New 911 and Introduction

[jmills]

My wife and I recently bought an ’84 Targa. I have been lurking (studying) for a while and thought it was about time I joined the fray. First a little background. I am one of the lucky ones who has a spouse who is a car person. Shortly before we married, she was in the market for a new car. The previous four door sedan was on it’s last legs and the great debate was what kind of car should she get. She leaned toward another practical four door, but I convinced her a sports car would be a good choice. Since childhood, she was a big fan of Porshces and even had a 911 poster on her dorm room wall when we met. We test drove an 80’s 911 during this search, but it was not a good choice at the time, so we settled on a Nissan 300ZX.

Fast forward 11 years (2008) and it was time to replace the Z car. Sitting around one night surfing on Autotrader, I mentioned to her that we could get her a 911 in the price range we were looking. I heard a “done” from the other side of the couch and the search began. The original thought was a 993, but the more we looked, the more we decided that having some modern creature comforts and a car newer than the one we just got rid of would be a better choice. This car is her daily driver.

A long search ended when we pulled a 2006 997S into our garage.

Within a couple of weeks, we joined the PCA and have been active members ever since. My wife is even the current president of our region.

I had been autocrossing for a couple of years, but had the itch to try the track. After one weekend or track driving, we were hooked! She was driving the 911 and I was in the Miata that we had bought along the way. It really is great to be able to drive 911 the way it was built to be driven in a safe environment. For the most part, we drive with the PCA and I have become a PCA instructor. Sorry to disappoint you guys, but the 911 is no longer driven on the track. For a number of reasons, we made the decision to co-drive the Miata. It is a stock turbo car and can hold it’s own against a lot of “faster” P-cars. Here is a picture of the Miata last month at Roebling Road Raceway near Savannah, GA.



Since we are active with the PCA, we are around all different types of Porsche’s. In our eyes, the 80’s 911 is the classic Porsche. The 997 is a great car, but we have always lusted after an 80's car. We were always browsing the classifieds to keep an eye of things for sale, but nothing ever jumped out at us enough to buy…..until a couple of months ago. A Targa showed up on our PCA website that was local and a reasonable price. After a test drive, the 997 had a sibling.



It is a bone stock kiln red 1984 Targa with 108k miles. It has some of the common oil leaks and probably needs a clutch, but the car fit what we were looking for. I figured with the help of the local PCA guys and the forums, there isn’t anything I couldn’t fix.

Since the purchase, I bought the 101 Porsche Projects book and have been reading the forums and tech articles to prepare myself for what I had gotten myself into. I have tackled some small issues, but have not had the time to really dig into the car’s issues. A track related modification on the Miata has dominated recent garage time, but I am finally ready to jump into the Targa with both feet.

This weekend, we started by cleaning the underneath of the engine with some degreaser and a power washer to get a sense of what we are really looking at with the oil leaks. The motor and transmission were too nasty to touch let alone actually work on. It’s not perfect, but it is at least presentable.

This weekend’s work brings me to my first issue that I need help with. I’ll post that question in another thread and leave this one as just an introduction. I’m a pretty quick study, but be gently as I stumble my way through this car. I joked with my wife that I have a bachelor’s degree in Miata and am now working on an associates degree in 911.

Sorry for the long winded introduction, but thought I might as well introduce myself properly.

[billybek]

Nice! Love the colour of the Targa.
Welcome to the forum.

[CCM911]

Good stuff. I am partial to 1984 Targas.

I hope you get many years of enjoyment with the new ride.

As for the Z car??? You should be punished for making that choice. LOL.

[emac]

Welcome everything you need can be found on this forum. Nice car
Ernie 81sc

[Craig_D]

Nice looking Targa! Welcome!

[chrisbruck]

Originally Posted by jmills

"I have a bachelor’s degree in Miata and am now working on an associates degree in 911."

Funny, I ditched my long owned autocrossed /tracked Miata for a 911 a little over a year ago. Needed something with backseats for the kids!

[jmills]

I can't really say anything bad about the Z car. We owned it for 11 years and around 150k miles. The only issues we had were a couple of sensors that started to go bad. Jumping them with the appropriate resistor was a easy enough band aid since they really didn't affect it on a day to day basis. I think the biggest issue was an injector that went bad, so all in all, it was a great car.

Backseats!? Who needs backseats when you only child is furry and has pointed ears. We have an 18 pound Boston Terrier.

[chrisbruck]

Originally Posted by jmills

"I have a bachelor’s degree in Miata and am now working on an associates degree in 911."

Funny, I ditched my long owned autocrossed /tracked Miata for a 911 a little over a year ago. Needed something with backseats for the kids!