First look at a Carrera tomorrow. What should I keep an eye out for?

[chrisp]

I'll start by saying that I currently own an SC and am very familair with all areas of the car and the idiosyncracies of an SC. I have little to no experience with a 3.2 Carrera motor.

This Carrera is for my brother. It's 15 min from me and 3 hrs from him so I am going to take the first look.

What potential Carrera pitfalls should I look for?

BTW, it's an '84 with less than 100k miles.

What's problematic in an early 3.2?
Were there any changes to the interior or exterior that were problematic?
Where are the build stickers/option codes on this car?

It will get a proper in depth PPI. This is just the first round and want to be prepared to determine whether there are any major shortcomings that indicate I should walk away. The price is pretty good...less than $15k.

Thanks.

[lally911]

Chris,
Poke around the bottom of the support pieces that run between the front suspension points for rust. You don't want to end up with what I found in my 85 from CT.

[chrisp]

Thanks a bunch.

I am also looking for things like...burning oil indicates worn valve guides....xxxx indicates a problem with the DME system...

I appreciate the help.

[1973911s]

Look for rust in the door frames. I had it on an 84 that lived in Southern California its whole life.

Michael

[efhughes3]

Be extra careful when driving, assuming you'll test drive.

You won't be used to the power and speed of the Carrera compared to your SC.......

[chrisp]

I had a feeling this was going to turn into an SC vs Carrera thread. FWIW, I directed my brother in the direction of a Carrera so that he wouldn't have a better car than me

Okay now let's get back to it....

[Joe Bob]

Make sure he checks his pants after the test drive....Carreras are penis shrinkers....

Oh yeah....RUST!!!!!!!!

Check behind the headlights.....pi$$ses of the sellers...

[JeremyD]

Ask about oil consumption - records - if you are serious about it - have someone follow you with a video camera. If it puffs smoke on engine deceleration - you may have valve guide issues. don't worry if it doesn't have the air box blow off valve (it doesn't need it). or records that Carrera chain tensioners were added (they came from the factory that way).

[efhughes3]

Originally posted by JeremyD
don't worry if it doesn't have the air box blow off valve (it doesn't need it). or records that Carrera chain tensioners were added (they came from the factory that way).

LMFAO!!!!

[aigel]

Well, the 3.2 can have valve guide issues (and it is more likely than on an SC). If you talk to the owner ahead of time, tell him you want the car stone cold when you get there. I.e. parked in the garage. Then have him start the car for you and watch the tail pipe. A little bit of blue is normal, but if the guides are really going out, you'll have a lot of thick smoke that will take minutes to clear up.

That's really all that I can think of, besides rust. And there I am no expert, since I live in CA.

A PPI will be mandatory, of course, where you can have a look at head studs, compression and the play in the valve guides. But that's old news and nothing specific to the Carrera.

George

[Ray B]

My '88 has small (.5 x 1.5 inch) plastic coated stickers with the VIN on each body panel. I'm not sure when Porsche started this but my SC does not have them. Enjoy the ride north of about 4000 rpms.