Are the early 930's dependable?

I was just wondering if the early 930's 77's to 79's were dependable or are they problem childs??? I currently have an 81 911SC and am pretty happy for now but I like to have goals set for my next car...just wondering..
If they are problem cars what kind of problems are we generally talking about????

First of all, distinguish between the '77s, on the one hand, and the '78 and '79s, on the other. The '77s had a smaller engine, no intercooler, etc. The 911 Performance Handbook wil explain it all to you.

Second, reliability in a turbo car like these is a different sort of concept than in a SC, for example. Boost will grenade an engine faster than just about anything, so it matters greatly who has driven the car, how hard, and for how long. Even with sensible, .8 bar boosted drivng on a stock engine, over 20-some years, things tend to get worn. And that's just the engine.

But I love the early cars, for several reasons. One, they are comparatively inexpensive: $20,000-$32,000 or so for most examples. And that leads to two: you can fix em up just like you like 'em, and still be into the car for less than a "garden variety" 993. Three, they are very light, and four, they have none of the usual driver's aids (like abs, pms, etc.) (except some of them have an lsd, which is a good idea). Five (which is basically more of two, above), there are so many cool things you can do to them, all at once or over time, that it defies description.

For example, which I admit is extreme, my '78 has 98 mm pistons, a 993 crank, niresist rings in the twin plugged heads, a Motec engine management system, a Carrera 3.2 intake manifold, a 1100 cubic inch intercooler, a factory lsd set at 80%, Carillo rods and rod bolts, titanium retainers, Raceware headstuds, competition valve springs, an AirResearch TS04 turbo, a custom hand-fabbed header/exhaust, Fikse 3 piece FM-10s, and on and on and on. Makes 578 horsepower and 508 ft lbs torque at the crank at .83 bar. (More at higher boost levels ). Docile (for a 930) around town. Flat out flies each and every time you squeeze the throttle with any purpose.

You can get there fast, you can get there slow, or you can do nothing other than keep it stock.

The 930 is one cool car. And if you treat it right, it will be cool for a long time.