1981 Porsche 911SC-29k miles!

1981 Porsche 911SC Coupe

Sometimes I think I was born on the wrong continent and at the wrong time… I think I was meant to be a Porsche assembly line worker in the 1970’s and 80’s… I am just enamored with how they assembled these cars! I think that is why I love originality so much. I have taken apart almost every system on an air-cooled car and try as I might they are just never quite as tight once you fiddle with them. Why do I tell you that?

This car has not been fiddled with, its just simply drum tight! It feels like its 2 years old and you have just bought it from a good friend who cherished it. It’s 1983 again and I can almost hear the Def Leopard’s “Rock of Ages” playing over the radio… Man to be a high roller in early 80’s!

This particular car was sold new at Imperial Porsche in El Centro, CA on March 4th 1981. Its original owner used it sparingly but regularly bringing the mileage up to almost 23,000 in 2000. So he was averaging just over 1,000 miles per year. For reasons unknown he essentially stopped driving the car for the next 12 years where it was only driven to its biannual Smog inspection. In 2012 a lucky local enthusiast and PCNA employee stumbled onto the car and was lucky enough to purchase it. He immediately used his PCNA connections to bring it back up to snuff from its long slumber. He passed the car on to another enthusiast in 2013 and I was lucky enough to recently acquire it. When I had it transported (enclosed!) out of California, that is the first time in the cars 34-year history that it had left the State. Your classic dry, Southern California Porsche!

Now before anyone gets on a tirade about lengthy storage being hard on a car…. I will have to agree with you! Luckily the two enthusiasts entrusted with the cars care realized that even though it was low mileage, it would need some service. Here is what has been done since 23k miles:

• 15k major with valve adjust, valve cover gaskets, oil and filter, brake fluid, transmission fluid, drive belts.
• New ignition switch and locking mechanism
• 4 new Continental Extreme Contact tires
• Alignment
• Updated Carrera Tensioners
• Updated SC Pop off valve
• New Battery
• New OEM H4 headlight assemblies with relays (original lights included)
• New pedal assembly bushings
• Factory short shift kit installed
• New windshield gasket
• New starter
• New Clutch and flywheel
• New Fuel Filter
• Install new used fuel tank (debris from sitting)

All told about $10,000 was spent to make the car like new. It’s current on service and needs nothing but a new driver!

I am blessed in that I get to drive countless air-cooled 911’s, but I wish I could somehow capture how this car drives. The only close adjective I could come up with was “tight”. It simply drives like they did new, its almost eerie! I have driven some of these cars so that have become so sloppy due to neglect, miles, etc. that you could assume all SC’s drive like that, WRONG! This car is simply a joy to drive!

The car is mostly stock and original with the following exceptions:

• Pop Off Valve installed in the air box (smart upgrade)
• Carrera Tensioners (must do upgrade)
• Factory Short Shift Kit
• Car was lowered to ROW Ride height; remember how high these cars came from the factory…
• Later model radio, but THANKFULLY nobody cut either the door panels or rear deck for speakers, that is SO rare!
• An alarm system was installed that operates the door locks, very convenient as these never had power locks. If it didn’t have this I would have removed it.
• OEM H4 headlights (as they should have been delivered!)
• Genuine 7” and 8” Fuchs (original would be 6”&7”)

One of my favorite things about this car is the color. Its technically called “Metallic Black” but I think it is very similar to the newer formulation of Slate Gray Metallic. Very sexy and fairly unusual! The paint is mostly original, with just the right door and quarter panel indicating paint refinish via a paint meter. The overall paint is quite nice, showing just a very light amount of patina that you would expect of 34 years and 29k miles. The Carfax and history are of course clean and verify the mileage, feel free to request a copy.

The interior is likewise nearly perfect. This is where the car really shines; other than some light wear on the bolster edge on the drivers seat, it truly is time warp. Just take a look at how orange the needles on the gauges are! It even has the NEVER seen 85mph speedo. One small detail that struck me and verified the mileage to me was the seatbelts. When you go to pull them out they have a nice, even, but firm pull when you use them. I forgot they are supposed to feel like that. On other SC’s I have driven they start to feel a little “sloppy”. It’s the small things… I think you will be impressed

Of course being a collectible it is important to have everything, here is what I have:

• Original owners manual, stamped service booklet
• Both Original Keys, 2 original alarm keys, valet key, key code card
• Original California “Blue Plate” issued to the car in 1981.
• Fitted car cover
• Complete and pristine tool kit
• Jack, lay down plastic and gloves
• Original air pump still in the box
• Service records for the work listed above

So if you are looking for a no excuses air-cooled 911 that has long-term appreciation potential, give this one some serious thought!