Forget the Countach. Forget the Testarossa. This child of the ’80s wanted a 911. And as someone who barely passes for an adult a few decades later, I finally got it: an air-cooled Porsche 911. Still have it, in fact, nearly 15 years later.
After deciding that we needed a Porsche, we fell into a 1984 Carrera, the first year for the 3.2 and the Bosch Motronic injection. It already had the wider Fuchs; we lowered it a bit using the factory torsion bars and swapped out the Turbo tail (too big) for the ducktail. The color, Ruby Red Metallic, was only used for ’83 and ’84.
We were lucky to get in before the rush. At Mecum last year, I watched a similar car go for $100,000 on the dot. Other than doing the heads nearly a decade ago, maintenance since then has mainly involved regular oil changes. I wax it a lot.
But the experience–then, now, tomorrow–is very much worth the price of admission. It’s no longer the quickest or the fastest, but the sounds, the smells and the view over those fenders cannot be beat. It’s easy to get in and out of, too.
This is basically a ’60s car updated to ’80s specs, meaning fuel injection, galvanized bodies and an understressed engine. And it still regularly gets positive attention–at the pumps, at red lights and on the Radwood showfield.
Verdict: This is our keeper.
