Finally found time last week to get on the road and visit my Porsche 944, which has been parked in a mate’s farmyard for a few years while I get this Ferdinand thing off the ground.
You might remember I bought the 944 for its 911 number plate a few years back. It had been parked up for ten years in a soaking wet garage. I knew it needed a few bits repaired, which then turned into plans for a full restoration.
I subsequently broke two front-engined Porsches – 924 and 944 – for spare parts that might be needed, and the whole lot is stockpiled. I’m not in any rush to do this job, but am certainly glad to have a simple early 944 put aside, as Porsche is not making any more of them. Though this project is not a priority, it’s nice to check up on the car every now and then.
Above is the sight that awaited me – the Porsche being swallowed by a hedge. It’s sitting on gravel, so the underside is still dry, and better it is well ventilated than in some damp garage or barn. Nevertheless, I’m going to drag it back to Porsche rust repair experts Racing Restorations at Pershore sometime soon, and allow Rob Campbell to work his metal magic.
Robert and I have been friends for over twenty years, so have done plenty of projects together. The team of guys there do exceptional metalwork, and the restoration repairs will be invisible.
I’ve owned two Porsche 911 SCs: Coupe and Cabriolet. I’d love to have kept both. In my opinion, the 911 SC is the perfect air-cooled 911. Not starter 911 and not introduction to Porsche: the perfect air-cooled 911 available for sensible money.
It’s simple, reliable, quick enough for most of us and relatively cheap. At least it used to be. Prices have been moving up since I started my Porsche forum at impactbumpers.com in 2006, to gather mid-year, SC, 930 and 911 3.2 Carrera owners and enthusiasts. I’ve been talking up the bumper cars in mag features for years now, and SC prices are finally beginning to get where they belong, relative to everything else.
Contrary to all those magazine buyers’ guides pushing people towards the 3.2 Carrera, the 3-litre SC is no poor relation. The longer stroke 3.2 engine is a bit lazier than the revvy SC, so while the 3.2 makes more power on paper, driving the two cars back-to-back does not confirm the Carrera as an obvious ‘upgrade’. I’ve had more than a few SC versus 3.2 thrashes on open roads and track days, and the SC is the car I would pick for either, every time.
SC prices have always trailed 3.2s and are likely to do so for the foreseeable future, but we’re seeing more sense on prices for the best SCs. My classic Porsche insurance valuations view the price relationship on average SCs and 3.2s as the market views them, but I’ve long valued really great SCs along the same lines as 3.2s, and recommend owners think very carefully on what they agree their SC values at. Really great RHD examples will not be easy to replace for under £20k in the UK.
Take the 911 SC seen here, which just sold today on eBay. The description read well enough: nice solid car, some work to the b-posts and sills, fresh black metallic paint, engine rebuild with Carrera tensioners: all the right bits there, if you believe the buyers’ guides. The pics show some issues for originality freaks: aftermarket steering wheel, 3.2 Carrera sports seats, aero mirrors, 7″ & 9″ Fuchs with wrong polished finish, aftermarket hi-fi, but all of these can be fixed. 154,000 miles cannot.
Still, it seems a solid car, so what price for all this finery? £18,610 in ebay bids: 42 of them, from a £1,000 start to the final bid a few seconds before the finish. The auction pictures weren’t great, but a good car is getting hard to find now. For it to hit this much on eBay with a finish on a weekday afternoon is pretty impressive and shows some real support for the humble SC.
If you’ve got a low number sitting on your Porsche 911 SC agreed insurance valuation, you need to update that opinion. Drop me an email and get it valued properly. Same goes for everything: this number relates to 3.2 Carreras just as it ties into 911 SCs and all of the others.
Just had an interesting comment from Greg on our recent record-price Porsche 912 story. Greg is apparently a former owner of the car and says:
I used to own this car when it was blue! Originally green and it had done over 300,000 miles when I owned it. Yes, it was probably the best car I owned ( and still would love to! ). But at that price I’d hope there had been a lot of work done. If anyone buys it I still have a few bits for it that would increase its value as they are from that car.
If this is true, it’s quite a turn up for the books: makes the proposition even more discussion worthy. No history for its early life, but a seemingly full restoration later on, albeit not in original colour. Assuming the value is lower than the asking price, does the mileage the chassis has done make a difference at this end of the market?
I have no early history for my Carrera 3.0 (above) and the engine is not the original. Donated by a write off, it’s said to have 90k miles on the clock, but I don’t know that for sure. It made no difference to me when buying it as I intended to rebuilt it anyway. The car has some very nice parts fited and work done, and I know what it would cost to replace, so that would be the basis for an asking price if it ever came up for sale.
On that same cost-to-construct basis with an eye on prices elsewhere, this 1965 Porsche 912 is priced in the ball park. Question is the same as with all of these cars: is there a buyer at that sort of money?
The best thing to come from blogging is an interesting social network. I’ve met some great people via writing and photographing Porsche cars over the last eight years, and to help three of them out in one go is a rewarding experience.
When an East Coast R Gruppe buddy emailed details of a SWB car for sale on the other side of the world a few months ago, asking my opinion and whether I knew anyone connected to the car, I drew a blank. My network is good, but not that good.
Fast forward a few months and another car comes up for sale. This one’s a 1970 911 in the UK, being sold by someone I’ve known online for a while, previously dealt with and bought from in person. Even better, this RHD 911 was for sale on the doorstep of some friends, so a pre-purchase inspection recommendation was ready and waiting.
My friends got together on the deal, and sent the car for a check over. The 911 was given a clean bill of health – couple of advisories but nothing serious. A deal was agreed and the car sailed off overseas: not stayed in the UK and not gone to America.
Will be nice to get some new pics of this 1970 Porsche 911T in its new home one day: great to help a Porsche deal happen!
Just put a quick voiceover on top of a video we shot back in 2007, when wife Sarah and I drove down to Lausanne in Switzerand to pick up my 911 Carrera 3.0 Coupe. It’s nothing special but I think some of you will enjoy it.
I first spotted the car in this pic on a Pelican Parts thread, and it was love at first sight. At the time, I owned a white 911 SC Cabriolet which I was very happy with, but I knew I would have to own this if it ever came up for sale.
When it did come on the market in October 2006, I struggled with the numbers for a bit and eventually realised I would have to sell the SC to pay for this C3. That Cabriolet was a darling and I struggled with the decision, but five years on, I still feel good about my choice.
The Orange (so named by previous owner GeorgeK) looks standard but is quite different to how it left the factory. Engine is standard and I still have the original side glass, but most everything else is modified. There is really too much to list: we’ll get into it in detail sometime soon.
This 911 is my Cult of Porsche. We’ve got more videos of it to come and 2013 is expected to be a year of work on the car before Le Mans 2014. I’ll be there in this for sure. Keep it here for more on my Continental Orange Carrera and upcoming top end rebuild. If anyone’s got a deal on throttle bodies for this, I’m all ears!
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