1981 911 SC Coupe - Price and Ideas

[War584]

Met with a client today who has a daily driver 1981 coupe. Black / black with whale tail. close to 200k miles. He is willing to let it go for +/- $10k, because:

It needs

- Needs new clutch
- Paint
- Engine rebuild - apparently smoking with some decreased power but does run and drive.
- Interior needs help (seats, carpets, steering wheel worn but dash is ok)
- Plus some other assorted, but not major fixes.

The guy owned it for 20 years, put a lot of money into it, but it needs more since he dove it everyday. He no longer has the time or inclination to work on it and seemed excited that I might buy it. The local restore shop said minimum of $8k to $10k to "get it right", which I am not sure what that means exactly

Body is straight, no accidents, sunroof coupe. No rust and cared for, but just well used.

My questions to you gents, who have great opinions (except one of you):

- Is $10k a fair price? Probably $9k or $9.5k after some respectful negotiations.
- What should I budget for repairs?
- What should I do with it and what should I turn it into. I have a 85 Targa in original condition so I have the easy driving open air thing covered. With 200k miles it will not be a concours contender. I like the whale tail idea, pretty period but not adverse to taking it off. Carrera 3.0 look is nice, but not sure for this car. Leave it original? Modify it slightly with new paint and interior? I just don't know.

Looking for ideas. Someday I may sell it so I don't want to go too far off the rails. Thanks.

[Matt Monson]

I think the shop you are talking to is off the mark by a bit. You can spend $8-10k on either paint and body or an engine rebuild, but no both. It's got all three strikes against it, exterior, interior and mechanical. That car is a prime candidate for a racecar. Those are the only guys putting $25-30k into a $10k SC. Their value is rising but unless its a labor of love its not sound money at least in the short term.

I say short term because I was only a decade ago that people said you were crazy to spend $40k to restore a Speedster that was only worth $45k when done. But the market caught up to them and they are worth hundreds of thousands.
5 years ago that was the longnoses. Today I saw a '73 Euro T in the classifieds for $174!!! There's a chance in 5-10 years and SC will be a $100k car. It's a slim chance that I wouldn't bet on. Though I think it's a safe bet they will be $40-50k in 5 years. The real problem is a 200k mi car will always be a hard sell even if restored perfectly. Only buy it if you want a long term car to make your own and are sure you won't have to dump out of it in the near term and lose a bunch of $$.

[christiandk]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

I think the shop you are talking to is off the mark by a bit. You can spend $8-10k on either paint and body or an engine rebuild, but no both. It's got all three strikes against it, exterior, interior and mechanical. That car is a prime candidate for a racecar. Those are the only guys putting $25-30k into a $10k SC. Their value is rising but unless its a labor of love its not sound money at least in the short term.

I say short term because I was only a decade ago that people said you were crazy to spend $40k to restore a Speedster that was only worth $45k when done. But the market caught up to them and they are worth hundreds of thousands.
5 years ago that was the longnoses. Today I saw a '73 Euro T in the classifieds for $174!!! There's a chance in 5-10 years and SC will be a $100k car. It's a slim chance that I wouldn't bet on. Though I think it's a safe bet they will be $40-50k in 5 years. The real problem is a 200k mi car will always be a hard sell even if restored perfectly. Only buy it if you want a long term car to make your own and are sure you won't have to dump out of it in the near term and lose a bunch of $$.

Too many SCs around to make that happen, imo.

[COLB]

Less than $10k for a running, driving SC is definitely a fair price -- especially for a coupe. That is parts car money.

But the dilemma Matt describes is spot on. If you are paying someone to bring this car up to scratch, you will be underwater on a car with 200k miles, which still presents some stigma in the marketplace.

If you can DIY, you might manage the work for $8-10k -- if the engine work needed is not a full rebuild, you do most of the paint prep, and go cheap on the seats/carpet. But that is a big if.

Track build seems the most likely future for the car. Or an "armor all" to an unsuspecting punter.

[MMiller]

Try and get it bought for 9K. Then take your 8-10K "get it right" money and get the mechanicals sorted. I would pursue a known good running 3.2 ( not saying that will be easy) and put the original motor on a shelf. If the body is truly straight either drive it with period patina or maybe wrap it for now. The interior... RS carpet kit is easy and cheap...find some budget used seats or recover the originals in cloth...both cooler and cheaper than leather or vinyl. $100 Momo. Drive it!

Seems you might have a fun coupe for around 20K. All of this is counting on you doing as much of the work as possible.....

If the market continues to rise price wise you will feel better about continuing to restore the car.....if not you have a fun quick weekend runner.

YMMV

[COLB]

I think Panerai's vision would have merit for someone looking for a project to get into the hobby at a low price point -- and that market is definitely out there.

But since you already have a sorted 85 Targa to drive, not sure if that is what you are looking for.

I'm sure Edd China could wrench some money into the car, but he apparently works for free.

[War584]

Thanks. Not really looking for a race car, major project car or parts car. Not opposed to moderate work, but definitely not China-esq in my tools and know how.

I want to add a coupe to my garage, thought an SC would be a good platform to work from for something a little different, however, the owner's $8-10K is extremely optimistic.

My mechanic will look it over the car this week. I will add some pictures and the more specific needs. Thanks again for the input.