Slant Nose Real/Conversion Qs?

[MysticLlama]

Here is the VIN for the slantnose:

WP0AB0910JS120137

[Harlan Chinn]

The serial number "J" = 1988 which is correct. According to Peter Morgan, factory slantnose conversions done to Carreras are as follows:
from 1984-87
1984 (1)
1985 (2)
1986 (1)
1987 (5)
1988 only conversions were to Turbo models as listed in my previous post.

So, the car that you are looking at is probably an aftermarket conversion

[Jack Olsen]

Prices are dropping on these cars. And as such, there are going to be some big gaps between asking prices and selling prices. Carreras are still all over the map, and condition seems to make a huge difference. But it's definitely a buyer's market, still.

Hopefully some people who have done some Carrera shopping recently will chime in, here.

[GoodMojo]

Besides verifying the VIN and the M505 option code, some other easy to spot features of factory slants are:

- Oil cooler in passenger-side rear wheel well vent with a Carrera-style cooling fan mounted on the bottom of the cooler. I seem to recall reading that some had a cooler in each vent. Not sure about that though.
- Wooden slats/shark fins (3 in each vent)
- Welded jack tube extension for jack plate in each boxed rocker.
- Steel fenders with 7 air vents on top of each.
- Can't recall the original make at the moment but the head lamp motors should not be of Japanese origin.

If it's authentic, 19K is not such a bad price if the mechanicals checks out. With the soft market around here, you can probably talk the dealer down a bit.

[kepperly]

I don't want to get in a hasle with those of you that don,t think the slant is "THE" 911 to have so lets concentrate on the car
88 carrera- one of the best of that period, g-50, 3.2 mtr
how can you go wrong and in most places you will have the only
slant around, I like being the stand out. put some 9 and 11 fikse's on it and let the rest drool.$19,000.00 sounds like a steal to me.

Keith Epperly

[RickM]

Wade,
All the details you mention are not necessarily present on a Flatnose conversion car. Each builder or part supplier configured these things differently or used a variety of materials. For instance:
I've never seen wooden brake vent fins...just Resin, FG and steel.
The oil coolers come in every configuration known to man.
The louvered vents can be of any number or none.
The motors typically used were Mazda RX-7 motors.
Adapters were used extensively as opposed to extending the "Jack Tube"

Mystic, if you're considering a conversion car, which this is, bring someone along who knows what goes into this job. There are TONS of hacked "Slantnoses" out there. On the other hand, there are some conversions done with expensive factory parts. However these are uncommon.

As mentioned, if you like the car and it was well done then treat it like any other informed car purchase. Drive other cars for comparison. If you come back to this car get a PPI, Carfax and whatever info possible. If it pans out then negotiate a good deal.

[nostatic]

the prices you list are asking prices. First off...forget the dealer prices. Way higher than market. They are depending on the clueless buyer to come in and buy a nice shiny 911. Records? Don't need them. PPI? We can't allow it off the lot, but our mechanic has "checked it out" for you.

As for the private party ads, again that is asking price and I'll lay money that the ones on the higher end of the spectrum have been trying to sell for some time. The market is depressed. GREAT cars can sell quickly. The problem is there aren't many great cars out there...lots of tired dogs and many so-so.

These cars are now getting to the "old car" status, and as such, condition is EVERYTHING. The ad, even with mileage listed and the owner saying "needs nothing" really doesn't mean anything until you see it, and a good mechanic checks it. Remember, you are buying the previous owner. I think you're best off finding a good one (owner and car). And it will take some time.

[Slant930]

Rick, I think what Wade was saying is that those were things to look for on the factory slantnose versions. The slats were actually made out of wood for the factory versions. I didn't believe it, but upon investigation, it is indeed true.

Didn't mean to barge into the conversation, just wanted to clarify.

Timothy

[MysticLlama]

Hmm, I'll check the slats to see if they are wood or not, at this point it seems like it's probably not a factory one though.

The slats on the hood, how many are there supposed to be? I realize the kits are different, but what should the kit be matching?

I'll keep my eyes open and look around some more, I really wasn't planning on getting this one unless I could get it for around $18k maybe and everything checked out, or if it was a real slant and they didn't have it priced as such.

I haven't talked to the salesman again since he was off yesterday, but when talking to him on Monday he seemed pretty easy going. I don't think that taking the car off of the lot to do a PPI would really be too much trouble.

I also got the feeling that they didn't really want to keep it around, but on the other hand, he was real mellow about it and not in sales mode at all. (Though that could have been because I wasn't down there)

Since I wasn't planning on buying one just yet anyways, I think I may go drive it and then just sit on it and wait. They are bound to be more flexible a couple of weeks down the road, and I know that the cars aren't selling like hotcakes because I've been watching the ads for about 2-3 months now and have seen inventory change.

I'm starting to get a feel of which ones are a better deal then others, as indicated by coming and going out of inventory.

I'm amazed at how much help I've had so far on this board. It's a seriously fast mover for such a narrow topic. I couldn't even find a good Honda board (I have a Prelude, not a Civic, makes a difference) for my car when I was looking for one.

[RickM]

Tim,

You're right, Wade did mention those as Factory tip-offs. However the later special wishes cars had the oil cooler in the rear vent....all previous versions had a cooler up front. The reason I know this is because I spent two years researching and doing my own conversion. I modeled much of my work from a friend's factory euro 930s. I also spoke to the Porsche technical reps at length while attending the NYC Auto Show in '88. I could have sworn the brake vent fins were resin...hmmm.

Mystic: This thread is worth reading... The definitive aftermarket slantnose, pop up headlight thread

[kepperly]

Rick M,
Did you relocate the oil coole into the right rear brake duct as I did?
I would be interesting to compare the end results, I took several photos
but I'll be darned if I can figure out how to post them from disc.

Keith Epperly 87 slant nose cabriolet wide body carrera

[Kevin Stewart]

heres the next step, square headlights (Mazda), you will probably have problems, round head lights, a lot of those cars were built pretty well, Kevin