OT. thinking about getting a 911, What can you tell me, I don't know squat about a 911 Options

[john grier]

As the title says, I am thinking of going to the dark side.
This would be my first 911
Car is local and seems a good price.
911 is a 1980 sc
Please what can you tell me about it and what to look for?
John

[morgan_harwell]

911SC is probably the most trouble-free 911 ever produced. We have had our 911SC for 20 years. In 1989, we paid for a PPI on 3 SCs we were looking at. We bought a GP white '79 coupe with 63K miles on it for $18,000. Today that 911SC has 323K miles on it. The engine has never been apart, it still has its original starter. It passed its CA smog test 3 weeks ago easily. Its on its 3rd altenator, 3rd clutch, 2nd transmission(2nd gear blew), 3rd set of shocks, 3rd Catalytic, etc. Maintanence costs for the past 20 years have totalled $34,600, or $1,730/year.

Known 911SC problems:
rubber center clutch disk (probably long gone in car wth 160K miles)
airbox explosions (cure with flapper valve)
chain tensioners (cure with pressure fed tensioners)
head studs sometimes break (fairly rare)

If it passes PPI,
has spring center clutch,
has flapper valve,
has Carrera pressure fed chain tensioners,
no broken head studs,
A/C blows cold air

and you like the car, buy it. As 911s go, 911SCs are dumbfoundingly reliable.