I've tried everything . All fall at the feet of ...

[wtdoom]

The air cooled 911 . I swear I have actually tried not to like them .
I've tried everything , everything . From modern HyperCars to classics from other manufacturers . Nothing comes close . Even Porsches of modern times (apart from the Carrera gt) hold no LONG TERM interest and are a shadow a pastiche of the real deal . Sure I fall in love with others but the novelty wears off . The grass ISN'T greener and I always creep home with my tail between my legs .
I love the way they feel , sound and above all else drive . I love the fact that I can fix it enough to get home ( stupid old ME !) , that it's still fast enough , that's it gets positive reactions ( no shaking hand motions directed at an old 911) and yet they are still strong and comfortable enough for daily use . They fit on real roads , they ride on real roads , they are fun at sane speeds on real roads and in all conditions yet they can still hold their own on a track even today . There is one for every mood , for every purpose , for every climate and even every budget . I had an epiphany tonight , I completely and utterly adore them all ; they are the best cars ever made .

I admit it , I Kneel before Zod
Sorry for my ramblings
The end

Edited by wtdoom on Wednesday 7th January 00:51

[wtdoom]

Honestly , I wasn't drinking when I wrote that lol.
Thank you for the many additions , I neglected to mention the mechanical feel and perfectly weighted inputs etc .

They really are the best things ever made .

Let's turn this thread into a little celebration of the air cooled Porsche . Feel free to put up pictures , observations , stories etc

[wtdoom]

monthefish said:

fastgerman said:

wtdoom said:

The air cooled 911 . I swear I have actually tried not to like them .
I've tried everything , everything . From modern HyperCars to classics from other manufacturers . Nothing comes close . Even Porsches of modern times (apart from the Carrera gt) hold no LONG TERM interest and are a shadow a pastiche of the real deal . Sure I fall in love with others but the novelty wears off . The grass ISN'T greener and I always creep home with my tail between my legs .
I love the way they feel , sound and above all else drive . I love the fact that I can fix it enough to get home ( stupid old ME !) , that it's still fast enough , that's it gets positive reactions ( no shaking hand motions directed at an old 911) and yet they are still strong and comfortable enough for daily use . They fit on real roads , they ride on real roads , they are fun at sane speeds on real roads and in all conditions yet they can still hold their own on a track even today . There is one for every mood , for every purpose , for every climate and even every budget . I had an epiphany tonight , I completely and utterly adore them all ; they are the best cars ever made .

I admit it , I Kneel before Zod
Sorry for my ramblings
The end

Edited by wtdoom on Wednesday 7th January 00:51

Oh yes... they're.... fantastic....

If fantastic is:

Headlights do nothing
Interior layout for anything you need could literally be anywhere - heating controls on dash and behind the gear lever?!
Sitting sideways
2nd gear doesn't work until it's warmed up
Condensation? More like it's raining inside
Pondering - Is that rust or mud in this weather? Oh no, that's right, you only use it April - Sept :-)
Being overtaken by diesels while in a Porsche
Window wipers packing up
Interior smells aren't good, petrol smells I agree are fantastic
Worst stereo available to humanity and now that I've found the heating controls, what do they actually do? not much..

Still, everybody looks while you drive past if you like that kind of thing :-)

AND people winge about an £8k engine rebuild charge on a 996, which will keep it sweet for life. 911 SC, 3.2, 930, 964 will easily zap that in a couple of years if you use the thing on new body panels, rust removal, engine top end rebuilds and suspension components

I think you just told the Emperor he's not wearing any clothes...

Well old cars are not for everyone but I drive one very single day .
I have some observations on your points .
Headlights are a 100 pound fix
Interior is fine after 10 minutes familiarisation
Sitting sideways is debatable to say the least , I'm fine in an old 911
Second gear works just fine and a little mechanical sympathy goes a long way
A £10 dehumidifier bag and well maintained heater sort condensation in no time at all
I certainly don't use them sparingly , keep them clean , lubricated and well maintained and there are no issues
No diesel gets past me unless I allow it in the twisties
Wipers ? Bosch twin blade is your friend (£17)
Interior smells are fine if you do the above
All cars have maintenance , look after your car and it will look after you . The good thing with an old 911 is with a free download manual from the www you can do almost all of it yourself .

Easy with some effort

The emperor is dressed just fine

[wtdoom]

Some great pictures , keep them coming !

[wtdoom]

mollytherocker said:

If anyone is still confused at the price of air cooled cars, just read this thread!

Why the confusion? Why should a 288 be worth more than a 73 rsr ( which was more significant , rarer or had a better racing history ?) or an f40 more than a 959S ? At the high end it's merely a correction in the market

Edited by wtdoom on Wednesday 7th January 20:44

[wtdoom]

Crimp said:

Slightly intoxicated then.......

Teetotal!

[wtdoom]

SidewaysSi said:

I can see and appreciate the love for the aircooled cars but given the choice between a good aircooled or a 996GT3, what would you go for?

Give me some options and I'll answer , that would be interesting . If it helps I bought my 964 rs at about what a good 996 gt3 costs now , give the choice I'd have the 964rs .

[wtdoom]

SidewaysSi said:

I am thinking a GT3 vs a tweaked 964/3.2 Carrera or even SC. Perhaps with some fibreglass panels, seats,cage, LSD etc.

Reason I ask is I am contemplating my next purchase and it will be either a modified air cooled or I will find the extra pennies for a GT3.

Edited by SidewaysSi on Wednesday 7th January 22:41

Mate
Come for a coffee and I will arrange for you to experience cars exactly as you have described . It will be an interesting experiment . Are you up for it ? I'm being serious , I think it will be very interesting

Edited by wtdoom on Wednesday 7th January 23:36

[wtdoom]

Gents this was a nice air cooled appreciation thread . We asked for pictures , stories , experiences .
This was never meant to be yet another stupid argument thread , you don't dig the air cooled that's cool but take your banal argument somewhere else eh?

[wtdoom]

That yellow s and Mr rances 993 just made my knees wobble

[wtdoom]

Now we are moving
Just brilliant cars

[wtdoom]

LaSource said:

wtdoom said:

SidewaysSi said:

I am thinking a GT3 vs a tweaked 964/3.2 Carrera or even SC. Perhaps with some fibreglass panels, seats,cage, LSD etc.

Reason I ask is I am contemplating my next purchase and it will be either a modified air cooled or I will find the extra pennies for a GT3.

Edited by SidewaysSi on Wednesday 7th January 22:41

Mate
Come for a coffee and I will arrange for you to experience cars exactly as you have described . It will be an interesting experiment . Are you up for it ? I'm being serious , I think it will be very interesting

Edited by wtdoom on Wednesday 7th January 23:36

Gents, as I am one of the uninitiated in things air cooled, I would also value the insight from such a gathering. For my part, I can supply the 6GT3s for the comparison.

(Wtdoom, you have seen my cars before)

This would be perfect !
Ill provide a couple of air cooled and bring the gt3
We'll make a day of it .

[wtdoom]

LaSource said:

wtdoom said:

SidewaysSi said:

I am thinking a GT3 vs a tweaked 964/3.2 Carrera or even SC. Perhaps with some fibreglass panels, seats,cage, LSD etc.

Reason I ask is I am contemplating my next purchase and it will be either a modified air cooled or I will find the extra pennies for a GT3.

Edited by SidewaysSi on Wednesday 7th January 22:41

Mate
Come for a coffee and I will arrange for you to experience cars exactly as you have described . It will be an interesting experiment . Are you up for it ? I'm being serious , I think it will be very interesting

Edited by wtdoom on Wednesday 7th January 23:36

Gents, as I am one of the uninitiated in things air cooled, I would also value the insight from such a gathering. For my part, I can supply the 6GT3s for the comparison.

(Wtdoom, you have seen my cars before)

This would be perfect !
Ill provide a couple of air cooled and bring the gt3
We'll make a day of it .

[wtdoom]

LaSource said:

No worries. You can bring pen and paper and do the write up

Perfect

[wtdoom]

I'm trying to post pics but unfortunately it says everything is too large and I have no idea how to shrink them

Please keep the pics and stories coming
It's great to see so much air cooled cool here !

[wtdoom]

That silver RSish looks stunning !

Thank you for the tips / mockery regarding pictures
I will do the image wotsit page thing . Don't have a PC unfortunately, do everything on the phone . Have a MacBook pro somewhere but rarely use it now .

I'll get on it

[wtdoom]

That silver RSish looks stunning !

Thank you for the tips / mockery regarding pictures
I will do the image wotsit page thing . Don't have a PC unfortunately, do everything on the phone . Have a MacBook pro somewhere but rarely use it now .

I'll get on it

[wtdoom]

RSVP911 said:

Thanks to everyone's comments on the RS replica - really glad others like it , I have to say , I must have finally found a thread with like minded enthusiasts - any previous sightings have returned no interest what so ever and I genuinely thought that I was missing something as it makes me smile (massively) whenever I look at it , never mind drive it ( fantastic car , great feel , really lively engine )

The car was originally from RPM and externally hasn't changed since I bought it a year or so ago. - I believe it was originally made by a Porche enthusiast who was wealthy enough to have a full time mechanic/engine builder working for him - the engine and gearbox had a full re build roughly 8 years ago and has done < 10,000 miles since then - I also had it fully stripped and "timeserted" ( I think this is the term? ) last year to stop a tiny oil leak and at the same time RPM did anything else that needed doing also. I'm really sorry I can't tell you who did the original back date as I believe it was the actual original owner and his mechanic - I'd love to know who he was as in my view they did a really great job.

The internal restoration was done by Alan Drayson at Canford Classics - I read an amazing thread about a 2.2 S (or 2.4 - can't remember ) that they restored back to perfection from an absolute wreck - The car was bought by a PH'r called drmark and then Squirejo - there is a photo of it earlier in this thread (Silver)



After reading this, I knew Alan was the right person to do the inside of mine - They did a great job , it looks brand new and virtually 100. % authentic now - very pleased with it - which is lucky as I've spent way too much money on her





[footnote]

Edited by RSVP911 on Sunday 11th January 23:39

It's beautiful mate .

I'm do glad all the air cooled cool is coming out of the woodwork . Brilliant stuff

[wtdoom]

Berlin Daily driver 2.2S .
How many cars will the police let get so close to the Brandenburg Gate ?



2.4S just restored





S/T

Edited by wtdoom on Monday 12th January 01:01

[wtdoom]

Vacationboy said:

Ive had a 3.2, and a 964. Recently got a Cayman R.

Sorry like, but the R just does everything better. Every bit as fun, more reliable, doesnt rust - doesnt try to kill me.

Yeah the older car were more "visceral" because they were so demanding to drive. But they are old cars now. Im sure a Golf GTI would see me comfortably off.

Get with the times, the manufacturers do.

That being said, I tried a new 981 S - and I must say I like the R better! More playful and feels more like a sportscar to me!
Hmm

It's fine to prefer a modern car . However it's wrong to suggest a 911 "tries to kill you". A 911 is massively predictable , especially an older one without electronics . Once you make the effort to understand it's dynamics , rarely will you come across a car so utterly predictable . It goes into corners , round corners and spins on corners the same every single time . It doesn't behave differently for no reason . It's the driver that more often than not doesn't appreciate the pendulum like weight characteristics and the effect this has on yaw angle on NAND off the throttle , into and out of corners .