Every now and again, you see a car that gives you a pang of regret. For me, it’s always the “Did I buy too soon?” conundrum. Fortunately, I rarely am proven wrong in terms of my instincts being correct, but most car people know the feeling I speak of. In my case, it’s the 964 chassis Porsche 911, as I “got in” at a time when prices were going steadily up and settled for a convertible as it was the cheapest point of entry (although, I am in the midst of a remedy for the undesirable soft top.) This 1990 Porsche 911 Carrera 2 coupe listed here on eBay is a non-running project, and as expected, bidding is going strong with no sign of slowing down. I feel better already.
It is rare to find a 911 coupe in project-car form that isn’t from the later 996-generation (of which there are plenty). While it’s not uncommon to find a battered 912 or a barn-find 356, the later cars are scarce in project form. Frankly, restomod companies like Singer bought up most of the project car stock over the last decade, and I wouldn’t be surprised if someone from their team is bidding on the Carrera, which has the additional challenge of being located on the island of Honolulu. The seller notes he did drive it regularly up until a few years ago, and the years of sitting have not been kind.
The interior is pretty much trashed, and the same goes for the paint. I see plenty of evidence of water and moisture ingress, and the carpets have been removed (never a good sign.) The 911 is the desirable two-wheel drive spec and obviously a hard top; I settled for a Carrera 4 cabriolet in 2023, and have since bought a hardtop for mine to try and make it seem more like a coupe for less than half the price of a good one. This car is already past what I paid for mine, which was in fine shape and running quite well. This car does not run at the moment and the seller suspects a bad fuel pump or DME relay.
The flat-six engine is fairly hearty in these cars, and while the perfectionist will want to do a complete tear-down to resolve any leaks, I don’t think it’s necessary (unless it’s leaking like the Exxon Valdez.) Still, most Porsche enthusiasts willing to drop $50K or more on a total project are in a position of not flinching at being into this 911 for $100K before it’s done, as clean 964 coupes regular clear that price benchmark. Is this car worth it? It depends on who you ask, but I know for my project car tolerances, I’m feeling better all the time at buying the cheapest cabriolet I could find. For any Porsche guys reading, do you think this 964 coupe is worth the price of restoration?
I think it’s a good buy for someone in Hawaii with lots of money.
Porsche pricing aside it’s still kind of annoying the hubris of sellers asking this kind of money and saying the wheels don’t come with it without changing to the supplied rims.
Chassis for Singer….
Porsche project? Be afraid, very afraid! $$$
Ended at $49,100.
Reserve Not Met.
Having lived in Honolulu for more than 7 years, I’d warn anyone contemplating the purchase of a 34 year old used island car, to get thee to Oahu and have it inspected first. The salt air there is incredibly destructive. It seeps into every crevice and panel and sits there dining on metal. The roof, the floors, the chrome, under the dash, even brake and clutch pedal arms…rusty.
Even in your home, towel bars, light fixtures, appliances…all affected by the salt air.
Whoever lost this Porsche based on the reserve should go out and celebrate with champagne. Dodged a big one here…
Yet another reason this may have best served as a candidate for a Singer reconstruction, presuming any corrosion to the fundamental structure is superficial or at worst fairly trivial to repair. They’d completely disassemble the car, strip it down to bare metal, and replace many body panels with carbon fiber, among with many other equipment upgrades. Even so, they prolly wouldn’t buy this sight-unseen; they’d want to fly out and closely inspect what they’d be taking on.
& i thought the quality of vinyl on some ’70s GM seats was lousy.