, probably not a car you want to start your mechanical schooling on, but not impossible.

Pre-purchase inspection is a must, and I'd stay away from heavily modified examples (unless done by a reputable shop with documentation)

Like everything, it's a matter of what you like - check my sig ... I have a lot of cars to play with and the 911 is one of my favourites. If I only could have one car, it would be the 911