so how much does it cost to bring a 911 up to par?

[mambodave]

I thought Id post this for the people who are searching for a 911, and are wondering about what it takes to bring a "perfect" SC up to par. (pics to follow later this week)

I will say this... I knew what I was posibly getting into....

I bought the car off of this forum for $10,000... which is a fair deal for a 78 SC with 89,000 miles. No PPI. (and yes,i knew what I was getting into without a PPI...but the car was a deal by my standards..so I didnt bother. Ive been in enough 911's to know what to look for...except compression) I looked at the car, i thought..man..Im not oging to have to do much to it.. WRONG. (and even if i had gotten a ppi...i would have purchased the car)

The good:
-Car pulls great. minimal smoke at start up..no oil leaks.
-fuchs are in great shape
-new carpet, inside (except seats) is like new. Dash is perfect.
-updated chain tensioners
-targa top is perfect

The Bad
-As always.... cars look better in pics then they do in person. So the car needs a respray.
-Horrible exhaust in the cabin...
-needs new heat exchangers.. with i did (SSI's)
-Vibration over 70mph.. needs tires badly
-Almost no brake pads and rotors are bad off.
-needs new sterring wheel
-seats looked brand new when I picked the car up.. it rainined and they got wet... they used to be red.. BAD dye job)
-headlight was shattered

My expenses:
$2500 for parts below..
SSi's
M&K dual in out muff
rerout oil lines, gaskets, clamps
H4 Euro Conversion

$1500 interior parts:
Corbeau Leather Race Seats with brackets
MoMo wheel and hub

$550 in Tires (kuhmo)

Brakes/ Valve adjustement (30k service)/ putting all that other crap on $2500


So my $10,000 "perfect" 911 SC cost me $17050 so far... and I have not touched anything cosmetic yet on the outside. Should be a very sound car though after service and upgrades.

and to those of you who will ask.. no, i could not have left the orig heat exchangers and muff..they were too bad off.


Theres no cheap 911...

[FenderGuy]

Originally posted by mambodave



Theres no cheap 911...

Bingo...at least you don't have to rebuild your engine

[bell]

basic rule of thumb is any 911 will cost you 20k.
i paid 12k for my 85 carrera and ended up putting about 5k into it to bring it up to par. paint is this winter....when it's all said and done i'l be around 20k

[asphaltgambler]

The answer is......................EVERYTHING!!

As in: Every freakin bit of your disposable income and maybe even some that's not.

[Super_Dave_D]

You can put as much as you want into it - 20 for a driver but beyond that its limitless. Ever read Steve’s "The Gold Plated Porsche"? That’s the direction I am heading and I cant stop - I know its happening and I keep getting drawn in!!! HELP!

[charleskieffner]

super dave d...................THE ONLY WAY THROUGH IT.................IS THROUGH IT! carl jung. or until the FAT LADY SINGS! LOL!

[berettafan]

'I won't have to do anything to this car' sounds familiar. I've owned mine for about 3wks and already i can chuckle at that.

The good news is i EXPECTED to spend $20k as is commonly suggested and the $15k i'm at right now is not such a big deal. I know i will reach $20k in a fairly short amount of time though.

I think the trick is trying to see the big picture and budgeting accordingly. In my case doing so showed me that leather Nurburgring seats from GTS Classics isn't happening so i ordered the vinyl. I also found out that a full on Elephant Racing suspension would leave me with no bucks for the interior and front trunk rehab i'd like to do so now i'm learning about Carerra bars and Neatrix. When the budget gets tight i think it is wise to look at the incremental cost vs. benefit (Carerra bars vs. Elephant adjustables, leather vs. vinyl, Nardi vs. Momo, weber rebuild vs. PMO, etc.) and try to plan ahead.

Erik (glad i'm not alone in this)

[charleskieffner]

Originally posted by berettafan
'I won't have to do anything to this car' sounds familiar. I've owned mine for about 3wks and already i can chuckle at that.

The good news is i EXPECTED to spend $20k as is commonly suggested and the $15k i'm at right now is not such a big deal. I know i will reach $20k in a fairly short amount of time though.

I think the trick is trying to see the big picture and budgeting accordingly. In my case doing so showed me that leather Nurburgring seats from GTS Classics isn't happening so i ordered the vinyl. I also found out that a full on Elephant Racing suspension would leave me with no bucks for the interior and front trunk rehab i'd like to do so now i'm learning about Carerra bars and Neatrix. When the budget gets tight i think it is wise to look at the incremental cost vs. benefit (Carerra bars vs. Elephant adjustables, leather vs. vinyl, Nardi vs. Momo, weber rebuild vs. PMO, etc.) and try to plan ahead.

Erik (glad i'm not alone in this)

YOU ARE NOT ALONE! LOL! it comes with the membership! its kinda exclusive............ie. your broke as hell, but you have one bad ass porsche!

[pmajka]

Yeah, but is so worth it.

If i didnt have a porsche, my wife could stay at home and raise our infant, but I opted for the 911. Now my wife needs a job and there will be no infant. she will have to be happy with 2 teenagers and 2 cats.

[azasadny]

I believe in the old adage "they are all $10,000 cars, whether you pay that now or later"... for these older cars. My '74 Targa was $6500, but I'll soon have another $5000 into it, but I've had the car and enjoyed it for 4 1/2 years...

[dm36415]

"so how much does it cost to bring a 911 up to par?"

Just a little bit more.....................

[DohertyCM]

I have had my 74 coupe for over 4 years and have about $8000 into it on top of the $7000 I bought it for, and it was a good car with minor issues. Most of all it has been upgrades. And my winter project will be about 3 to 4 grand of additional upgrades....So I figure its what ever you want to put into it and what you want to do with the car......

I watched this English program where they dropped a piano on a 72 911 along with running it into a concrete wall and other things and it kept right on going and going and going...(no it was not painted pink like a bunny)...The point being that the car is durable and will take quite a lot of punishment before needing something...

[Miguel Antonett]

You can spend as much as you want, but keep in mind that it is all for your own benefit. P-cars are a fantastic thing and sometimes you have to spend $'s to keep them right. Whatever is right for you.

Be sure though that if you treat them well they'll pay back the same way.

Don't forget to roll the windows up, any car would get wet if it rains...

[petrolblue83911]

The answer for a good SC could be 10k, just don't drive it once you buy it...

[mambodave]

Don't forget to roll the windows up, any car would get wet if it rains... [/B]

Ah yes... but the seat dye doesnt run off real leather seats

[Venetian]

I put $8000 in mine after purchase for a top end rebuild and clutch(no PPI-didn"t know what it was!). I don"t regret it though. It runs well with no oil additions between changes.
I have taken it on several long trips with no serious issues. Not bad for a 20yr old car. Even after owning it for 5 years, I always look forward to driving this car which I cannot say about any other vehicle I"ve owned. Bottom line-"you have to pay to play".

[Danny_Ocean]

I sold my Cigarette to buy my Porsche (as the boat was "nickel & diming" me)...shoulda kept the boat!

[the]

You're almost to the magic SC number - "They are all $20,000 Porsches!"

[mambodave]

just a couple thousand more to get it where i want.. always just a few thousand more.

[svandamme]

take your max budget, double it , then blow that estimate as time goes buy