Educate me: 3.2L Porsche 911, specificaly 87-89

[ChrsB5]

So I've been thinking about picking up a 87-89 Porsche 911 coupe for quite a while now. I've always these cars, and it's about time where I'm provincially in a place to get one. I've been reading allot on rennlist and pelicanparts, doing as much research as I can, so what's the CLs oppinion, any insight or tips would be great.

[reelknead1]

advice: none

But there so HOT!!!!

[8v_gti777]

From what I've read, one of the best used 911's you can buy. You get the nice G50 gearbox and the car costs less to take care of than the 964 and newer models. There's a book out on buying used 911's and the guy said something to the effect that the 88 or 89 911's have basically no problems.

[epbrown]

The 87-89 cars are the last, best development of the original 911 (the cars from 1965-1989 use the original 911 designation and tub, then the 964/993/996/997 chassis came). The G50 trans is much better than the balky 915 (used from 1972 to 1986 ), and the the 3.2L DME cars are less fussy than the CIS cars (1973.5-1983). Still, decent heat and AC wouldn't arrive until the 964.

Putting the car in it's historic context - the 911SC was originally intended to be the run-out model of the 911, a bug-fix for the previous 2.7L cars, and place keeper until the 928 took over as top model. Then Ernst Fuhrmann was booted and development of the 911 got a restart in the early 80s; the final result was the 964 chassis, but the cabrios arrival in 1983 and the G50 transmission's appearane in 1987 told Porsche fans the 911 was still alive. To me, the signature 911 3.2L will always be a red 1987 cabrio.

Personally, I'd love to live in an alternate reality where the 911 was dumped in 1983 and Porsche spend the past 25 years developing new platforms rather than pimping their past, but I digress...

[Shining Projects]

I want one badly aswell

[Numbersix]

It's the best of the original 911. As stated above, the 3.2 Motronic cars are the least fussy of the 'early' motors, and the Motronic ECU responds nicely to more modern tuning upgrades (I recall that GIAC made a remap for it at one time that produced nice drivability improvements). The G50 transmission is also a huge improvement in shift quality than the older, clunky 915 gearbox.

These are considered by many to be one of the most desirable 911's built, and they carry a commensurate price. As always with buying a Porsche, buy the best one you can afford--even if that means waiting a bit longer to do it. In particular, I'd avoid any 911 that has experienced a front end shunt of any significance (more than replacing a bumper, say). I've seen too many pre-993 911's that were just never able to be made 'right' again after such an event--alignment issues, wonky body panel fitment, etc. Not worth the short-term savings for longer-term headache.

[butterface]

J.I.M.P. motivation. (though I haven't a clue if it's what you're specifically looking for)

[patrickvr6]

I would do it again. The only thing I am not absolutely crazy about is the climate control system. The heat works well enough but the defroster capacity isn't too great. I can't really comment on the AC, I removed the compressor during my first valve adjustment and haven't put it back on yet. I may have it charged this summer but I'm not expecting much. Shifting can also be crunchy but my car has a 4-speed and the G50 should be better.

They are fantastic cars and after you spend some time in one you start to see what all the fuss is about, even if some folks can't get over where they put the engine.

[tgodbout]

Quote, originally posted by patrickvr6 »

Shifting can also be crunchy but my car has a 4-speed and the G50 should be better.

Driving a turbo and standard car is almost an incomparable experience. Around town and anything less than 80% throttle, the standard car feels far superior. However, when the boost kicks in, well you know the rest.

'87-'89 cars are pretty much perfect. A little underpowered, but pretty much the zenith of one of the original sports cars.

[ChrsB5]

Thanks for all the responces! As far as what I'm looking for specifically, a white moonroof coupe with the LSD would be ideal. In reality a clean unmolested, well documented car in the low $20k range is all I can ask for. I'm not in a any rush and finding the right car is well worth the wait for me.
Other than a good PPI and records, is there anything specific I should be looking for or avoiding?

I understand that maintaining a 20+ year old Porsche isn't going to be inexpensive, but are there any big services that should already be taken care of on a car this old with above 70k miles?

[Orjan]

Great info! I really like the look of the 87-89 Carrera, there's just something special about them