84 Turbo Targa, vin check for validity?

[Kirk Lundmark]

I found a 1984 Turbo Targa for sale. Looking at Excellence October 07 it only shows Turbo Targas in 87, 88 and 89.

How do you read the VIN to check on the car?

WP0EB0916ES161458

Thanks,

Kirk

[Noah930]

I'll have to go home to check my copy of the Porsche 911 Redbook, but off the top of my head, that's not a factory turbo targa.

It's a regular US-market 911 that's been converted.

WP0EB0916ES161458

The red "91" indicates a 911 origin. A factory turbo would read "93" instead.

Porsche did not import turbos at all in the early 80s. They only restarted importing the 930 series in '86, until its end in '89.

[tonythetarga]

WP0EB0916ES161458
WPO = World Producer Code
EBO = VDS code
91= 911
6 = test digit
E = 1984
S = Stuttgart
1 = 1 (last number for 911)
6 = Turbo Targa USA and Canada
1451 = sequential serial number

The 911 vs 930 numbering is curious, especially since the '6' indicates a turbo Targa. Maybe somebody else has an answer.

[Rot 911]

You sure about that Tony? Redbook shows the numeral 6 just indicating a targa. It agrees with what Noah said about "93" being the designator for the turbo.

[Noah930]

Went home to check my Redbook. It confirms what I posted, earlier:

WP0 = Porsche's manufacturer code
EB0 = US market car
91 = 911-based car
6 = placeholder, means nothing
E = 1984 model year
S = made in Stuttgart
1 = from the last digit in 911
6 = targa bodystyle (there's no particular connotation that this would have been a turbo or not)
1458 = serial number (there were 2260 US targas made that year)

FWIW, a ROW turbo would have been: WP0ZZZ... (there were 804)
and a Canadian-spec turbo would have been: WP0JA0... (there were 77)

[tonythetarga]

Originally Posted by Kurt V

You sure about that Tony? Redbook shows the numeral 6 just indicating a targa. It agrees with what Noah said about "93" being the designator for the turbo.

In Bruce Anderson's book it shows 6 as Turbo Targa. Not to say that is the ultimate authority, which is why I said it looked confusing using the 91 instead of the 93.

[javadog]

I hate to spoil the party but, 6 or no 6, Porsche didn't build turbo targas in 1984.

JR

[Kirk Lundmark]

I did not mean to create such discussion. I found it odd that the car is listed as a turbo and there appears to be none made that year. Is it possible that Porsche made a Euro version and this is a grey market car?

The reason I ask is that the car is priced as though it is a normal 911 with relatively low miles.

Kirk

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Kirk Lundmark

I did not mean to create such discussion. I found it odd that the car is listed as a turbo and there appears to be none made that year. Is it possible that Porsche made a Euro version and this is a grey market car?

The reason I ask is that the car is priced as though it is a normal 911 with relatively low miles.

Kirk

No, the fact is that when Porsche didn't produce what some customers wanted, people made their own cars. It's not hard to put a turbo engine in a regular 911. People label things incorrectly all the time, to suit their purposes. What you are asking about started life as a 911 targa, then was modified by someone, for whatever reason. It's not all that uncommon.

In those days, if you had enough money (and sometimes with enough pull within Porsche,) Porsche would build you a unique car. A turbo with ersatz-935 bodywork, a "streetable" 917k and others left the factory gates. So a few special cars exist, but this is almost certainly not one of them. The odds are very much against it. If this car had a special history, the price wouldn't be in line with a regular 911.

A close inspection would tell the tale. If you want to obtain more details on the car, we could figure out what it is for sure. I'd start with obtaining the engine type number and serial number.


JR

[Kirk Lundmark]

JR,

Thanks for the response. I am not going to invest more time into what is likely a wild goose chase. I was doing a Craigs List search and came up with this car. If there was a likely possiblity that this is indeed one of the special cars it would be a steal.

The car is at one of those corner lot used car shops.

Best,

Kirk