I'm new... looking for advice on an 85 Carrera

[Ich bin Michael]

What a great place for Porsche lovers! I've had a 944S and a 1.7 914. I'm looking at an 85 Carrera...140K, service records back to '89, no valve noise, leaks about half a quart oil in winter when stored, one 1" by 3" rust bubble inside drivers door by tag. She's a beautiful coupe finished in white gold metallic. Asking price 14K. The little rust patch scares me, I hear oil leaks arent uncommon... half a quart? Should I keep looking? Thanks! The new guy

[Tim Walsh]

if you're serious about it DEFINITLY get a PPI. How long did it sit?

[masraum]

I'm not a big rust fan, so that would be a big minus. And 140K isn't bad, but it is getting up there. Unless the car is otherwise perfect I think you can get a better car for similar money.

[MarkP]

KEEPING LOOKING! Too many nice cars out there.

Read my new Carrera post from 2 weeks ago:

Home with My New Carrera!!!

[makaio]

I agree with Steve. There's lots of cars out there. Not saying this ones not worth the money.

[Ich bin Michael]

Thanks for the input. I do plan on a PPI, and offering 12,600. The car was delivered to Texas new but has been in MI for some time. It is stored when we have snow, that is as long as it has set.

[nostatic]

to me, rust = 4 figures

[Ich bin Michael]

Maybe I'll have to buy a 911 on E-Bay in Texas

[Joeaksa]

Michael,

Bought my 85 in McAllen Tx 6 years ago over the internet. One owner car with 62k miles and excellent condition. Cost was $17.9k and it was well worth it.

Agree with the above and rust scares me. I can overhaul motors and replace clutches all day long but rust on a body, especially a zinc coated one (all 911's after 77 are coated) is a sign of a problem.

Find a good car with no body damage, rust and in good shape and buy it. You can put a new motor or gearbox in easily but rust can haunt you forever...

Joe

[Ich bin Michael]

Thanks Joe. Rust is like cancer iI guess. I know a Porsche nut in Arizona... his name is Fritz. I met him through the National Guard shooting team and he told me the same thing. My dad had a 46 champ, a 46 J3, and I think a 46 Stinson 108-2 michael

[APKhaos]

Run Forest, Run!

I bought an 85 Carrera CA car with slightly less miles for $12K in 2000. Prices are somewhat lower now. Don't even think about a rusted gal bodied car - the rust you cant see is 4x the rust you can see.

Keep looking - there are lots of genuine solid cars on the market.

[Sonic dB]

Uh Oh.

I dont mean to hijack this thread, but maybe the original poster can get something out of this...

I just bought an 86 Cab that is especially clean and low mileage. It has one small rust spot though.... The little "bubble up" spot, about the size of a quarter dollar is on the bottom of the passenger side windshield post right where it meets the body.

Does this little rust spot mean that my car is F-cked? Cant I just have the pits ground out and then refinished?

[RANDY P]

Originally posted by Sonic dB
Uh Oh.



I just bought an 86 Cab that is especially clean and low mileage. It has one small rust spot though.... The little "bubble up" spot, about the size of a quarter dollar is on the bottom of the passenger side windshield post right where it meets the body.

Does this little rust spot mean that my car is F-cked? Cant I just have the pits ground out and then refinished?

If it's the spot right at the lower corner of the windshield you're referring to, water has a tendency to sit there - If it's just a spot it's probably been compromised from a rock chip or something like that. Don't worry about it, just fix it and move on. You already own the car, a bit late to worry now.

The other rust spot by the door striker mentioned is pretty serious - if it's like that on the outside surface, it could very well be rotted on the inside as lots of 911's get rusty there. Crap from the rear wheel gets stuck in the cavity around that area and the jack port and causes rust. Eventually you wind up with a nice hole in the lower corner and a huge tab to cut the rot out and weld and paint. Just don't go there with this car...

Good luck

rjp

[jabb]

I would keep looking skip the PPI on this one if it is still there in a month and you have found nothing go back look again then decide if u want to invest in a PPI.. get a beter feel for whats available

[Ich bin Michael]

I will keep looking. I think the rust IS in a bad place.. on the vertical surface by the door latch. Thanks for the advice

[Joeaksa]

Sonic (what is your name pls?)

The problem with rust on any post-77 bodied car is that from this date on they zinc coated every 911 body and all body parts. In the mid 70's they built a 911 body and put it on display in the courtyard at Porsche. Last time I was there it was still sitting there.... no paint at all on the body and after being in the rain, snow and weather, not one bit of rust after 25 years. This is a very good way to demostrate that their cars do not rust unless something happens to disturb the coating.

A zinc coated body will usually only rust after its been damaged in some fashion. A hit in the door or fender, body damage requiring welding exc. where the zinc coating is damaged, which allows rust to form on the steel underneath.

Your particular problem needs corrective action and now. As Randy said, this is not a unusual place for rust to form but you are looking at weakening one of the four posts that hold your roof on. The same roof that is holding the car together in the event of a rollover accident. Also, its a bear to replace this part and you need to stop the rust while its still workable on the car.

I have had this on one older car I owned and ended up scrapping the car after finding that the rust was also on the other main windshield posts, torsion bar mounts and complete front gas tank surround area. It was in Germany and the winters are brutal, with lots of salt on the roads.

Parts can be bolted on and off, but bodywork, unless you are very good at it, takes a long time to repair and personally I will run from any car that has anything more than a small rust spot.

Michael, come on out and shoot and fly a bit! I live 2 miles away from DVT airport, and 3 from Black Canyon shooting range! I restore old antique airplanes in my spare time. Where does Fritz live?

Joe

[targa80]

The galvanized cars were good at cutting down on rust but not completely eliminating it. My restoration of my 80SC Targa has shown lots of small rust areas. Nothing that is devistating to the car but could someday become a nightmare. The car was originally from New York so Rain snow and salt were a factor in any rust damage found. If your looking at a car from MI and showing rust on the painted body that is an indicator of more damage underneath. In my own case I found rust under the body shultz where the seal integrity was damaged.

[Sonic dB]

Thanks for the info. I am going to take it in and have it repaired.

The spot is actually pretty small, maybe the size of a dime...however it is in a bad place. This car spent most of its life in Hawaii, then Utah and Colorado. Maybe it was the salt water in Hawaii that did it.

Sonic (Erik)