Enthusiasts Blogging Our Favorite Classifieds
The wild Guards Red 1985 Andial-modified Porsche 930 3.5 turbo is back up for sale, this time with a $5,000 lowered “Buy It Now” to one penny short of $85,000. That price is still pretty steep for a older heavily modified example, but this is a pretty neat and rare bit of Porsche Motorsports history. What would you pay?
Ah, another Motorsports Monday, and another opportunity to tick off the purists! I’ve had a string of LS swapped cars that I’ve reviewed recently, and here’s another to add to the list. In the 1990s, Porsche actually ran a program to develop a tube-frame race car; manufactured by Fabspeed – who notably also built Porsche’s tube-frame 944 racers, one example is still actively campaigned by Musante Motorsports in Connecticut. This car doesn’t appear to have the credentials of that particular example, but switching to a tube frame really allows racers to optimally set up both the suspension and engine configurations. In Fabspeed’s case, they moved the engine forward to create a mid-engined 911 long before the GT1 project. In this example’s case, it’s allowed for a 6.2 liter, 525 horsepower V8 to be mounted in the back. Under the guise of early 1970s RSR bodywork, this is clearly a track weapon:
Let’s take a moment to spend some time with the unloved. Porsche’s 996, the first of the water-cooled 911s, remains one of the least valuable, appreciated, respected – basically just pick your adjective – variants of the 911. There are good and bad reasons for that, but we are at the point now where a buyer looking for an entry-level 911 may be best suited by finding a 996 that is in good shape and using that to see what all the fuss is about. The example here is a beautiful Cobalt Blue Metallic 2003 Porsche 911 Carrera 4S Coupe, located in California, with 82,400 miles on it. 2002 saw a number of changes to the 996 that would benefit this car: displacement was increased from 3.4 liters to 3.6 liters, along with a corresponding bump in horsepower and torque. The model also received a minor face lift to help quiet the uproar over what many considered a particularly ugly 911, and, specific to this car, the Carrera 4S was released allowing buyers to experience the wide-body glory of the Turbo, complete with upgraded suspension and brakes, while still making use of a lower-strain naturally-aspirated engine.
Just the other day, I caught an episode of the British show Wheeler Dealers involving a Porsche 924. The basic premise of the show, if you haven’t seen it, is to find a classic car, do a light mechanical and cosmetic freshening, and sell the car. While “flipping” usually isn’t appreciated by enthusiasts, this show actually documents how a backyard mechanic can not only find these cars, but correct some of the obvious flaws easily to make a nice running driver. There aren’t many that really appreciate the original base Porsche 924, but in this episode the hosts restored an original 924 and talked about what a fun, affordable project they could be. It’s really amazing; for a car that was originally destined to be a Volkswagen coupe, it ironically probably would have been better valued had it ended up under the banner of its original more pedestrian marque. Find a 1970s Scirocco or Rabbit in clean, mostly original and serviceable condition with low miles and you’d have a bidding war. But we regularly find good condition Porsche 924s; for the most part, no one wants them:
Another car showcased with beautiful photography. I love it! I can’t be the only one that spends extra time going over the details of a car simply because it’s been presented well so I’m not sure why more sellers don’t do something like this. Anyway, this car also happens to have quite a few details to peruse so in this case the extra time is needed. Here we have a Black 1989 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Coupe, located in Oregon, with Black and Tan interior and 91,204 miles. So we have a nice looking 964 that comes from the very first year of the Carrera 4’s existence. From there things get quite a bit more interesting. The engine is now a 3.8 liter with Carrera RS spec clutch and flywheel. That extra power is brought to a halt using “Big Red” calipers and rotors and controlled by a suspension upgraded to Carrera Cup trim. The interior has been kept mostly stock with the exception of Recaro seats and 5-point harnesses to keep the driver and passenger securely in place. All together, a car that looks really nice and should perform very well!