East meets West -- Thank you all !!!

[Sapporo Guy]

Ok,

Because of all of you here and because of this BBS I have finally lost my virginity

Being German American (first born in the States for my family) and living in Japan has finally brought the East and West together.

Here's my ride ...



It's really a budget car and needs work but it runs and I can feel the road like no other ride I have driven in this country.

I bought it knowing that the engine didn't start and the paint job was crap but ... because of this forum I was confident enough to risk it.

Now the question is what would this really have cost me if I were in the States (US)?

Here's a few more shots :











It's not the greatest of P - cars, but it's still my girl !
It also has been some of the best therapy I could find!

[Sapporo Guy]

Ooops forgot to write,

The dealer and person who sold this to me said that it's a 1983 911 SC ... It doesn't have a turbo but this is Japan and most roads are only 50 km per hour and lower ... errr

Can anybody clue me in on what I really bought?
I ask since even Sapporo has 1.8 million people you just don't see this type of car running around.

[Ron.G]

Well it's a euro car....it had AC and it used to be red.
Thats about all I have from the pictures.
Did the car come with any paperwork? repair work ect?

Welcome to the sickness.
Prepair to spend more then you planed

[Sapporo Guy]

No paper work. Since I bought in a small town outside of Sapporo, I'm planning on doing more digging, who knows the previous - previous owner might walk up to me one day.

Yeah, I know about the red ... real bummer when I opened the hatch to the engine compartment.

The good news was that it only cost me about $80 bucks to get the girl started

Feel sorry for the previous owner who thought that it was going to cost up to $4k to get it running. Poor guy, although his wife seems to be happier now!

hmmm, gonna do some searching on the EURO part of this ... still don't know the difference.

Thanks!!

[74cookiecutter]

Welcome, It's good thing she's on her way out, or you'd be having to explain where all the money is going.

what is the Vin # and the engine number?

[WPOZZZ]

Use this for the VIN. http://elferhelfer.de/fzident.htm#

[Sapporo Guy]

Thanks for the link!

What is the number on the fan shroud?

Going to look at the vin number tomorrow. It's already night time here.

Actually, I think the car is going to cost less in the long run. I figure I'll get my money back within 2 years ...

1 bag = new carpets on ebay + gas money for at least 6 months

The plan is:
Just have to keep it out of the parking lot until I finalize !!!

Found a slightly older version that needs a lot less pampering and is actually supportive (at the moment) of the ride but my buddy recommended finding a newer younger, leggier version to sport around town. He also added that there is nothing like upgrading !

I suppose we don't have and veterans in regards to my plan on the board here do we?

[rs6er]

Also, be happy it came with the sport seats.

[Grady Clay]

Welcome to the Forum
You will find a lot of help here.

An ’83 911SC is a just fine car. It may not be the Turbo you want bur is probably a better daily and certainally more suitable on Japan roads. With some TLC it may end up as your favoritw (as well as first) Porsche.

Being LHD, you can even enjoy it if you bring it back to the States.

By searching, you will find just about everything to do with your 911 here on Pelican. You are userid 45080. There are 45079 Porsche entheuasts here to help.

Best,
Grady

[Sapporo Guy]

Thanks!

It really is because this site that I didn't believe what a mechanic said it would take to get it on the road again. He mentioned that it would cost at least $4k to drop and rebuild the engine. After doing much research here I felt that it would more likely cost $500 or less (thought it was a DME relay problem).

So I took it to an old school VW mechanic in a a hole in the wall shop and it cost me $200 which included trailer hauling fee, battery charge, and investigation to reseat the pop-off value. Well, I think that was he said. I have to go back to ask since I didn't really have that much knowledge at the time. Now, after a few weeks reading endless numbers of posts I'm really getting to know my car better.

Left hand drive was something that I was looking for. It's a pain to drive in a right hand world -- passing is still a bit nerve racking but a quick down-shift makes it all the more fun because you end up sitting next to the driver of the car that you just passed

Total peacocking fun!

I just love it when the big Lexus boys speed by sneering at me and showing off their powerful cars! hahahaha, if they only knew how much I had paid!

I'm still wondering though, how much is this puppy worth?

[WPOZZZ]

Ganbatte! Btw, how much did you pay? What about shaken?

[Sapporo Guy]

Thanks! Ganbarimasu!

SHAKEN (car inspection fee which includes a mandatory like insurance) is include until next September or so.

I have US $2,300 invested so far (this includes, price of car, tow to the mechanic's shop, the $90 fix fee, change over of ownership, and new fancy radar detector to keep my license for a little longer).

I need to take car of a water leak, carpets (missing some pieces it seems), ashtray, some minor details ...

down the road, I'll do a new paint job, clean up what ever is not really connected right ... lolo, another $6k I imagine. But it's more of weekend driver / hobby car ... something to spend money on. OR possibly flip it for a better condition car (I doubt ...)

Did I get a good deal on it?

What is the Blue Book value for this thing?

[livi]

Welcome!!

Good to see yet another ROW member!

Fun, ainīt it, to have 204 vivid ponies under the rear lid in a reasonably light car. At least that is how many there were when they left Stuttgart in 1983.

[the]

Originally posted by Sapporo Guy

It really is because this site that I didn't believe what a mechanic said it would take to get it on the road again. He mentioned that it would cost at least $4k to drop and rebuild the engine. After doing much research here I felt that it would more likely cost $500 or less (thought it was a DME relay problem).

. . .

I'm still wondering though, how much is this puppy worth?

You must not have done too much research, because you would have quickly discovered that your CIS injected car does not use a DME (Motronics) relay.

As far as the value in the US, you don't say how many miles it has on it, or if it has any rust issues, but with rough paint, what looks like a rough-ish interior, and average miles, it's around a $7-9K car.

But for $2300, any complete, running SC in decent, driveable condition would be a steal here in the US.

[WPOZZZ]

You got a steal on the car!

[Sapporo Guy]

lolo, I can agree that I didn't do enough research. I was too high on the thought of finally owning a P car combined with the fact that I didn't know squat about P cars ... it has been a steep learning curve.

The car has 91,000 km original. (No records, but I trust the source(s) ... small town with reputations at stake).

The interior needs new carpets and a dash since it has 2 nice clean splits in it. The seats are worn but not ripped. Also, need an ashtray.

Rust so far:
plastic bumper cover on has the typical German bubble feel to it.
rear bumper bunnies have repaired plastic filler on them.
wheel wells look ok (need to pull tires still)
undercarriage looks ok (need to jack up car still)

AC has been semi deleted. Hoses are still in the car but not sure what else is missing or left in tact.

No records, No spare tire, No tool kit.

Ahhh, hell, it's still a P car and being rare enough in town gets people to look your way was worth the investment.

I still figure I could flip the car on yahoo auction (ebay died in Japan like how yahoo did in the states) for at least double. So, every expense is still 50 cents on the dollar up to about $8k (total investment) here.

I'm just debating the idea if when I go back to the states if it would be worth exporting or not.



Ahhh, yes, ROW!!!
204 ponies is more than enough for the streets of Japan. A 36 kmh over ticket will run about $600 and loss of license for 1 month (or 1 day with their special 1 day drivers mind control course). Anything over 50 kmh for a ticket will be 1 year or 1 month loss of license plus mind control video training course.

I had my baby up to 180km the other day and was scary to see the curves come so fast and the thought of smearing some critter was enough to bring me to my senses again.

If you live in Japan, I highly recommend a 911!