buying advice

catboy · 04-07-2005, 12:09 AM

Hi, first post on this forum, and asking questions already

Quick intro; Im a design consultant from the UK, and having had a range of fast, luxury and classic cars over the last 8 or 9 years, am looking to trade up to my childhood dream car, and keep it forever!...

Im looking to buy an early-mid 70's 911 during the summer, and wondered if any of you might be able to give me some advice on what to look for. I would ideally like an RS, but theres no way I can afford one, so I think its going to be a basic model 2.0T or similar as a first porker!

Im pretty good with cars, but have little or no knowlege of 911's. I have mostly owned VW beetles, mini's, mercedes, and rotary mazda's; I do all my own servicing and repairs, so know my way around a spanner, but just dont know what to look for!

Any help, or pointers to good buying guides/articles would be appreciated

b

oldE · 04-07-2005, 02:16 AM

Welcome Catboy!
I think I would be suspicious of someone who professed great knowledge with their first post. We are all somewhere on the learning curve.
Aside from the facile answer of: "Buy the best car you can afford", you are right in that your best tool is knowledge.
This board is a fantastic source for every aspect of troubleshooting and maintaining every air-cooled Porsche, but because of the range of owners/keepers, you get a wide range of opinions of the "best" car to purchase. Earlier cars have the 'classic look, are light and are exempt from emission laws in many countries. The problems experienced by 2.7 liter cars have been addressed through the years, and you are then getting into the age of galvanized (but still relatively light weight) cars. The 3.0 and 3.2 liter cars have a following of their own, many are backdated to look like earlier RSs, and they are more likely to have 'all the mod cons', plus, of course, more weight.
Find a garage with an older Porsche out front, or being worked on. Talk to the mechanic and the owner about the cars. They can usually point you to someone who has a 'good' car for sale, but as the old song goes:
"Don't you be sold on the very first one. My Momma told me, You better shop around!"
Good hunting!
Les

catboy · 04-07-2005, 02:56 AM

thanks!... Where Im based in the UK there are very few porsches other than the brand new ones and boxters (I guess thats what all the exec's like to be seen in!)
There are some specialists further afield, but Im always a bit sceptical of putting my wallet in their hands so to speak (I like to understand at least the basics so I can make a decision on my own)

Im really sold on the older shape cars, adn understand there are issues with non-galvanised chassis, etc., but I guess thats mostly the same with all cars of that sort of age! I really like the simplicity (relative) of the air cooled engines, and as I say have little or no experience of porsches. I have worked on beetles in the past (im not sure if its a form of blasphemy here to mention them) and love the engine and gearbox layout/design, and the ease of working on them. I know the porsche units are more complex and have a couple more cylinders, but I guess on the earlier cars the gulf between them is not so huge!

b