What would a Carrera 3.2 from the 80's run?

Hi Matt, legion - I'll be the contrarian here. Personally after having owned a 944 and a 951 I STILL have a Jones for a 928 but honestly, I would want the S4 or GT. I'd love to have a 5 speed GTS but that is never happening. These are COMPLETELY different cars than our 944's or 911's so if you go into one of them looking for a similar experience I think you will be disappointed.

In my case, I am old enough to remember 1977 928's and the buzz surrounding them. If you could find a truly well maintained later one with records (needle/haystack) they are a LOT of car for the money you have to give.

Having said that, I never truly got all the enjoyment out of my 951. Matt knows, I was at a crossroads with my '51 and my 911. I had to choosewhich one to devote my time and money too and went for the life long car of my dreams, the 911. But I think a well setup, well maintained one could be awesome....I just am not long-term comfortable with a forced induction car. Maybe I'm just a worrywart.

Dan, I agree, a well kept 928 would be fun. The one I drove had 56k original miles on it, but needed some work. It felt very soft, big, and isolated, probably partly due to needing suspension work. I still love the styling, but the maintenance aspect scares the hell out of me. I think a neglected 928 would be the ultimate money pit Porsche. That DOHC V8 sure does sound nice though.:) You obviously agree with my assesment, look what you chose as your moneypit.;)

Chris, take some time and browse the Pelican 911 classifieds. I've seen nice Carreras with the 915 gearbox go for $15k. The G50 cars ('87-'89) still seem to hover around $20k. Carreras and SCs really seem to be holding their values very well, not a bad investment from a car standpoint. Far better than the Boxster, which will still depreciate.

legion,

I don't know how much you would be able to get for your turbo. I sold my 86 2 weeks ago (LSD, Fuchs, 113K miles, all records, no dash cracks, new Yokos) for 8,000 cash--and that was after having had it for sale for over a year.:(

The market is just a bit soft now for the turbos, unfortunately.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1184775439.jpg

Traded my '87 951 for a '95 BMW 540 6 speed. He was asking $8500. It had about 115k, Zermatt Silver over burgandy partial leather. Cup 2 replicas with new tires, Bilsteins, test pipe, LBE, Weltmeister chip, rebuilt shift linkage/new lever, recent total fluid change, SS brake lines, Momo wheel, new control arms and various bushings, and a bunch of other stuff. Full records, bought it from a Porsche nut that I know personally. Exterior was perfect except for rock chips, interior perfect except a few dash cracks. Everything worked, the thing ran and drove perfectly.

It takes a damn nice car to pull $10k.

You will have remorse if you sell it. I still do. I watch for threads like this from you, because I can see myself taking it back from you. Its an awesome car, you just need a garage to work on it. And money.

The ONLY problem is that you deleted the A/C. Thats a death sentence down here, but I could just drive it up to Juvat's and pay him heatily for an icy cold new one.

Don't bail on it, it will make you one step closer to the bitter, angry man I am today.

Miata

I still have all of the AC components, well, except for the condensor as it was riddled with holes.

I'm really just playing with ideas here. I'll probably keep it until I die.

I think a while ago you talked about planning a family in the next few years. That may be a consideration, even if this is going to be a third car.

A 951, Carrera, 928 or 968 all give you jump seats so you can take brats out for icecream. May not be a huge consideration now, but when I see the pictures of booster seats in 911s I see that as a BIG advantage.

Just a thought.

As someone who has put a child seat in both a 951 and a 911......don't even try. Seriously, if I wanted to go for a ride in the 951 with my family, I had to put the passenger seat almost all the way forward to fit the child seat, which of course put my wife's knees in the dash. Needless to say, I drove alone quite a bit.;) That was part of my motivation for trading it for the 540/6, I wanted a fun car that would carry the family.

In KS, your kid has to be in a baby seat-child seat-booster until 8 years old. Those damn seats take up more room than the kid. Without a child seat, a 951 or 911 back seat is perfect for kids. Of course, you can leave the seat at home, but around here that carries some hefty fines. Not to mention the extra risk it constitutes to your child.

I go on track with 250ish bhp 3.2 911s and we have no trouble hassling and passing Boxster Ss anywhere - bends/straights/under braking etc. The ProMax 350/400bhp 951s on the other hand - mega.

If it was me I would put some money into developing the 951 and keep it, they are giant killers and will be classics way before any Boxster. My next Porsche could be a 951, why not. Long as I can find an early one in Minerva Blue with a flat six in the trunk :D