Looking at an '82 911 SC...opinions?

[lawnmower00]

Hi everyone,

An avid reader and would love all the knowledge here to help me out. I am in the market for a 911 and love the body styles from about '78 till the 1993 with the 964.

I am currently looking at a 1982 911 SC Targa...here is what the listing says:

3.0L Flat 6 cynlinder engine - 180HP @5500
Well Maintained - Professionally Serviced
112,000 Miles - Good Condition
Air Conditioning - Leather - Power Brakes
New Driver's Seat - New Targa Top
ASKING: $9,500

The body looks to be in pretty good condition based on the pics I've seen. It is a southern Arizona car, and I have emailed back and forth with the owner regarding any mechanical requirements, he says it has always been serviced by a porsche specialist and that mechanically it has been superb.

I was wondering if I could get some advice on a few things:

1. What should I be concerned about in these years of the SC? Mechanically? I would definitely have it inspected before purchasing though...so no worries there. Is the price reasonable?

2. It is a first porsche for me... what other years/models would you guys recommend? I would prefer a cabriolet or targa. I love the slantnose look but they may be just outside my price range

Any help would be really appreciated! Thanks so much!

Mark

[lawnmower00]

Another Pic

[Jim Richards]

'82 SC's are nice cars. Make sure there are no broken head studs. $9,500 is a nice price.

[aigel]

Do not buy by pictures. Any heap will look okay in pictures. You will want a PPI and better yet a PPPI by a forum member to just make sure it is in decent order before you blow the $ on a thorrough inspection.

Head studs are the biggest issue on the SC. Transmissions often are tired at 100k. Targa tops leak, so do the window seals in front and back, suspensions sag and are generally shot after 30 years. Paint is also an issue. Arizona sun will be brutal on a red car and it may be pretty tired.

That said, the price looks good and I'd pursue it and find out if it is a solid car. If yes, you can do all the refresh work to get it back to 100%.

George

[G450X]

and it's a good time to buy one. They're great drivers and "great 911's" in the 911 lineage.

I've got an '82 SC coupe, lots of miles (160k+), and besides using a quart of oil every 500 miles or so, it runs/drives great.

I hope you have some mechanical skills as any 25+ year old car will have some "needs," and many of them are cheap/easy fixes - if the owner does the work that is! I love working on mine, even though the wife constantly gives me crap! I also have a BMW M3 ('05 e46) which has been great (almost zero problems, leaky rear view mirror was all) but it's "too reliable," nothing to fix! Working on the car helps you bond to it, and DIY projects (if not too big, like major engine/trans/paint work) provide great satisfaction.

Use the search function to find many pre-purchase tips, and when you find one that you really like, spring for the PPI to see if danger lurks, and then proceed.

One important factor is that many people buy cheap to get one, and then don't have the "up keep" funds necessary to properly develop a nice driver. Paint and bodywork is expensive these days, similar to a full mechanical rebuild of the engine/transmission.

The most important factor is getting what you want and will be proud to drive, as far as the basic type (coupe, targa, or cabriolet) and color. I like the bright color 911's, and think that (orange?) SC targa looks pretty good.

Be careful when looking for accident damage. A clean carfax may be crap. I'd check the front/rear chassis points for original welds, etc.. Check the gaps of all panels, and the spacers for the latch plates and hinges for the doors - they should all be similar (not 5 shims on 1 and 1 on the other) with good gaps. measure the fender height on all corners and the suspension adjustments to see if one is set high and/or the other low to get it at an even stance. I'd request an alignment as part of the PPI to make sure there were no "gross" chassis issues. Check the fuse box and relay points for corrosion (flood car??), quite a few of those "floating" around which will almost always cause running issues.

Improper accident repair and/or paint issues, as well as the normal mechanical concerns are usually the big dollar issues. I wanted to be able to drive my 911, so a low mile garage queen was out (plus they're too expensive), even though many people tried to steer me to one.

I'd venture to guess you want a nice looking driver that won't break the bank, which is possible. If you want a worse case scenario, look at the last few Excellence magazine articles on the chap who bought a sub $9k carmel colored '78SC that looked pretty good. He farms out all the work, and has spent silly money on that SC ($18k for paint, $10k+ engine, etc., etc.). If the gent could afford to dump that much coin, he should have bought a much nicer one to begin with - late 80's G-50 low mile 911's in fantastic shape are $25-$30k vehicles. He could have bought a nice pre '74 911E, or possibly an S (or 993, the list is long) with the coin he blew!

Keep expectations realistic, and I think you may be another happy 911 owner soon....

[lawnmower00]

Thanks a lot for taking all that time to reply guys. I really appreciate it. I'm in Canada(Calgary to be exact) and this car is a ways from me, so I would need to find a garage near where he is. I mean, ultimately, I want a daily driver that has a decent body and won't cost me an arm and a leg...with that said I feel like there tends to be average cost to a porsche...and $9500 makes me feel like I'm sneaking in below that and makes me wonder what is wrong with it. Is there any other general maintenance that is important to check that he's done? He has owned the car for the last 15years so I assume he would have some records...hell, he's probably a member on this site!

I have always been in love with 911s and I absolutely adore all the pre-993 models, and would love a cabriolet, but an SC targa seems like a good way to get my feet wet before I take a big dip. haha. I just don't want to spend a ton of money getting it running if I can drive it the way it is. What is a realistic price for a well-maintained daily driver??

[KNS]

Yes, what is the going price for a well maintained daily driver? My SC is a *very* well maintained driver but it is high mileage and I'm not sure where to price it (I'm thinking of selling it to fund a newer 911). Don't mean to hijack this thread but I'm curious as well where the market is for a car like that or like mine...

[techweenie]

Price is good. 7s and 8s are nice. Looks to me as if the engine lid is repainted. Perhaps it had a tail at one time? Plenty of Pelicanheads in AZ who could do a PPPI for you.

Nobody needs a Porsche. It's about desire. So how the car feels to you is key. This means that even if it passes a PPPI and a PPI, you need to be sure you like how it feels to you.

[aigel]

I would go a little higher, maybe spend 12-13k and buy from an active forum member that's upgrading. Some members post heavily and you can gauge the work done from that. Like I mentioned, there are a lot of things that get tired on an SC and unless there are receipts that it has been done, it likely hasn't. Your 9500 car can get to a $15k car very quickly and it may be better to start out a little higher with a car that already has been gone through by someone.

A high mileage SC that's all fresh condition mechanically and ok in the cosmetic department should be 11k IMHO. Maybe you guys can connect.

George

[techweenie]

I know of a So Cal G50 Cabriolet that can be had for just a little more than the SC's asking price. It has a few 'wants' but no real 'needs.' Thing is, the 'needs' could eventually add up to nearly double the price. There are lots of cars out there...

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by aigel

I would go a little higher, maybe spend 12-13k and buy from an active forum member that's upgrading. Some members post heavily and you can gauge the work done from that. Like I mentioned, there are a lot of things that get tired on an SC and unless there are receipts that it has been done, it likely hasn't. Your 9500 car can get to a $15k car very quickly and it may be better to start out a little higher with a car that already has been gone through by someone.

A high mileage SC that's all fresh condition mechanically and ok in the cosmetic department should be 11k IMHO. Maybe you guys can connect.

George

I don't know if this is in the OP's budget, but the comments about finding a known Pelican's car along with the color of the SC that's being considered made me think of this:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/549425-1976-w-3-0-plus-sale-black-orange.html
This is a very nice car that was built with care. And you can see what kind of care the builder uses if you read this thread:

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/345183-swb-911r-beginning.html

[racer]

"They are all $20K cars".. I don't think that axiom is played out yet.

[jimrs2000]

I bought my 83 SC Targa three years ago for $12k, it was a two owner car with 69,000 miles on the clock, since then I have spent:

$2k, new air conditioning
$1.5k transmission rebuild (parts only, did the work myself)
$500 new shocks all round
$400 new seats
$500 new tyres

plus oil changes and general maintenance, I do all the work myself but it still adds up....part of the pleasure of ownership.

Still more things to do of course.

The car is a "lifer" for me, I won't get rid of it unless I am completely desperate....thats how these cars get you!!

[remigio]

there's a post in the for sale forum -- 82 coupe $11K (down fm $13.5K) . been there for a bit, i think.

where are u at? guy's in vegas. post has e-mail address & telephone number. g'luck.

remigio