Impulse Control: My '83 911SC Targa

[FZJSCE30NY]

I’ve wanted a Porsche 911 for as long as I can remember. With friends owning them and years of attending Porsche events, it was always a goal - but one that started to feel further and further out of reach. Prices kept climbing, and I wasn’t willing to part with any of my other classics to make it happen. I figured it would come when it came.

Then, about a month ago, I stumbled across a listing on Facebook Marketplace - an ’83 911SC Targa, just 40 minutes from me, priced more reasonably than I thought possible. I jumped. I sent the seller five messages and left my number. He read them... and didn’t reply.

Classic Marketplace. Especially with a car like that - I figured it was gone, lost in a sea of other eager buyers.

But the next morning, at 10am, my phone rang. It was him. I was shocked - and an hour later, I was on my way to see the car.

The listing described it as “registered and currently being driven.” No rust, decent paint, strong-running engine, and a first gear synchro that was starting to go. When I saw the car in person, it looked like a 42 year old car. It had clearly been repainted at some point - not particularly well, but given the price, I couldn’t afford to be too picky.

We took it for a test drive. It ran well once warm, but had a rough idle on cold start and poor drivability until it came up to temp. The seller mentioned the WUR had been rebuilt by his father, but it had never quite idled right afterward.

It wasn’t until later that I learned the car had belonged to his late father, who had battled cancer and hadn’t been able to drive it in his final years. The tires were date-coded 2004 (yikes), and from the records, I figured out it had only covered about 500 miles in the last five years.

I knew it would need some TLC - but still, we made a deal, and I drove it home.

More about the car - it is a 1983 911SC with 132,000 miles, finished in Chiffon White over a brown interior. The previous owner casually mentioned, “I think my father put some kind of exhaust on it,” but being totally new to SCs, I had no idea what I was looking at when I crawled underneath.

Luckily, a friend of mine who knows these cars a lot better than I do took one glance and said, “Dude… those are SSI heat exchangers.” He then pointed out the 3.2 Carrera tensioners and smiled - “That’s like finding four grand under your mattress.”

So while I was still trying to figure out what I had gotten myself into, it turned out I already had a solid starting point.

Also worth mentioning - The PO had a stack of records back to '86! Totaling about 20k in work recorded over its lifetime. This information confirmed true mileage @ 132k.

The day I drove it home - learning how to dance with that 915 was fun!



Notice the rockers painted black (or I should say, rubberized undercoat!) Something else I didn't notice until a friend told me otherwise.

[jaxxon99]

Very nice. I have the same spec! Enjoy.

[FZJSCE30NY]

Forgot to upload this; how I found the car.



SSI's


3.2 Tensioners


Already has pop off valve


Looks like someone spray painted the fan and shroud with it in the car - sweet.


Chiffon!

[FZJSCE30NY]

Parts started showing up and I got right to work!



Stripping the rockers



Lightly wet sanded & painted he Fuchs - new Continental Extreme Contact Sport 02's mounted.




Did a light coat of Schutz - then sprayed Chiffon & 2k clear on the rockers. MUCH better.


Shifter bushing & Coupler bushing replacement. They were SHOT.



Turbo Tie rod end upgrade.


It goes in this Wednesday for an alignment & CIS tune up. Other work not photographed; Oil & filter change, gearbox fluid change, oil tank to cooler line replaced & fuel filter replaced.

To do; Paint Targa hoop. Fuel sender. Gauge is stuck & 1/2 tank. Need to Diag. Diag oil leak. Suspecting triangle of death seals? possibly cylinder 6 leak. Hard to tell. Shop is going to look for me. I wouldn't be surprised if it had broken head studs. Time will tell!

[FZJSCE30NY]

How it sits today;

[nickelplated5s]

Gotta say I'm partial to the chiffon white. More details on the rim work would be nice.

[REVerend]

Congrats, nice looking car. I was in a similar situation two years ago and picked up an ‘83 coupe with ~100k miles. Been on a similar journey ever since.

[A930Rocket]

Beautiful car.

Welcome to the club!

[FZJSCE30NY]

Originally Posted by nickelplated5s

Gotta say I'm partial to the chiffon white. More details on the rim work would be nice.

Beautiful! I think its a great color too. I did a light wetsand of 1000 grit, then 1500, then used a mother metal polish with a drill attachment to do a light polish.

Originally Posted by REVerend

Congrats, nice looking car. I was in a similar situation two years ago and picked up an ‘83 coupe with ~100k miles. Been on a similar journey ever since.

Thank you! Its fun learning a new chassis.

Originally Posted by A930Rocket

Beautiful car.

Welcome to the club!

Thank you!

[83_Silberpfeil]

Congrats on the new-to-you 83 SC! Chiffon White on Brown is a great color combo. Excellent updates and great progress on the car.

Great to see a fellow 83 SC member posting projects/updates here. Mine is USA/California vehicle, Silver on Black, Coupe.

Look forward to your next updates.

Originally Posted by FZJSCE30NY

How it sits today;

[Rikao4]

congrats..
enjoy the journey..

here be mine..
23 years..
Alysha the young Lady..my Niece..
currently works//resides in Stuttgart..

the Targa is outside

Rika

[FZJSCE30NY]

Originally Posted by 83_Silberpfeil

Congrats on the new-to-you 83 SC! Chiffon White on Brown is a great color combo. Excellent updates and great progress on the car.

Great to see a fellow 83 SC member posting projects/updates here. Mine is USA/California vehicle, Silver on Black, Coupe.

Look forward to your next updates.

Thank you, I am excited!

Originally Posted by Rikao4

congrats..
enjoy the journey..

here be mine..
23 years..
Alysha the young Lady..my Niece..
currently works//resides in Stuttgart..

the Targa is outside

Rika

Very cool, I love the chip guard look, would like to add those.

[nickelplated5s]

Originally Posted by FZJSCE30NY

Beautiful! I think its a great color too. I did a light wetsand of 1000 grit, then 1500, then used a mother metal polish with a drill attachment to do a light polish.
Thank you!

I got mine flat bedded home today sans motor. Reason being MFI bits are out for work and it will be awhile, months. Best part is it's not sitting outside in an urban area and now I can play with the rims. Thank you FZ.

It was in for a complete rear bushing overhaul. There are threads here about that I'd suggest. Front was done last year.

[MBAtarga]

You picked the best year for an SC! But I am biased

[Classic 911]

Is it a late 83 ? If so then your engine might have a 3.2 engine case.


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[FZJSCE30NY]

Originally Posted by Classic 911

Is it a late 83 ? If so then your engine might have a 3.2 engine case.


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Not sure, It has Carrera tensioners, but I found the install receipt of that dated '87. How can I check?

[Classic 911]

Originally Posted by FZJSCE30NY

Not sure, It has Carrera tensioners, but I found the install receipt of that dated '87. How can I check?

You can check the casting number on the engine case / block.


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[Otter74]

I believe 3.2 Carrera cases don't have the oil drain plate on the bottom.

[Classic 911]

That’s right. The 3.2 case/block looks like this from the side. Picture showing the left side.
On the bottom side you can see the oil drain plug.




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[fanaudical]

Nice find!

The "WTF is this" caption above points to the bellows cap for your rack and pinion. The rubber bellows snaps on to that so it can accordion in/out as the rack shifts.