(WTB) Swing left or swing right - Brains trust opinions sought

[WOKA]

Ultimately I know the decision can only be made by me, but making the decision is the hard bit right now..  I have options to an extent, but herein lays the dilemma.

I'm poised to pull the trigger on a really sweet 996TT - its a great thing, it ticks all the boxes other than the colour, but really, for this type of car there is no opportunity to pick and choose colour's - it seems it is what it is.  Buy it, enjoy it and don't get booked when on the go pedal - damn those cars are quick.!  However, I have a perfectly good 996 NA that I love, it too ticks all the boxes, its sorted.  It would be a sad day that I see it drive out the driveway and into someone else's garage - but hey, there would be a 996TT in its place...  Swings and roundabouts, one in, one out. Either / Or.  No real biggie.

Then there is the whole other side of the equation - the air cooled side, the nostalgia. Something pre-IB - about 1973.  Or maybe something mid '70's or so.  Something the drives and smells like it should.  Something that doesn't do 0-100 in sub 6 seconds..  Something that you can drive on Sundays and you step back and go 'yeah - that's my car'..

Am I dead in the water thinking that I can get a good Pre-IB for around 75k..?  Or a mid to late 70's IB for the same..?  If so, I can have my best of both worlds, my NA 996 and a 70's AC..

 

So, the AC criteria would be (or am I dreaming):

 

Three pedals in a coupe is a MUST  

Proper L to R conversion is OK

LHD is OK 

Engine would need to have its gremlins ironed out

Non matching numbers is fine - a 3.2 in a early 70's body is fine

Project rust bucket's need not apply

Pre IB is preferred

 

So, what you got, or who do you know and what do they have.?

 

Or do I just buy the TT and be done with it.!?

 

Thanks in advance - your opinions and comments are appreciated

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Cam Arnott]

You've already got one modern(fish) car, why not have one of each...?

Someone once said its more fun to drive an old car fast, than it is to drive a fast car slow. Particularly in this nanny state age where there are speed cameras everywhere.

[bear924]

Tough one. 

Here's some opinions to further help confuse the matter:

https://www.quora.com/Which-Porsche-911-should-you-avoid 

Having two or more P car can be difficult in a first world problem kind of way, in that there's more cars to service, repair, wash, store, rego and drive. I feel there is a certain simplicity in just having one car at a time, then driving the pants off it (I say that knowing full well that I will have 2 P cars parked in my garage at some stage in the future.) When you are done with the car, move it on to its next keeper and try your next one.

Also, if you get a 6 turbo, you can take me for a drive in it so that I can see what I think. 

From an investment perspective, A/C would be a safe bet however maybe in the medium term the 6 turbo will have more upside as the 996 era cars are beginning to find their place as the last of the analogue. In many ways the 6 turbo isn't that far removed from the 64 and 3 turbos, yet I suspect you'd jump at the change to own one of those if you could get one for 6 turbo money.

Finally... there are also less 6 turbos than A/C cars. If you've found a good example, and it's something you want to try, it might be worth getting it now while you can. 

 

 

[Thommo66]

I got confused as hell when considering my first P last year.  Wanted a 993  ... almost bought one.

Then drove a manual 6 TT and that threw me.  Was also considering a 997.1 and .2  As i said .. totally confused.

Went with the 6 TT manual.  Love every time I get behind the wheel.  No regrets !   Good luck.

[DJM]

I ponder this question all the time.  What could I buy instead that I could pedal hard and be great fun while avoiding death defying, licence shredding speeds.  

Old A/C seems to fit the bill but prices are silly so I stray to other marques.  for me TT or GT2,3,4 while awesome are really too much car for legal Sunday drives.  I vote to add another NA.  

 

[Timm]

I vote 996 TT... boost is love, boost is life

Also, shotgun second passenger drive after @bear924

[Troubleshooter]

Johnny Walker or Jack Daniels will tell you the answer, go ask them

[symsy]

Man do you know how much coaching you have had.. we are gonna have to go into experiential simulation mode now!!!

Scenario 1.

Close your eyes and visualise you are at Cars and Coffee , just feel inside which one you like saying out loud the most.

When asked this question... you gotta car mate .. ? or which car is yours buddy of those in the car park?

"That Phat 997s"

I had a 996 and  I swapped it for a Cayman S  and I am building a monster aircool outlaw at the moment

That silver turbo over there..

Scenario 2 

Visualise

and for extra confirmation , its been a shit week and or your partner has just chewed your arse over the housework..

You roll up the garage door and think..yeah .. fuck it Im going for a drive..

Which car?

Scenario 3. 

Lifes good and your partner urges you to go to cars and coffee , which one do you get up early to wash before leaving??

Scenario 4

You come home , have been for a blast and talked shit with the fellas all morning at cars and coffee.. your just about to close the garage door 

which one do you feel you will take a second look back at?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Choice is such a  bitch hey..  

Come on?  Which one features the most.

Failing that apply @Troubleshooter 's strategy and work out which one you can still say when pissed

 

 

 

[grantmr]

T

[LeeM]

  Never driven a Turbo, nor a 996 at any length of time, so I can't comment on either.

  $75k for a longhood? Hmmm, I'll say no, unless you want hidden trouble or a project.

 Backdate an SC if that floats your longhood boat? As you would well know, there are imported / converted SC's around within your budget,  then it just comes down to buying some bits and having a go at doing it yourself. That's going to add 2 or 3 grand and a bit of paint (unless you're like me and get some colour matched spray cans!) and you have the satisfaction of saying you built a car that you've always wanted. It just depends how fussy you are how the car turns out and how much you spend I spose, yet you can make it into something that you will always turn around to look at in your garage, and make you smile. Personally, I think buying a longhood should be an experience you cherish, not buying a heap of shit that will cost the national debt of Nigeria to turn into a nice car, whereas you're already ok with buying a converted car, so why not make it a longhood? You've already got a 'modern' Porsche, so having the best of both water and air cooled worlds would be fantastic in my opinion. 

 As for the Turbo. You'll be tempted to hit the loud pedal regularly to enjoy the boost rush which is why you bought it in the first place (fair enough too), yet unless you know of a road that you can do that without getting caught, they're a little pointless to potter around at legal speeds to be honest. Don't get me wrong, I'm a maniac that would love a stupidly fast 911 that scares me, but apart from not being able to afford one, I can't see the point if you're not going to do track days to unleash its real potential

 I mean no disrespect to you or any Turbo owners, and it's just a point of topic conversation, but I suppose it begs the question, Do you NEED a Turbo? You've already said your 996 ticks all the boxes, so how many more boxes do you need ticked? Are you just bored with your car, or do you want that Turbo rush so many talk about?  

 My vote is to grab a cheap (!) SC and backdate it to what you want

[P-Kay]

I would suggest that.you will regret leaving the 996 fraternity

Yes, I do miss mine.....

[Bluegus73]

You’ve already got a 996 that you love. I don’t know, but how different is the 996tt going to be?

I say go out and get something different.

As for what you can get .... I think (hope) I lucked out with my recent purchase. Matching numbers, Australian delivered, coupe, 5 speed, 78 SC. High km’s but lots of ongoing maintenance done to it. Was just under $80k. 

I’m still in the honeymoon phase I know, but I love it.

And Lastly .... there certainly is a lot to be said about not having to drive the old cars fast to feel that you’re going fast. I’ll take the raw noise and feeling with less speed over the more refined ride but licence losing pace any day.

Good luck!!

[ANF]

In overly simple terms the 996 turbo is "just" a faster 996..... agree with others try something different and keep the one you have. For your $75k longhood choice will as others have said be very limited, go for an IB? Grab that one you mentioned, if you can.... https://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Porsche-911-1975/SSE-AD-5100212/?Cr=7

Or look at the other side of the coin and check out a transaxle car? Never know until you give it a go

Now there is another option and yes this is a Porsche forum, but do other marques float your boat.... 

Too many options... a real first world problem 

[edgy]

Buy the ultimate 911,  a GT3...  

 

[Russ]

buy the TT, I would!

[Coastr]

Ha you can buy mine if you want, fits your criteria (almost..not a 70s)..you know it runs heaps good  ... and enough change for a Boxrod thrown in.

[WOKA]

1 hour ago, Coastr said:

Ha you can buy mine if you want, fits your criteria (almost..not a 70s)..you know it runs heaps good  ... and enough change for a Boxrod thrown in.

Empty yah inbox.!

PFA says you can't receive PM at the mo.

[Coastr]

Err I did a bit.  That should save a couple of hundred bytes for more

[Fraz]

17 hours ago, LeeM said:

 I mean no disrespect to you or any Turbo owners, and it's just a point of topic conversation, but I suppose it begs the question, Do you NEED a Turbo? 

Do you need a Porsche/turbo? One in the same question. 

Boost, is turn key stress relief, best part is it all happens around 3000rpm. So yes I need a turbo.

Just buy the turbo @WOKA you will love it. What is this bad colour you speak ??

Any colour apart from silver, black or grey is a win, so long as it’s not red that is. 

[WOKA]

2 hours ago, Fraz said:

Do you need a Porsche/turbo? One in the same question. 

Boost, is turn key stress relief, best part is it all happens around 3000rpm. So yes I need a turbo.

Just buy the turbo @WOKA you will love it. What is this bad colour you speak ??

Any colour apart from silver, black or grey is a win, so long as it’s not red that is. 

Don't they all come in silver, black or grey..?  Unless it's Auto, then it's red..

:-/

[TINGY]

Turbo is good so is red, silver, grey, same colour isn't it? Yaaawn. 

[Thommo66]

Another 2 cents worth if it helps your decision making.

I've got a good mate at work who bought a perfectly good 997.1 CS (tip).  I bought my 6 Turbo 5 months after he bought his.  He then decided he wanted something a bit more special and started looking and dropped another ~80k in the sell/buy to get into a 991.1 2012 C4.  Beautiful car. 

When we both go for a spin up to Lake Mountain and grab a coffee afterwards; (1) he can't keep up with me ( and that's not because I'm a better driver ) and (2) he still tells me " yeah but your car is special ".

Go the Turbo and get a manual 

[ByronBayChris]

So we cant buy an IB for $85k but 993 are going for close to that figure ?      Weird As F...

I say go even more uber cool and buy a 356.   Not the quickest.  You'll get dragged off by a Toyota Echo and they will win.   You will rev it's guts out to start, but once you are underway, there aint no stoppin a cool 356.

I know one uber cool one for sale right now.