Thinkging about an 88 Cab, have MANY questions...

[Schmidty]

I do have to get back to work, but i'm thinking about an 88 cab that a client is selling. Its red/tan/black top, and he claims its mint. He drives it on sundays, and it has 65k miles. Is this car worth around $20k? he said its a little over blue book, but I can probably talk him down a few k.

Now then...

1- Did this year come with the g50 trans?
2- Is an older N/A porsche gonna keep up with todays sport sedans?
3- Are there many tuning options for this year
4- Any tuning kits that greatly improve the HP (ie. Turbo ad-on)
5- Any way to get rid of the older style bumpers, in exchange with something a lil more modern looking?
6- Any thing in particular that has to be maintained for this year?


I have a whole bunch more, but pretty much what i'm planning to do is sell my car now, and get a winter beater like a used A4, and get this as my summer/sunday car, but I want it to perform up to par with my 2k4 Volvo S60R (With 300 hp)

Thanx for any info, i'll be checking back soon!
-Mike

[Kurt B]

1) yes
2) No
3) not really
4) nothing that would even make sense to add on: so No.
5) get a newer model, like a 964 instead
6) probably not; ...

[RickM]

1- Did this year come with the g50 trans?
Yes

2- Is an older N/A porsche gonna keep up with todays sport sedans?
Perhaps on the track but not in stop light racing.

3- Are there many tuning options for this year?
Chip, exhaust other. Small returns for most.

4- Any tuning kits that greatly improve the HP? (ie. Turbo ad-on)
Yes, Protomotive. Name the HP and write the check (kit or installed). A couple of members working on kits here. Supercharging is also an option.

5- Any way to get rid of the older style bumpers, in exchange with something a lil more modern looking?
Perhaps one of the many Fiberglass styles will suit your taste.

6- Any thing in particular that has to be maintained for this year?
Get a PPI. Valve guides checked MAY be an issue, Rod bolts MAY be an issue, get a backup DME relay.....

[imcarthur]

As above.

Get a PPI.

It should make the S60 seem so boring . . . comfortable, but boring . . . .

Ian

[JeremyD]

1- Did this year come with the g50 trans?
Yep!
2- Is an older N/A porsche gonna keep up with todays sport sedans?
Stop light dragging - no way - 0-60 it might be close... now 100-140 and you can typically lose the less aerodynamic turbo boxes.
3- Are there many tuning options for this year.
really depends on how deep your pockets are. Juan Ruiz has a 700hp 1988 Carrera that shoots flames, anything is possible
4- Any tuning kits that greatly improve the HP (ie. Turbo ad-on) Jose Esteves at Turbo Works in Ft. Lauderdale - or Todd at Promotive in California - again depends on how deep your pockets are. Again - Juan has a 700+ Carrera and has yet to split the case...
5- Any way to get rid of the older style bumpers, in exchange with something a lil more modern looking? Look up Getty Design or Better Bodies - lots of bumper options out there - I didn;t like the impact bumbers at first - but they have grown on me more - and really typify an era...
6- Any thing in particular that has to be maintained for this year?
Oil changes - as mentioned - valve guides - get a PPI first. but these cars are very DIY friendly - especially with the support of this website.

What a Carrera will do is connect you to the road - they are really a grown up go-kart. Have you driven one? Drive it and you'll know what I'm talking about - also - get it up in the rev range. 3-4000 revs it has about the same power to weight ratio of a Honda Accord - get the car into the power band (above 5,000 rpm's) and report back - and btw - the grin does not go away.

[Kurt B]

You can't chip the DME cars. You can, of course, but don't waste your money.

I've done it on my 84. It just pings like crazy on the 91 octane available. You gotta run high octane and at these prices, there is no way to justify 30 cents a gallon just for 10 hp + the pinging you'll still get.

Exhaust...helps; a little.

After dumping 20k on a car, who's going to spend another 7k on a super charger? For that kind of money buy a Turbo or get a 964.

This car you mention, given what you're looking for/expect is totally not for you.

In fact, I'm not even sure a 964 is for you.

[Schmidty]

I think your right, instead, I think i'm gonna look at the watercooled cars, the 944 turbo was ALWAYS my (atainable) dream car, and the 911s were always just so much money. Now that i'm turning 25, i think i'm ready to own a porsche, but i'm not partial to either rear or front engined models. In fact, I have been reading up on the 968 (Around the same money as the 88 I was looking at, and its a newer car), and i'm thinking of going that route, the only thing is if i'm gonna go with that, i'd like to call up powerhaus.com and get her above 300 ponies. Except, their turbo add-on kits go for over $20k, WTF???

Ahhhhhh what to do, what to do....

[Kurt B]

968s are beautiful cars in my view.
And a 944 turbo can apparently be made into a monster. But, w/ the money you have to spend, a cabriolet is a very specific, non racy option..which is why my 84 is now a coupe (hardtop).

[porschenut]

Originally posted by Schmidty
Its red/tan/black top, and he claims its mint. He drives it on sundays, and it has 65k miles. Is this car worth around $20k?

If it's really in tip top condition, an 88 cab with low miles is worth A LOT more than 20k. Buy it and flip it.

This is one of my pet peeves, but there's no such thing as a used car in mint condition. The term "mint" comes from coin collecting, and refers to a coin that is uncirculated. That is, it has never been used and is in exactly the same condition as when newly minted. Unfortunately, everyone outside of coin collectors misuses the term and thinks it means "really good". The moment the car leaves the factory and the wheels touch the ground, it is no longer mint and never will be again.

[JP911]

911s really are all about the balance of power, suspension, braking, and weight (i.e. handling). If you wanna go fast in a straight line and blow the doors off new M3s, S4s, etc. then you might want to consider a 944 turbo (still handles great, but you can tweak the power in a big way). The only way to know is to drive both cars. In terms of big power upgrades from the aftermarket that are "affordable". They really don't exist. Unfortunately, basically all parts and service for these cars are expensive.