OT: Anyone wrenching on their own vintage Porsche?

[Ralph]

One of my neighbors drives a almost new 911 (or whatever they call that model now). He teaches race car driving in a Miata at Rambling Raceway. He says if you want a reliable fun handling car, get a Miata or S2000. Thinks they have replaced the Porsche as a simple race car. He thinks new Porsche's (street models) are made to be seen in. He loves his Porsche BTW.

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by tylercheung

Otoh, to get ever further OT, those Singer modified 964s are amazing if you have half a mil to burn...

^
This, if money were no issue at all, a Singer would be the #1 car on my list...

[tctyres]

I had a 1966 912 about a decade ago.
I agree with what Tex said. You'd have to go over the car really well and slowly upgrade the bits that were bad. It's a used car, so it's going to come with personality. At the end of it, I felt like it was a lot of fun to drive, but it was a huge time sink. I'd probably just get something that was fun to drive at this point as I'd rather not wrench.

[Climb01742]

Originally Posted by Spannerman

I have the poor man's Porsche, a 1973, 914. A great vehicle, and it feels like you are in a go-cart.

+1

I had more fun in my 914 than any of the 911s I've had, though the '87 with the G50 transmission was close. To be honest, part of the fun of a 914 is it's not a 911, meaning you simply don't worry about f-ing it up. It's like a great steel beater bike vs a luxe carbon hi-zoot frame you'd never want to lay down.

And go-cart is dead on. It's glued to the road in corners. Most fun is having a Bimmer on your butt, then going through some twisties, and the Bimmer is a dot in your rearview.

[zmudshark]

I have a Miata, and a Miyata as well.

A friend, who has always had 911's, was visiting. He drove the Miata and said it was way more fun to drive than his 911.

I'd go as far as to say the Miata is even more fun than my old 2002, except you can't stuff 4 other people in the Miata.

edit: Another friend had an S2000, insurance was a lot more for it than the Miata.

[paredown]

Originally Posted by tylercheung

One could argue the ND Miata is closer to the platonic ideal of sports car than the latest iteration of porsches...Spec Miata is going strong too apparently.

Otoh, to get ever further OT, those Singer modified 964s are amazing if you have half a mil to burn...

Just caught up on the ND series--they are as light as the 1994 (!) models, and have all the bells and whistles of the Skyactiv tuning--they're claiming 35mpg. I loved this quote:

The new Miata has basically become a cheap Lotus that will start every day.

[texbike]

Originally Posted by tctyres

I'd probably just get something that was fun to drive at this point as I'd rather not wrench.

^ This is key to me in this entire discussion.

Although any older car is going to require maintenance and replacement of worn out items, the Miata and S2000 just seem to be less maintenance-intensive than the 911. Plus, the bigger ticket potential repairs just don't exist with the S2K or Miatas. A rebuilt 911 motor will be well over $10K (mid teens is more the norm). A transmission (talking 915 here) is over $5K for a rebuild. Everything else (suspension and brake-wise) isn't terribly more expensive than either of the other two cars.

Don't get me wrong - I think the 911s are great cars and mine is a blast to drive. The sound, feel, and driving dynamics are completely different than any other car in the world. You learn to drive a 911 differently as a result and the experience is a blast. By comparison, the S2K and Miatas feel much more sanitized (my experience with Miatas is limited to the NA and NB...). Their feel isn't bad - just different. And it's good enough. The only thing negative to me that immediately stands out on each from a driving experience is the complete lack of torque compared to the 911. Of course when you're comparing a 3.2 to a NA 1.6, 1.8, or 2.0, it's to be expected.

Paredown, you mentioned BaT in one of your posts. Although the signal to noise ratio has increased there significantly in the past year or so, it's still a great resource to learn about each of these cars. Take a look at past auctions on Miatas, S2Ks, and 911s. There will be plenty of information on each and will provide an education on what to look out for.

Texbike

[dgauthier]

Originally Posted by ultraman6970

(...) Really fun to drive (...) a fiat 600 tricked, top speed of 140 km/h (...)

That's 84 mph! Typical freeway commute speed in light traffic...

That shines a light on what's important: fun is not necessarily expensive, nor even all that fast.

[Climb01742]

Originally Posted by texbike

I think the 911s are great cars and mine is a blast to drive. The sound, feel, and driving dynamics are completely different than any other car in the world. You learn to drive a 911 differently as a result and the experience is a blast.

Particularly the first time the rear end break loose and you experience the wisdom of the advice, 'steer in the direction of the skid'. Driving a 911 becomes a joy when you feel comfortable keeping your foot on the throttle and trusting the car in just about any situation. A 911 proves the adage that the best things in life are also, often, the most complicated things in life (not complicated mechanically-speaking but complicated as in their pro's and con's, upsides and downsides.) Every car guy/gal should own a 911 at least once, preferably a pre-964, as you do.

[kingpin75s]

Originally Posted by Spannerman

I have the poor man's Porsche, a 1973, 914. A great vehicle, and it feels like you are in a go-cart.

Great cars or autocross.

Used to autocross race a 914 with a buddy of mine in Phoenix back in the early 90s. They ride on rails.

[bigreen505]

Originally Posted by texbike

I have a 30 year old 3.2 Carrera

Texbike

Beautiful. That's my dream car right there.

[dem]

I've owned too many.. and I've also owned a Miata.

Unless you have a specific, particular fascination with old, air cooled Porsches.. go with the Miata.

The newer (post-1998) Porsches are similar to a fancied up Toyota Camry so I have no opinions there. I dipped my toe in with a Boxster and got rid of it very quickly.

[smontanaro]

Back when I was a poor grad student at the University of Iowa, I owned a rather tatty '55 Speedster with a roller bearing 1500S motor. Driving it home from Minnesota to Iowa City along the Mississippi River has to have been one of the most fun drives of all time.

At the time, I was living in a trailer on the outskirts of Iowa City. I had no better place to work on the motor than in the front bedroom. I built a work bench and bought one of those bolt-on cradles you used to be able to get for VWs from JC Whitney, and set to work.



It was about that time I met my wife. I'm still not sure why she kept me.

[tuscanyswe]

Originally Posted by smontanaro

Back when I was a poor grad student at the University of Iowa, I owned a rather tatty '55 Speedster with a roller bearing 1500S motor. Driving it home from Minnesota to Iowa City along the Mississippi River has to have been one of the most fun drives of all time.

At the time, I was living in a trailer on the outskirts of Iowa City. I had no better place to work on the motor than in the front bedroom. I built a work bench and bought one of those bolt-on cradles you used to be able to get for VWs from JC Whitney, and set to work.



It was about that time I met my wife. I'm still not sure why she kept me.

Isent that rather obvious? That car is beautiful!!!

[paredown]

Originally Posted by smontanaro

Back when I was a poor grad student at the University of Iowa, I owned a rather tatty '55 Speedster with a roller bearing 1500S motor. Driving it home from Minnesota to Iowa City along the Mississippi River has to have been one of the most fun drives of all time.

At the time, I was living in a trailer on the outskirts of Iowa City. I had no better place to work on the motor than in the front bedroom. I built a work bench and bought one of those bolt-on cradles you used to be able to get for VWs from JC Whitney, and set to work.



It was about that time I met my wife. I'm still not sure why she kept me.

Possibly one of the best car stories ever--it reminds me of friends doing cross country trips in old VW buses--one motor running, while working on the backup in the rear of the van...