Pimpmac Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 Hey folks. I’ve been a long term dreamer and have always wanted to purchase a classic 911 but never felt I could justify it and given how prices have been over the past few years I probably shouldn’t even be considering it now lol, but I still sadly dream… So the long and short is I have spotted what appears to be a v v nice 911SC. It’s late 70’s and seems to be in v good condition - not maybe concours but defo v v clean. (However, only seen pics so I can imagine any number of gremlins could be hiding). It is described as having a large amount of history, had an engine rebuild some 7 years ago and has low 60k miles. It has the Sportmatic gearbox. I’ve sent an email to the vendor and asked a load of questions that I’d like to get answered before I travel to see it and decide to take matters further. There isn’t a lot of detail in the ad so there are still plenty of unknowns about the car. It is advertised in the low £50k’s and I’m trying to get my head round the actual values as they naturally can be all over the place based on mileage, condition, history etc…but what would you expect to pay for something like this assuming that it is in the condition as described and has been beautifully maintained?? I really appreciate you reading this and thanks v much if you can take the time to get back to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Comerford Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 Welcome. I’m sure lots of others will chime in with thoughts and advice, but I’ll start. Bodywork will consume large amounts of your budget if you’re not careful, so make sure you give it a good check over in all the usual areas where these can rust. If you want help, please ask as quite a few of us have viewed cars for people over time and acted as intelligent filters for some of the rubbish out there. The price sounds a little high but there’s not much detail provided. Once you get more detail please share it. I would want to know who did the engine rebuild and what they did in the rebuild. Over to the next one Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpmac Posted September 2, 2021 Author Share Posted September 2, 2021 8 minutes ago, Ian Comerford said: Welcome. I’m sure lots of others will chime in with thoughts and advice, but I’ll start. Bodywork will consume large amounts of your budget if you’re not careful, so make sure you give it a good check over in all the usual areas where these can rust. If you want help, please ask as quite a few of us have viewed cars for people over time and acted as intelligent filters for some of the rubbish out there. The price sounds a little high but there’s not much detail provided. Once you get more detail please share it. I would want to know who did the engine rebuild and what they did in the rebuild. Over to the next one Ian Thanks Ian. Yea there isn’t a lot of detail in the ad. I’ll post it here anyhow, wasn’t originally going to but I guess it won’t do any harm. Just never know who’s reading and all that https://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C1358586 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugs 77 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Wow, that looks great, and a factory widebody too. But as Ian says it's the bodywork that should be checked above all, if it's as good as it looks and is in original good condition then it could be worth the money. If it has been repaired up to that condition it's in today try and get info on how well it was done, state of the engine bay and interior gives the impression that all has been done well. Get the knowledgeable people involved and go from there. Oh, and welcome along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverWT Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 A Sportmatic wide body is an unusual combination. Are you sure you would be happy with a Sportmatic? Not for everyone and different character to a manual. I would be looking for documented evidence of work ( with pictures) and evidence of original delivery spec. There is no radio aerial, but a radio installed, indicating replacement front wing with later variant. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpmac Posted September 3, 2021 Author Share Posted September 3, 2021 40 minutes ago, SilverWT said: A Sportmatic wide body is an unusual combination. Are you sure you would be happy with a Sportmatic? Not for everyone and different character to a manual. I would be looking for documented evidence of work ( with pictures) and evidence of original delivery spec. There is no radio aerial, but a radio installed, indicating replacement front wing with later variant. Mark Thanks for that Mark and the aerial is a great spot. Yea the Sportmatic is something I’m unsure about - defo would have preferred a manual and it certainly is a sacrifice if I was to go after this car. I am assuming that it does affect the saleability of a car like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nige Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Certainly looks sharp in the photos. Very unique combo too, if price its right I don't think a conversion to manual would be too prohibitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehatwhitland Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 9 hours ago, Bugs 77 said: Wow, that looks great, and a factory widebody too. But as Ian says it's the bodywork that should be checked above all, if it's as good as it looks and is in original good condition then it could be worth the money. If it has been repaired up to that condition it's in today try and get info on how well it was done, state of the engine bay and interior gives the impression that all has been done well. Get the knowledgeable people involved and go from there. Oh, and welcome along. I think the factory wide-body option was only introduced for the 3.2 Carrera for the '85MY cars. In terms of the side repeaters on the wing, I'm not absolutely sure when they came in in the UK, but I think it was the '81MY, so the wings are almost certainly not original either. This doesn't mean the car hasn't been well built or had a lot of attention lavished on the body - and I like the chrome that was still a feature of the early SCs - but just double-check what you are buying. '79MY was the last year that the Sportmatic was available as a special factory order - and is pretty rare. I've never driven one but it feels to me like an odd combination with the more aggressive turbo look. None of the above is necessarily a problem but does warrant a close look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Type911 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Certainly didnt leave the Porsche factory like that, maybe some other factory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jehatwhitland Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 Interesting article on the Sportmatic - https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a15366473/shift-this-a-history-of-porsches-sportomatic-tiptronic-and-pdk-transmissions/ Seen elsewhere that it had 3 gears post '76 and was called the 925 gearbox. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpmac Posted September 8, 2021 Author Share Posted September 8, 2021 On 03/09/2021 at 09:28, Nige said: Certainly looks sharp in the photos. Very unique combo too, if price its right I don't think a conversion to manual would be too prohibitive. Does anyone know a ballpark cost for a manual conversion. Just an idea of cost at this stage would be helpful. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johndglynn Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 36 minutes ago, Pimpmac said: Does anyone know a ballpark cost for a manual conversion. Just an idea of cost at this stage would be helpful. Cheers Find a gearbox first - they are not widely available. Add a strip and check. I guess £8-10k. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phill Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 Various things have been pointed out above but in a nutshell..... SCs didn't come in widebody. 60k is good and low but if it isn't an original body then is the mileage genuine. If it's a genuine widebody then it's very unlikely to have been sportomatic. You need some very careful due diligence and a thorough inspection as it is not what it appears to be. My old car was originally a sporto converted to manual about 20 years ago and it cost the then owner over 8k. Double that now I should think. Gearbox, drive shafts, pedals, lots of labour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris T Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 (edited) Agreeing with others, '78 Sc had 180bhp engine, narrow body and no side repeaters when it left the factory. Nice looking car but sporto box is a NO from me.... Interesting though that it seems to have a 915 gear knob. May be worth an ask? Edited September 8, 2021 by Chris T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alastair Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 Whereabouts in the country are you? I have a 1982 SC (204hp) with everything done that you could have a look at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Type911 Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 25 minutes ago, Chris T said: Agreeing with others, '78 Sc had 180bhp engine, narrow body and no side repeaters when it left the factory. Nice looking car but sporto box is a NO from me.... Interesting though that it seems to have a 915 gear knob. May be worth an ask? Sporto gear knob on that car Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpmac Posted September 8, 2021 Author Share Posted September 8, 2021 1 hour ago, johndglynn said: Find a gearbox first - they are not widely available. Add a strip and check. I guess £8-10k. Ouch!! Well I’d need to be happy with a Sportmatic for a period of time then… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpmac Posted September 8, 2021 Author Share Posted September 8, 2021 37 minutes ago, alastair said: Whereabouts in the country are you? I have a 1982 SC (204hp) with everything done that you could have a look at. I’m close to Belfast. So maybe there is a stretch of water to consider?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris T Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 2 hours ago, Type911 said: Sporto gear knob on that car Matt, as always I bow to your greater knowledge.... I just saw the familiar H pattern! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mondrian Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 I love the interior but .... seats look in pretty good condition, a bit too good compared to the door pocket lids but need sharper pic of those as well as the RHS bolster on the driver side. Condition of interior is a very good indicator of actual mileage. Sportmatic would be hard to sell and as such the value is marked down by some margin compared to manual cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Type911 Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 £40K car in the spec its in Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sopor Posted September 8, 2021 Share Posted September 8, 2021 On 03/09/2021 at 09:18, Pimpmac said: defo would have preferred a manual and it certainly is a sacrifice if I was to go after this car IMHO based on what you’ve said think long and hard about making this compromise. Buy a sporto if that’s want you *want*, not just because it’s what you’ve found. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Comerford Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 I agree with the two last points. It is overpriced unless you can determine who has done all of the work and you are happy that a Sporto is what you want. Keep looking and come back for, hopefully, useful advice here when you find the next potential candidate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pimpmac Posted September 9, 2021 Author Share Posted September 9, 2021 Yea I’ve been weighing this all up and have been carefully reading the comments made here. I agree that I don’t think this is the car for me. I really appreciate all the views and wisdom shared….the hunt continues!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nige Posted September 9, 2021 Share Posted September 9, 2021 Good decision. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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