Just bought a 930. Need some advice on engine.

Thunder Punk · 07:12 PM

Hi folks, I'm new here and this will be my first post. I just purchased a 1987 930 with 44,500 miles on it. Here is a link to the car if you would like to see some pics. http://64.202.191.182/inventory/WP0JB0939HS051086.htm

I was unable to fly out to inspect the car due to business responsibilities and discussed the car in depth with the salesman. After multiple phone calls and multiple e-mails sending me pics of the car I decided to purchase the car even though I had not seen it in person. Foolish I know but the car appears to be in excellent shape and everything the salesman told me about the car panned out in my research of 930's. He told me the A/C was not holding a charge as well and gave me some insight to the poor performance of 930 A/C units.

I couldn't argue with the price. I paid well below $30,000.00 for this gem. There are several cosmetic issues that need to be addressed. The first is the painted chin spoiler. I will be replacing it with a new black one to get he car back to original appearance. The second is fixing the small dings in the paint on the front bumper. And lastly, adding rear seatbelts for my kids. Other than that the only thing left to question is the motor. The pictures I recieved show a dirty motor with some hoses that may need to be replaced. Here are a couple of shots of the motor.

I figured that even if the motor is junk (which I was told runs fantastically) I could afford to have it rebuilt at the price that I was able to acquire the car for and still remain below the purchase price of other 930's that I had inquired about while searching for a nice example of this car.

My question is this. Who would you guys recommend to rebuild this 3.3L H6 FI should it need work and what price can I expect to pay to do so? I'm more interested in keeping this car bone stock as opposed to squeezing 400+ horses out of the motor. Any items that would help perfomance moderately would be considered as long as they can be removed and replaced with OEM hardware down the road should I decide to sell the car. I just want the motor cleaned up and all hoses replaced to make the motor look as good as the car.

Also, I have had some difficulty in finding true U.S. Specs for this motor. Can anyone tell me how much HP these motors produce here in the U.S. I'm guessing around 280?

Thanks in advance. I look forward to sharing my experiences regarding the purchase of this car as soon as it arrives. It will be here on Wednesday.

Cheers,

Fl Ted · 05-30-2005, 06:18 PM

Finding parts for that old relic will be the REAL challenge!

MotoSook · 05-30-2005, 06:28 PM

Welcome to the board! The engine has good potential for high HP...and that's without opening it up! And it can be returned to stock....but give it some time...soon that notion of "stock" will be gone and you'll want to modify..and keep on modifying!

No shop in LA comes to mind, but I have seen some mention in other threads. Someone will come by and post some names.

Although, if you are handy and really want to learn about your car, you can drop the enigne yourself, and replace the hoses and such yourself....we'll talk you through it...

HEY! I've been to Mandeville...got drunk and passed out in a couple of places there

You know the jewelers Boudreaux?

Thunder Punk · 05-30-2005, 06:31 PM

LOL.....corrected........

My wife and I are extremely excited. Spent all day Saturday clearing out the garage to make room for the new addition to our family. My five year old son has been running around the house making "Vrooom Vroom" noises as well. I must admit that life is good at the moment.

Kurt B · 05-30-2005, 06:52 PM

Nice car. Real nice. i agree on keeping it stock. . You got a great deal it seems to me.
Don't blame you a bit for shelling out the cash for it.

Shuie · 05-30-2005, 06:56 PM

Welcome aboard. Always good to see another 911 in LA.

Just out of curiosity, was this this car from the BR/Denham Springs area?

Thunder Punk · 05-30-2005, 07:05 PM

No...It's coming out of Pompano Beach, FL. Prior to that it was registered in N.J. . It was originally registered in Utah if my memory serves me correct. I can only hope that the owner in N.J. didn't drive it during winter. Time will tell when I inspect it upon it's arrival.

aways · 05-30-2005, 07:29 PM

If I remember correctly, the stock HP for a 1987 930 is 282...

my2rotties · 05-30-2005, 07:36 PM

What a beautiful car! I am a newbie to the Porsche myself, so I have no advise. I just wanted to comment on your car.

89turbocabmike · 05-30-2005, 07:39 PM

Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the turbo club. Hopefully a engine rebuild is not needed as an engine rebuild could put you at the top of the price range for that year if you pay someone else to do it. Turbos can be expensive creatures to set right but once they're right they can go 100K. That being said though if a rebuild is in the works, no sense rebuilding it to stock

Justin R · 07:50 PM

No *****

I just looked at and sat in that 930 last week. Jenkins was the dealer.

It’s very clean. The carpet needs a good scrubbing but other than that it was nice. (I didnt look under the car)

The salesmen weren’t very helpful and they didn’t mention the air issue to me.

Congratulations

Thunder Punk · 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 89turbocabmike
Congrats on your purchase and welcome to the turbo club. Hopefully a engine rebuild is not needed as an engine rebuild could put you at the top of the price range for that year if you pay someone else to do it. Turbos can be expensive creatures to set right but once they're right they can go 100K. That being said though if a rebuild is in the works, no sense rebuilding it to stock

I've considered that. I wouldn't mind adding HP but I really would rather relieablility over HP. How would a set of Bolt-on headers, mufflers and an intake system effect reliability? I'm not a rich man by any means. I'd rather be slow and go than fast without cash! Hell, I'm lucky that I was able to convince my wife to let me buy the car. If I dump $10,000.00 right off the bat I'm not sure what the immediate reprocussions would be. Probably not good! LOL.

All jokes aside, I've got a great wife. We just don't want to spend our retirement on bragging rights right now. Knowing me, that might change in the future though.

Thunder Punk · 05-30-2005, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Justin R
No *****

I just looked at and sat in that 930 last week. Jenkins was the dealer.

It’s very clean. The carpet needs a good scrubbing but other than that it was nice. (I didnt look under the car)

The salesmen weren’t very helpful and they didn’t mention the air issue to me.

Congratulations

Sorry to hear they weren't helpful. Makes me wonder how truthful they were with me. The only thing that would really bother me about this purchase would be if the car had been damaged in a collision that wasn't reported to DMV. Carfax shows the true mileage and no damage history. Whatever that's worth.

Did they fire it up for you? Did you notice any rust or anything else that threw up a flag? Why didn't you buy it? Just curious. Too late now anyway. The car is being shipped tomorrow.

Thunder Punk · 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
With only 44K on it, why are you even thinking about a rebuild? There shouldn't be any reason for it.

I think I remember seeing that car advertised for sale a year or two ago - the light interior and the painted rubber spoiler make it unique.

I'm just trying to prepare myself for a "worst case scenario" on the functionality of the engine. If all is good then a good cleanup and replacement of any worn hoses and clamps should be all it needs. That and an A/C system.

I'm admittedly nervous. I guess that's what I get for buying before trying. I have no one to blame but myself. We have the money to do a rebuild if the motor has problems. I'm guessing around $6,000.00. If not then I guess my car will be a garage queen for about 6 months. Hopefully all is well with the motor. If not, I'll do what it takes to get it right. I want this car to be a fine example of a 1987 930 twenty years from now. That's my goal.

Justin R · 05-30-2005, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Thunder Punk
Sorry to hear they weren't helpful. Makes me wonder how truthful they were with me. The only thing that would really bother me about this purchase would be if the car had been damaged in a collision that wasn't reported to DMV. Carfax shows the true mileage and no damage history. Whatever that's worth.

Did they fire it up for you? Did you notice any rust or anything else that threw up a flag? Why didn't you buy it? Just curious. Too late now anyway. The car is being shipped tomorrow.

The car was straight. The paint matched on all of the panels. I saw it in bright sunlight and it was nice. The wheels were in good shape. The car was clean as far as I could tell (aside from the front lip and carpet). I’m still very new to the Porsche world but I have been reading this board for a few months and I think I know what to look for. I would have had a PPI done but it’s very tough when the car is not local.

I don’t know why the salesmen weren’t helpful. I pulled up in my M3 and walked around the car for about 5 minutes and no one came out of the office. I went inside and asked if they could tell me about it and he just said the year, mileage and price. He said 32k was the asking price…if you don’t mind me asking what did you pay? (You can private message me if you don’t want to post it)

I was just shopping and an not serious about purchasing at this time

Edit : Now I wish I would have had him fire it up

89turbocabmike · 05-30-2005, 08:12 PM

The first thing will be to check it out when it gets home and see what if anything needs addressing. We can help you along with that. It will be interesting to see if it still has the stock turbo. Forget the intake as there are really no worthwhile gains to be had there. Upgrading the A/C might be the best way to go initially since it's not working and will help you really enjoy your cruising. After that headers and muffler would be my first suggestions for drivability and performance gains. If your engine is solid these should not drastically affect longevity and reliability if you keep the boost stock.

Thunder Punk · 05-30-2005, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SoCal911SC
You'll have more fun with the car if you don't worry so much!

(Although, not to cause more worry, but how did the Carfax check out?)

It's just my inexperience in Porsche ownership and all the horror stories of maintaining them that have been burned into my head since I was a teenager.

Carfax checks out great with no problems at all. Legit mileage etc.

MovOvr1 · MovOvr1's Garage

$6K for a rebuild!!!!! I don't think for a quality complete rebuild you will get it for close to that. For the problems and things you want done, pulling the engine and taking a look around, and replacing the belts, hoses, plugs, valve adjust, ect. ect. for around $6K. But if it doesn't need to be REBUILT don't do it untill you notice signs that it needs it.

Brian

Thunder Punk · 08:50 PM

Justin....I don't have a problem posting what I paid for it. $29,860.00 is what I stole it for. That plus shipping costs associated with having them deliver it to my door. I say stole it because all other 930's I looked at with similar mileage were priced between $32,000.00 and $42,000.000.

I looked at Shelby Cobra kits, Corvettes, Vipers, Hot Rods and 32 Fords. I have to say that even though this car is almost 20 years old, all the other cars paled in physical beauty to me. There's just something about these cars that move me. I don't know what it is but when my wife and I were looking at new Corvettes we both kept saying, "look how ugly it is." My buddy kept trying to get us to look at the corvette as an alternative. I had to be careful in telling him how ugly I thought the car was because he owns one. I just told him I didn't like them and that I thought the Porsche was a better looking car.

I'm glad to hear that the car is clean. I noticed the damage to the chin spoiler in the photos. I was able to zoom in really close on it in my image viewer. I asked the salesman about it and he confirmed it for me. Said there were two small stone chips on the front bumper and a very small touch up on the underside of the driver door. Supposedly from someone opening the door into a curb. Other than that I was told that the paint was exceptional. All of the photos that I have show no damage anywhere.

Thunder Punk · 09:54 PM

Brian.....thanks for the heads up. Hopefully the motor will remain in the car for the time being. If not then I'll pay what I need to to get it right. My immediate concern when making my purchase was that the body, frame and interior were in excellent condition. If the motor needed major work then we would suck it up and get it done.

From what the salesman told me the motor should be fine. Then again he is a salesman. However, I was in car sales at several points in my career and I know the ropes. He's given me no indication that he's falsely represented the condition of the car.

He told me that he wasn't going to buy the car because his dealership deals mostly in later model Porsche's. But the previous owner insisted that he drive it. When he did he stated to me that the car was exceptional and that the motor was perfect aside from the A/C. So, he bought the car from this guy even though they generally don't deal in this era of Porsche's.

His knowledge of the car was good as well. No complaints from me as far as giving me info on the car. In fact, he volunteered to go out and check some things that I had asked about on several occasions when he didn't have too.

I guess I'll find out on Wednesday whether he's honest, a good salesman or both.

No matter what happens I am now officially the proud owner of one of the most remarkable cars on the planet.