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Maybe there is and maybe there isn't a sweet spot. Maybe I'm destined, like many others here I'm sure, to hop from Pcar to Pcar......frankly I'm not sure if I should care one way or another, but I've entered another chapter. So about 5 weeks ago I sold my seldom driven 56K miles 964 Cab. I had owned the car for 17 years putting about 10k miles on it in that time while all the while sifting through a Cayenne TT, an 80 Euro SC, 2 Macans (one of which I owned for a month) a 993 heavily modded track car and a 991.1S.
Truthfully I thought I'd drive the heavily optioned, well bought, S forever (famous last words) but as much as I found it a hoot I thought it really was an in between car....not a full GT (still loud and rough) but not as visceral as any of my air cooled cars. I don't live in an area with great "twisties" of "canyon carving" and have to drive almost 90 minutes to get to such topography. While it was a blast when I arrived the drive there was not the greatest and my wife, who loves Pcars, wasn't crazy about spending the day in the car. When I saw 991.1 values climbing the past months I decided to get out, which I did, selling for just $500 less than I paid 20 months, 10k miles and a jaunt on the Tail of the Dragon, ago. Feeling pretty good (as it took a little of the sting off of the $30K hit I took on my similarly, less the Tail of the Dragon, driven Cayenne) I opted for a 2015 loaded SL550 CPO and $10K in my pocket. The 520 lbs of torque is a blast and the car is whisper quiet. It's a bit, ok alot, more rollie than the 991.1S but you can drive it all day and it looks great if not a bit old manish.
A week or so later I decided to move the 964 and bank some money while air cooled values where high. I was regretting for about the 1,000th time that I had bought a cab instead of a coupe (they were going for the same price 17 years ago, high teens to low 20's) as it would be worth double what I got (3 owners, all books, etc.) although if it were a coupe I probably would have kept it. Anyway I made a deal to sell the 964 and instantly regretted it especially when I took that last drive around to the front of my house to load it onto the trailer bound for Miami. The smell, the sound, the feel...I knew I'd made a mistake.....the hunt was on for a replacement.
I decided I wanted a coupe for sure. 964's were too high so I zeroed in on an 84 to 89 Carrera realizing that it would most likely by an 85 or 86 as I wanted to stay close to the sale price of the 964. As usual I became obsessed and quickly came to know every car on Cars.com, autotrader, BAT, etc. ....where it really got tedious was searching every CL ad in the country and every FB marketplace ad as well. I would spend hours scrolling through CL and moving the 100 mile radius circle on FB from city to city.
I zeroed in on a few cars and after initially rejecting an ad on FB (wasn't sure about color and wheels) I decided to call about one in NC (an 8 hour drive from me and also the town were I bought my Macan GTS). It turned out that the son was handling the sale for his widowed mother. His father had had the car for 25 years and lived up until the past few years just down the road from Lime Rock and worked pit out there from time to time. It became apearant that he was interviewing me as much as I him. Clearly the car held a special place in the family and they were concerned about the next owner and his intentions. We had alot in common...and hit it off right away on the phone. They had every slip and invoice from day one and from all 3 owners. I decided to fly down in the morning to meet him and his mother to see the car.
I decided to insure the car ahead of time just in case and after landing in NC, spending the better part of the day with them and seeing the car and huge book of invoices, etc. I decided to buy it. It was incredible synergy and quite frankly was a moving experience for all of us, I assured them I would look after the car and that it was going to a an enthusiast.
After transfering the funds and getting the title notorized I took a leap of faith and hit the road for the 8 hours drive home. No PPI, no mechanic check up in a car that probably hadn't really been driven much if at all in the past 18 months. On top of that I decided to take a 2 hour detour onto the Blue Ridge Parkway turning it into a 10 hour drive home and ensuring I wouldn't arrive home before 2 am. I will tell you that about 2 hours in, as dusk was coming onto the Parkway I questioned my sanity. I'd driven my SC only sparingly before my friend crashed it at the Glen so had very little experience with the 915 transmission let alone the cable clutch and manual steering. That being said I had 10 hours to get familiar with the car.
The car performed flawlessly I'm happy to report. There were a few things I found along the way, cruise didn't work, speedo wasn't accurate and the gap grew larger as speed increased, and the 1986 headlights are not great. Other than that it was an uneventful drive. It's a hoot to drive, incredibly engaging, not super fast, just a great Sunday driver. It gets far more attention that I thought it would...all positive. It's just a classic Porsche in every way.
So, here is my 1986 moss green metallic 911 coupe with gold (straight outa the 80's) BBS wheels.
First a few quick things that I would love some feedback on.
1. I wasn't sure about the wheels but am growing to like them. I did source some fuchs locally about 2 weeks ago but am not sure if I am going to use them...both sets of wheels need new rubber which leads me to..
2. The BBS are shod with 225 and 245's, it's a bear to steer and maybe I'd be better to go 205/225 which was stock?
3. I feel like the car has bump steer which I've never experienced before....thoughts?
4. I want matts and an looking for direction and thoughts on that front.
5. IT has a factory short shift and i feel the 915 shifts well although I have nothing to compare it to. I may take it to a shop to get their thoughts. There are 135K miles on the car with no tranny work shown although the motor was rebuilt at about 40k miles by 2nd owner who tracked the car as best as I can tell. .
Well the wheels are really incorrect and I generally don't like "busy" wheels, but damned if they don't look great on that beautiful green car. Good luck with it!
Nice find and color !
That is one of the reasons i would never sell my 89 911 that i've owned for twelve years now ...
Although i haven't driven it much in the last two years , i'm sure i would deeply regret it if i ever did !
I'll admit i'm not a big fan of gold BBS wheels on a Porsche , they belong more on BMW's and i would also stay with the 225 and 245's ... you'll find that the tire
choice in 16 inch is rather limited !
Great story and journey. I would vote against the gold wheels. They sort of work, but in a way, they don't look right at all. Classic lines and then too much bling. Just my opinion.
The Fuchs have a set of old tires on them so I can at least mount them on the car and have a look. Either way I will certainly keep them as they are, of course, correct for the car.
I need to sift through the receipts again and see what was done....I think there is a possibility that the car has a bump steer kit installed. It is certainly lowered and has a suspension update/upgrade with stiffer sway bars too. The front fenders have been trimmed not rolled.
Any thoughts on matts?
I definitely feel like a caretaker with this car which is pretty cool. Looking forward to getting it up in the air and going over the car front to rear.
Well the wheels are really incorrect and I generally don't like "busy" wheels, but damned if they don't look great on that beautiful green car. Good luck with it!
it's the color complement of green and gold (but they will be hard to clean with all the spokes) - maybe gold accents on a Fuchs wheel?
it's the color complement of green and gold (but they will be hard to clean with all the spokes) - maybe gold accents on a Fuchs wheel?
Congrats on the car and see my sig.
Love the sig line. This is exactly why I've come full circle, I have a Ram limited as a DD, the SL for weekends away with my wife and now the 911 for the fun engaged drive. Having had 2 G50 cars (the second of which was a G50/21 Euro tranny) I have to say the 915 is fun although, unlike my G50 or PDK cars, I'd be hesitant to let anyone else drive it. I may have found the sweet spot.
Originally Posted by AG81
Green is my favorite color.....congratulations.
Thanks! Was not sure initially. My wife, and myself for that matter, love the long hood cars especially in the green(s) (looked at and thought about a 912 while on this hunt) they came in. This, of course, is a bit different but is quite nice as it changes as you walk around the car.
Do you want a list of long-term maintenance things to do?
You mentioned you were going to put it on a list and scrutineer it...
Also, think how nice it would look with H4s instead of sugar scoops....
Would love one. I'm very much looking forward to getting into this car. I did quite a bit of the work on my 993 (sway bars, PSSS9's, roll bar, seats, harness, brakes) and am looking forward to getting back into some wrenching. Ordered a Quickjack lift today to make things easier.
Feel free to send along any tips or list(s) of things to do long term. Much appreciated!
Nice 86. I’m probably in the minority, but I prefer the driving experience of the 915 early 3.2 models over the later G50s (unless Club Sport). So I can relate to your sweet spot comment.
Before you decide on wheels, you may want to check the options on your 86 and the wheels’ date code. We had those BBS wheels (and color-matched to exterior body) on an 84 back in the day, but not sure if factory- or dealer-option. I have to check my old books. Regardless, those BBS wheels look period-correct.
Nice 86. I’m probably in the minority, but I prefer the driving experience of the 915 early 3.2 models over the later G50s (unless Club Sport). So I can relate to your sweet spot comment.
Before you decide on wheels, you may want to check the options on your 86 and the wheels’ date code. We had those BBS wheels (and color-matched to exterior body) on an 84 back in the day, but not sure if factory- or dealer-option. I have to check my old books. Regardless, those BBS wheels look period-correct.
Thanks! I agree on the period correct and they do work well with the green and the splash of yellowish tan from the seats (I'm very happy the car has a black dash and door caps). It's definitely an 80's car with an 80's look.
I have the window sticker the line reads----
16-INCH FORGED ALLOY WHEELS
I've done some research and have seen it as a dealer option but don't have any paperwork relating to that being so on this car. I have googled the previous owners (there are still living) and plan on writing to them to see if they want to add anything to the story. I will be asking about the wheels as the PO had them on the car for his entire 25 years of ownership and the son and mother did not have Fuchs and had no knowledge of a set ever being owned by the father. The second owner (CT) definitely tracked the car and it's possible he changed out the wheels.
I know this isn't the Magna Carta or even that rare of a car but given the buying experience I really want to document this car and do my best to be a good steward during my ownership.
The PO and I have exchanged care packages...mine to her was me sending back her NC vanity plate , which she let me use to drive home "1986 911" (how he got that I can't imagine) along with some goodies from my resort town and her's back to me included some pics of the car over the years (one of which had their CT vanity plate "HOLD ON" pictured), some stationary with 911's and a few other goodies. I promised her that I'd apply for the same plate, 1986 911, in my native NJ which would be pretty cool. My second choice will be HOLD ON of course. During our time together I asked her how she was when her husband drove in a spirited fashion (my wife is very good about it) to which she said.."when we were out for a drive he would put his right hand on my knee and I knew that it was time to hold on."
Another interesting thing was that as I was organizing the receipts I kept seeing HOLD ON written on the top of them. I had no idea what that was but wondered if it was a note to himself to HOLD ON authorizing the work or to check another shop. It wasn't until I got the pictures from her that I saw the CT lic plate HOLD ON which of course made perfect sense. In addition the extra key she sent had a hand written paper tag from the PO that said HOLD ON on it. I decided to remove it and keep it intact as part of the history of the car.
Just another quick tid bit (I know this is getting long) the son was living in CT when he went to NC to do lighting for Richard Petty's garage and car museum when he me Richard's PA, married her and ended up in NC with the parents following some time later. The PO was a huge Jeff Gordon fan and he kept his receipt folders in a box which must have contained a Jeff Gordon plaque of some sort (as that is printed on the box) that he hung in his garage. The other son, who is a Jr., still lives in CT and does ambulance work at Limerock still.
When I was a kid I had a MGB-GT which I ruined and then a TR6 and parts car and a bus schedule that later of which got used the most. When I finally came to my senses and dumped the TR for something more reliable and 4 season, I vowed that I would get a fun car when the day came that I could afford it as a fun car only. When, about 18 years ago, that day came I spent a bit trying to figure out which way to go with it. I'm greatful that I chose a 911 and have never looked back. Great cars and an even greater community.
11-11-2020, 09:21 PM
1986 911 Coupe ...Back in the Air Cooled Fold!
