Sacrilegious to make a '78 911 a daily driver?

Coachgids · 06-10-2013, 04:21 PM

I'm looking at a nicely kept '78 911 to make my daily driver. Used to have a '82, then had kids and the Porsche went away. My brother tells,me I am crazy and that it will eat me alive.

Milesaway · Milesaway's Garage

Not at all crazy
SC'c are excellent daily drivers aside from MPG . They are the jags of the 911 world. Smooth quiet and reliable. Not the most exciting cars but that makes them good dailys.

racer · 06-10-2013, 05:00 PM

Do you want/need cold AC? if so, its not the best choice. Keep the maintenance up to date and they can be quite reliable, as there isn't too much to fail.

On a 30 year old car, being used for daily use, I'd make sure to have the fuel system checked (old, cracked lines are of no help), vacumn lines, brake lines and carry extra fuses in case.

Sunroof · 06-11-2013, 04:17 AM

I never understood why many owners of SC's were reluctant to use the cars daily. You should not have any rust issues, the 3.0 engine can go well into the 200K range and beyond before rebuilding, the systems are failry simple and you have a wealth of support from Waynes 101 Project Book to the Haynes Manual to the SC Guides, this forum, a ton of parts vendors, etc, etc. Never has the time been better based on these tools at your disposal to own an older 911 and use as a daily driver.

I had a 1979SC that I drove daily for over five years and just kept up with simple maintenance items. The thrill of driving to work each day, taking road trips, etc, was well worth any of the stress of ownership. Afterall, its a car!!!!!!

You only go around once my friend and Porsches were engineered to be driven. Go have fun.

Bob
73.5T

Macroni · Macroni's Garage

A 78 SC in Maryland would make a great daily driver. It is important to get all the major systems of the car updated and refreshed. Once that is complete you will be driving a classy tank......

Matt Monson · 06-11-2013, 05:45 AM

It would be a sin to park such a car in a corner spot and not drive it.

mreid · 06-11-2013, 05:52 AM

It is encouraged, so please do!

MrBonus · 06-11-2013, 07:16 AM

It's a car. It's built to be driven. What's the problem?

SilberUrS6 · 06-11-2013, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

It would be a sin to park such a car in a corner spot and not drive it.

^^^this.

Since the SC line is not particularly rare, and since the car you're looking at is not a museum-quality piece, I'd say drive it, and keep driving it. Now, if you were talking about a particular car, let's say the first 911 imported into North America, then I'd say that car probably shouldn't be out among the soccer moms and minivans - but only because the car has historical significance.

For SCs and Carreras, drive 'em. Drive 'em every day, all day, and smile.

Sunroof · 06-11-2013, 08:24 AM

I think since your very first post here on the forum rendered some great responses, the concensus is you drive your SC and enjoy it on a daily basis.

Going forward in the forum, if you encounter any issues with the SC this is a great place for advice and a shoulder to cry on!

Safe and fun driving

Bob
73.5T (not so much a daily driver!)

VincentVega · 06-11-2013, 08:48 AM

A/C is the only issue and there are some options to improve its performance. After the first door ding the rest wont matter, as much.

Have fun with it, it's a car not a statue.

SilberUrS6 · 06-11-2013, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by VincentVega

A/C is the only issue and there are some options to improve its performance.

Yeah, and in Maryland, it is really nice to have AC when the weather gets warm.

But that's something you can get around, and order the parts for fixing it piecemeal. You want to do the job all at once, but the parts can be bought over time.

Since he's owned an '82, I would think he'd have an idea of what it take to keep one on the road. As long as you don't fall for the "while I'm in there..." stuff, LOL.

Coachgids · 06-13-2013, 08:19 PM

Turns out this is not the right car. Owner wanted me to restrict the PPI to less than an hour. I am not comfortable with that, so I guess I will just keep looking.

SilberUrS6 · 06-13-2013, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coachgids

Turns out this is not the right car. Owner wanted me to restrict the PPI to less than an hour. I am not comfortable with that, so I guess I will just keep looking.

Good call. I can't imagine why someone would not want a thorough PPI. Unless there's something to hide, or there's more going on than is being told.

Kemo · 06-14-2013, 05:20 AM

Im saving for a daily driver right now. I'd like to get a really good SC and make it right and then drive it from here till the end of time. Id like to be that proud guy with 500,000 plus miles on the odometer.

Sunroof · 06-14-2013, 06:21 AM

I remember when I was selling my 1979SC the prospective buyer paid a bundle for the PPI and asked the mechanic to keep all information from me unless he bought the car or was ready to negotiate. Considering for me it would have been a free review of what could be wrong or needed repair on my car I could not really blame the guy. As it turned out his financing fell through and he did not buy it; however, I did walk away with the entire PPI report which was very useful.

I do not get though this owner limiting a PPI to an hour!! Nuts!

Bob

Sunroof · 06-14-2013, 06:22 AM

I remember when I was selling my 1979SC the prospective buyer paid a bundle for the PPI and asked the mechanic to keep all information from me unless he bought the car or was ready to negotiate. Considering for me it would have been a free review of what could be wrong or needed repair on my car I could not really blame the guy. As it turned out his financing fell through and he did not buy it; however, I did walk away with the entire PPI report which was very useful.

I do not get though this owner limiting a PPI to an hour!! Nuts!

Bob

Matt Monson · 06-14-2013, 06:22 AM

As long as you weren't expecting the seller to pay the PPI, and the reason for the 1 hour restriction is cost based ( it is customary for the buyer to pay PPI expenses) it sounds like a good call.

Since you have passed, do you mind disclosing where the car is for sale so the members can be aware to closely inspect a car that might have some hidden issues?

RennSport911rsa · 06-14-2013, 06:35 AM

It's much like owning any old car

Mechanicals are reliable on them...there are few electronics so no real gremlins there to speak of. Being an older car, it's something you can actually work on yourself....as issues tend to be mechanically based and not software based. The trick of course...buy a rust free one, know where you're at with maintenance from the jump, and enjoy the car. A Porsche is special, but that ilk SC is nothing that was ever really rare (though as they say, they wont be making anymore lol)....so why not drive it and zig against the grain vs zagging with the crowd that finances a Camry? I suspect if you did a cost analysis, you'll come out far ahead on the SC, even with a major repair or 3 factored in over the course of say 5 years. And the best part...the car you buy today isn't likely to lose its value in all the time you drive it. Try that with anything new on a 'pedestrian" level today?

Macroni · Macroni's Garage

Does it seem reasonable to not want a PPI because you do not want any hands on the car; paranoia v dishonesty....