Purchasing a 3.2 g50 barn find

[david911]

Hi All,

I'm thinking about buying a 1989 3.2 G50, black coupe, 87k miles. But it's been in a single garage for the last 20 years without moving/running. I saw it once a few weeks back, but only from within a cramped garage. The body work on the outside looked good, but was covered in dust, except for one small blister of rust under the lower-left-hand side rear window seal. Signs of a rodent living in the front bonnet at some point 🤣. The seller has a genuine reason for why he never used it. I'm not going to be able to get it running before I buy it, given that the fuel lines will need to be flushed, etc. The brakes are seized, so going to need wheel skates to get it out onto the driveway to see it in daylight.

It's been 15 years since I last owned a 911 (also a late '80s G50), but I want a project. Any pointers on what to look out for? Seller wants around 20k for it, which seems fair.

Cheers,

David

 

[Ian Comerford]

Three things…..bodywork, bodywork and, yes, bodywork.  Have a really good look in the key areas of B pillars/kidney bowls, the front boot where the bumpers mount to the inner wings, the front cross-member by the fuel tank.  If those areas are ok at £20k I would say it could be a good buy.

Where is the car?  You may be able to get someone knowledgeable on here to give it the once over 

[david911]

Hi Ian, thanks for the advice. It's in Bucks, I'll take lots of photos once it's out in daylight and might post a few here if I'm unsure.

Edited August 18, 2025 by david911

[Nige]

What Ian says, but fingers crossed, battery tray as well.  Check the engine isn't seized either.

Once running you'll probably end up chasing oil leaks as I bet all the seals and hoses will be dried up and cracked due to lack of use.

[david911]

Thanks for the tips Nige.

[Chris_911]

£20K??

Buy it!

[SurlySurdi]

Let's say you budget 15k for a body resto, 10k on the engine. Add that to the cost of the car and 45k is a good price for that model.

SS

Edited August 19, 2025 by SurlySurdi

[Chris T]

Ask Jevvy to come along and look? He's not far away.

 

[david911]

Thanks, guys, appreciate the inputs. I'll go it alone this weekend and hope for the best.

[david911]

Spent a few hours checking out this car. Has a bad bit of rust on the drivers side front jacking point. How difficult is this to repair?

[mean in green]

Not impossible / there is a repair section available, what are the front inner wings like where the bumper tubes mount?

[rich73]

Agreed, 

I've done that area before. Jacking point is available from porsche for not much money. Main issue is that the sill/floor/wheel arch behind will most likely need repair which can be quite fiddly.  Earlier cars didn't have the jacking point and it's a bit of a mud trap so one option could be to not replace the jacking point itself. 

I would try to get a similar look at rear kidney bowls as this is a much more important area to check. Although at 20k I would assume it needs doing and budget fot it. 

Rich

 

[david911]

The sills all looked fine, i poked about with borescope as much as possible. Just this area, and a bit of surface rust here and there

[Beaky]

As mentioned above RUST is your enemy, I'd also add the front scuttle and rear quarter panel - bottom corners of both front & back windows.

Having someone like Jevvy check it over would be my call.

 

[david911]

1 hour ago, Beaky said:

As mentioned above RUST is your enemy, I'd also add the front scuttle and rear quarter panel - bottom corners of both front & back windows.

Having someone like Jevvy check it over would be my call.

 

Back window bottom corner for sure

[david911]

Just looking through my photos from the weekend, does this look repaired? It looks different from the other side, and the lower red reflector bulges out a bit.

[SurlySurdi]

Have you got a pic of both sides in the same pic and also of the other side on its own for comparison? TBH other does look a little iffy.Then again nothing that cant be sorted.

SS

Edited August 24, 2025 by SurlySurdi

[david911]

8 minutes ago, SurlySurdi said:

Have you got a pic of both sides in the same pic and also of the other side on its own for comparison? TBH other does look a little iffy.Then again nothing that cant be sorted.

SS

Yes here is the other side, different

[SurlySurdi]

Hmmmm, both have the centre section either side looks further in at the top as opposed to the bottom. I would remove the centre reflector and look at the frame behind to see whats going on if you can. If it is due to damage repair I dont think it will be too bad to be sorted out.

SS

[david911]

And also this doesn't look quite right. Front drivers side. 

[SurlySurdi]

Yes I'd want to do some further looking into that, have you come to a decision yet or close to one?

SS

[david911]

I want it, but we initially ball-parked between 20-25k for it and the seller is not budging from 25k now. Im concerned the rust and the damage is all down that drivers side, and what else I could be in store for. 

[Chris_911]

Alternatively, rather than the 'does this look right' you could get it properly inspected.

If the buyer only wants 'around £20k' it is a potential very good buy.

I'd recommend that you get in touch with John Glynn @johndglynn of this parish and engage him to do an inspection. It will be money very well spent.

[david911]

3 minutes ago, Chris_911 said:

Alternatively, rather than the 'does this look right' you could get it properly inspected.

If the buyer only wants 'around £20k' it is a potential very good buy.

I'd recommend that you get in touch with John Glynn @johndglynn of this parish and engage him to do an inspection. It will be money very well spent.

Yes thats a good call, thanks

[Type911]

2 hours ago, Chris_911 said:

Alternatively, rather than the 'does this look right' you could get it properly inspected.

If the buyer only wants 'around £20k' it is a potential very good buy.

I'd recommend that you get in touch with John Glynn @johndglynn of this parish and engage him to do an inspection. It will be money very well spent.

Do this