1983 911 Value, Unique Situation

Mtwellman · 08-20-2013, 06:20 PM

Hello All!
I am a car enthusiast through and through, having rebuilt and sold many projects focusing mainly on American Muscle and the occasional import.

That being said, I have no idea what this car is worth.

I understand how this story may seem strange to some, or possibly even some sort of scam, but I assure you it is not.

I am an active member at my local church Foothill Family Church in Orange County. A great man named Jim Jennings is/was the proud owner of a very unique 1983 porsche 911SC for over 16 years.
Jim is over 70 years old, and felt a calling from God to move to Isreal and fulfill missionary work. Having known that I buy and sell cars frequently he asked me to help him sell his porsche to help fund his missionary work.

I accepted thinking it would be like any other sale but after digging deeper into the cars history and knowing nothing about Porsches (Although I respect them immensely!) I found the cars value is difficult for me to determine.

Here is what I know:
The car is a 1983 911SC
It has a 1989 930 Targa Turbo Body All metal and painted "Ferrari yellow"
Also it has engine swapped to a 89 Carrerra 3.2 litre engine
The odometer reads 98k, and at this time I do not know how many miles are on the 3.2 engine.
He has over 10k in reciepts with the car, old Polaroids, ect.
The Car has a salvage title due to a theft recovery over 20 years ago

The car runs great, mechanically sound in every way, power windows, a/c, engine is strong and tight, and it looks BEAUTIFUL.

This being said, I know that most porsche owners and enthusiasts would prefer matchin numbers, restoration, etc.

So.... What the heck is this thing worth? Any help would be very appreciated.

Also, if anyone is interested feel free to let me know!

Exterior is in excellent condition with only one scratch I have found on drivers door, Inside is in fair condition with the usual where on leather/steering wheel.

thepenguin99 · 08-20-2013, 07:02 PM

Frankencar with a salvage title. I wouldn't pay over the value of the drivetrain personally. No reserve on ebay and see what the market says.

SilberUrS6 · 08-20-2013, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thepenguin99

Frankencar with a salvage title. I wouldn't pay over the value of the drivetrain personally. No reserve on ebay and see what the market says.

I really didn't even want to guess. But, yeah - that's about the size of it.

Maybe a little more. But not much more. $8k?

Nomadic · 08-20-2013, 08:31 PM

Even w/o a salvage title, a wide-body targa (in bright yellow) has little appeal to the Porsche crowd. Its screams poseur car to me. A coupe would be different. Those rocker panels look terribly cheap.

What brand & size wheels are installed? I'm guessing they are cheap as they've been painted all black. Real wide-body/ BBS wheels w/ proper offset would have value.

Can't really get a feel for the quality of the rebuild w/o better photos. From what I see, I agree this would be at the bottom of the market.

CountD · 08-20-2013, 08:31 PM

Really nice looking car though. Market is crazy right now, highs, lows, and everything in between. I would probably do the eBay thing as you might be surprised.

So do you mean it is a '83 SC that has 'turbo style' flares installed on the '83 body?

Anyway, people are less finicky about a '83 having matching numbers than a '67. Plus, what's the whole story on the salvage? If you have the whole story the title brand would mean nothing to the right buyer.

Cool car.

CountD · 08-20-2013, 08:35 PM

...and take the wheels, rockers, and tail off and to me it would looks pretty darn decent without these bells and whistles...

Mtwellman · 08-20-2013, 08:37 PM

Thanks for the replies guys, its pretty much what i was expecting. And I agree with the comments. I will check tomorrow to see if the rims are real BBS or replicas. And yes it has "turbo style" flares. You'll have to pardon my lack or porsche knowledge as I am mostly regurgitating what has been told to me. The more I research these cars though, I must say I am falling in love with them.

Anyways, just such a shame that a car this nice looking (I probably wouldn't have gone with the yellow) is worth so little. To the right person it will be a hell of a deal. I get all sorts of thumbs ups and comments just the few miles i've driven it. Little do they know...

thepenguin99 · 08-20-2013, 09:23 PM

It isn't a car you can market here or rennlist effectively. That is for certain. Kinda why I mentioned ebay. If the car was a coupe the market would be a lot larger because it would be a decent candidate for a track car or maybe a backdate.

I think I would have to see what it looked like without those rockers. They are the worst thing about the car.

Nomadic · 08-21-2013, 07:52 AM

It is hard to evaluate based on the two photos & description.

I'm suspicious of wide-body conversions. So many conversions were cheaply done after wrecks. You are saying its really nice, but I'm not hearing specifics. (panel gaps?) Much room left for doubt. There are clear signs of a cheap conversion (rockers, blackout wheels, front spoiler fit, overspray(?) ) Without details, I assume a poseur quality victim of 90's fashion. There's probably a market for that in SoCal, but not a market w/ enthusiasts' $$.

With a totally solid PPI from a well-known Porsche mechanic it could be an interesting way for me to get into a 911 on the cheap.

techweenie · techweenie's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mtwellman

Thanks for the replies guys, its pretty much what i was expecting. And I agree with the comments. I will check tomorrow to see if the rims are real BBS or replicas. And yes it has "turbo style" flares. You'll have to pardon my lack or porsche knowledge as I am mostly regurgitating what has been told to me. The more I research these cars though, I must say I am falling in love with them.

Anyways, just such a shame that a car this nice looking (I probably wouldn't have gone with the yellow) is worth so little. To the right person it will be a hell of a deal. I get all sorts of thumbs ups and comments just the few miles i've driven it. Little do they know...

Our (Porsche) market is a bit behind the domestic market in recognizing "restomods." But we're getting there. However as in the domestic restomod market, trends come and go, and this car is seriously stuck in 1985 with 2012 wheel treatment.

$7-8K is an easy sale; for the right buyer, it could approach or even surpass $10K. That particular buyer will not be on a Porsche forum. Your best bet is eBay.

Good luck!

msort81 · 08-21-2013, 09:58 AM

Sorry but its an ugly car with salvage title you will see more in parts, so that the Lords work can be done for longer ...
If its OEM Spoiler and decklid 1k, possibly more
Motor 5k+
Tranny 800 - 1k does it have LSD ?
Interior maybe there are sports seats ? another 1-2k depending on type and condition
Wheels 4-500 maybe more
Lights not sure exactly which ones you have but anywhere from 200 -1k
Targa Top again depends probably 3-500,
What kid of muffler ?
Interior trim what condition
All body panels
hundreds of other little parts, the rockers maybe someone on Ebay

Josh D · Josh D's Garage

I can almost promise you there is a well healed young kid with $12-$15K to spend in SoCal that would LOVE to pull into his high school parking lot in that car!

I would start in the mid teens on Craigslist and see if you get any bites. I'm sure there is a market audience for a car like that. It's just not here.

Patrick3000 · 08-21-2013, 04:08 PM

Take the rockers and put them in the trash! Purchase a set of 16" Fuchs with spacers and sell the current wheels. You should be able to sell in the low teens even with the salvage title.

Macroni · Macroni's Garage

I would price at $15,000 to sell at $13,000. I too would eliminate the rockers they are very distracting to the car.

rwilner · rwilner's Garage

To echo what others have said, the enthusiast market (pelican, rennlist) is probably not the place to sell this car. Personally...my interest in this car would be limited to the drivetrain for a 914 or early 911 hotrod project, and most of the guys and gals on this site are probably in that boat too.

I also want to say, good for you for representing this car honestly. Refreshing!!

Craigs list and ebay are your best bets. Any solid, running and driving 911 should get $10k I would think...but this is my uneducated opinion. Anything above that is gravy.

Good luck with the sale!!