how bad did I get myself into this thing?
 

Just purchased an 83 sc with widebody and some mods. Took the car over to a good shop for a thorough detailed inspection and here is what they found: 1. Rt rear wheel bearing destroyed needs replacment. Crushed oil cooler line due to improper jacking. Leaks round engine case. Leaking chain housing. Valve covers need to be resealed. Noisy valves : may need valve adjustment. Passenger tie rod split open. All shocks need replacement. Exhaust leak at headers. 3rd gear syncro shift bushing needs replacement. Seal at trans leak needs replacement. Alignment. That is all of the issues. How screwed am I? Im thinking at least 5k in work just to get this thing in good shape...when I drove the car and my mechanic we believed it rode fine until we took a look under this thing.. what do you guys think?

Yikes ...
I think it would have been wiser to take the car to a good shop before you bought it and have a thorough inspection done,even if it would have cost a couple hundred or so ...

At least you would have had some negociating power towards the seller regarding all the issues that need to be adressed !
How much did you pay for the car ???

Cheers !
Phil

the majority of that list is easy DIY stuff and not THAT much money...The money job would be the Tranny rebuild

Your 5k number may be right mostly due to Trans

Agreed. Pick up a copy of Waynes 101 projects book and you can takle everything other than the syncro issues for much less...

$5k is a good guesstimate.

I'd actually chalk that up as a win, for buying without a PPI. I pretty much expect these things to leak, and to spend some time here and there chasing said leaks. To echo everyone else, you could do everything yourself in a clear weekend, save for the synchro, maybe the trans seal (depending on which one it is - might be best to do whenever the trans comes out for something else) and the alignment. Not too bad IMO for buying in the blind.

also, just hope that when they remove the valve covers, that you don't see that any head studs are broken.

I agree that you can do most of the repairs yourself IF your handy with tools.
Even the alignment is doable.
I'd start with the valve adjustment and hope for no broken studs.

This is true, but thats one of those things I'm more than happy to spend $100 to have a guy with a few laser beams do. I would not recommend someone just starting to DIY attempt this. It could be a bit of a confidence destroyer, IMO.

I helped (watched and drank beer) a friend set his Miata up with strings once. Screw that.

Yea im hoping for the same with the motor work..I can be handy at times. Im going to save for the motor work. Told the mechanic to not open it up until the other issues are fixed. Picked the car up for 10k...other than this the car is clean. Think I paid fair price with all the extras on it. The widebody. Msd ignition borla exhaust rims..

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1310775407.jpg

Oh and I got 3 work manuals too and reading them through. Haynes manual. 101 projects for 911 and the factory book on the car so im getting ready to get dirty

You may be able to seal the engine leaks yourself by snugging the nuts on the chain covers, etc.

What color are your shocks? Are they green? Bilsteins can go a long long time without requiring replacement.

Split tie rod seal does not mean it's bad.(medium term project vs now)

Oil cooler line may not need replacement. There are some tricks in here to bring them closer to round.

Bearing needs replaced and trans may be able to go a long time without being opened.

You do not need to open your engine up. A valve adjustment is routine maintenance. I mean, $500 worth of routine maint but you are not opening the engine.

Sweet!

Nice looking car. They leak. Improve her bit by bit and bond with her. Don't resign yourself to believing you have major trans work imminent until you do the 915 shifting improvements documented in Wayne's book and in this forum.

Also per a previous post - is it just me or does anyone else think that telling a new owner that they "should have got a ppi" kind of cruel and useless at this point?

If you are a DIY kinda guy. You can pick up a good used 915......then rebuild this one and have a winter project. Document the build with pics and receipts. You should get top dollar for it.

The rest of the stuff is pretty routine.

OP had the guts (and sense) to expose himself to criticism. Cruel would be to call him a derogatory name before the explanation. Useless? If the OP takes that advice and gets a second opinion on the trans problem, maybe not.

I do get your point though.

Joe Bob - Now Vinyl Fetish?

I picked up an 81 about 2 months ago - also without PPI. I am using the approach that jnewman suggested... "Improve her bit by bit and bond with her." I think my car had been sitting for some time and had been driven very little over the past several years.

In the first 500 miles it used a quart of oil and I thought "Oh no... more problems than I had hoped!", but after adding a quart it has used almost nothing in the past 850 miles as I have been driving it fiarly robustly... love that acceleration and sound. I can think of several ways that this may occur, like rings needing to 're seat' or valve seals needing to get some heat and exercise, but I am wondering what the experts here think can cause this behavior???

I am still finding things that I question and wonder what I will find once I get a bit deeping into her? (no porn intended ;-D ).

You got a fine looking car for 10K,it's definitely worthy of a few repairs and like the rest of the boys said,most of it can be done yourself !

Cheers !
Phil

Case leaks and noisy valves is where I started.. The valves were because the cams were gone, and the case leaks, well since you have to split the thing to really fix them there was my engine rebuild. And as long as I was doing that I went ahead and rebuilt the transmission. 5K wasn't even the entry point for that though.

steve215, where are you located? In southern NH, we had many P cars guys that love to tinker!!!

Did the same thing - picked up my car without a PPI. Your bound to find some things, you live and learn. Look at it this way - you will get to know your a whole lot better. I know I have.

Agree with Joe Bob that looking for a rebuilt 915 could be a good idea. Every now and then nice ones turns up at a good price.

Good thing about these cars is how relatively easy they are to work on yourself. Worst case if you get yourself in too deep then you tow the damn thing to someone who can clean up your mess.;)

I'm with Kontak. $500 and a little sweat and you will have everything fixed except the tranny. When you do it yourself you know what was done and you know who to blame if it doesn't work. You will learn so much more about how the car works, doing it yourself, that the education alone is worth the time it takes to do the work. Definitely pay for the alignment though.

An Alignment is doable just takes time and if you can't do it then what have you lost - nothing, I doubt that any alignment that you get for 100 bucks is going to be worth the money and that you'd do a better job. I had quotes for 450 for a aln. and corner balance but I still did it myself, costs in Canada are higher than down south. There is a 10 buck booklet out there on how to align your care PM me and I'll dig up the guys mail address.
Finn

Nice lookin ride BTW

You will be OK, I think. Start getting ready to get some oil under your fingernails! You'll save a lot of $$$ and you'll know it's been done right. Plenty of help here, and be sure to use the search function to read up on projects prior to going with the wrenches flying!

Good luck with her!

betcha the bearing replacement is wear and tear related to the monster wheel and tire combo on an 81. Bill K

Hi Steve215, Nice color and looks super clean on the shiny side-sounds like you're going to make out very well, and have a great car when you fix up a few things. Enjoy!

For $10k, I think you still got a pretty good deal. If it were me, I'd leave the tranny for now and fix everything else - it's all DIY-able. Though when it comes to alignment, I opted to take mine into the shop and pay the $200 or whatever it cost.

Get the valve adjustment tool and some silicone gaskets from Pelican, DIY the valve adjustment and fix the leak, give yourself 3 hours for this for your first time. But definitely DIY. Chain housing gaskets - piece of cake. Do it at the same time, while you've got all the oil drained out. Exhaust leak - couple gaskets, maybe some sealant. Tie rod - piece of cake, and cheap. Rear shocks aren't too expensive, and easy to swap out - budget an hour for your first time, but I replaced bushings on mine a few weeks ago and it took me under half an hour for both sides. If the ride feels fine to you, leave the front shocks for now. As for leaks, well, all old 911s leak at least somewhat. I park over cardboard in my garage. If you can live with it, leave it for now.

All in all, I can see you getting 80% of the way there for under $2k (plus maybe another $50 in beer :) ). The 3rd gear issue is indeed a problem, but again, if you can live with it, leave it for now.

There's a saying, all 911s are $20k 911s - pay it up front, or in getting it up to par.

Finn, I think the booklet you're thinking of is now online:

Home Alignment of Porsche

Cheers,

Dale