1980 Euro 930 for sale, low miles, unmodified

[javadog]

First up: some exterior pictures. Other pictures and the car's history to follow.

[javadog]

Some interior photos:








More to come...

[javadog]

A few more pictures:






This last photo requires some explanation. All cars that were imported to Switzerland by the official Porsche importer to that country (AMAG) were given a unique identifying serial number. A tag bearing this number was attached to the car in the engine compartment. Further identifying labels were placed in the owner's books. I am told they still maintain information on these cars, although I have found that they won't disclose any of it to a foreigner. I tried. The tag:

[javadog]

And now, a little bit about the car, part 1:

This car was originally delivered to a gentleman in Stusslingen, Switzerland on 11/07/80. It remained there for a period of years and was then imported to the US, by a gentleman that I believe lived in Texas. He apparently passed away in the mid-90’s and the car was sold at an auction in Tulsa, where it has remained to this day.
The color is Tobacco Metallic, a color only available in 1979 and 1980. The paint has been touched up at the front of the car where small rock chips tend to occur; also along the rocker panels; the wheel centers have also been repainted. The interior is full leather, the color is Beige and the carpets, dash and interior trim pieces are brown. Unusually for this model year, the headliner is also brown. The carpet photographs more red than it appears in person. When driving the car, the color blends in closer to the other dark browns used. There is very little wear to the leather, even on the driver’s seat bolsters. There is some slight warping to the leather dash, as is typical of these dashes, although this one is warped to a lesser extent than any others that I have owned. The carpet has very little wear and protective mats are included. I have removed the center console and it is included in the sale. Originally the car was equipped with air conditioning. The system used was one typical of European market Porsches, in that it lacked a front condenser. A second aftermarket condenser had been added in the left rear fender area, an idea I think little of given its proximity to the turbo. I removed the A/C components and they will be made available to the buyer, if desired. Frankly, I don’t consider the stock A/C systems in these cars to be worth anything, so if you’d like to have A/C, you’d be better served by installing an aftermarket system. It’s the buyer’s call. The glass appears to be all original, including a heated front windshield which you don’t ordinarily see in the US. The only non-standard parts on the car are an Alpine radio/CD player and Alpine component speakers in the front doors.

The remainder of the car is nearly bone stock, as it was originally delivered in Switzerland. No modifications have been made to the engine (apart from losing the air injection plumbing, more on this later,) suspension, body, lights; etc. In 1998, the original metric speedometer was replaced by a new imperial one. At the time of replacement, the mileage on the old one was recorded and the new speedometer was sent to a shop in California to have it adjusted forward to the equivalent mileage. Thus, I feel comfortable that the recorded mileage is genuine, as is not often the case when cars were converted to US spec back in the 80’s. Usually, a new speedometer was fitted when the car crossed the big pond and the old mileage was “lost.” The current mileage is a little over 46k.

When I bought the car, it had a slightly notchy third gear synchro, so I had the gearbox rebuilt (all gears, not just third.) I also replaced the clutch and flywheel while the engine was out, had the usual seals, gaskets, rubber hoses and a zillion other small parts replaced. The fuel distributor has been cleaned, the distributor rebuilt (I run the timing slightly retarded, to run it on 91 octane. The stock setting requires 93 or 94. I use 100% gas, no ethanol) the isolator blocks resealed and so forth. The pedal cluster has been rebuilt with bronze bushings, a new clutch cable installed, all shifter bushings and the coupler replaced, the accelerator linkage cleaned and adjusted, a new engine sound pad installed, new motor mounts put in and too many other things to list here.

The suspension bushings have been replaced (I installed new A-arms at the front) and new Bilstein shocks and struts installed. The car has been corner balanced and aligned. The front brake calipers have been rebuilt. The brake booster and master cylinder on the early turbos yields a slightly higher pedal pressure than some people like. To make this car wife-friendly, I installed the components from a later turbo, yielding about a 15% reduction in brake pedal effort.

I have replaced a bunch of little things, like the fuel sending unit, windshield washer pump, and the other minor things that go bad on these cars sooner or later. To date, I’ve spent in excess of $30,000 (not including buying it) on the car, which may have more to do with my anal “while-you’re-there” nature than any shortcomings of the car. Basically, if it needed something, it got it.

The car has the stock 7x16 and 8x16 Fuchs that it came with. For an additional price, it can be delivered with 8x16 (23.3 offset) and 9x16 Fuchs, refinished in the stock style by Harvey Weidman or original Ruf Speedlines, in 8x17 and 10x17 sizes. The tires would then be selected by the buyer.

A word about the turbos in general, for those less familiar with the cars: I have driven various 930s for the last 30 years. I have driven both Euro-spec and US-spec cars. In fact, I still own another turbo, a US-spec 1986 model that I purchased new. The Euro and US cars drive completely differently. You wouldn’t think so but you can put me in one blind-folded and I’ll tell you which it is. The Euro cars drive much freer, which is a hard concept to put into words. They have a lighter feel (not that they weigh all that much less than a US car) and have a more relaxed nature to the engine character. A US car feels like it is being held back, even those that have been modified with the usual things. The power bands are quite different, with the Euro car feeling much more flexible. They also run much cooler. This car will run an oil temperature of 90C degrees, regardless of whether it’s driven in town, or on the highway. It occasionally (all right, often...) gets to 100 degrees here in Oklahoma in the summer and this car still runs 90C degrees. You can attribute that to the richer fuel mixture a Euro car runs. The gas mileage is essentially the same for both cars. The earlier turbos have a slightly more raw feel. The later cars got a little more quiet and packed on a few pounds to show for it.

A word about Euro vs. US parts availability: Much has been written in the last 30 years, often by well-minded individuals, that a Euro car is harder to find part for than a US car. The end result of this is that they have suggested deducting 10% of the value of the car, as compensation. Well, the reality is much different. First, 95+% of the parts are exactly the same. Second, PCNA will happily supply you with any part they still have in stock in Germany. They couldn’t care less what market the car was built for originally. Any dealer, or Pelican, can get you whatever part that is still in the parts system. While I’m at it, I’ll cover the issue of running costs. Accepted “wisdom” is that a turbo is vastly more expensive to run than a standard 911. Apart from a little more time needed during valve adjustments, I don’t see much difference. The air injection plumbing was removed (the buyer can have that too, if desired) which makes the service access on a 930 much better. There are things that are less expensive on a 930 oddly enough. I have found that the brake pads last much longer. There are a couple parts that will be more expensive (brake rotors and rear wheel bearings come to mind) but these are things that don’t get replaced often. I have found them as reliable as my normally aspirated 911s. All of the service records prior to the car arriving in Tulsa went AWOL when the guy in Texas died. I have all of the records since that point (roughly 1998 and 29,000 miles.) I do have all of the original books (and English copies of same.) Included for free are a few European maps and other documents left in the car from its time in Switzerland.

A few words about licensing and insuring a Euro car: During the 80’s, there were many ways to import cars from Europe, as the laws changed from time to time. I have no idea how this car was imported. I do not have any paperwork from the importation except for a copy of a release from US Customs. I think it’s a moot point anyway, as the EPA and DOT compliance laws only apply to cars less than 25 years old. The government has bigger fish to fry these days. The car has an Oklahoma title. This will allow you to title the car in any state worth living in. I’d even wager that the car could be registered in California. Until recently, I owned a Lamborghini that spent its entire life in California, until I got my hands on it. It managed to receive a BAR sticker (or whatever it is called) as needed, so I know it can be done. This Lambo was the poster child for illegal exotics, so it didn’t exactly fly under the radar. I insure this car with a company specializing in collector cars. The cost is a little over $200 per year. They don’t care that it’s a Euro car. Neither did Allstate, when I had that coverage.

[javadog]

The rest of the story (Pelican limits a post to 10000 characters, apparently):

Why I am selling the car: For the last 6 or 8 years, I have owned an average of 2 dozen cars. As I also own nearly that many motorcycles, I have decided that enough is enough and some of them have to go. I don’t particularly want to sell this particular car but I have another 930 and it’s getting harder to justify having two of something (or 3, or 4…) If this car sells, I’m okay with that, if it finds a good home. If not, I’ll sell something else and worry about it later. I AM looking for this car to find a good home. I’d rather it not get tracked, modified or abused. There are very few unmolested turbos left and I think this one needs to be preserved. I’m looking for offers in the low to mid ‘30’s. I am not interested in lowball bids, dissertations on the lousy economy, the effects of swine flu on car prices and the like. I’m happy to answer any questions, or take additional photos. I’ll put any buyers in touch with the shop that takes care of my mechanical work as well as the restoration shop that keeps the paint and interior looking nice. I can be reached by email at javadog@worldnet.att.net or by phone, if you’ll email me your contact information.

Thanks for looking,
Jeff

[javadog]

Several people have asked what the color looks like in full sun. I'd describe it as more or less a bronze color, although it can have a few lighter tones in some situations. A lot depends upon the angle of the sun and the position of the car with respect to the sun. Below you'll find a few pictures from this morning.

One thing I'll add is that the car has not been fully detailed in any of the pictures that I have posted. It was cleaned up 3 or 4 weeks ago but not fully detailed and it has been driven some in the interim.

Also, for those of you obsessed with "euro height" and what that exactly looks like, the side shot is a good example. It had about 3 gallons in the tank when the photos were taken, so it would be a little lower in the front with a full tank.

[javadog]

And now, on to the trunk. Note that the spare wheel and tire have never been mounted on the car. Everything else has a similar lack of use. All of the tools are there, the tire bags are accounted for (including the bag to hold the bags...) the air compressor is like new; you even get a warning triangle, something that you don't often see on the US cars.

For those of you that are not as familiar with how the cars were built, the trunks didn't really get completely painted. As you'll see in the photos, what color there is over the primer is essentially overspray from the painter painting the outer panels. The fuel tank has a rubberized coating on it and what looks like staining in a few places is actually glue from the carpet installation. The battery is the larger of the two sizes offered, an 88 amp-hour thing. In case you are wondering, the electrical cable laying on top of the battery is a short harness for attaching a battery tender. My cars all have these small chargers to keep the battery fully charged when I am not driving them. Highly recommended.

[javadog]

Some folks have asked for pictures of the underside of the car. Fair enough, here they are.

For those of you wanting to check the numbers, they are:

Engine 930/60 6700745
Transmission 930/34 7700867

The selling dealer was kind enough to record the engine number in the owner's manual, like he was supposed to do, so we know that this is the original engine. The bottom of the engine/transmission assembly is quite dry, as is the top. When I had the engine out shortly after I bought the car, I had all of the usual problem seals, gaskets, hoses etc. changed, so I wouldn't have to deal with leaks later.

[javadog]

Lastly, we have a photo of the books and records. You'll note that I have the original German language owners manual as well as one in English. These manuals had both the owner's information and the service records in one book, as opposed to the two separate books that you usually see in the US. Also, you have a manual for the radio, a list of dealers throughout the world (wonder how many still exist?) and a few other documents that Porsche thought you needed. The map of Zurich was probably added by the first owner.

On the left is a bunch of stickers that were printed up by the Swiss Porsche importer, AMAG, for use in their business. One got pasted into the owner's manual, no doubt several got pasted on the various records the importer kept for the car and the remainder were just left in the car. Why, I have no idea.

On the right is the pile of service receipts from the car's life in Tulsa. Only one service shop has worked on the car here, so they know it well.

[javadog]

I've been asked by several people for the chassis number on the car. I thought that I had included it somewhere but here are a few photos anyway...







Other folks have asked a few more questions about the exterior color. Here's one shot under flourescent lights, in the bat cave:

[javadog]

I've been asked for pictures of the wheels, so here they are:

[javadog]

Well, the car has been sold. It looks like it will be returning to the country of it's birth, to fly down the autobahn as Ferry intended.

Thanks,
Jeff