The start of an addiction

[HunterVanGo]

Good afternoon all!

After a decade of loosely looking, four years of seriously looking, and several failed attempts at purchasing an air cooled 911, I've finally acquired my first Porsche! I wasn't always a car guy, it wasn't until I was about 17 (now 29) that I got into cars, though I'd always admired and been star struck over the Porsche brand.

In early June a friend was at a car show and stumbled upon a 1980 911SC with a for sale sign in the window and promptly forwarded a picture of the minimal information and a few lackluster pictures of the car. I immediately contacted the seller via the email provided and we began discussing the car.

It has been a Wisconsin car since new and was currently with its 2nd owner, who had owned it since 2006. We went over plenty of the formalities and basics before we really had gotten into the real juicy stuff. Everything looked and seemed right, so I called the shop that has worked on it since it was new and everything seemed to have checked out with what the seller told me. After failed attempts and screw ups by a local porsche dealer, the car had a FULL engine rebuild 8,000 miles ago along with 1st and 2nd gear syncros being replaced at the same time. The car sports a little rust on both front fenders and overall is far from being concours level cosmetically, however this thing was and is in fantastic mechanical shape and that's exactly what I wanted. Something a little rough around the edges that I didn't have to feel bad about putting miles on but a car that I knew wouldn't leave me stranded.

After I'd seen it in person things got serious and we began discussing a sale price, and a week of back and forth later we found ourselves at what I thought was the parting of ways. However, he ended up wanting the car to stay local and he had agreed to accept my initial offer (I didn't think I'd get this far but boy was I thrilled). He was very very particular about how he had received his funds which took a week or so to figure out but as of July 15th I was officially the third owner of a 1980 Porsche 911SC with just over 86,000 miles on it (now just over 87,000 in about 6 weeks of ownership)

First order of business was replacing the shifter bushings as well as installing the stomski shift coupler. I wouldn't say this made a world of difference but the difference was noticeable nonetheless, money well spent imo.

The second order of business was replacing the factory steering wheel with a momo mod 07 and the long hub adapter. The factory wheel had lost all of its stitching and was both an eyesore and difficult to hold onto.

Third and most recent mod was purchasing and installed a used M&K GT3 style 1 in 2 out muffler/merge pipe. The sound difference is unreal and I was actually surprised at how loud it is at low RPMs and then loses most of the sound as you push past 4k on the climb towards redline. I got it for a steal so yet again money well spent.

In the short term I'd love to find a set of 16" OZ Vegas to replace the original Fuchs, throw a ducktail on, and maybe do some Carrera graphics down the sides. Long term I'd like to really get a feel for the car before I start throwing money at things but I feel the suspension may get a refresh over the winter and the front fenders will certainly be pulled to get refinished. AC will get deleted for sure as it doesn't work anyways. Stock seats are awful to me and need replacing as well.

Made it down to checked it out in Chicago this past weekend with a group of local AC guys and made some new friends over the course of the day. An absolute unreal show that needs to be on every midwesterners list.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and stay tuned for updates!

[proporsche]

enjoy ......i know the feeling ,about 27 years ago;-)

Ivan

[boyt911sc]

Got some pictures of the engine bay? Thanks.

Tony

[HunterVanGo]

Originally Posted by boyt911sc

Got some pictures of the engine bay? Thanks.

Tony

I'll grab some tonight when I get home and post em up for you

[Druepy]

Congrats on your new addiction, it likely that you may never shake it. Looking forward to updates.

[914Ravi911]

Congrats. Do you have photos of the muffler installed?

[shoooo32]

Glad you could make it Saturday. Checkeditout is a killer show, but most importantly filled with Porsche hotrodders that you needed to meet. Between that event and Pelican forums you're well on your way to getting a foothold in the aircooled community. These guys are the best!

[FloydPink]

Welcome and congrats on the new ride! Shame it maxes out at 85mph

[HunterVanGo]

Originally Posted by 914Ravi911

Congrats. Do you have photos of the muffler installed?

Took the rear valence off instead of cutting it as I may end up going with a 1 in 1 out valved muffler

[GH85Carrera]

Welcome to the addiction. You are amongst other addicts. I have had my 85 911 for 28 years. I have done every project from the front to the back and made it my perfect dream car.

Make your car just what you want it to be. Anything can be changed back, it is just a car. The more you customize it to fit your wants, the harder it will be to find that perfect buyer if you ever want sell it.

The most important thing, drive your toy and enjoy it. I just recently turned 191,000 miles.

[proporsche]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

Welcome to the addiction. You are amongst other addicts. I have had my 85 911 for 28 years. I have done every project from the front to the back and made it my perfect dream car.

Make your car just what you want it to be. Anything can be changed back, it is just a car. The more you customize it to fit your wants, the harder it will be to find that perfect buyer if you ever want sell it.

The most important thing, drive your toy and enjoy it. I just recently turned 191,000 miles.

Glen really 191 000 only i would think you had more on it? I`m about to break the 500K miles ..i wonder if this year ,thou

Ivan

[GH85Carrera]

I bought it in 1995, with 79,000 miles on it. I was working at a regular job back then, and had less time to play.

I have driven it in 41 states, and to Canada. This year was my 4th trip to California.