Neglected 1981 911SC to rise again!
Discussion
Hi all,
as they say have been a lurker for a while, and have especially enjoyed reading about other's cars, now I am embarking on what will likely be an expensive time with a beautiful 911 perhaps some of you will like to know a little more!
We moved out to SA at the turn of 2011 and after sorting the essentials like house, commute car, schools etc my attention turned to a hobby/occasional car. My commute (in a 1.4 Polo, no sniggering please) is not in the nicest of areas so it was purely for weekend or client visits once or twice a month.
I've always loved 911's but have been put off by the usual rust horrors and maintanance costs, but over here the rust is far less of an issue so the shortlist was created. Also on there were the 350Z, BMW M Coupe (I do think that car will become a classic one day) and one level down were M3's (the image is not great here though). I realise that is a bit of a new/old list but they just all really good cars to me. I tried all the rest of the list but I still wanted a 911. Eventually I found a possible on Gumtree (yes, really). It was a hobby car for a guy that was retiring and the advert seemed very promising; in short a 1981 (so 204bhp not 180), white with black leather. 2 owners from new. 125km's with service history. Original except for new alloys and a custom exhaust. Off I went.....
What I saw was not so great....about an inch of dust covering the car, 1 key, a broken immobiliser and a very flat battery. The guy proceeds to tell me its been for sale for 9 months, has not been driven in that time and the owner (he is not there) is not listening to offers....great I think a waste of a trip. So I haul my trusty Polo over and we try a jump start, bursts into life instantly and that air cooled beast starts hunting around for its correct idle. I love it already. We get the worst of the dust off (pic below) and prepare for a test drive.
30 minutes later I am bartering...badly. I ask what offers they have had, get told 2 and 1 is only R5k (about 400GBP_) below the asking price. So I do what every hopeless punter does and offer asking, hands are shaken and I hand over a deposit.
2 weeks later (had to wait for a UK to SA bank transfer) the money is deposited and I collect the car. Reading the other 911 thread I chuckled as the OP gambled on his making a 300 mile trip home and it didnt miss a beat. Well mine never really found a beat.....what is a 30 minute trip become 2 hours. Once properly warm it lost virtually all power and then when faced with an incline i was in 1st gear limping along at 10kph. Then it died altogether. Luckily I was next to a petrol station so I coasted in there, let it (and me) cool down and then tried again. It did start but I had about as much horsepower as a Trabant to limp home. And by the way Joburg is not the place to have car trouble.
Fast forward a month and the diagnosis is not so bad. The fuel tank was cleaned out, new filter and pump and some other fiddling has got it running but the problem persisted. Then my friendly indy garage told me that the fuel accumulator had been disconnected for some reason, that is the root of all the evils but they cannot fix, has to go to Porsche. So today (final pic) we had it taken there, still not well enough to risk driving there.
But apart from the above I love it and the condition is genuinely excellent. Not a scrap of rust anywhere, interior is tidy, not quite A1 but close. Gearbox is ok (hey its no G50). Engine (on the rare occasion it wants to deliver full power) is a beaut. Its had the right upgrade on the tensioner and there are no oil leaks at all. Roof was refurbed about 4 years ago and is very tight. All the electrics work well. Alloys need changing back to Fuchs but I should be able to sort a swop with the Cups.
Porsche will now rebuild or replace the accumalator (no idea of cost yet) and will check rest for me. Plenty of lessons to take away....take a mechanic (though it flew on the test drive), get a check from a specialist etc etc. However I just fell in love.
So hopefully I will have it back in a week or so and then I will upload some more pics to really show it off. Until then enjoy a titter at my expense!
Chris![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/GKkeq8jy.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/0vfq1sdW" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/0vfq1sdW.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/xVe1Db4g" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/xVe1Db4g.jpg)
as they say have been a lurker for a while, and have especially enjoyed reading about other's cars, now I am embarking on what will likely be an expensive time with a beautiful 911 perhaps some of you will like to know a little more!
We moved out to SA at the turn of 2011 and after sorting the essentials like house, commute car, schools etc my attention turned to a hobby/occasional car. My commute (in a 1.4 Polo, no sniggering please) is not in the nicest of areas so it was purely for weekend or client visits once or twice a month.
I've always loved 911's but have been put off by the usual rust horrors and maintanance costs, but over here the rust is far less of an issue so the shortlist was created. Also on there were the 350Z, BMW M Coupe (I do think that car will become a classic one day) and one level down were M3's (the image is not great here though). I realise that is a bit of a new/old list but they just all really good cars to me. I tried all the rest of the list but I still wanted a 911. Eventually I found a possible on Gumtree (yes, really). It was a hobby car for a guy that was retiring and the advert seemed very promising; in short a 1981 (so 204bhp not 180), white with black leather. 2 owners from new. 125km's with service history. Original except for new alloys and a custom exhaust. Off I went.....
What I saw was not so great....about an inch of dust covering the car, 1 key, a broken immobiliser and a very flat battery. The guy proceeds to tell me its been for sale for 9 months, has not been driven in that time and the owner (he is not there) is not listening to offers....great I think a waste of a trip. So I haul my trusty Polo over and we try a jump start, bursts into life instantly and that air cooled beast starts hunting around for its correct idle. I love it already. We get the worst of the dust off (pic below) and prepare for a test drive.
30 minutes later I am bartering...badly. I ask what offers they have had, get told 2 and 1 is only R5k (about 400GBP_) below the asking price. So I do what every hopeless punter does and offer asking, hands are shaken and I hand over a deposit.
2 weeks later (had to wait for a UK to SA bank transfer) the money is deposited and I collect the car. Reading the other 911 thread I chuckled as the OP gambled on his making a 300 mile trip home and it didnt miss a beat. Well mine never really found a beat.....what is a 30 minute trip become 2 hours. Once properly warm it lost virtually all power and then when faced with an incline i was in 1st gear limping along at 10kph. Then it died altogether. Luckily I was next to a petrol station so I coasted in there, let it (and me) cool down and then tried again. It did start but I had about as much horsepower as a Trabant to limp home. And by the way Joburg is not the place to have car trouble.
Fast forward a month and the diagnosis is not so bad. The fuel tank was cleaned out, new filter and pump and some other fiddling has got it running but the problem persisted. Then my friendly indy garage told me that the fuel accumulator had been disconnected for some reason, that is the root of all the evils but they cannot fix, has to go to Porsche. So today (final pic) we had it taken there, still not well enough to risk driving there.
But apart from the above I love it and the condition is genuinely excellent. Not a scrap of rust anywhere, interior is tidy, not quite A1 but close. Gearbox is ok (hey its no G50). Engine (on the rare occasion it wants to deliver full power) is a beaut. Its had the right upgrade on the tensioner and there are no oil leaks at all. Roof was refurbed about 4 years ago and is very tight. All the electrics work well. Alloys need changing back to Fuchs but I should be able to sort a swop with the Cups.
Porsche will now rebuild or replace the accumalator (no idea of cost yet) and will check rest for me. Plenty of lessons to take away....take a mechanic (though it flew on the test drive), get a check from a specialist etc etc. However I just fell in love.
So hopefully I will have it back in a week or so and then I will upload some more pics to really show it off. Until then enjoy a titter at my expense!
Chris
![](http://thumbsnap.com/sc/0vfq1sdW.jpg[/img]</a> <a href="http://thumbsnap.com/xVe1Db4g" Target="_blank">[img]http://thumbsnap.com/sc/xVe1Db4g.jpg)
welcome chris! great choice of car 
& if you need any ideas have a look through this:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
look forward to seeing this thread go through, anything you need just give a shout. plenty of good help over on impactbumpers.com & a friendly bunch as well
& if you need any ideas have a look through this:http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
look forward to seeing this thread go through, anything you need just give a shout. plenty of good help over on impactbumpers.com & a friendly bunch as well
cragswinter said:
welcome chris! great choice of car & if you need any ideas have a look through this:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
look forward to seeing this thread go through, anything you need just give a shout. plenty of good help over on impactbumpers.com & a friendly bunch as well
lol, i was just posting on your thread at the same time! your post spurred me on to do the same. thanks for the note, I'll aim to get mine half as sorted as yours over the coming months & if you need any ideas have a look through this:http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
look forward to seeing this thread go through, anything you need just give a shout. plenty of good help over on impactbumpers.com & a friendly bunch as well
Ah I can't take any credit mate, I bought mine restored! Fabulous cars aren't they? & the 81 cars with the 304 bhp are still really quick.
I was driving mine yesterday when a mate called-are you driving your orange 911 on the a69? I'm behind you!
He was in one of those new skoda vrs hot hatches, when we got some clear road to overtake I thought he'd be glued to the rear bumper but we left them-life in the old girl yet!
I was driving mine yesterday when a mate called-are you driving your orange 911 on the a69? I'm behind you!
He was in one of those new skoda vrs hot hatches, when we got some clear road to overtake I thought he'd be glued to the rear bumper but we left them-life in the old girl yet!
and let it go - I would love one now though, look forward to reading more on this - good luck with the project
Good luck with that one, still my - amongst many others i suspect - favourite generation of 911.
I realise that crime in SA isn't quite as bad as we are led to believe ( quite fancy moving out there myself at some point ). However still really wouldn't fancy my chances breaking down in Jo'burg in an old Porsche...could think of many better vehicles to be stranded in that city in!
Looking forward to the updates.
I realise that crime in SA isn't quite as bad as we are led to believe ( quite fancy moving out there myself at some point ). However still really wouldn't fancy my chances breaking down in Jo'burg in an old Porsche...could think of many better vehicles to be stranded in that city in!
Looking forward to the updates.
Welcome to SC ownership! Looks like a lovely car and if the bodywork's in good condition then you're onto a real winner. Definitely lose the cup wheels and put the fuschs back on - going to look loads better. One more thing, don't worry about not having the G50 gearbox, there's loads of b
ks talked about the 915 gearbox. It's actually a very smooth operating unit, let the oil warm up first and don't rush the changes! Happy driving.
ks talked about the 915 gearbox. It's actually a very smooth operating unit, let the oil warm up first and don't rush the changes! Happy driving. Well that didn't take long to get back on the road did it?! 6 weeks at Porsche. Essentially they have had to replace the fuel filter, distributor and accumulator, plus plugs and seals etc etc. So all in all I am pretty skint but it is running very nicely. Tomorrow is ear marked for a full wash and polish, we'll see how it scrubs up. Pics will be posted.
Last night, really for the first time since I bought it in October, I was able to wind it up and really push it. Wow. 30 years old and it really could have passed for new but for that little air cooled engine tick low down. From 3k rpm it absolutely is the best feel and sound you can wish for in a car with the roof off. Something very visceral about such an old car, you really have to 'drive it'.
Should you have this particular scratch go for it.
Last night, really for the first time since I bought it in October, I was able to wind it up and really push it. Wow. 30 years old and it really could have passed for new but for that little air cooled engine tick low down. From 3k rpm it absolutely is the best feel and sound you can wish for in a car with the roof off. Something very visceral about such an old car, you really have to 'drive it'.
Should you have this particular scratch go for it.
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