Hello all,
I have been reading the forum for a little while now, found lots of great info. I'm finally ready to go hunting for my 80s 911 Cabriolet dream car started in the new year. I just have a few question to help with my hunt.

-Are there any hidden rust areas i should be looking for ?
-Known issues and part failures ?
-Are there certain years that are better than others (not better as in rare, better as in reliability and performance)?
-I see talk of the g50 trans, is it that much better than others?
-Anything else one should look for?
-Seen some posts saying if you are driving in 90+ heat, there will be over heating issues, is this true? If so is there any mods to better this?

Also can anyone recommend a good mechanic in rockland county ny to get a pre purchase inspection at and have work done? I have a real distrust of machanics and could realy use a recomendation. Every time I brought my MBs in I laughed at thier price and fixed it myself. I dont think there is a car that costs more than a MB to maintain.

Thank you for your input.

 

Happy Porsche shopping! There are tons of great resources out there. If you Google "911 buyers guide" you will come across several. Here's a good source to get you started:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/911/tech...uthrie_faq.htm

In that faq is a list of books that you may find helpful. I got the Bruce Anderson "Porsche 911 Performance Handbook," and as a non-car person, it was much over my head, but still full of good useful info for shopping 80's Pcars.

As for a mechanic, what I did when i was shopping long distance was to contact the PCA near where the cars were. I contacted PCA in Atlanta for referrals over there for a couple of cars, and same for Houston, TX (LoneStar PCA) for referrals to trusted Pcar mechanics there. You can't join PCA until you have a Porsche, but you can get contact info from www.pca.org for a club near where you are shopping. All the PCA folks I contacted were very generous with their time and info, esp. for mechanic referrals.

Hope this helps!

 

If you can, stick to cars that have had no piant work, and don't really need it. I find the mechanical stuff is easier to replace and renew than the paint.

 

I have an 87 911 Carrera, owned it for 22 years and it has 221K miles on it now. I have never had a rust problem (I live in Maryland and use my car for a daily driver where salt is the norm on the roads in the winter months). I admit that I don't drive much in the snow....rear engine cars will give you thrills you don't want when the roads are icy. I have the g50 tranny and it has never had the case opened. '86 and earlier models had the 915 tranny and it is OK but is harder to shift than the g50. The 3.2 liter engine is pretty much bullet proof if it is well maintained. Good luck on your search...there a lot of good older 911's on dthe market. Pipes

 

I actually bought a book called the "porsche 911 buyrs guide" from barnes and noble. great book. went through every model porsche by year up to the 996 body. Told you what parts failed, were common to wear, typical maintenence, even specific areas to look for missing paint, i highly recommend it. Ill look for it and find the author. Another thing was that it was filled with pics and easy to read, almost like looking at directions when building something rather than looking a book of words. So you didnt have to ready the whole book before you look, its exactly what it is, a guide.

 

I recomend "The Used 911 Story" by Peter Zimmermann, its the perfect book to find the answers to all your questions, I bought my copy on Amazon.com.

 

This is "the" book to have if you are looking to buy a 911 or even if you already own one.

Also visit pelican and rennlist.

 

I second this emotion - I got this book, as well, and I'm sorry I forgot to note it in my post, as this post reminds me it was the most helpful of the resources I gathered while shopping.

 

+1 for "The Used 911 Story" by Peter Zimmermann

Link to make it easy for you.

 

I'm convinced you can read all the books you want but books won't give you the experience you need until you go out and actually drive a Porsche, or several , as far as that goes. Until you experience the drive you can drive yourself nuts trying to imagine what it's all about.....Pipes

 

I would go for the G50 if it is stretching the budget a little. I am a big believer of buy the newest and best condition you can afford (except pre-73's). Happy hunting regardless what you end up with, you will enjoy it for sure.