UK Import - First 911 Hunt

[Mk1_Oz]

Hello from a Newbie. I am well entrenched in the Ford Escort forums but my wife and I are now looking to branch out and get ourselves a 911 to play with!!!!

I will confess I know next to nothing about the various models of 911's so when looking at car ads I am a little scared as I cannot tell what is standard and what is a modification. I am trying to source info from the net and books.

I have started to look at a 1980 911 Targa. It claims to be an injected 3L 5 speed. Could that be right for the age? Also says aircon and power windows. Are there any specific things I should look for with this particular model i.e. known gremlins???

This particular car is a 130,000Kms UK import. Are there any negatives to buying an import over an Australian delivered Porsche??

I noted in another thread that a few people have suggested a pre-purchase inspection by a Porsche specialist. Given my lack of knowledge on these cars I think that is a path I would like to take. Does anybody know of such a specialist in Perth??

[jbdave]

Hi,

I just bought my first Porsche and went through all the research like you're about to. In the end I chose a 3.2 Carrera over an SC, not because of major differences in the models, just because one car was better than the other car.

The 1980 SC is a fuel injected car, and has a 3.0 litre engine. They can also have power windows and A/C (although don't count on the A/C working very well as I think it took until the 964/993 to get it right). Also you could check if it is a late 1980 model (which is the 204hp version), or the early 1980 model which has 188hp (not that there is a lot of difference if the car's mechanics aren't up to scratch.)

With regards to the Targas, you first must make sure they don't leak, as you can't get the roofs anymore (they can be reconditioned and I'm not sure about the cost, but I assume it wouldn't be cheap). Other known problems with the SC's such as upgraded chain tensioners, pop off boxes, etc would have all been corrected in a car of that age. Given it is a UK car, I would also be checking the undercarriage and making sure it looks ok before wasting money on any PPI. The guides you can get tell you exactly where to look for rust issues. I looked at a couple of UK cars and they were full of problems (ie rsut under the rear guards, the torsion bars looked like they were falling apart, etc).

THey are plenty of books, buyer's guides and internet forums etc to get a heap of knowledge on what to look for when buying a car (I googled everything and bought a couple of buyer's guides first). When you think you have found the right car, then get it to a specialist for a PPI and they'll fill you in on the rest.

As for buying an import, you'll get them a lot cheaper than an Aussie delivered car. That being said, by the looks of it they can be very hard to sell if there comes a time you need to sell it. The UK roads aren't fantastic for cars, and I often hear people comment how the owners don't take care of them as much over there as they do here (higher turnover of cars as they're a lot cheaper I guess). If you do go down the import path, make sure the car's service history is intact.

Good luck in your search. I had fun with mine, but not as much fun as I'm having driving around in my "new" 911.

[mike911CarreraS]

I have just imported a 1987 Porsche Carrera S Cabio from the UK. I asm currently in the process of getting it registered in NSW. Everything has gone well and I have a Pink Slip (raodworthy) but I now need to get a ADR compliance assessment done. I am trying to ascertain what issues there may be. I have fitted child restraint anchor points in the back. I have seen some discussion of the issue of seat belts in the rear seats.

I anyone has had some experience in getting ADR compliance I would welcome talking to them about what issues there may be.

Mike

[mike911CarreraS]

My car has now been registered. The ADR compliance was the last step. The only issue for me was the catalytic converter. Apparently some european Porsches of that vintage did not require catalytic converters and this can be a major issue. My car has an after market Dansk dual outlet stainless steel system fitted with a sports cat fitted. I managed to get it thru ADR.

There is a huge variance in the quality and expertise of the licensed engineers who do the testing. The first one I went to has no idea and wanted to charge $900. I can recommend CarTEch in Melbourne - knows what he is doing and charges were reasonable..

[Slocs]

Mike, did you end up having any dramas with the engineer signing off the rear seat belts for ADR4D compliance?

Thanks

Rob

[mike911CarreraS]

Rob

I think I posted this reply in another thread, but what I did was take out the seats, belts etc for the inspection - easy job. I have now re-installed them. I have no plans to have rear passengers but the car looks complete with the rear seats installed.

Mike

[PeterP]

Hello from a Newbie. I am well entrenched in the Ford Escort forums but my wife and I are now looking to branch out and get ourselves a 911 to play with!!!!

I will confess I know next to nothing about the various models of 911's so when looking at car ads I am a little scared as I cannot tell what is standard and what is a modification. I am trying to source info from the net and books.

I have started to look at a 1980 911 Targa. It claims to be an injected 3L 5 speed. Could that be right for the age? Also says aircon and power windows. Are there any specific things I should look for with this particular model i.e. known gremlins???

This particular car is a 130,000Kms UK import. Are there any negatives to buying an import over an Australian delivered Porsche??

I noted in another thread that a few people have suggested a pre-purchase inspection by a Porsche specialist. Given my lack of knowledge on these cars I think that is a path I would like to take. Does anybody know of such a specialist in Perth??

Hi,

I am new to this as well, and have spent cloe to a year looking for my 911. A couple of comments that may help (from people I have learn't from):

1) The car I have is a 78 911 SC, which is a 3.0L, with Bosch K-Jettronic injection. It has electric sunroof, windows and mirrors, that all work

2) with regard to UK imports: I went down thispath as well, but was advised by a specialist that I have high regard for, that the money you may save on buying in the UK, you may end up spending on rectifying rust, or getting it up to speed here. You will note that there are a number of UK cars on car sales etc that tend to be there for a long time. In addition I think imported cars sell for quite a bit less than UK/HKG cars; and Oz cars are more sought after.

As for a specialist in Perth, so can't help, but Porsche Club should be able to.

Good luck,

cheers

Peter

[mike911CarreraS]

Newbie

In regard to Uk importing I guess the question revolves around what you are doing it for. If money is the key issue and you are looking to sell in a sort time then maybe stick to Aussie cars.

In my case I was looking for a car in very good condition with low kms that I could keep for a long time (my kids can worry about the resale value) . They are hard to find in OZ. My 1987 is in mint condition, about 120k kms on the clock. All up registered in Oz it cost well below $30,000. For not so good condition models you can get them a lot cheaper.

I had the advantage of having my brother in the UK who has bought probably 5 or 6 Porsches - some for himself and some for his mates in Oz. Help at the UK end with exporting etc is helpful

The other consideration is that with the high Oz dollar and the recession in the UK, prices have plunged whereas in Oz they have not dropped much if at all. My car cost me close to half what it would have cost (in AUD) had I purchased it a couple of years ago (not accounting for import costs etc).

I bought mine car from a Porsche dealer and it was checked well before buying. Rust was not an issue because Porsches have very good underbody sealing. There were a couple of exposed bits of metal underneath (mainly the oil pipes to the front oil cooler) which had surface rust which I have since sealed with bituminous paint. The body panels themselves are perfect.

Anyway - life is short - do what feels right for you.

Mike

[IrisBlau]

I have started another post about side intrusion bars. Was this a problem for anyone? Can someone confirm when they were introduced? How can I tell if they are fitted or not? Thanking you most kindly. Ed.