1978 911 SC Hot Rod For Sale

[hugh]

The more time you spend in an early 911 the more you appreciate it. They are truely special cars. I’d agree that a well sorted 3.0 is pretty much as good as it gets as an ‘early 911’ all rounder.
 

Both of the cars mentioned in this thread seem like nice examples and I’d say well priced. Having not sold is more of an indicator that the market has somewhat stalled than a reflection of value. 

[OBRUT]

36 minutes ago, hugh said:

Both of the cars mentioned in this thread seem like nice examples and I’d say well priced. Having not sold is more of an indicator that the market has somewhat stalled than a reflection of value. 

Agree, plus aren’t they both left to right converted?  It shouldn’t, but it shrinks the buyer’s pool. 
 

For the record, I’m not a member of the preachy converted hater club - I’ve had them before and currently have one in the shed. 

[ADS911]

Yes my car is converted with original factory parts to a high level as verified by RSR Sportscars in Adelaide. I have a very large file of receipts including the relevant parts invoices.

Having owned several Aust. Delivered G’s I can’t tell any meaningful difference with a correctly converted car, apart from the moniker. 
The “bangers” can be horrible.

If would be difficult to buy an Aust delivered car worth owning at the asking price and probably not the correct platform to modify at todays prices.

[Bugs77]

110% correct, in earlier days I was fairly stuck on Aussie delivered cars, but times have changed and the problem now is a good Aussie car is expensive (even if it still needs sorting) and best kept standard to retain value, a nice one is a beautiful thing. But not the best base for enhancing performance or building what you really want, the best base for that now is a straight rust free well converted car to build the one most of us really want, you won't upset the purists and the starting price before you begin spending ludicrous amounts of money on it will be more manageable, and allow more to be spent on improvements.

Often most will spend too much on a holy grail Aussie delivered car that normally needs everything sorted to some degree anyway, and that doesn't get done because the car cost so much in the first place. These are often the cars that get bought by those coming from modern Porsche's dipping their toes into the  classic world, only to be underwhelmed by the experience of a car below it's potential so understandably revert back. I keep going the other way! but I have always had or put together well sorted cars , there's a big difference. In this latest car of mine the inclusion of the modern electric A/C and the LED light conversion massively improve daily drive duties and on top of the above stock performance takes it well beyond any stock Aussie car experience. However the pool of customers that get that enough to want one is pretty small at the moment, so two very good cars sit there twiddling their thumbs, well below build cost.

[LeeM]

3 hours ago, Bugs77 said:

...the best base for that now is a straight rust free well converted car to build the one most of us really want...

 

...you won't upset the purists...

 

and the starting price before you begin spending ludicrous amounts of money on it will be more manageable

1. Or a UK or HK factory RHD 👍

 

2. You probably will 😅

 

3. True to a point, yet in these financial times, a lot of these cars aren't exactly that cheap unless it's a rusty shed with a questionable drive train 

[MFX]

8 hours ago, Bugs77 said:

110% correct, in earlier days I was fairly stuck on Aussie delivered cars, but times have changed and the problem now is a good Aussie car is expensive (even if it still needs sorting) and best kept standard to retain value, a nice one is a beautiful thing. But not the best base for enhancing performance or building what you really want, the best base for that now is a straight rust free well converted car to build the one most of us really want, you won't upset the purists and the starting price before you begin spending ludicrous amounts of money on it will be more manageable, and allow more to be spent on improvements.

Often most will spend too much on a holy grail Aussie delivered car that normally needs everything sorted to some degree anyway, and that doesn't get done because the car cost so much in the first place. These are often the cars that get bought by those coming from modern Porsche's dipping their toes into the  classic world, only to be underwhelmed by the experience of a car below it's potential so understandably revert back. I keep going the other way! but I have always had or put together well sorted cars , there's a big difference. In this latest car of mine the inclusion of the modern electric A/C and the LED light conversion massively improve daily drive duties and on top of the above stock performance takes it well beyond any stock Aussie car experience. However the pool of customers that get that enough to want one is pretty small at the moment, so two very good cars sit there twiddling their thumbs, well below build cost.

So many people get caught up on a piece of paper that is only ever talked about when you buy or sell. An Aussie car, an import, or a properly converted car can all give you the same driving experience. In fact some could argue the cheaper cars are more enjoyable to drive so you don't worry about the 'value'. Once you own the car, no one else knows or cares what the lineage is.

I also find the argument that an Aussie car is a better 'investment' flawed. Yes they sell for more money, but the discount for the 'lesser' cars always sits around the same percentage. When the Aussie cars go up or down, so do the 'bastards'.

The only ones that really seem to get crazy money are the cars that were bought new and never driven and to me the people who buy and sell those cars aren't real car people anyway.  

[Bugs77]

19 hours ago, LeeM said:

1. Or a UK or HK factory RHD 👍

 

2. You probably will 😅

 

3. True to a point, yet in these financial times, a lot of these cars aren't exactly that cheap unless it's a rusty shed with a questionable drive train 

Ha, a rusty shed with questionable drive train is your starting point for a backdate ST, you have panel work to do anyway, that's where your UK imports come in handy and nothing wrong with that.

 

[LeeM]

7 hours ago, Bugs77 said:

Ha, a rusty shed with questionable drive train is your starting point for a backdate ST, you have panel work to do anyway, that's where your UK imports come in handy and nothing wrong with that.

 

😅 Well mine was a half decent SC from Hong Kong which I backdated meself, and a mate sold his very clean Aussie delivered '84 for not far off the money being asked above, and the buyer completely stripped it turning into an ST replica, so they don't have to be a rusty shed to attack them with a grinder 😁

[911]

On 25/04/2024 at 21:32, MFX said:

So many people get caught up on a piece of paper that is only ever talked about when you buy or sell. An Aussie car, an import, or a properly converted car can all give you the same driving experience. In fact some could argue the cheaper cars are more enjoyable to drive so you don't worry about the 'value'. Once you own the car, no one else knows or cares what the lineage is.

I also find the argument that an Aussie car is a better 'investment' flawed. Yes they sell for more money, but the discount for the 'lesser' cars always sits around the same percentage. When the Aussie cars go up or down, so do the 'bastards'.

The only ones that really seem to get crazy money are the cars that were bought new and never driven and to me the people who buy and sell those cars aren't real car people anyway.  

I don't think it's mainly to do with the piece of paper. Rust is a big issue with UK imported cars. I thought the same thing when I started looking, but every UK car I saw had some form of rust. Bubbles around the tail lights, windscreens, front guards etc. Even the cleanest one I saw had small blisters. After looking at 3, I decided to steer clear. I'm sure there are good ones, but the odds are against you and given the price of these cars now, it's not unusual to do a quick sand and repaint, which will hide rust for a while to help sellers move the cars. 

911's got to a stage where they were pretty cheap too and I even remember your 911 conversion needed to fixed, because it was very rough.  Again, not saying there aren't good ones, but sometimes they were converted to make profit by importers, so you need to make sure you know exactly what to look for.

I was an importer of cars quite a few years ago. Mainly from Japan, but occasionally from the US and the UK. I rememeber a client brining over a 997 cab, which would have been under 10 years old at the time as a personal import and it was covered in surface rust. Australia never got the FQ Mitsubishi Evo 8's and neither did Japan, so we bought some in from the UK and I tell you, they had rust holes in the spare tyre cavity in the boot and even in the inner sills, which was fixed by spraying some black tar crap on it in the UK and saying it has been "rustproofed" from the factory. We used to do alot of RHD conversions on Silverados, camaros and mustangs. Albeit, a bit more complicated than an early 911, but the work was horrendous unfortunately. The stigma is there along with the premium on Aussie cars, because people have learnt over time. 

Give me two early 911s, identical besides one being UK delivered and one being Aussie delivered. To me, I'd rather save the money and buy the UK car, but most of the time you get what you pay for (as above, I'm sure there are good ones, but majority aren't). 

The car for sale here looks very well sorted though. Building an engine like that and a glass out respray won't get you too much change out of $100k these days. I'm suprised it actually hasn't sold yet. As others have said, I think it's more a reflection of the market slowing. Price is right. 

[MFX]

9 hours ago, 911 said:

I don't think it's mainly to do with the piece of paper. Rust is a big issue with UK imported cars. I thought the same thing when I started looking, but every UK car I saw had some form of rust. Bubbles around the tail lights, windscreens, front guards etc. Even the cleanest one I saw had small blisters. After looking at 3, I decided to steer clear. I'm sure there are good ones, but the odds are against you and given the price of these cars now, it's not unusual to do a quick sand and repaint, which will hide rust for a while to help sellers move the cars. 

911's got to a stage where they were pretty cheap too and I even remember your 911 conversion needed to fixed, because it was very rough.  Again, not saying there aren't good ones, but sometimes they were converted to make profit by importers, so you need to make sure you know exactly what to look for.

I was an importer of cars quite a few years ago. Mainly from Japan, but occasionally from the US and the UK. I rememeber a client brining over a 997 cab, which would have been under 10 years old at the time as a personal import and it was covered in surface rust. Australia never got the FQ Mitsubishi Evo 8's and neither did Japan, so we bought some in from the UK and I tell you, they had rust holes in the spare tyre cavity in the boot and even in the inner sills, which was fixed by spraying some black tar crap on it in the UK and saying it has been "rustproofed" from the factory. We used to do alot of RHD conversions on Silverados, camaros and mustangs. Albeit, a bit more complicated than an early 911, but the work was horrendous unfortunately. The stigma is there along with the premium on Aussie cars, because people have learnt over time. 

Give me two early 911s, identical besides one being UK delivered and one being Aussie delivered. To me, I'd rather save the money and buy the UK car, but most of the time you get what you pay for (as above, I'm sure there are good ones, but majority aren't). 

The car for sale here looks very well sorted though. Building an engine like that and a glass out respray won't get you too much change out of $100k these days. I'm suprised it actually hasn't sold yet. As others have said, I think it's more a reflection of the market slowing. Price is right. 

That is also one of the perpetuated arguments that is flawed. I agree that some UK cars can be rusty (some were never driven in the winter), but South African, Hong Kong, etc, all get the same discount. I have also seen plenty of Aus delivered cars with rust. Let's face it, the cars we are talking about are 40 or 50 years old and have lived in a lot of different places. Same thing that I think mileage on these old cars is now irrelevant. I always suggest the number one rule with these old cars is to buy on condition.

[911]

1 hour ago, MFX said:

That is also one of the perpetuated arguments that is flawed. I agree that some UK cars can be rusty (some were never driven in the winter), but South African, Hong Kong, etc, all get the same discount. I have also seen plenty of Aus delivered cars with rust. Let's face it, the cars we are talking about are 40 or 50 years old and have lived in a lot of different places. Same thing that I think mileage on these old cars is now irrelevant. I always suggest the number one rule with these old cars is to buy on condition.

I was really specifically talking about UK cars. To be honest I haven't had any experience with South African cars and very little experience with HK cars. I do notice they tend to move a bit quicker though than the UK cars. I looked at a wine red HK 3.2 years ago, wasn't sold on the red on red, but as you said, didn't see any rust.

Love your YouTube channel by the way. It's been very helpful over the years! 

[Bugs77]

On 26/04/2024 at 17:21, LeeM said:

😅 Well mine was a half decent SC from Hong Kong which I backdated meself, and a mate sold his very clean Aussie delivered '84 for not far off the money being asked above, and the buyer completely stripped it turning into an ST replica, so they don't have to be a rusty shed to attack them with a grinder 😁

No they don't have to, and it's better to start with the best example possible to minimize rust/damage repairs, but a good use for sheds is for extensive builds because they're cheaper, no Aussie delivered "tax" to pay. Have seen backdate coupe builds and the like lately from Targas and convertibles that have gone for big money, but must have been big money to do. You kind of wonder if the effort was worth the money saved at the start.

No, for me I check out the car body condition first, not concerned where it comes from, just how straight the body is and if it has all the right bits in place for what I want to build. Otherwise pay reasonable money for a good stock Aussie car which is a completely different thing.

I was inquiring about that HK Wine 3.2 at the time, needed a closer look at what was going on with the paint.

[LeeM]

 @Bugs77

You also pay a 'Porsche tax' to those shops who are doing the backdating 😁

[Bugs77]

To some degree maybe but hopefully pay mainly for excellent workmanship, as the cars values have risen so have parts unfortunately, can't help that. I try and do as much as possible myself, only hand over jobs if I feel I can't match top quality myself or can't find the time, everything has to be sh-mick as my car I have for sale is

But I may keep and develop further.

[LeeM]

3 hours ago, Bugs77 said:

 everything has to be sh-mick as my car I have for sale is

 Mine however, is not 😅👍