my turn on the family 911

[tony buffalo]

So this is my story, I'm 29 y/o and I have been a Porsche fan since day one, family business was good in the 80's and through most of the 90's, it's a little slower now a days. My father is a Porsche fan as well so thats were my appreciation comes from, he used to own a 944, a 928,1988 930 turbo (with DP slant nose kit) and a 1985 911 carrera with slant nose, from those four he managed to keep the 911 carrera and eventually sold the other three, i grew up admiring the 911, always thought it was (and still is) the coolest car I have ever seen, even cooler than the turbo cabriolet. I got the chance to drive both slant nose cars, but for some reason always liked the carrera better, like any other business we had some good times and some really bad ones and eventually sold every Porsche we managed to own; life went on and i bought a 2007 Nissan Versa, i know i know its a huge downgrade but well i was in my mid 20's and its what i could afford...so earlier this year my Nissan "hot-rod" got stolen and all I've got is $6,000.00 left from that tragedy, I've decided to help out my dad dealing with some old debts from some old friends of his, one being a body shop owner, so this guy owed my dad some money from back then and since well business was not good with him either he offered to pay his debt with my old man's 1985 911 carrera slant nose... so speaking with my old man he made me a deal, i could keep the car and fix it, or buy another new compact car.....and thats how i ended up in here.

the car is in poor condition, hasn't been used in the last 12 years, hasn't been started in the last 8 and i have no idea where to begin. The guy that used to own it offered a paint job and a good interior restoration (seats, carpet, roof)

so... any help where to begin?

[Jerry1]

What a great project car. When you get ready to tackle the engine I would post the questions here. For everything else try the 911 tech forum.

[Determined]

I'd start slow, clean up the interior, trunk and remove any signs of little creatures living in there. You'd be surprised what you find especially in the engine area. This does not cost you anything but time, make sure to cover your project well when not being worked on. I've done this a few times myself and love it, you'll find Pelican people a valuable asset. Anyway, here's a few ideas:

1. Clean-up (as mentioned)
2. See if the engine turns over manually at the fan pulley with appropriate tools of course. Make sure car is in Neutral and E-brake on. You may want to consider removing the spark plugs since it has been sitting a while.
3. Look over all the wiring to see if anything has been chewed on, pay close attention to fuse box area and engine area as well.
4. I like to put the car up on jack stands then remove all tires and inspect brakes and everything you can see with wheels removed.

This is very basic actions, however I don't recommend you start spending any money until you first get a good idea what work is done. You may end up deciding it's too big of a project, good luck and go slowly, these care are not cheap to bring back alive.