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Month: August 2018

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1976 Porsche 911S – Safari

1976 Porsche 911S – Safari

Published August 31, 2018 by Rob

Let’s get weird. I’ll admit, when I see a 911 my first thought has never been, “Alright, now how do we get that off road?” Granted we are nearing three decades since Porsche began offering all-wheel drive on the 911 so I suppose off-roading isn’t that far-fetched a pursuit. But still. The 911 we see here, a 1976 Porsche 911S converted to what the sellers have called ‘Safari’ configuration, doesn’t even have all-wheel drive yet here it is looking fully ready to trek through the savannas of Africa in search of the nearest lion.

Of course, the impetus for a build like this probably didn’t stem from some desire to go on safari in a 911, but rather from Porsche’s own rally exploits in the 911. Those exploits began early in the 911’s life and while rallying hasn’t really been Porsche’s forte they were quite competitive in those early years. I also understand the desire to have a 911 that stands well apart from the crowd. Not all racing is road racing and not all enjoyable driving must occur on smooth roads. For those looking for a 911 to take them to more obscure destinations an off-roader might be just the ticket.

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1983 Porsche 911SC Coupe

1983 Porsche 911SC Coupe

Published August 30, 2018 by Rob

I feel as if I have been neglectful. Truth be told I have not been overly enamored with a lot of the 911s I’ve been coming across lately. I think that is because I have been spending a lot more time looking at very nice (and very expensive) modern 911s, which has colored my view of many of the older examples that I typically hold so dear. When you spend day after day looking at pristine, never driven, garage kept, cars fewer than five years old it becomes easy to find flaws in older cars and dismiss them. But of course those older cars have more flaws! They’ve been driven and enjoyed and they are just older. Plain and simple.

These “flaws” shouldn’t dissuade me though and I’ll look a little closer. The one we see here, a Blue Metallic 1983 Porsche 911SC Coupe, I like quite a bit. I don’t know if I view it as pristine and “spectacular” as the seller, which isn’t too surprising, but it does look quite good and appears to be in very original condition. It isn’t perfect, but it doesn’t have to be perfect and that’s just fine.

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1977 BMW 630CSi with 17,000 Miles

1977 BMW 630CSi with 17,000 Miles

Published August 30, 2018 by Carter

Update 8/30/18: A year after I originally wrote this car up at $20,000, it is back on a no reserve auction format and should sell this time if someone clicks the opening bid point at $7,500.

A decade on from the takeover of Hans Glas GmbH, BMW put the Dingolfing production line and engineers to work on their new big coupe. This allowed them to build the design in-house, instead of subcontracting construction of the 2-door as they had with the E9 to Karmann. The E24 was released in 1976, and compared to the Glas V8 they had borrowed for their premium product in the late 1960s it was thoroughly modern. Paul Bracq penned the lines as he did for all BMWs of the period, and but while there was a strong family resemblance between the 3- ,5- ,6- and 7-series cars, the E24 was where the long, low lines and sweeping greenhouse worked the best.

While initially the car was introduced to the world with many of the items from the E9 carried over, the U.S. got a special one-off for its introduction year. The 630CSi was brought in 1977 with a D-Jetronic fuel injected version of the M30B30 which itself had also seen duty in the E9. With slightly lower compression and emissions equipment fitted, it produced 176 horsepower and was shared with the contemporary 530i until 1978. But in late 1977, BMW yanked the 630 from the U.S., replacing it with the more powerful 633CSi.

While BMW’s sales between 1970 and 1977 had doubled (14,574 total vehicles to 28,766), the number of early 6s that made the journey was still relatively small. Couple that with thermal reactor failure that was a demise of many of the early U.S.-bound 3.0s, and of course the big nemesis of the 70s BMW – rust – and finding a lovely example of the early E24 here in the U.S. is quite difficult:

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2017 Porsche 911 Targa 4S

2017 Porsche 911 Targa 4S

Published August 29, 2018 by Rob

I have more or less made it my mission to post all of the interesting Targas I come across. It is a 911 model I have loved since my first encounter with one in the ’80s and I have grown particularly fond of the design in its present iteration for the 991. We don’t see a lot of them because they aren’t a lot of them, but thankfully enough buyers chose to get them in interesting colors that there is still some choice out there for those who don’t want the typical offerings. I still wish it were available as rear drive, but just returning to the original roll-hoop design will have to suffice for now.

Here we have a paint-to-sample (Irish Green?) 2017 Porsche 911 Targa 4S, located in Houston, with 7-speed manual transmission and 4,423 miles on it. For those who like their 911s to be optioned rather simply this one is pretty much paint-to-sample, a set of wheels, upgraded stereo, and that’s about it. In that regard, it’s all about the color.

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1991 Volkswagen GTI 16V

1991 Volkswagen GTI 16V

Published August 29, 2018 by Carter

Without a doubt, for me the best change ever to the GTI lineup was the revision in mid-1990 of the GTI 16V. The DOHC screamer was already a pretty potent performer, but Volkswagen pushed the desirability over the top for the end of the run. The result was what many – this author included – consider the best of the breed. The original may have been more pure, and subsequent models are a lot faster and more dependable. But none of them got it quite as right as the 2.0 16V.

Outside the GTI built on its legend with wider European-market flares and deep rockers. Like all of the A2s, new ‘Big Bumper’ covers integrated fog lights and brake ducting. Yes, they looked heavier than the previous slim bumpers, but they also matched the design well. Iconic round headlights returned, now with inner driving lights too. But arguably the best change was the addition of 15″ wheels – in this case, the BBS RM multi-piece units. New colors also were introduced, including the equally iconic and signature ‘Montana Green’. Inside the interior was bulked up with large bolster Recaro Trophy seats. To match the wicked looks, under the hood was improved with a new 2.0 version of the 16V motor. The 9A introduced CIS-E Motronic fuel injection, while the bore was increased from 81mm to 82.5 and the stroke from 86.4 mm to 92.8. Compression was increased slightly from 10.5:1 to 10.8:1 and the result was 134 horsepower at 5,800 RPMs and 133 lb.ft of torque at 4,400. The engine was still matched the the 2Y close ratio transmission with a 3.67 final drive. While the GTI 16V couldn’t match the Callaway Turbo GTI we saw yesterday on sheer acceleration, it was generally reviewed as the best GTI yet. Finding a clean example today is always cause for celebration, and this one looks ready to party. Does it hold up?

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