Where Can I find the Porsche 911SC that I am looking for?

[AB911]

Although I have felt owning a 911 is out of my league (just like how some other people felt before buying theirs), I want to have an imperfect 911 just to be able to drive it around and enjoy it , and also improve it over a long period of time without breaking my bank in one day.
So as I described, I am looking for an SC model (since they are relatively more affordable) in an imperfect condition. Based on your experience, should I go with a car that is in a bad cosmetic condition and acceptable mechanical condition or the one with a decent body and bad mechanical condition? (some might have bad mechanical and bad cosmetic condition too)
I personally prefer bad cosmetic condition because then I can just buy fiber glass parts of the car and paint, plus I will be able to use RS style parts on it which is my favorite. I have heard engine rebuilds of 911 are 10k+ (if i don't work on the engine myself, haven't worked with one before, but I can try since I don't have time constraints). So if I want an imperfect 911, where should I look for such a car to start with?
I have been looking for SC's and most of them are in very very good condition inside and out and they go for 20k+ but I really don't want a perfect 911. I wanna work on it myself and add my taste to it regarding interior and exterior.
Please note that I really don't care about originality of the car, as I said I don't mind adding fiberglass parts to the car and aftermarket door cards and racing seats and have gutted back and such, I just wanna have one of these awesome cars and enjoy it.
I'd appreciate if you tell me what type of a car I should start with and where should I look for imperfect ones?
Thanks!!!

[Last911]

How I got my car won't apply to you as you are in a very high population location where 911's are white hot on fire. I would keep cash on hand, and be ready to go anywhere, anytime and spend 24/7 on the computer.

Get your friends on the computer/smartphones all the time. Basically you blink, you will miss it.

Or up your budget. Or try a wrecker? There's a bunch of 911 wreckers in your area, lucky guy!

(I saw a $4K 964 on ebay, I seriously wanted to buy it, but the distance was tooo much. It was from a LA 911 wrecking yard).

[jason2guy]

just be looking online all the time. figure out the local classifieds. i actually would prefer a car that is good cosmetically and not as good mechanically. the mechanical stuff you can fix, its the paint and body thats hard to get right once its screwed up.

[AB911]

Well thats what I am doing right now, checking 911sc out on the internet all the time. The problem with the porsches at wrecker yards are that they are usually missing the engine or transmission or another major components. What I am looking for is a running car or at least a non-running car with its major components present.

[MARISOL78sc]

This car sold to someone in CA a week or so ago. It was local to me and advertised on this site. Figure how much you want to spend, search daily and be ready to jump when the right car comes up. They are out there but lots of people are looking for them. 1978 911sc $19,000 PA

[Coastr]

Just avoid rust and accident damage and missing parts that can be hard to find. If you want to drive then you'll want to get one that isn't dead mechanically.

[algs911]

I was in the same boat 13 years ago, but wanted an '86 Carrera. I've ALWAYS loved 911s, so I was pretty up on the market, constantly looking on the Internet, classifieds, Ebay, etc. EVERY day I did this anyway, so when I started looking for real my process didn't change. Then...

I found my car at a dealership! It was about $3k more than the going price, but the PPI turned out great so I bought it anyway. It's not a show car, it's a driver, and it's certainly not stock any longer.

You never know where it's going to come from. Nurture your network, be ready to jump at a moments notice, and don't discount a source (in my example, a dealership).

Have fun with this process. It can be frustrating, but in fact you have a VERY nice problem right now: you're looking to buy a 911 for God's sake!

Al

[Pazuzu]

1974 Viper Green roller w title
Spend a few weekends getting it presentable, find one of the many many engine/tranny combos for sale in the $6000 range, and have a lightweight, snappy pre-smog beasty that will require a few years to be 100%.
Or, buy it with the engine still in place, under 420K, just "down the road" from you
Viper Green 1974 Porsche 911 coupe

No affiliation, but this is the kind of car I would have bought 5 or 6 years ago as a running project.

[82 SC]

Do as other said before, I found mine by total accident at a buddys shop 2 years ago. A guy brought his 911 in for service, had a trunk light that stayed on all the time so it kept draining his battery. I had not been to his shop in awhile and love to see what cars he has some times, anyway there was the grey 911 sitting there and i just asked whats up with that and he said it was a customers car. I said is it for sale for the fun of it, as I knew i could never afford it and he said yes and then told me the guy wanted $9900 and I said I want it! The owners of the shop did not like the color so they did not bother getting it and they also did not realize how much 911's were going up. I got a loan at the credit uniting, they go by NADA value and kept asking me whats wrong with it as it was too cheap and i said just give me the money!! If I had hesitated it would have been gone. SO don't under estimate sheer luck, talk to others, ask questions, put the word out. And hopefully you will get lucky

[Tippy]

The last thing you want is one in bad mechanical condition engine wise.

Trans are not too bad since they are 915's and relatively inexpensive to repair.

[Cook&Dunning]

I recommend joining PCA. Just like here, there is a bunch of great people there. The online classifieds pretty much are always straight up no bs. Plus you get a fantastic magazine every month - and there are some gems in the classifieds at back of mag, some people only advertise in mag, not online.

[2jmotorsports]

AB, the car you want is out there. I bought something like what you are looking for this past March in LA. 83 SC Coupe, driver quality. Clean title and history, original paint, decent interior, however very high miles, sandblasted front end, a few shallow dents that could be taken care of by a paintless dent removal guy, and lots and lots of little mechanical needs. Bought it for a decent price and overall I got what I paid for.

My strategy was just staying on top of all the classifieds (CList, Pelican, Rennlist, Excellence, Autotrader, etc.) as well as having a few enthusiast friends keeping an eye out. Have cash ready and also be ready to make the call and go see the car at the drop of a hat. The Clist ad for my car disappeared 18 hours after it was posted because I went to see the next morning and put down a deposit.

Just keep at it and you will find it.

[NYNick]

Originally Posted by 2jmotorsports

AB, the car you want is out there. I bought something like what you are looking for this past March in LA. 83 SC Coupe, driver quality. Clean title and history, original paint, decent interior, however very high miles, sandblasted front end, a few shallow dents that could be taken care of by a paintless dent removal guy, and lots and lots of little mechanical needs. Bought it for a decent price and overall I got what I paid for.

My strategy was just staying on top of all the classifieds (CList, Pelican, Rennlist, Excellence, Autotrader, etc.) as well as having a few enthusiast friends keeping an eye out. Have cash ready and also be ready to make the call and go see the car at the drop of a hat. The Clist ad for my car disappeared 18 hours after it was posted because I went to see the next morning and put down a deposit.

Just keep at it and you will find it.

Amen brother. We found my son's 88 3.2 coupe just like that, except it was from a tip from my mechanic. Never advertised, never posted anywhere. High mileage, rust here and there, lousy interior, minor mechanical needs. Got it for a great price. Months later, he's got a really nice, fast hot rod, all fixed up by him and ready to go.

You gotta be ready. Spread the word. Get off the computer and on the street with mechanics, PCA, club events. There are out there. Good hunting!

[88911coupe]

I'd have to say, generally speaking, Porsche 911 owners don't just try and keep either the mechanical OR the cosmetic side of their cars in good shape...although keeping a car up cosmetically requires fewer resources. Just keep looking at all the car sites and as some have said join PCA since the local chapter can be a great source of info. In LA you should have no trouble finding cars to look at. The one thing you've probably already found out is the market for air cooled 911s is crazy now so you could end up bidding against flippers or speculators.

[Jezza]

Constantly look on CL and Ebay, here and Rennlist. Refresh, refresh, refresh. Cast a wide net on Craigslist.

I found my SC 2 days after I began searching, and a half hr after he posted it on Rennlist at around midnight. Since I was the first person to contact him, he gave me first dibs. When I finally met him to pay for the car, he told me that he was slammed with email on that morning. Know exactly what you want, what you want to pay or be willing to quickly compromise because any "deal" will be gone in literally, minutes.

[joe payne]

Will this be a daily driver or weekend fun car? AC is not good in these older 911's. The clutch can be a bit heavy and the 915 gearbox takes some getting used to. I've had my 78SC since 1990 and I still love it. I put over 100,000 miles on it and have been tweaking it since the mid 90's. Hopefully you can drive one and see what it's like. Also, we have to pass smog with these cars back to 1976 and that can be real fun if you don't have all the stock equiptment.
As far as fiberglass parts go, stay away from that idea except for a rear spoiler as it takes more work and money to make them fit well. I live in L.A. too so if you have any questions I would be glad to help you. My freind told me about my car that was being sold at South Bay Autohouse in Redondo Beach because he knew I was looking for one and I was fortunate to purchase it. Like others said, the local repair shops usually have leads on cars that are being sold and may have a nice history on the car. Cheers!

[Matt Monson]

Theres a new world order. $20k is what the car you want costs. Those aren't nice SCs. Nice SCs are $30k and above.

That 74 in SF would be worthy. I was looking at that car but I already bought a 74 this summer. That car is about as cheap as it gets.

[OsoMoore]

I used a craigslist aggregator to search all CLs at once. I looked for about 6 months before finding one via CL and the PP forums (same car listed both places). I wanted a car with solid mechanicals and no rust on the body. I was able to find it at a great price, but it took time.

Good luck, and if you can, call the seller on the phone and chat. You'll learn a lot more about the car than just reading their description. And get a PPI!

[tcar]

Read this thread, too...

Be careful.

HELP: potential scam, need help in CO ASAP

[stormcrow]

Check out craigslist. Atlanta has one posted for $10,000 needs work. Just type in porsche 911 on craigslist along with the area you are interested in