....only with a slight twist. So here goes my story.

HOW IT ALL STARTED: After I got my feet wet in 911 ownership back in November '09 with a 997.2 purchase, I spent quite a bit of time learning about the history of 911's. The mystique of air-cooled 911's started to seep into my central nervous system's grey matter. When I went to San Juan islands for the spring break with my family and friends, I saw this 964 in the parking lot.


The car spoke to me in many ways. I tracked down the owner who happened to be a maintenance guy at the lodge we stayed in. He was a Porsche afficionado who took the time to show me around the car, it's engine bay and interior. The car's condition was a far cry from being pristine. However, the straight lines on the exterior and the knobby interior controls had my psyche all conjured up and the image of that car complemented all the mental activity that was going on up until that point. Right at that moment I decided to own an air-cooled 911.

GETTING DOWN TO BUSINESS: I equipped myself with about half a dozen buyer's guides, magazines, collector's guides that had excellent photographs along with detailed specs of year by year 911's since it's inception. The antiques (early 911's up to '73) have driving experience that is something from another age. They are great long term investments but there were doubt's in my mind regarding it's allround usability for daily driving. To raise one of them would also jeopardize my hopes of funding for my kids' college expenses and I was not up for it. The third group, the 964 (89 through 93) had so much of a modern feel to it with the ABS, power steering, coil spring suspension and AWD which was not what I was looking for. The fourth generation (993) was not even in consideration for several reasons: Out of my budget range, too modern of a car with the smoothened lines just too 997'ish.

The second generation 911's ( theSC's/Carrera 3.2) was by far the best option for me in the late classic era of 911's. I went for the 3.2 over the SC due to it's more efficient electronically controlled engine and the hydraulic tensioners for the cam-chains (first electronic engine management and hydraulics to appear on the 911). This along with the 3.2 flat six boxer engine's reliability was billed as something as solid as granite. In my heart, I felt that the 3.2 was the last 911 to display the classic appeal that could be traced back to 1963 and at the same time remain as one of the easiest 911's to own. Then came the story of the two transmissions (unique to this model that had two different gearboxes in it's life span). The 3.2's with the G-50 gearbox (87 through 89) are much sought after for it's ease of use and modern feel but to me the characteristics of the 915 gearbox that was equipped in the earlier 3.2's felt more period appropriate (long throw, two part gear shift with the "pregnant pause" in the first to second gear change). Plus that was the gearbox that carried all the greatest classic 911's (both street and race cars)...so it can't be that bad.

I pictured and knew the exact car I wanted. A Carrera 3.2 (non-Euro car) with a 915 gearbox, original Fuch's wheels, original paint, clean interior, no-mods (I was so particular that I did not even want cars with an aftermarket CD player), H4 headlights, immaculate service history and an engine/gearbox in pristine, original condition without any rebuild history. I must say that the Rennlisters, detailJohn, Axeman and several 911 section members on 6speed played a monumental role here in formulating all these must have lists.

THE EXECUTION: My 911 Carrera 3.2 took me exactly 23 days to find. I looked at 4 cars online (was very close to even flying out to Memphis and Boulder to check out a couple of them)but only one in person that too within a couple of hours drive. When I saw it, I knew it was the one. The seller's ( alongtime PCA member) approach to maintenance was impeccable, the PPI was just an added insurance. Quite a few members wanted me to drive a G-50 gearbox 3.2 Carrera but I never got a chance to do that. Many even said that I would regret the decision not to drive one before I pulled the final trigger. But the proximity of the car, condition of the engine, gear box, interior, original paint, original Fuch's wheels color matched to the exterior was stunning and most importatntly the old school feel of the 915 gearbox...I could not let it pass by. The two hour drive back from his place to mine around windy roads amidst some breathtaking scenery was surreal. What can I say...genuine Fuch's wheels, torsion bar suspension, impact bumpers, good 915 gear box...that was truly a great era. No power steering, no ABS, no bose, no navi...just plenty of character. Enough my talking let the pictures of my white gold metallic '86 coupe do the talking...








I want to take time to thank my family who have been highly supportive of my passion and have put up with me during these lenghty periods of insanity. yrralis1, a long time member here has been a great source of inspiration for me in several respects. He has helped many newbies educating nthem on multiple aspects of 911's including it's pricing. The title on this post is my way of paying a tribute to him and saluting all his efforts. Plus he is one of the many here in this forum who owns two 911's....albiet of a slightly different kind.

 

Good for you, i'm glad to hear a success story amidst so many horrors, it's depressing, your story just brightened my day

 

Wow --that is a great story and thank you.
In 1986 I drooled over the 3.2 but could not afford one then. I was only 26 and sadly I had just driven my (then) Mazda RX7 into a rain filled construction ditch in a pouring storm . At the time I tried to fix my car and my father felt so badly for me that he offered to help while i was at work.
One day he showed up with a Porsche 944 Turbo and turned to me and said "I got your car fixed ".

He knew I loved the Porsches just never knew which one at the time. I never did buy the 3.2 86's car . In fact I didn't buy my first 911 until 1995 in my mid 30's.

Your story actually inspired me . It shows me that it's never too late to look back in time and find those cars which touched the heart.

Congrats .. and best wishes with your new car.

 

congrats and a very nice story! Of course, I want to see some pics! Larry has been a big help and a realist when it comes to buying Porsches. He has gone out of his way to help other boarders find their cars! His wit, charm and honest opinion has helped many people on these boards! Thank you, Larry!

 

Awww.. I'm blushing .

Thank you.

 

I guess the pictures of my '86 coupe did not load. Here you go.

 

Wow --that is a gorgeous car. You must be having a blast. I don't know if you feel this way but I notice that having two Porsches with completely different characters to how they drive expands the experience .

My deep love goes out to my Turbo but I am having one heck of a fling with my PDK car.

 

I had many of the early SC/Carrera (78-85) cars. Although each was an improvement over the prior, there was no quantum leap but rather a slow methodical evolution. I stopped at the 85 because I saw no appreciable improvement through 89. The successor 964 was a disappointment and I was about to give up on Porsche entirely until 1995. The 993 had all the old school feel of the 78-89 SC/Carrera's but with the quantum leap in performance. Still built on the same platform as the prior 911 including the all quirky ergonomics (hang petals offset to the right, framed side window, HVAC controls only Einstien could figure out, worthless blaupunkt audio system, switches added over time ***** nilly all over the dash). Then the good news. A 3.6 with dual exhaust, a tight shifting gear box without the truck length shifter, a rear suspension cradle to tame the dreaded off acceleration end swapping, easy to modify coil over suspension, laid down front headlights ala 959, hugh rear hips, a real oil coiler. The 86-89 Carrera's are the last of the really old school 911, but I still think the 993 is the epitome of the aircooled 911's.

 

The blaupunkt stereo just adds that much to the 80's feel that I am reliving. I was not looking for the "best" of the air-cooled 911's or the smoothest and fastest shifting gearbox. I wanted the classic old school looks with the unsmoothened lines, the priceless Fuch's (which alone is worth everything for me) and driving feel (which the 915 gear box and the lack of
power steering provides).

Larry, the long throw, two part 915 shifting on a heavy clutch plate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and PDK on Tuesdays and Thursdays. What can be better??

 

[quote=w00tPORSCHE;2842840]The blaupunkt stereo just adds that much to the 80's feel that I am reliving. I was not looking for the "best" of the air-cooled 911's or the smoothest and fastest shifting gearbox. I wanted the classic old school looks with the unsmoothened lines, the priceless Fuch's (which alone is worth everything for me) and driving feel (which the 915 gear box and the lack of
power steering provides).

Larry, the long throw 915 shifting on a heavy old school clutch on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and PDK on Tuesdays and Thursdays. What can be better??[/quote]

I hear ya. For me it has graduated to driving the car until it's dirty while the clean one sits. Then i clean the dirty one and take the one that sat .

I end up missing both cars but one at a time .

 

To the OP: The SC looks great. Congratulations! How many miles? how much did you pay? interior condition?

 

I know I do.

 

Congrats!! What a beautiful car. That brings me back to my child hood drooling over that car. It is truly emotional and one day I wold love to have a gem like that in my stable. Enjoy it and please update us as you drive and live with this classic.

 

Great story, beautiful 911........enjoy!

 

Thank you guys. The pictures do not do justice to the beauty of the car. The white gold metallic just like my GT silver changes it's shade with every passing hour of the day and is like the Weissach edition SC of the '79. Talk about bringing out the curves on the 3.2 (Adias, it's not the SC). I saw only blacks, whites and reds on all these 80's cars; this color only was given to the 85/86 production models. The exterior paint is original and the hood/front bumper has mild road rash and a few rock chips and the owner opted to not respray (and I am glad that he did not do that...a car is original only once in it's lifetime). The interior is pristine, car has 82k miles, zero mods. I paid 22k, spent 1.5k fixing the brake hoses, sway bars (preventative maintenance), charging the a/c, heater fan and other small items. A few of the people thought that I overpaid by atleast 2k. If you ask me (and a few really longtime rennlisters...I underpaid . Go find me a 3.2 with original paint, fuch's without curb rash, dash without cracks, driver seat without rips, factory engine with pristine leakdown/compression, 915 gearbox with synchromeshes not needing anywork. (many 915 gear boxes are not in good fettle since it gets abused by people who don't take the time for gear changes. It is not a modern gearbox like to Getrag-50 featured in the 87 production year onwards onto the 964's. You got to treat it with respect and boy does it return the favor ... Especially when it's nicely warmed up.
The PDK listens to you and changes according to your driving style. I listen to the 915 and change my driving style. In life it's all about giving back.