Need Advice: Should I buy this project 1980 SC 911

[Awaadster3]

Need Advice: I have an opportunity to purchase my first project Porsche.

It’s a 1980 911 SC with a 1981 motor with 94k original miles. It runs and drives but definitely needs some love, work, and money to make it a drivers grade car. The owner is looks for low $20s for it.

Pros:
- The top end was done 3 years ago. (Done by the owner, overseen by a Porsche speciality shop mechanic) (it sat after the top end rebuild).
- Engine head and exhaust studs were all replaced.
- No structural rust, It’s a California car with some surface rust on the finder.
- Interior is in good shape
- clean car fax/ clean title
- comes with replacement parts for the driver mirror and other broken bits.
- Price
Cons:
- It’s been sitting for a few years (3+ years)
- no solid service paperwork
- it’s been repainted (original color is black)
- needs to be repainted
- needs new weather seals everywhere
- targa top needs to be refurbished
- the whole car needs a deep cleaning
- driver door hinge needs fixing/ alignment

Would you buy it?

[Awaadster3]

[911obgyn]

Do a compression test, show them the numbers, offer them less. It will be 3-400$ a month for a year plus your labor to make it a reliable driver.

[pmax]

>Interior is in good shape

Those are sport seats in excellent condition.

[AFB24911S]

It's purple, gotta have it on that alone!!!

I bought a 1977 Targa that had been driven consistently its entire life and it has been a dream. These cars are awesomely reliable, if you put the work in it'll be something you enjoy more and more every time you drive it.

[Showdown]

I’d buy it in a heartbeat.

Because it’s not a pristine original it’s a perfect candidate to do whatever you want and have a truly unique car.

[john walker's workshop]

Not for 20K. Gonna have another 30 in it soon enough. Cab conversion, how good was it done?

[targa80]

For a 1980SC Targa non matching numbers car with a deteriorated second paint job and lack of original Fuchs at a price tag of $20k I would not say that it is a steal. But add $25K in parts/paint and a lot of time with sweat equity the car can be a nice $45K car.

I am the third owner of my 1980SC Targa and I payed $12.5K for my car in 1991 and since then I have invested $10K in an engine rebuild in 1998, $25K in parts/paint since 2002. The bulk of the restoration work engine, paint, Targa top, suspension, interior was done by myself in my garage and I continue to do all my own maintenance. Today, I estimate my car is worth about as much as I have money invested in it, $48K to a potential buyer. Fortunately, It was never about the money spent it was more about the journey over the past 32 years of ownership. I have no desire to part with the car because every time I drive it I get a poop eating grin on my face and that is priceless.




You have to ask yourself “ how much do you really want to own an air cooled Porsche 911SC Targa” and how hard are you willing to work to get it.

[Terrance Sig]

Tough call. Depends a lot on how much you’ll need to spend in labor

[PeteKz]

If you think you are getting a great deal, you aren't. It would be cheaper to buy one in great shape for $45K-$50K, and you would be able to drive it now, instead of working on it for several years. If you want a project, then it's probably a good starting point. You should be able to get it running, and then have a driving project, instead of a garage ornament.

[tdw28210]

what's up with the rear glass? It looks like some sort of soft rear window conversion from the outside, but regular targa glass from the inside pics.

[JackkTheMackk]

I viewed this car in person a week ago because a friend wanted to check it out.

run

There’s a crease on the passenger side front strut tower, the car has definitely been hit. Not sure if you noticed that. It’s a total parts car. It definitely does not “run and drive” in its current condition. There’s also a rag shoved into one of the oil tank breather holes.

The owner has 6 cars all taken apart in his driveway that all haven’t run in years. I would never trust the work that man did on the engine after seeing his other projects. It’s pretty rusty as well. The car is a total parts car and not worth saving.

[tsuter]

So when he put that battery charger on it (in pic 5), did it start up and run good?

[nospiners]

The asking price is too much for a car that needs so much , not an easy project !!!!!!

[Dpmulvan]

Originally Posted by JackkTheMackk

I viewed this car in person a week ago because a friend wanted to check it out.

run

There’s a crease on the passenger side front strut tower, the car has definitely been hit. Not sure if you noticed that. It’s a total parts car. It definitely does not “run and drive” in its current condition. There’s also a rag shoved into one of the oil tank breather holes.

The owner has 6 cars all taken apart in his driveway that all haven’t run in years. I would never trust the work that man did on the engine after seeing his other projects. It’s pretty rusty as well. The car is a total parts car and not worth saving.

Ahhhh yes the person who specializes in taking things apart. I know one of those guys every town has one, not a bottle of loctite anywhere on the property.

[porschedude996]

Paint Job most likely be your big cost. A good paint job is going to cost dearly. Followed by engine overhaul, transmission, electrical??? How much can you do yourself? I wouldn’t do it and i’ve got a pretty big shop, tools, car lift, and enjoy the mechanical stuff. But I hate body work with a “Purple Passion“.

[Qtrfoil]

Not a chance in the world. That car needs $60K to be worth $35k , and if I'd seen these pictures I wouldn't pay that. Whatever anyone paid 3 years ago has doubled by now.

These are the cars on which you see a lot wrong, and think "I can fix that." These are also the cars in which for everything you see wrong at the beginning there are at least as many other things that are wrong that you can't see - yet. If one or more owners can't replace torn CV boots, which is easy and cheap, then I assume many, many other jobs were left undone. A car cover is $200. And WTF does "overseen by a Porsche speciality shop mechanic" mean?

And any time I hear "Just a little surface rust" but see damp wads of leaves and grass I start sprinting.

[PeteKz]

I revise my previous assessment: Consider it a parts car and price accordingly. If you can get it to a running project, then proceed, otherwise, cut your losses and sell it for parts.

[Dpmulvan]

$10,000 would be a fair price.

[JackkTheMackk]

My friend spoke with the seller again and he said it sold for $23k.