1983 Porsche 911 SC review from North America

The only problem experienced was with cold starting, however this is a common problem with the older air-cooled 911's. You must be careful not to apply any gas pedal during the starting process or the engine might backfire and you can blow up the air box. It is a good idea to install an after market pop valve, which will take away this risk. I also switched from regular Mobil 1 (10W-40) to Mobil 1 Synthetic (0W-40) and the car cranks much easier. Sometimes the switch to synthetic oil results in more leakage, however I have seen no difference.

One of the great things about these older Porsches is that they didn't have huge production runs like Corvettes and other sports cars. My car, for example, had only 1700 total units (1983 911SC Cabriolets) made for the whole the US market!I've had my Guards Red 911 for 2 1/2 years and haven't seen another one yet, even at Porsche shows! Therefore, you get a nice "unique" car. The pre-1990 911's are real no-nonsense performers and are built like tanks. The 911 flat six engine is legendary, and nothing sounds as cool as a 911 winding through the gears.