Back in a 911. Yes!!!!

[Chocaholic]

Bored on Sunday evening so sat down at the computer and scanned the listings on CL. There, near the top was a listing for a guards-red 87 G50 Targa. Pretty much bone stock, factory Fuchs and in decent condition from the pics, I skipped e-mail and called. I so rarely see any decent air cooled 911's for sale and this was a G50 in nice shape.

It was the guy's wife's car and she was tired of not having power steering. Although about 2 hours away, I was at their door at 4:00pm today when they returned from work. Apparently I was the first local call and they'd gotten about 20 calls after me. While I was there, her phone rang 3 times with CL inquiries. It's scary how fast these disappear. So....without a PPI I looked it over, then took her for a drive and it pulled hard, no smoke, clutch felt great (replaced 30k ago), brake pedal firm, etc.

Bottom line...I bought it. As always, in need of some clean-up....a small oil leak beneath the oil tank, targa top in fair condition, interior nice enough, etc. Of course, didn't have presence of mind to take pics but plan to have her home Thursday. Pics to follow.

Car has 154k on the clock, pretty thorough records, although some certainly missing. AC actually works...go figure. Paint looks surprisingly good with at least some respray work. Bought it for high-teens. Come spring, I'll be selling the MB I bought last year as I really have no need (and the garage will be tight) for two german damsels to look after. And the MB is pretty dialed-in.

Haven't been this excited about a car purchase in a long time. Like the MB but it's more like a luxury car. Here's a pic if anyone happens to know of a potential home. Pics of the P-car later this week. I'm stoked!

[Noah930]

Congrats!

The SL looks beautiful, too. I've always had a soft spot for one of those.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Congratulations Mike!! High teens for a nice G50 is a good price, looking forward to seeing pics!

next time you drive it, let off the gas going downhill and look for smoke. mileage is past the typical timing for guides, but good to check now.

[rusnak]

very nice! I wouldn't be afraid to buy an air cooled 911 either. We know these cars pretty well and can smell a deal from a mile away.

[Chocaholic]

Good point. Having owned 3, I felt like a bit more than a complete novice checking it out. Clearly some records are missing as there's no indication of valve adjustment, wires, plugs, filters, etc., yet it sounded and ran great and clearly had new belts and wires. Easy enough to set the base-line. Shawn...I did rev it to about 5k, held the linkage for a few seconds then released. No smoke that I could see standing behind the car, but will do the down-hill trick as suggested. A previous owner had the authentication certificate and there was a PCA decal in the window...another indication it was loved, at least at some point. Appears to have been moderately lowered, etc.

Really feel good about this car....and the price was right. And, running through the gears it just pulled strong all the way to red-line, felt well balanced, no pull, etc. So even if there are a few surprises, I'm not in too deeply. Can't wait for Thursday!

[Shaun @ Tru6]

You can feel the giddiness! Cool!

[azasadny]

Congrats!!

[speeder]

Congrats! What part if the country are you in? You probably paid $5k low for it the way that the 911 market has been lately.

[Chocaholic]

Speeder....I'm about an hour NE of Atlanta. Previous owner was kind enough to e-mail me some pictures. The targa top looks better in the pics than it is. Paint is pretty close, but blems don't show in 10 foot pics.










Hey...quick unrelated question. I have a can of ATE Gold DOT 4 that's been on the shelf for probably 5 years (had it since before I sold my 89
Carerra). Never opened. Plastic pull-tab still in place and cap still on. Ok to use it on the new buggy?

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Sweet!

Original seal means no moisture absorption so should be fine. Brakes for me, spare no expense, I'd buy a new pint.

[speeder]

I say absolutely on the brake fluid if in a sealed container. I have some ATE super blue that's older than that in sealed cans, I'll use it someday. If it looks perfect, it's fine.

Think about it, most cars on the road are running around with filthy, old brake fluid and still stop fine. If they somehow boiled their fluid, they'd be screwed but it takes a lot to get it that hot. I'm a bit of a dictator when it comes to maintainance and brake fluid changes but I don't buy that it goes bad or gets contaminated from time alone.

[rattlsnak]

I saw that on CL, nice pick up!

[speeder]

Sweet!

Original seal means no moisture absorption so should be fine. Brakes for me, spare no expense, I'd buy a new pint.

It would be exactly as good as the day it was made in a sealed container. Brake fluid gets contaminated with moisture in use but it's plainly obvious from the change in its appearance.

[JavaBrewer]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Bored on Sunday evening so sat down at the computer and scanned the listings on CL. There, near the top was a listing for a guards-red 87 G50 Targa. Pretty much bone stock, factory Fuchs and in decent condition from the pics, I skipped e-mail and called. I so rarely see any decent air cooled 911's for sale and this was a G50 in nice shape.

It was the guy's wife's car and she was tired of not having power steering. Although about 2 hours away, I was at their door at 4:00pm today when they returned from work. Apparently I was the first local call and they'd gotten about 20 calls after me. While I was there, her phone rang 3 times with CL inquiries. It's scary how fast these disappear. So....without a PPI I looked it over, then took her for a drive and it pulled hard, no smoke, clutch felt great (replaced 30k ago), brake pedal firm, etc.

Bottom line...I bought it. As always, in need of some clean-up....a small oil leak beneath the oil tank, targa top in fair condition, interior nice enough, etc. Of course, didn't have presence of mind to take pics but plan to have her home Thursday. Pics to follow.

Car has 154k on the clock, pretty thorough records, although some certainly missing. AC actually works...go figure. Paint looks surprisingly good with at least some respray work. Bought it for high-teens. Come spring, I'll be selling the MB I bought last year as I really have no need (and the garage will be tight) for two german damsels to look after. And the MB is pretty dialed-in.

Haven't been this excited about a car purchase in a long time. Like the MB but it's more like a luxury car. Here's a pic if anyone happens to know of a potential home. Pics of the P-car later this week. I'm stoked!

Nice SL! My Dad recently sold (gave away) his 560 and I still regret not picking it up on a 'family' loan.

[livi]

Excellent, Mike! It looks FABULOUS!

[SeanPizzle]

Lovely SL. PM me with a price you would want for it. I remember your thread where you picked it up and think it's a nice driver example.

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

Speeder....I'm about an hour NE of Atlanta. Previous owner was kind enough to e-mail me some pictures. The targa top looks better in the pics than it is. Paint is pretty close, but blems don't show in 10 foot pics.

Nice Mike but what are your plans for a front spoiler?

If it was mine I'd take the rear spoiler off... 911s look better without spoilers IMO.
And honestly, How often do we go fast enough for them to start working?

[sc_rufctr]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

Nice SL! My Dad recently sold (gave away) his 560 and I still regret not picking it up on a 'family' loan.

I drove one like that for about 8 years. It had done about 60,000 miles when I bought it and 175,000 when I sold it... Fantastic car. Nothing but regular servicing, filters and tyres.
It took about 5 days to sell. (late 90s)

I really miss the old school MBs.

Mike - the targa looks awesome. Appears to have 7's and 9's already. Congrats!

[willtel]

I always amazes me how fast decent 911s are snapped up on CL. I swear there are several guys out there with a pocket full of cash and a trailer already hooked up just waiting for the ads to drop.

Did you Atlanta guys see the '83 SC for $9000 a few weeks ago? The ad came up at around 10:00pm and the car was gone by 9:30 the next morning.