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Non-Turbo Widebody: 1979 Porsche 911 SC

One of the most significant 911s of the 1980s was the monstrous 930, a turbocharged bahnstormer that challenged even the best drivers. If you didn’t fancy putting your driving skills to the test every time you climbed behind the wheel, you could opt for the more docile 911SC, but it wouldn’t have that sweet widebody. Well, before Porsche offered them from the factory, some owners took matters into their own hands – like this claimed barn find example here on craigslist for a seemingly too-cheap $29,500.

Porsche was just starting to realize there was demand for widebody cars that didn’t sport the top-flight powerplant, as owners were having their vehicles modified by aftermarket suppliers. Sometimes the results were good – if the shop used metal fender flares – but in other cases, fiberglass was used with mediocre results. No word on whether this widened 911SC is a metal or fiberglass car, but the body presents well – as does the interior.

Very well, in fact, as the seats and door panels show very light use. Porsche did contract with a third-party vendor to execute the all-metal widebody for only a few customers in the early days of non-turbo model widening, but we don’t have any sense of the provenance of this car. The price, in my mind, seems far too low for a 911SC that appears quite clean, but the seller doesn’t mention anything about the car’s running condition – so if it’s a non-runner, that could be holding the price back.

If this was a car authorized by the factory to be modified by a third-party vendor, that would make it quite special as it was the closest you could get to a factory-built, non-turbo widebody. Whether the seller has that info and can prove the provenance is worth a phone call, but the low price still gives me pause – is this too good to be true? Let us know in the comments below if you plan to find out.

Comments

  1. Avatar rough diamond

    Well, I doubt if that will last long if it’s all legit.

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  2. Avatar Jermey

    Love the cassettes in the console compartment. Maybe if the buyer is lucky you will get a copy of Peter Frampton and Fleetwood Mac to crank up on the stereo.

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    • Avatar Chuck

      Had those in mine except I filled the whole center with them. That said, there’s something not quite right about this car.

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  3. Avatar Dolphin Member

    It looks like it’s in good condition, but some cautions here…..

    – Good looking body, but no underside pics. And the pics that are there are repetitious topside ones. The seller says there are 40 pics but there are only 24, some of which don’t show up. All pics taken inside a big garage and not well lit. Car could have been rolled outside for better lighting for the pics, but wasn’t.

    – Said to be a 2-owner So Cal car with So Cal title, but listed on the Phoenix CL, but the map in the CL ad shows Las Vegas. Where is the car right now?

    – No Porsche COA or any other documentation offered.

    – Overall, a typical low effort CL ad, not confidence inspiring. These SCs offer only mediocre performance anyway, so better drive it to see if you are as impressed with the car as the seller is.

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  4. Avatar Mike Dworek

    In 1985 Porsche made a limited addition non turbo wide body 911. I believe the factory code was M491.

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  5. Avatar Peter R

    When I was a teenager about 60 years ago my father gave me some advice – “When something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is”. So far, that has proved to be true

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  6. Avatar Frank

    Search the phone # on the CL ad and things begin to look kind of sketchy.

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  7. Avatar jimf

    this could have been a turbo, that when the engine had an issue, the put in an SC motor. That was fairly commonly done in period, due to the cost of a new turbo motor.

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  8. Avatar sluggo

    sketchy las vegas car dealer known as “Fast cash”

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  9. Avatar Brian Smith

    Hagerty says condition 3 is worth $29,900 for a 79 SC. I’d say the ad is legit, and the price is a little high considering there is no mention of running condition.

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  10. Avatar Jubjub

    Jeez, I had a ‘79 SC and would say it’s performance and driving experience was anything but mediocre.

    Like 0

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