It's been 35 years

[autobonrun]

The last day in March 1984 I bought my 1979 SC. I never knew I'd own it this long. What a great car it's been. Almost 216k miles and the engine has not been rebuilt. I've replaced the clutch once. It had a slight oil leakage in 1984 and I said I'd have it fixed when I rebuilt the engine. 35 years later, I'm still waiting, and still leaking, but I still just use cardboard. It doesn't use oil but I would like to replace the fuel lines. I may end up dropping the engine just to give it some TLC.

Fortunately there was no internet in 1984 to tell me not to buy a car with 68k miles. Fortunately, I joined Pelican in 2001 and most of what I learned about the SC was from the knowledgeable individuals here.


Since that time I've picked up two more 911's but plan to leave my SC to my oldest. The sounds and smells from the SC are unique.

[Kool-aid-82]

Nice looking car

[Trackrash]

Yea. I bought my '71 in '78. Owned it 40 years. Daily driven for 30. Autocrossed and DEs for the past 10.

When I bought it, I though I would own it for a couple of years then sell. But these air cooled cars are so GOOD why would you get rid of one?

And they age SO Well.

[AG81]

Awesome story....... I needed that.

Love those long-term relationships! I bought my first air-cooled 911 in 1983, as '76 Targa. Wish I still had it.

[sugarwood]

I can not even wrap my mind around owning a car since 1984.
I can not even wrap my mind around owning ANYTHING since 1984.
Maybe a few records and pliers survive.

At that point, might as well be buried in it.

[piscator]

Heartwarming, just heartwarming! My dad and I bought this one in 1979.

[slow&rusty]

Congratulations on 35 years of ownership. That's amazing, I hope to be there one day.

[freesaints]

Agreed, I'm two years in on my 930 Turbo. Just 33 more to go.

[OsoMoore]

Congrats! I'm a 4th owner, but fortunate to have lots of records. Owner 1# was a female doctor in CA who drove it 200K miles in 20 years. Since then it was owned by two Pelicans, and now myself.

I did some digging into owner #1, and she sold it and married the same year. Sometimes I wonder if I should send her a letter with a picture of my family enjoying the car. Do you think she ever wonders where it went in the last 20 years?

[autobonrun]

Originally Posted by piscator

Heartwarming, just heartwarming! My dad and I bought this one in 1979.

Nice. 40 years with one car.

Time moves too fast. I've had lots of time on Pelican over the years, and lots of information gathered. I would not be as comfortable with my SC had it not been for what I learned here.

The link below is when I first installed SSI headers on my car. Looking back, one of the funnier comments was made in post #15. I was waiting for gas prices to drop from $1.80 per gallon before I went for a fill up. I'm wishing for $1.80 now.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/7731-performance-test-done-ssi-vs-stock-sc.html

[VWLoosenuts]

Beautiful car.

[RedCoupe]

In my 16th year with my 964, and 7 with the 3.2 Targa. Just got an email from the Targa's original owner asking how the car was!

[joe payne]

I feel your love! I have managed to hold on to my 78sc I purchased in 90. It had 51,000 on it, and only one owner. It has 162,000 on it now and has so many stories beginning from my age at the time of 26. I did have to do the dreaded TOP END REBUILD though. The car always feels like it was made to fit perfectly around my body. Nothing else I've driven has the same feeling. Keep enjoying it!

[proporsche]

Autob..nice story and very nice 911...
i bought mine after looking for Euro model back in LA in 1996 with over 300 000 miles ..did a complete reseal and a valve job, before shipping in to Europe in 2009. Now it has 491 342 miles

Ivan

[OsoMoore]

Originally Posted by autobonrun

Nice. 40 years with one car.

Time moves too fast. I've had lots of time on Pelican over the years, and lots of information gathered. I would not be as comfortable with my SC had it not been for what I learned here.

The link below is when I first installed SSI headers on my car. Looking back, one of the funnier comments was made in post #15. I was waiting for gas prices to drop from $1.80 per gallon before I went for a fill up. I'm wishing for $1.80 now.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/7731-performance-test-done-ssi-vs-stock-sc.html

The 2nd owner of my car was long-time Pelican Leland. One of his early posts of his (now my) car from 18 years ago was http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/4696-how-should-i-jack-up-car.html

He had already been on the boards for a while, but PP forums don't seem to go back earlier than 2001. So those earlier posts are lost to time.

EDIT: And the worst part is when he sold the original Fuchs http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-used-parts-sale-wanted/18310-wheels-tires-sale.html
But he did so many great things for the car, all is forgiven.

[MrBonus]

In the last 3.5 decades, how many times have you said "if I sold it, what would I replace it with?"

[adias]

Originally Posted by autobonrun

The last day in March 1984 I bought my 1979 SC. I never knew I'd own it this long. What a great car it's been. Almost 216k miles and the engine has not been rebuilt. ...

Congratulations and kudos for preserving the car! There are many high-mileage cars in great condition. I value these more than low mileage cars, as they are a testament to the brand quality and service to their driving owners. Americans, in particular, should lose their high mileage phobia, a market disservice to the car driving enthusiast.

[GH85Carrera]

Congratulations on the 35th anniversary of a great purchase. It is so cool that you drive it, and still have it. I know a lot of 911s of the era were mostly garage queens.

I have 170,000 miles on my 85 and I have driven it to over 40 states and Canada. My goal is all of the lower 48 states. Maybe someday Alaska, but not real likely.

Keep on driving that beauty.

[autobonrun]

Originally Posted by adias

Congratulations and kudos for preserving the car! There are many high-mileage cars in great condition. I value these more than low mileage cars, as they are a testament to the brand quality and service to their driving owners. Americans, in particular, should lose their high mileage phobia, a market disservice to the car driving enthusiast.

Thanks guys. I'm trying to keep her in top shape. I have computerized maintenance records back to 1984; divided into planned and unplanned maintenance. My theory it's the unplanned things that really hurt. You should be able to budget/plan for tune ups, brake flushes, etc.

Here's a clip from my unplanned items for the first few years. I hadn't looked back this far in decades; forgot I made some of these repairs. My first ever unplanned repair on this car; airbox went boom. I think in the 35 years, my total unplanned maintenance averages less than $200 per year. I don't think this is very bad. I won't mention the total planned and unplanned because much of the planned was discretionary, like adding front and rear spoilers.