1987 911

[yasir]

Hey guys,

Need a little feedback on a 1986/87 Carrera. Is it something worth looking into especially if it has less than 34,000 miles and has a perfect maintenance records and is in flawless condition?

What are some of the weak areas to make sure they have been taken care off?

Reasonable price for such a specimen?

Thanks

[GaryR]

If you can get it for +/- $30k and it isn't a salvage/rebuilt title stop asking questions and buy it.. On a car with that low mileage I would replace all fuel, vacuum, and brake lines, flush fluids, replace tires, and drive her hard. Good chance some of the seals/gaskets may have dried up so leaks may be there, valve guide and head studs are know issues also.

[yasir]

Car has had regular services done including the valve adjustment (7+ yrs ago), fuel injecter/s /spark plugs/distributor cap/s, alternator/battery/brake fluid/A-C recharge/tires all done routinely.

So how do I check for head studs/valve guides?

On a side note, are these good cars to own (reliability/drivability and of-course collectability?

Thanks

[Karter18]

I have the same year with many more miles and I love mine so far as I have had it less than a year. They are very robust cars with an elegant design and unique to work on.

Many consider the 87-89 one of the key cars to own because of the engine and G50 trans in the last years of that body design. Weak areas are rust and lack of maintenance. Mine has 177K and maybe leaves a drop of oil on the garage floor every weeK. Anything around $30k is a good deal for such a low mileage car as that low mileage might touch $40k these days depending on the car.

[GaryR]

Originally Posted by yasir

Car has had regular services done including the valve adjustment (7+ yrs ago), fuel injecter/s /spark plugs/distributor cap/s, alternator/battery/brake fluid/A-C recharge/tires all done routinely.

So how do I check for head studs/valve guides?

On a side note, are these good cars to own (reliability/drivability and of-course collectability?

Thanks

Valve guides can't be "checked" easily, but if you park her overnight and the next morning she smokes a lot on startup (then clears) it's one indicator. Studs, you have to pull the valve covers and the broken ends may be laying in the holes loose or you have put a wrench on them set at or just below standard torque. Again, if tires are original they are garbage unless you plan on just doing concours and transporting by trailer. It's luck of the draw with studs, my 87 engine with 50K miles had 7 broken studs when I got it to rebuild!

[88911coupe]

Great cars but note that the '86 and '87 have very different transmissions. In '87 the 915 was replaced with the G50 hydraulic transmission. Its generally considered an improvement and therefore the "G50" models tend to be a bit more in demand. However many on this board swear by their 915s so it may be somewhat overblown. I've driven 915s and personally I like the G50 better....just my opinion. I had to replace the valve guides in my '88 when it hit about 165,000 miles so ended up doing a full rebuild. One other thing is the mechanism on the G50 needs to be evaluated but its an easy fix and TONS of info here on the issue if you want to dig further. Bottom line....the '84 to '89 Carreras are great cars and I've loved both of mine. My '88 has over 200,000 miles and I still get compliments at the gas station on a regular basis.

[SoCalSK8r]

Sounds great. I bought my '84 about 3 yrs ago with 52k on it. It's the best thing I've ever bought.

With that low of miles your 915 should be nice. Mine shifts like butter. Take care not to 'power shift' from gears 1-2 and you'll be solid.


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[Hendog]

Originally Posted by Karter18

.Weak areas are rust and lack of maintenance.

Rust is a weak area on these cars? Really?

[Mitch1]

Battery tray. Check under battery.

[Hnichols]

Originally Posted by yasir

So how do I check for head studs/valve guides?

On a side note, are these good cars to own (reliability/drivability and of-course collectability?

Thanks

First question: The telltale sign for worn valve guides is smoke on deceleration. Maybe drive behind the 911 and watch for smoke when the driver lets off the gas.

Second question: It all depends on condition, but in principle yes on both counts. I bought my '88 three years ago and it has yet to be taken to a shop (I've done the routine maintenance) and now it's worth almost double what I paid for it.

[LOVEHZ]

I bought my '86 7 years ago with 35k miles. The car was used very infrequently over the years before I bought it but it was well maintained with records. I didn't replace anything except for tires and just did the routine maintenance. No issues. I now have about 80k miles. The 915 transmission is definitely something to get used to but I love it. I have no regrets.

[tdw28210]

"If you can get it for +/- $30k and it isn't a salvage/rebuilt title stop asking questions"

$30k for a low mile '87 is an absolute steal - assuming it is not a warmed over rust bucket. If it checks out, it is a $40k+ car, especially on the West Coast.

[Tachin]

what are some causes of worn valve guides? I have an '87 3.2 that smokes on the deceleration, a tell-tail sign as I understand of worn guides. But my car only have 57k miles on it. What are some of the things that could cause the guide to wear so early? thank you

[javadog]

The valve guides Porsche used in that era weren't the greatest. Some last, some fail early.

JR

[Derek911]

People swear by their 915 because they have a 915... Sort of psyching themselves out. If you can get a g50 tranny, get the g50. The 915 would be another gamble in the car. Does it shift right, will it shift right, if it does how long will that last. Does it need new bushings or needs rebuilding?? Do I need a different shifter?? It is just one thing that is inherently wrong. If you can avoid it, why not. At the same time, plenty of people swear by their 915. Lol

[gliding_serpent]

I learned the hard way that s low miles car can be a curse. Check the routine things, but also invlude a check of the cam lobes and headstuds as part of the ppi. Disuse can be very hard on cars.

[javadog]

A G50 isn't inherently better than a 915, and it can be even more costly to repair. The best advice wouldn't be which transmission is better, but to avoid cars that have been driven by idiots. Any transmission can last a long time if it's used properly. Those that have problems early were used by people that didn't know how to use them, which is most people.

Low miles don't have to be a curse. Even a daily driver spends most of its time sitting still. What kills a car is more related to heat cycles and storage conditions. Water, whether from car washing, driving in rain, or condensation is especially bad.

JR

[Derek911]

Looking through the treads is a great way of finding out common problems. The sheer number of 915 tranny threads would conclude that there are inherent problems with the design rather than people who don't know how to use them... Unless there are just a lot of 915 owners who don't know what they are doing. Search G50 threads and you will be hard pressed to find many. Anything could go wrong with any part of any car, but some are more prone to problems and the 915 is a perfect example. That doesn't right off all cars with 915's, it is just something you have to pay more attention to when buying. If I had a choice between an 86 and an 87, all things equal, I would take the 87 no question. I think most people would.

[javadog]

No, not at all. The 915 was used for many more years, from 1972 through 1986. The G50 that we are talking about was used for 3 years. There are simply a lot more 915 gearboxes around and, being older, they have more problems. Even though variants of the G50 were used in later years, the production volumes of those cars were pretty low by comparison to the earlier decades.

People don't know how to shift a transmission. It doesn't matter whether we're talking about a Porsche or a Honda. They lack what I call mechanical sympathy. They don't know the first thing about how synchonisation works and they are blind to the feedback they get when moving the shift lever. The end result is that they wear out the components prematurely. It can happen with the syncromesh used in the G50, as well. I've personally driven examples of that design that have shown problems in 10,000 miles from new.

If you go back in time and drive brand new examples of each type of gearbox used in an air-cooled 911, you might find a preference for the earlier designs. A 901 shifts very quickly, with little effort. A new 915 shifted quite well, too. I actually prefer the feel of a 901 over a 915. The G50 was an improvement in the eyes of the average guy, as the shifter design was a little more tolerant of bad shifting technique. People often complained about the long shift throws and lack of centering in the 3-4 shift plane typical of a 915, but neither of those was an issue for someone that knew what they were doing.

Pick whatever transmission you want. Just don't blame the 915 transmission for problems created by people that should have been driving an automatic.

JR

[bdisco]

Pelican Parts: 911 FAQ Version 2.2