Well here's mine then .........

Thought I'd put some pics up of my new toy !







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Sweet!

You cannot argue with a black 911!

James


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Awesome Jamie, does it drive as well as it looks

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cool looking car,

Keith


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Thanks,

I'd been looking at 911s on websites such as this for a good 18 months or so, trying to build up my knowledge and decide what would be best for me. I was very keen on the retro styling and chrome of the early 70s 2.2s and 2.4s and thought that one of those would be just the ticket. Then I put my sensible trousers on and realised that this was a car that was gong to be my only transport and was going to have to live on-street in central London, I needed a car that would start on the button every time (not that any Porsche shouldn't if properly looked after) and be as immune to tin-worm and the ravages of London life as is possible. As my budget was pretty limited (still managed to spend more than i meant to !) a late 80's 3.2 seemed the obvious choice, mechanically simpler than the later 964 and rumoured to be more reliable, but you can argue that one until you are blue in the face.

Anyway I set about my task of looking for a late 3.2, had to be G50 gearboxed, had to be coupe, (sorry folks I think Targas are ugly !), couldn't be red or white (too 80's and cliched for my taste) balck for choice and ideally without whale tail (see previous comment !), and LHD for preference (cheaper, more choice and not a problem to drive on the left at all). My decision to look very seriously for a car was forced on me by a late night meeting between the front of my Peugeot 205 and the back of a London taxi on The Strand - the less said the better !

On the off chance I gave Adrian Crawford (well known Devon based Porsche importer who runs the Performance 2 and 4 website) a call to see if he could help me. His initial response was that my budget wasn't big enough for him to find a decent car, however when I mentioned I was happy with LHD he said that he might have just the thing - the car you see above:-

Late 1989 3.2 Carrera Sport, 135,000 Km (80K+ miles), Linen Leather (wouldn't have been my first choice !), sun roof, working air-con, basic electric function comfort seats (there were loads of options for the level of electrical adjustability, mine is the standard option), completely original paint, decent service history, both in the UK and in Germany, fairly recent top-end re-build, all the original Documents from 1st registration in Germany. It seemd too good to be true and reasonably priced at £14,750. I had an inspection carried out by a local Porsche specialist who pointed out that the rear break pads were pretty worn and that the bonnet and engine lid struts were a bit tired, other than that it was given a clean bill of health. Adrian had the break pads replaced free of charge and promised he would post me the bonnet struts (hmmm strangely never arrived !).

Anyway as you will have guessed I took the day off work and the train to Plymouth and handed over my hard-earned. I haven't looked back ! The car is a joy and has given me no hassle whatsoever (apart form a slightly sticking front right caliper which I will have sorted some time soon). I have managed to clock up about 2000 miles since July when I bought it without even trying. I got a fantastic deal on my Insurance - having had quotes of £3-£4K I was a bit worried, but managed to get a deal through my existing insurer Admiral for £800 fully comp, protected no claims bonus, parked on street in Kensington (more Porsches stolen than from anywhere else !) with my girlfriend as a named driver - trust me for London, where I was paying over £400 on a L reg Peugeot 205 worth £1800, this is a good deal ! (Surprisingly so given that they had just written off the Peugeot - thank god for protected bonuses !)



Jamie


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Hi Again

I to wanted an early 7o's coupe, In 1981 I so nearly bought a lovely 1972 2.4e. Why I didn't actually part with the £4000 cash which I did have at the time I do not know. However the memory of that test drive has stayed with me for 20 years and last week as you've probably seen on here I finally got a 911. I to think that the targa spoils the lines of the car, the 2.4e was alovely car almost as fast as the S and a lot better than the T which was the carb model of that year.

I also agree about the spoilers for the same reasons, ideally I would love to have one of those electric jobs from a later car on my 3.2 Carerra. That way you get any stability benefits along with clean lines when the car is parked. Anyone know if this is possible/practical?

What you say about LHD makes good sense its funny but I had never considered it that way. I have always been dissapointed to discover that a good looking 911 turned out to be LHD. They often don't even mention it in the classifieds. Maybe the reason for there lack of appeal to me dates back to the early eighties when I had my 'near purchase' at the time there were loads of imported LHD's coming into the market which were tarted up rust heaps this being the days before galvanised bodies.

Good driving with your car, it does look the business.

BTW The next time you are driving behind my cab keep your eyes on the road not on the skirts! lol

Regards

Keith


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Top car Jamie - Like it! :lol:

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errm surely not over 13 years old with bodywork like that? Thats a great find! How does it run? How is it driving a left hooker? What are the expected running costs per year?


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Sarbs,

To be honest I think the pictures are a little flattering in terms of the condition - it does look flawless doesn't it ! I have subsequently discovered that at some point the front of the car has had a coat of paint (which was done extremely well), can't tell how far back the new paint goes, but pleasingly no sign of damage repair anywhere, bu the car is not a factory 'Sport' model, just had the whaletail as an option - don't believe everything the salesman tells you ! There are of course the usual stone chips to be found at the front, but nothing serious, a couple of which have been touched up with what looks like blobs of black nail polish ! (something I'll get sorted in the fullness of time). The rear really is as good as it looks - the wings are fantastic. I've had the whaletail removed now which I think really improves the look of these cars.

Driving on the left is no problem whatsoever (there's another thread on that subject somewhere here). The car is running beautifully at the moment having just had a 12K service & MOT, new clutch (much lighter now), K&N air filter and EBC Greenstuff break pads put on the front.

Running costs are a bit of an unknown quantity at the moment - I've only had the car six months. That recent service (including having the spoiler-less lid sprayed up and fitted) cost me about £1300 (there were also a couple of little niggles that were fixed at the time), Insurance costs me about £830, but I am only 26 and the car lives on street in London. It is quite thirsty, getting rarely more than 20 miles to the gallon and that Optimax ain't cheap ! The only other problem I've had was a dead alternator (£300 fitted by JZ Machtech) - so it's not the cheapest thing to run, but no one suggested it would be !

Overall, am I happy ? - oh yes !, would I change the car ? - not likely !

Jamie


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Thats a very tidy looking car Jamie, as mentioned above, the paintwork looks superb


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Jamie, nice looking car! Those look like 8" rims on the back, 6" on the front. Right?

Having driven LHD cars quite happily for over 15 years, and owned a LHD 1974 911 for nearly 3 years I was very surprised to find out today from my welder that all 911s (certainly up to '89) use the same floorpan and RHD cars are converted at the factory. The pedals operate the LHD setup through rods and levers. It's no wonder that LHD cars feel more natural.


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I think you're spot-on about the wheels, the '89 model year had the 8'' rears as standard (I think) and 6'' on the front. Interestingly the 8'' rears still wear the standard 225/50 ZR 16's, can you squeeze 245's on without fouling the rear wings ?

As I understand it one of the complaints about rhd 911s is the offset pedals, not having driven one myself I can't really comment, but it sounds logical to me !

Jamie


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There are guys in the US that run 245s on 9" rims with standard SC flares, although you may have to roll the lips.


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Strangely mine's got 7's on the back yet is a "K" model which I thought was '89(?)

I'd guess 245's on the back Jamie will only make the understeer worse, unless you also go wider on the front. I've also got 225's and done have any traction problems.


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I've not encountered any traction problems yet (touch wood !), but it has always struck me as odd that the wider 8'' wheels don't carry wider rubber. I don't particularly intend to put wider tyres on as my Avons have plenty of life left in them - just wondering as they say ...... (slow day at work !)

Jamie


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