Looking to buy this one...What's your thoughts?

[lambertsl]

1982 911SC, White ext, black int, targa, 125 K, Michigan car, 3 owners so far, only used a 1/2 tank last year.



Good points; new tires, new paint, new trans and clutch, alt., tensior update, ok brakes, no rust, new engine bracket, new battery.

Bad points; no AC, no Heat, rough interior, cracked tail rubber, no real engine work, minor wind and water leaks, passenger window 1/2 inch from opening.

Questions;
1. nasty fumes for first 3 minutes, 11 deg F outside is this normal?

2. Not driven very much last year 1/2 tank what problems could be hidden?

3. Valves done at 100 K when is it due again?

4. What do you think its worth? answer below


5. What is considered reg maintenance besides oil, filters? some seem to breed the brakes every 3k.









he wants nine grand firm.

[MovOvr1]

"NO AC, NO heat" ? Were they deleted from the car or are they just not working. Are there records on the car from the previous 3 owners? Did the car spend its life up in Michigan? If so, I would look VERY carefully for rust.

Without being driven and having the gas in it that long, I would drain the tank and refill with fresh stuff and a bottle or two of Techron. Were the fumes when you started burning oil, excess fuel?

9K doesn't seem outrageous for the price if the car passes a good PPI and the compression and leak down turn out okay. Let us know and keep us posted.

BRian

[lambertsl]

No ac due to leak, all the parts are there. No heat he told me that when he pulls the two handles nothing happens and a tech told him that the heat exchanger was rusted through.

It wasn't an oil burning smell at all, just more of a sweet smell.

Do you have to do the valve adjustment when hot and running?


There seems to be a small oil leak I would like to drive it for 45 minutes and then see what leaks.

[aigel]

The stink may be old gas. It will smell very funny. Get the guy to drain the gas and refill with fresh.

If the heat exchangers are rusted out, that's really ugly. Of course it is a good opportunity to buy SSI exchangers, but it really is an indication how much salt the car saw. The new paint would scare me a lot. How much rust has been painted over?

Also, I'd be worried about the head studs on a car that has HE rusted out. Head studs break more frequently in climates that promote corrosion.

If you have a chance, I'd rather buy long distance from CA, AZ or another rust free state.

A good PPI may help find out about head studs, repaint / rust. Maybe I am spoiled living in CA, I dunno.

George

[aigel]

Originally posted by lambertsl

Do you have to do the valve adjustment when hot and running?

Bone cold. It is a bit more involved than on a car with a front engine.

George

[MotoSook]

Did you do a PPI? That car has been PPI'd recently. The potential buyer then, might share the info with you and you might help that person recoup of of the PPI cost..just a suggestion...no interest in it one way or the other. Maybe that person will speak up.

[lambertsl]

No PPI to my knowledge.

I just found out that the car was built for Canada. I ran a carfax report and it wasn't registered here until 6-1996 and then sold in 9-1997 to the current buyer. No other owners are shown. Is this a good thing if it came from Canada?

[Dan in Pasadena]

If the heat exchangers are "rusted through" and the car is from Michigan...what do you think the chances are that it has no other rust?

[MotoSook]

If it came from Canada you should get the car for about 1/3 the acking price .. no really, if it is a gray market car, make sure you have the paper work...search the term here.

[aigel]

Canada? I'd rather see it come from the other direction...

Does the Canada version of the 911 have a different speedo? If yes, the speedo was changed coming here? This is true for all cars that dont' at least have carfax: Unless you have seamless service records, mileage can not be proven.

Valves are done every 15k. So it's 10k overdue.

I can't help but think that there should be better cars out there. Especially in your climate it would probably help if you could spend 15k and get someones well documented garage queen that never saw salt.

I think it would be terrible to start 911 ownership on the wrong foot. This car looks like the perfect wrong foot to me.

George

[lambertsl]

There isn't an exhaust leak so I am not sure what he means. The title came back clean but didn't show any information prior to 1996 and also the VIN on a checker showed canadian specs.

Would a Canadian car be better, i.e. no cats or other annoyances.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by Dan in Pasadena
If the heat exchangers are "rusted through" and the car is from Michigan...what do you think the chances are that it has no other rust?

Exactly. Run from this car. Take it from "Rusty Milt."

[aigel]

On these cars there is no coolant. To heat the inside of the car, air is passed over the headers. The headers that have heating capability are often called heat exchangers, because they are enclosed in sheet metal to allow pushing air over them. If your enclosing sheet metal is rusted through, the fan will blow air into the heat exchangers, but the hot air will come out through the holes, instead of being piped into your passenger compartment.

So, you do not have an exhaust leak, but you have a hot air leak!

George

[lambertsl]

The thing about the rust is that I didn't find more than one small spot. It was just below the door striker, size of a dime. Under the floor mats clean but not painted all the usual spots were clean. The car was painted in 1999, so I was hoping problems would have come through by now. What do you think. thanks in advance.

[aigel]

I sense that you really like the car. I am not intending to rain on your parade. Here a few more words of caution though:

Come on now, why would it have been repainted? Faded white paint in Michigan or Canada? My 160k 81 SC that has seen it's share of sun in CA has original paint and it is far from needing a repaint. What I am saying is that this car either had rust, had bad paint due to neglect or had been in an accident. All three things would be enough to turn me off.

Even if the car had no rust. There is plenty of things that would ring my alarm bell.

1. The service history is spotty and indicates neglect.
2. The car likely has no documented mileage. If that's the case, for all you know this could have 280k miles!
3. The car leaks oil.
4. The interior is shot.
5. The heat exchangers are rusted out.
6. The a/c is not working.
7. Needs new tail rubber.
8. How is the suspension? Anything rebuilt? It will need new shocks at the least if they have not been replaced.

If you have the work done at the shop, here a rough estimate on what it will cost to get the car in decent shape. Take this as a worst case scenario, but it may actually be an optimistic estimate...

3. oil leaks can be anywere from $100 to $1500 depending on the location / source. A complete reseal, requiring removal and reinstallation of the engine is often on order. I had to do this on my SC and so have many others. So, let's say $1500

4. Redoing the interior? Dash alone is $700 new, just the part! Seats are about a grand or so to have fixed with original material. Door panels, carpet, rear deck, rear seats? $2k easy!

5. If you have SSI put on, those are $900 just in parts. Add a new muffler and small things like oil lines that need re-routing: $1500.

6. Finding the A/C leak, and properly repairing it can run $1500, no problem!

7. Tail rubber $200?

8. Full suspension rebuild at shop about $1.5k. (Shocks, torsion bar bushings, ball joints, tierods / tierod ends, brake lines etc.)


Car: 9k, repairs about 8k = 17k for a questionable rust belt grey market car with no mileage documentation or history?

I think you see where I am going.

Keep looking. Do yourself a favor and resist the urge to buy right away. These cars are very common. Look at least at 5 cars. Check out your local PCA chapter for cars for sale. People that are members of PCA often care more about their P car than other owners. www.pca.org

Good Luck!!!

George

[Noel]

George is right. There are far too many of these cars with proper records to gamble on this one. $15K will buy you a very nice SC that needs almost nothing.

[JeremyD]

#1 rule of Porsche buying... Don't fall in love with the first one. Drive many. PPI first - get a recommendation of a shop from this board or rennlist. Buy the best example you can find. May the force be with you.

[Crachian]

As with any thorough evaluation, find out what's under the bra.

[lambertsl]

Your right!! thanks for taking the time to set me straight. I have contacted my local PCA and seem to be on a better track now.

thanks again

[nostatic]

another potential owner saved by pelican.