Best build quality ?

[saintz]

In your opinion, all you who are qualified to comment.

E.G. those who have owned or worked on various models.

What era 911 had the best build quality?

[DanielDudley]

Pete Zimmerman wrote ''The Used 911 Story''. This book lists all models by year, and points out the strengths and weaknesses of all models.

Given the age and various usages these cars have had over the years, at this point the care and feeding of the particular car you are considering is probably more important than the actual type.

A 190,000 mile SC can be better than new, and although this is rare, it is not uncommon. A 80,000 mile Carrera G50 could be in greater need of sorting and have 10,000 dollars worth of issues. Add to this the fact that some of the best looking cars can have spotty service records, and you can see where I am going with this.

[gulf908]

No 911 can match the build quality of the late(T6) 356s.
Ask me !

Cheers,
Dennis.

[Greek55]

Not that it would make better build quality, but when did they stop hand building mass marketed Porsches?

[saintz]

Yes I can see where you are going with this DanielDudley, but that is not what I was asking, you seem to be commenting on longevity, it is factory finish, quality of items used etc that I am talking about, not so much reliability. In other words.....was there a golden era quality wise?

Gulf 908 is on the right track but describing the wrong model.

The reason that I ask is because I was washing mine the other day and noted how well made the small details are on the car for the late 80s compared to others I have dealt with. I can't think of another brand that has the quality of these cars so I was interested to know which was the best of the 911s build quality wise.

[livi]

Originally Posted by Greek55

Not that it would make better build quality, but when did they stop hand building mass marketed Porsches?

As far as I have read in British Porsche mags, the 911 was pretty much bolted and welded by hand at least including the 3.2 Carrera (89). When Mr. Weirderking came aboard he emediately understood the necessity of a more effective outfit. As I understand he fetched a 'specialist' from a well known Asian car manufacturer who implemented a more modern fare of car manufacturing. That would be from the 993 model so I assume the 964 is somewhere midways in terms of 'hand built'.

I could very well be wrong though and it depends on your definition of hand built. I read somewhere that it took 32 hours to put a 3.2 Carrera together.

[RWebb]

The early 911 was compared unfavorably to the late 356s in terms of build quality - can't recall if that was in magazine articles or in a book somewhere...

[saintz]

interesting stuff