Well, as others have pointed out, 6k will get you a valve job, but not a complete rebuild. But don't tear yourself up until you have the car there and can see what's up.

A post purchase inspection would be good to check compression and overall health of the mechanicals. I think it will be tough to find a Porsche specialist in southern LA. Make sure you do your research, so you don't get taken to the cleaners. If all fails, a Porsche dealer may be your last resort.

If your engine really would need a full rebuild, you are best off sending it out to the west coast and go with recommendations off the board. There is a few rebuilders that are actually members of the board and all do a fabulous job.

Welcome to the board and good luck! Have a few crawfish for me, before the season is over!

George

$30K is a good price, but it's staggering how quickly you can eat up the difference between that and the $42K number you mentioned if you have to pay someone to fix things. New turbo brakes could easily be $2K. A new clutch, $2K (motor has to come out). Air conditioner repairs, $1-2K. Tune up (with valve adjust), $1K. New tires, $1K+. Replacing the black plastic spoiler will probably run you $1K (half parts, half labor). O2 sensor, $500 (parts, labor). Ask me how I know.

These are just the things that wear out and need replacing on a 18 year old car. On the positive side, once all this is done (and with luck the previous owner will have done at least some of it), you have a reliable and extremely fun car that will then run for a few years without your spending much more on it. Leaving you free to buy another toy and spend big bucks fixing IT up! (Ask me how I know).

You can save a bundle if you do as much as possible yourself. With the Bentley manual, Wayne's 101 Projects book, and some other strategic reference material there is quite a bit you can do. Of course you either have to have a lot of time to do it, or the patience to have the car sitting in the garage for long periods. And you still need to cultivate a knowledgeable and trustworthy mechanic for the things you can't handle. Fortunately, there are a lot of those around!

,,just wanted to see what a painted chin spoiler looked like.
http://64.202.191.182/inventory/051086-2sm.jpg
Hmm, what were they thinking? :D sorry, j/k.

Actually, that won't take much to turn around. Isn't there a compound that will remove that paint once is taken off the car?

Great looking 930 by the way.

Welcome to the board,,,,,,,,,,,, PUNK! ;) I just had to say that! SmileWavy

Congrats. I was going to keep mine 100% stock too... but that was three years ago... the bug will bite you!

44K is a mere toddler. Mine has 133K on it and has yet to be cracked open (and it goes on the track again Friday).

But, Emission, is taking the thermal reactors off and replacing with an after market header/exchanger considered not keeping it stock?

Dammit :rolleyes: ,,,,well, I already know the answer, but they are only robbing my power.

I agree. In my mind (but not in fact), my car is still "stock" because all of the parts are still in my garage and I can bolt them all back on again... rational? :rolleyes:

I agree totally. Although, once off, I might have a few bolts loose from my brain to bolt the TR's back up. Show or not. :p

Busa.....I'm not going to worry about removing the paint. The piece is damaged. If you look at the section of the chin spolier below the driver's side headlight you'll see that it is slightly wavy as a result of a curb strike. I've priced the part and hardware and should be able to do it myself for under $600.00.

This car will be a weekender and will not be driven in rain under any circumstances. I will treat it like I treat both of my bikes. No rain ever. When the love bugs are in season I'll be tinkering in the garage. So hopefully I can get a good 20 years out of her if I only drive her 3000 miles per year.

That brings a question to mind. How high do you have to jack up the rearend of these cars to get the motor out? I'm a whiz at mechanical things but have zero experience in pulling motors and such. I wouldn't be scared to try if my back could take it. I'd rather do it myself to make sure it's done right rather than paying someone to do it for me. These motors aren't super complicated are they? Please excuse my ignorance. My knowledge is limited regarding Porsche's.

So hopefully I can get a good 20 years out of her if I only drive her 3000 miles per year.


You will want to drive the car on a regular basis. I'd rather get it wet in a thunderstorm than have it sit for months or even weeks at a time. These cars don't take sitting too well and like the cobwebs driven out of them on a regular basis. 3k miles a year is okay, but make sure it is distributed well over time.


That brings a question to mind. How high do you have to jack up the rearend of these cars to get the motor out? I'm a whiz at mechanical things but have zero experience in pulling motors and such. I wouldn't be scared to try if my back could take it. I'd rather do it myself to make sure it's done right rather than paying someone to do it for me. These motors aren't super complicated are they? Please excuse my ignorance. My knowledge is limited regarding Porsche's.

The car doesn't have to come up real high. Nothing a set of large jack stands can't handle. It definitely is something you can do in your garage, you don't need a lift. If you ever pulled the engine out of the top of a car, you'll like the dropping much better. Since there is no coolant, it is real easy, actually, especially once you have practise! Nothing should hurt your back if you use common sense.

You definitely want to start reading the tech articles and this board as much as you can and use the search function for basic questions too. There is nothing magic or super-complicated about a 911 or the flat six, however, they are a bit more involved than a pushrod V8 and have a lot of small details that need to be taken into account.

For starters I recommend you get Wayne's 101 projects book and read the tech articles you are interested in. E.g. there is an article on how to remove your engine. If you really want to start working on your engine, I recommend Wayne's engine book.

I went and looked at the pictures of the car and I have to say, if it only looks half as good as it does in the pictures, you'll like it. I really think you should chill and not worry aobut the engine. If the 40k miles are true and it wasn't messed with, you should be just fine. Also, that engine bay doesn't look like anything was modified, at least to my untrained eye. Turbos are out of my league ....

Now for the real challenge: Go find a mountain road to drive on once the car gets there. :D Actually, the No Problem Raceway has a road course, right? You should also consider hooking up with the pca people in your area. This looks promising: http://whb.pca.org/ At least you could find out who works on their cars, between the barbecues and crawfish boils ...

Cheers, George

Hayabusa,

You can remove the Thermal Reactors and replace them with a euro exhaust. Then you will be keeping it stock.

Sloane Russeck
1979 930
1989 factory 930S cab

Thunder,

Be sure to post after you get it home. Weird thing that fron spoiler.

I saw this car a Jenkins a couple of weeks ago they told me $35,000. Looks nice and clean. Enjoy.

Thunder
You really should have asked one of us to check it out as it appears a couple of us Pelicanites had already checked it out!.

You will be recieving shortly what appeared to me to be a really nice car - for the money!.
They offered it to me for $29,900 straight off the bat- a good deal i agree. I did not see maintenance records to confirm mileage as it is this which sells the car.
The chin spolier actually does not look that ba in person and could be changed at a later date- no rush and not that expensive.
The engine started 1st time cold with tiny puff of smoke and settled to a VERY smooth idle. The engine sounded like new!. I did not drive it but tranny felt tight at standstill. Brake rotors seemed good condition and not any serious oil leaks evident. Small amount of dampness(oil)- dificult to pinpoint without cleaning and further investigating.
I would have a got a comp. test but In my opinion I would not even concider a rebuild on this car!!!!
The wheels may need some refurbishment as they seem to have been sanded crudely and maybe oiled/vaselined?. This could be a nice weekend project of home wet & dry samding and polishing or send away for refurb.
However they seemed in fairly good cond. otherwise- no evident dents.
Seats were V good cond. no wear.
All electrics seemed to work incl sunroof----Except both power windows!
Garage said that they would get windows working for discounted price- reckoned it is a relay/fuse?
A/C is not working but all fans are working and quiet!
Nice looking stereo.
Front susp. pan was clean and dry- all car was dry inside after recent heavy Florida rain!!!! so seals are prob. all good!

I seriously think you have a very nice stock 930 and hope there are no gremlins .
Jenkins normally sells much newer cars and they said it was owned by a friend of theirs- although they did not know his name (some friend!!!)
They were not very friendly and were not keen to let me test drive without a prior offer and deposit !!!!
Maybe thats normal with turbos or maybe they are tired of tire kickers!!

Either way I am sure you got a good deal.

Most Pelicanites- esp. some who have been around a while and have a reputation here will check out stuff for you.
I know the danger is that they may also be in the market for the same beast. But that is a risk you may have to take.
I saw the car a week ago and think saw it on the auto trader a few days before that.
My work and other conciderations stopped me buying the car- otherwise I was very tempted.
I am still holding out for a 5spd - 89 or 964 turbo.
I may be swayed by a clean modified with the right mods- not too excessive and if not too pricey do a rack and pinion change to drop the gearing to make the 4 spd more user friendly (seems a common mod for those not liking the 4 spd.

Good luck with your now beast! I wish I could have given you this inf. a week ago, but at least it will confirm you have a good deal (hope I am right :) )

Kind regards
Ben

PS please PM/post for me how she turns out!

Ben, Thanks for the info. I can see this site is going to be a great resource for me. You guys are awesome.

This site may save you $$$$$$$ over the next few years as well as being a good source of entertainment. Our host of course is also a great source of new parts!!!

These guys fixed an ignition problem which plagued me on my 86 Cab for months and cost me $1000 in local P garage diagnostics which were useless.
They identified the problem from a digi pic and then sourced a used part!!!
They are truly an endless source of info and encouragement. There is more information and experience here than any porsche library or Garage, hell half the guys here probabley own P- workshop/garages!.
Enjoy you car and let us/me know how she runs!
Rgds Ben

Hi Thunder – What a great post! I enjoying treading all 2pages in its entirety.

Well let me put my 2cents in. I recently bought a 1989 930 that I saw off the internet. I paid a decent price and the car had just a tickle over 56,000miles. My car was also Guards Red and looked fantastic from the internet and the Manager of the Dealership where I bought the car (in Sand Diego) basically made me feel very confident about buying the car.

As this would be my first Porsche and the most expensive car I have ever bought, I spent $400 to fly out and rent a car and get a hotel room for the night (which I consider a small price to pay for some “insurance” and making my mind settle, as I would hate to have to deal with buyers remorse!).

The car did totally check out incredibly and I had an independent Porsche Garage in San Diego check out the entire car from bumper to bumper for $225 – it’s the best money I ever spent. They checked the entire drivetrain, engine, tranny, electricals, frame etc etc. They ran a compression and leak down and gave the car a solid bill of health and a two thumbs up. They rated the car at 8.5-9 out of 10.

I drove the car and it felt solid and tight and the power very smooth. So I bought it! No regrets….here is a pic of it:
http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL86/5...6/95740715.jpg
http://pic5.picturetrail.com/VOL86/5...6/95740727.jpg

I will say that I am very mechanically minded and have decent aptitude, I have also owned some very powerful turbo cars over the years all of which I have built at home. So I enjoy the world of tinkering and I am a bit of a horsepower junkie!

Having said that the car came with a lovely $800 B&B 3” stainless steel muffler (see my other post on here..B&B Muffler gets a VERY Decent Makeover). And I was going to just install that and call it good (that would take the stock hp up from 282hp to around 315hp, as it eliminates the cat). Next thing you know (still not sure how it happened…LOL) I was upgrading the stock 3LDZ turbo to a K27-7200, the stock wastegate to a 46mm TiAL (1 bar Spring) and I bought a set of 1 5/8” B&B stainless headers. That should take me right to the 400hp mark –or- mucho mucho fun!!

The cost of these three items really added up fast especially the B&B headers – WOW! But I just felt that while I was in there..why not….

I am sure if you have mechanical aptitude like you say, you will get the same bug, as you will get used to 282hp very quickly. The best part is that even though the items I purchased were a bit pricey, I can revert the car back to completely stock in half a morning or so if need be.

If you want just a little extra kick, I would STRONGLY recommend the B&B muffler or the Fabspeed or something equivalent this alone will help the car breathe, as our US emissions really chokes the car down from the 300hp Eurospec versions. This will take you to 315hp easily and make your turbo spool MUCH faster, on other words it will transform your car all for around $800.

The blocks on these car will not have to be rebuilt until well north of 100,000miles and most top end rebuilds will happen around 100,000miles. An average complete rebuild will be around $10,000 if not more but you can save yourself a lot of money by pulling the engine and re-installing it yourself. You do not have to be thinking about a rebuild for many many years especially if you only have 44,000miles on the car.

I have been working solid on my car since I have had it and I am very familiar with the layout and I am very comfortable with working on it. Removing the engine is not a big deal either.

Hope that helps and the very best of luck, keep us posted.

Yasin

Your need to think about a rebuild is not necessarily dependant on miles.

Beautiful 930! Congrats and it sounds like your wife & your 5 year old are really going to enjoy that car with you.

Wrong car maker.,..,.,.,.,.:cool: ;) . My 3 year old runs around the house saying Porsch "ahh", and says "not daddys porsche, my porsche.



Congrats on the new addition. Welcome to the group.SmileWavy

Nice car.

If you want to have it rebuilt or modified (remember - horspower in Turbo's is addictive) - Stephen @ Imagine Auto seems to be very well respected within the Turbo community.

http://www.imagineauto.com

Never used them and have no affiliation - but I know of them. You could have the car shipped there and tuned and gone over - then shipped to you.

I always had the impression he was the John Walker of the Turbo set. He willing to answer alot of questions if you call him. I thought if I needed major engine work I would send my car there.

Everyone else is right. The engines are pretty strong and have good longevity. If they do break, however, they can be pricy.

Congratulations and welcome to the board.