I'm going to look at an '85 Carrera Saturday, HELP

[Augustus]

Hello again,

I've been looking hard and long for a SC or Carrera. Tomorrow I'm going to look at a one owner 1985 Carrera. Its red with black interior. (was there more than one shade of red for 1985?) It appears to me to be Guards red. I don't know the paint code as of right now. It has 129k miles, original shiny paint with no accidents ever. All service records which I have not seen.

I'm looking for, before I get the PPI:
Replaced head studs?
Updated pop off valve.
Valve guides replaced and or
Top end rebuild.
Shocks, front end bushings.
Brakes.
Unusual tire wear.
Easy start up, smooth idle, good acceleration and of course smooth shifting with no grinding of the sycros.


I'll look at the car before I get a PPI. And if all checks out I will buy it. I'm not to wild about the colour but I can't seem to find good clean 911's in the colours I like.
eg: any silver or grey, blue any shade or butterscotch (my description)

hes asking $15,500.00

Thanks for your help.

[don911]

no pop off valve on 3.2L

Don't be surprised if it's hasn't had a top end or valve guides replaced. A lot of 3.2L go for many more miles without needing a top end.

[the]

The head studs are probably original. In a PPI, you want to have them take off the lower valve covers and make sure the studs are ok.

There is no "pop off valve" used on a Carrera. That's an SC (CIS injection) only thing.

Valve guides replaced/top end job being already done on a 129K car would be nice, check the records.

You should be able to work them down a bit on that price.

Good luck!

[Augustus]

Thanks for the reply!

I'll be logged on all night to see what else anyone has to say.


the, work them down how much? hundreds or thousands?

[the]

The mileage is going to make it tough to get over $15K for that car, IMO, unless it has some kind of exceptional set of records and repairs, and is in exceptional condition. The problem is, at $15K, for a few thousand more, you can easily get an 84/85 with half the mileage and half the wear.

I'm not 100% tuned to the market these days, but I'd be thinking $13-14.5 for a 129K 85. Really depends on condition, though. Without seeing it, it could be higher or lower.

[JR_NYC]

Make sure the mechanic doing the PPI does leakdown and compression tests. Do a search to determine what normal parameters are. I believe good leakdown #s are <5% and certainly should be <10%.

Puff of smoke from exhaust between shifts under hard acceleration indicates valve guide wear.

Depending on where the car has been all its life, you may want to inspect it for rust. Zinc plating not so effective after 20+ yrs. Look under the rubber seals of the windshield and rear window. Bottom corners of the windshield is a place to focus on. And look in the door sills, under the piece of plastic that runs the length of bottom of the door. It will be glued to the body, peel it back. And look in the fuel filler area (gas cap) for paint bubbling up. Gasoline eats the paint in that area.

If the car has Fuchs, confirm they are genuine. Real ones are expensive, replicas are not. Either do this yourself after doing a search on the topic or have the mechanic do it.

I find that slamming on the brakes at about 50-60 mph to see if they lock up and pull on way or another is a nice way to test them but the owner may not like that.

Just my $0.02.

As the other posters say, price really depends on the condition. I would like to see a detailed maintenance history. If it is mechanically sound then $14-$15k seems fair. It seems that you can get a decent G50 Carrera for only a few thousand more though.

This seems like a very nice one (I know, sale pending): FS 1987 911 Carrera Coupe

Guards red is a very common color for Carreras. Probably most common in the used car market, with Gran Prix White a close #2 (just based on watching the cars for sale). If you're not certain it's "the one" you may want to keep looking. Don't give up on your color choice if it's a big deal for you. Anecdotally, it seems that cars in desirable rare colors like silver or gray are more expensive.

It also seems that there are more SCs in those colors than Carreras. By the mid-80s every doctor and dentist had to have his Porsche in red...

[DRACO A5OG]

85 Nice

Paint Code should be 027 located in the Trunk under the carpet passenger side inner fender wall.

Ask if you can raise the car and inspect the brake lines for cracks, leaking tranny and/or engine oil.

While you are under there check for rust especialy under front fuel tank and check the fuel line it is about 6" in length and attached to the Blue Fuel Pump. It should be covered by a metal stone guard but most have lost them by retarded wrenches or tossed due to rust. mine was missing.

Check to see if the pads are wearing evenly, uneven wear is a sign of a need for rotor replacement.

See if all 4 CV boots are intack

Idle, 85 should be at 770-780, may seem a bit rough but it is normal. In fact, take a test drive but ask him not to warm up the car before you get there or wait for it to cool down. When you drive her, in 1st punch it right to redline, see if grey smoke blows out. this will clear up any deposits and it should run better. You will not hurt the car.

Check to see if it has the older single wire CHTS, it's behind the driverside rear wheel or look in the engine compartment and behind the hot air tube you will see a harness with three plugs, the off white plug is the CHTS, it should be double wire, if not it should be updated

Shifter make sure it shifts into all gears with out special owner tricks, 5th to 4th, reverse lock out should work properly.

Torsion Plate, make sure the post is in the center and not hitting the plate. If it does you will need to replace thetorsion plate bushings and then align.

While the car is up, check the play of the front wheel, if it tilts back and forth bearings may need adjusting or worse yet new spindles.

E-Brake should stop in 4-5 clicks, easy enough to adjust. Any more than 8, E-brake will not hold the car in place and may role when you least expect it.

Heater Switch should should trigger the foot blowers, if not they are malfunctioning

Vent Control, turn light on when you adjust the top lever, a light should turn on when the fan engages.

Battery Hold Down should be there to keep the battery secure most common missing part.

Trunk and Glove Box Lights should work many disconnect it or the switch is missing.

Bring the car up to full operating temperature, needle should hit the second mark from the bottom one or near 8:00 o clock. shut her off and see if she will restart properly. If she hunts she may have a vacumn leak, CHTS, DME relay, O2 Sensor issues.

Ask me how I know all this

PMed you my cell incase you have any questions while you are inspecting her.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

...In fact, take a test drive but ask him not to warm up the car before you get there or wait for it to cool down. When you drive her, in 1st punch it right to redline, see if grey smoke blows out. this will clear up any deposits and it should run better. You will not hurt the car....
.

Pretty good suggestions however these are all 20 year old cars and you'll likely find things that need attention imo, so don't sweat the little stuff if it's just an item here or there. I'm going to respectfully disagree with the above unless you specifically get the owners permission beforehand. I would never run my car up to redline until she's good and warm, and if I saw an owner do that to their own car, that would be an immediate "red flag" to me. I consider that abuse, but that's just my opinion. Typically, you get what you pay for, and imo, without knowing this car, it seems on the low end. Don't hesitate to keep searching for the "right" one as I looked far and wide for six months. Good luck!

[billybek]

Colour is not that big of a deal. I wanted one in silver or platinum, and I ended up with (you guessed it) arrest me red!
I kind of like it now, it grows on you...
Good luck!

[DRACO A5OG]

Originally Posted by KC911

Pretty good suggestions however these are all 20 year old cars and you'll likely find things that need attention imo, so don't sweat the little stuff if it's just an item here or there. I'm going to respectfully disagree with the above unless you specifically get the owners permission beforehand. I would never run my car up to redline until she's good and warm, and if I saw an owner do that to their own car, that would be an immediate "red flag" to me. I consider that abuse, but that's just my opinion. Typically, you get what you pay for, and imo, without knowing this car, it seems on the low end. Don't hesitate to keep searching for the "right" one as I looked far and wide for six months. Good luck!

KC is correct, do not do this blow out until full operating temperature 2nd mark on temperature guage 8:00 o clock, when it's cold you must not go over 3K RPMs. I should have been more clear but it was late when I was typing away.

Doing this blow out at full temp is a minor tune up per a well respected Ex- Professional Rennsport Racer and Mechanic. Maybe you want to save it for when you own her but I for one want to make certain it is running at it's close to optimum level.

[rob911]

Originally Posted by DRACO A5OG

KC is correct, do not do this blow out until full operating temperature 2nd mark on temperature guage 8:00 o clock, when it's cold you must not go over 3K RPMs. I should have been more clear but it was late when I was typing away.

Doing this blow out at full temp is a minor tune up per a well respected Ex- Professional Rennsport Racer and Mechanic. Maybe you want to save it for when you own her but I for one want to make certain it is running at it's close to optimum level.

Once everything is fully warmed up I understood that you had to go to max revs before changing gear, every time. That was how previous owner sold me the car driving in central london (Regents Park) one sunny wednesday afternoon.

[JR_NYC]

Augustus,

So...what's the verdict on the car? How was it?

[Wickd89]

Whats the verdict???
Need pics and summary..... Come on, this is a two way relationship..

[Dueller]

You have read this FAQ, I presume

http://www.pelicanparts.com/911/technical_specs/911_guthrie_faq.htm

[Augustus]

Upate:

The seller was supposed to call me at 8:00 am Saturday to give me his address.

No call. By 9:00 I called him, no answer. I called him every half hour up until 4 pm, still no answer and no phone call from him.

I had a long list of things to check. ( thanks to all of you fellows )
I had cash in hand and would have bought the car without a PPI.
Need I say my brother took the day of from work to give me a ride to buy the car.

A day wasted and no car.



I checked out the prices on SC's and Carrera's on Autotrader and the prices are very high. Even with very high miles. 170,000 +


I really appreciate everyones help. You fellows are GREAT. THANKS!

[Dueller]

Be patient. Don't let that money burn a hole in your pocket. The right one will come along.

[JR_NYC]

Asking prices are often high, question is what price do cars get sold at.

In my experience, when a seller is evasive or flaky about showing his car you should run the other way.

[carolinatrophy]

Where are you located? There are a couple of cars for sale here in Charlotte that I know personally that you might be interested in:

The first is my neighbor's car. It's a black on black 1984 ROW Carrera Coupe. The car has factory A/C, a rebuilt trans, fresh clutch, sport seats, and something like 66k miles. I've driven it a lot and it's one of the best running and fastest 3.2's I've ever driven. It currently has the Carrera tail on it, but it also comes with a plain black decklid in case you don't like the rear wing. The paint, interior and mechanicals are awesome and it needs essentially nothing. He's not actively selling the car but he talks about it from time to time (he wants a 993) and I think he'd let it go for $19k or so. It's very much worth it if you want a REALLY nice european Carrera. It's probably the nicest one I've ever driven.

Then there is a 1978 SC Coupe in the local PCA newsletter, Gray with a lobster interior. 152k miles but tons of maintenance records and all the updates that you'd want on an SC. I've never driven it, but I know the car and it sure looks and sounds wonderful. He's asking $11,400. It's a higher-mileage car, but I once bought a well-maintained SC with 240k miles on it and proceeded to hammer the crap out of it for another 80k miles with absolutely no problems whatsoever, so I wouldn't be fundamentally worried about the mileage on an SC if it's tight and has good leakdowns...

Just thought I'd let you know. Not sure where you are, but let me know if you want me to put you in touch with the sellers. I have NO vested interest in either of these cars - just passing along info...

[esample]

Originally Posted by Augustus

Upate:


I had cash in hand and would have bought the car without a PPI.

Please don't do that!

-e.

[Wickd89]

PPI required.
Almost every single person on this forum tells you to do this!!!
What if you get into it and you find out that it was previously wrecked -worth 6K less
What if you get into it and you find out that engine is going -worth 12k less
etc
etc

Please spend the 200-250. YOU will be very happy... No need to rush into a bad decision young Skywalker...