OK...I think I get it now
 

Just got back from driving the '70T w/2.4L s-ish engine. I now understand the early car thing...that was loud, grin-inducing fun.

So how much tougher is it to keep the early cars running as daily drivers as opposed to a SC or 3.2? I think my pool just got bigger...

You won't need to have A/C in SOCAL, right? That's the main drawback AFAIK... Not that I use mine as a daily driver here, but I did for a long time in San Jose area...

Easy, IMHO. I run a '73.5 T everyday, rain, snow, or even a light breeze on a sunny day!. Just keep everything serviced and if ancillary parts are in reasonable condition, I'm sure it will be a reliable everyday car. Which mine appears to be: it's never let me down.
It's nice to see the light, isn't it? If all SC owners were made to drive early cars, well, they'd see the light too....;)

As SCs get older, the difference between maintaining them and the early cars becomes smaller. That said, the early cars can and do rust if driven in the rain, and some of the parts for these cars are discontinued and becoming harder to find (even used). For most of us that own these, it's not enough of a deterrent to give up the driving feel of these cars however.

Wifey may or may not like the earlier cars better. If I remember correctly, that is an important consideration here. While the later cars are more refined, my Wife likes the look of the early cars better (capitalization not a mistake).

-Wayne

I think the Wife doesn't consider a 3.2 particularly "refined", as her point of reference is a '98 A8. As such, the early car really shouldn't be that much of a difference...they all "smell like old Volkswagons."

I'm still open to other options...I figure at some point I'll find one that really hits the spot. Kind of like getting married: you know the right woman when you find her.

Oh...wait a minute.... ;)

"As such, the early car really shouldn't be that much of a difference...they all "smell like old Volkswagons."

Nostatic? I take offense at that...Drive a bit North...I'll let your wife stick her head in the interior of my 30 year OLD 911, then inhale...if she doesn't smell leather? Her smeller has gone bad....
Frankly, she sounds like one of "them"..."them" who think if it isn't new and doesn't cost a bundle, it isn't worth having. You know, I kind of feel sorry for "them"....:rolleyes: And you, since you have to live with her...

Uh, my car still smells like an old Volkswagon.

I've replaced all the interior vinyl with leather, put in new carpet, new leather seats. Still, it's there.

My current guess is the sound deadening stuff on the rear shelf and under the back seats.

It's not a bad smell, but Nostatic's wife would stand by her assessment -- even as she was clutching at the passsenger handle for dear life. :)

(Paul's doesn't, though. It's true.)

My wife likes all 911 's with bug eyes, as she says.

I think the old VW smell is part of the spell. It's called character. It's awesome.

You can't buy it off a showroom floor for any amount of money.

Considering that I spent countless hours behind the wheel of either my '67 or '63 bug from age 15.5 to 23, I suppose this 911 fixation is understandable. Maybe now that I hit 40 I'm trying to smell my youth back.

Paul, if we venture up north for a trip, I'll take you up on your challenge. While somewhat misguided, she is usually game. Both those qualities would explain her pairing with me :)

Nostatic....My apology. I shouldn't have been so nasty...But Gee man, your wife is obviously doing what she wants...why don't you do the same? I mean, pick a car and buy one fer chrissakes! If she has her A-8, why the hell can't you have your toy? I just don't understand...

I'm working on it...just haven't quite found the one that sends me. Getting there though, but I assume at some point I'll run out of patience and settle for close enough. I also finally realized today that it isn't an insane amount of money, and if it breaks, you just fix it.

LOL

i usually watch your threads from a distance (uk's safe) and watch them unfold.

but i really had to say something. its one thing waiting for the right car - i've read about people that have looked for a year or so until they found the right one - BUT YOU GOTTA KNOW WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR!!!!

.......do the research, pic a model you want, then go find..............

no offense but do you know what you want?? ;)

My wife hated my 1970 911T because "I thought I was going to fall through the floor onto the motorway" - the passenger seat mountings were a little suspect.

Now, she loves my solid 1973 2.4s. In fact she has forbidden me from getting rid of it, ever (I mentioned that I want a 964RS). Says she feels like a film star every time I take her out in it. She loves the colour, loves the noise, but hates it when the acceleration hurts her neck ;) . I've started warning her now...
She drives an MX5 (Miata) as a d/driver.

Then again, I don't use mine as a daily driver and tend to freak out if ever my car gets wet :eek: . I have been known to chamois her dry at 11pm by torchlight in a darkened garage...the car, that is...

I don't know. When other guys post here after getting their first look at a 911 -- often a cosmetically attractive model with dismal mechanical prospects -- a lot of people log on and caution them to take a lot of time, and look at as many cars as they can manage before they make their choice. Pretty much all of those guys (myself included) ignore the advice and buy the car they're excited about.

Nostatic's taking a long time looking at a lot of different 911's, and seems to be enjoying his search. I think he should keep doing that for as long as he wants.

Besides, he's finally coming around to the virtues of the early cars. ;)

point taken jack but...........

usually you're attracted to a certain model for what ever reasons- personal preference or practical reasons (if an every day runner).

like i prefer the later model sc's and carrera's (apart from tastefully moded older cars like your own ;) ). i don't like (bit strong!) the newer ones - i prefer the bug eye.

i'm not keen on the fat turbo look.

i don't like the spoilers - but i got 'em! girlfriend likes them, and they're functional. i like to be a liitle understated;)

don't get me wrong i like the older cars - just not as much.

so i guess nostatic just likes 911's :D

Aaaaahhhh the smell, the smell...

It definitely reminds me of my beetle, thats just the way I like them, smelly and noisy....(Cars I mean) ;)

Now when I first started looking at p-cars I really liked the 964 shape and eventually settled for an SC, buuuut after being on this board for a while I have really become attracted to the earlier narrow bodied cars. Crazy I know.


Good luck in the hunt, there is something exciting about looking around for the right one.

J

I love this thread. As soon as I read it struck a note with me, My first car was a 66' Bug. I loved that car and its' smell. I was surprised to read how you other guys had similar revelations. It's not unlike smelling the perfume that an old girlfriend used to wear and how it throws you back to that time.

Bobby

Well put, Jack. It was worth the journey to this end.
How about this one on the PP classifieds: http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi?search_and_display_db_button=on&db _id=962&query=retrieval
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploads/ch911.jpg
I think you posted a picture of it in another thread. Lovely colour....