1981 Porsche 911 SC Targa

On sale here is a 1981 Targa in pale metallic blue. Delivered to its first owner on 1St August, the day of the traditional number plate change. How lucky they must have felt, proudly enjoying the summer in their new X-reg 911.

The 40-year old car has covered 161,000 miles during its eventful life and the observant amongst you will by now have spotted that it now needs a little bit of care and attention.

Our seller bought the car a couple of months ago on a whim, looking for a project. He had previously owned a similar car many years ago.

The car came via a dealer from a deceased estate, the gentleman who owned it having recently passed away. He owned it for some ten years or so. He had intended to restore the car. We gather that there is a lot of paperwork for the car, but as is so often the case, the family are in a state of flux so we are not sure that this will ever be forthcoming.

Having cleaned the car once he had transported it home, our seller decided he needed to get a better idea of what needed doing to the car. He there embarked on a voyage of investigation.

The rust has been ground out so the areas of the bodywork in need of attention are clear to see. Much better this way than to begin a restoration and then uncover all sorts of previously undiscovered nasties.

He has now decided that he does not possess the skills to carry out the restoration and has therefore reluctantly decided that it would be better to sell the car to someone better equipped to restore this lovely old Porsche to her former glory.

What can we say? We could just let the pictures do the talking, but we should attempt to describe the car’s condition.

The nearside front wing is clearly too far gone to be saved, so a replacement will be required. The same may well be true of the one to the offside. We suspect anyone buying this car will want to do the job properly, so no low budget repairs would seem to be the way forward.

Moving back, the doors look to be ok. Yes, there is some bubbling to the paintwork but as this car will of course end up having a bare metal respray, they should present no problem.

There is rust to the offside rear wing, but as this is at the edge, it may well be salvageable.

The sill on the driver’s side, visible with the door open is clearly very rusty and will need attending to.

The leading edge of the engine cover has chipped paint but looks to be sound otherwise. The front boot lid looks to be ok, the area between it and the windshield less so. Some repairs to this area will clearly be needed.

The windscreen rubbers show their age, as do the car’s other rubber components. Some will undoubted clean up a tad, but you cannot reverse the 40 years of exposure to the elements.

Those gorgeous Fuchs alloys are present and correct. Refurbishment required from one of the many wheel specialists that now operate. Do find one that knows their classic wheels though and will do the job properly. Pirelli P6000 tyres are fitted all round.

The vinyl to the roof panel is tired around the edges and will need redoing and at the same time any seals should be replaced to ensure the cabin remains watertight. The underside looks in poor shape, so maybe a replacement will be a cheaper option in the long run. The black roll over hoop could do with a repaint too. The vendor has assured that the Targa hood frame is fully operational and 'solid' despite visually being in poor condition. He has researched how much the 'recovery kit' is and they are circa £400.00.

The boot area looks reasonably presentable and houses a space saver spare wheel.

The interior wears its year better than the exterior. The white leather seats contrast nicely with the blue paint. There are some cracks in the leather and some gentle creasing, but they appear to be undamaged. With some time and appropriate leather cleaning materials we are sure they could be much improved. Or trust the work to a specialist for the best effect.

We believe the front seats are of the more sporting variety, likely to have been an expensive extra when the car was new.

There are of course two small rear seats, ideal for children or more likely useful as an overflow luggage space.

The blue carpets look fine, where fitted, as do the door cards and the dashboard which has no cracks or damage that we can spot.

We always include plenty of pictures of a car’s underside and that is most definitely the case here. We would take some time to study them, or better still come along and see the car in person.

Clearly some work is going to be required, but the condition is better than we expected.

With regards to the engine, what we can tell you is that it turns over and therefore is not seized. Our seller did hear it run briefly prior to his purchase.

With a battery still connected, we note that the dash lights up and the left-hand headlight turns on. So, we therefore know that the electrics do work after a fashion.

Stating the obvious, the car will of course want complete recommissioning and we are quite sure the future owner will want to go through the car with a fine tooth comb.

Sadly, there isn’t much more we can add at this time. A long-term owner who had every intention of restoring the car. Our seller buying the car recently but now realising that he has bitten off more than he can chew.

We remain ever optimistic that the extensive paperwork we are told that exists will eventually filter through, but we offer no guarantees.

What you see is what you get! And what you get is one of the most iconic sports cars ever made, in an attractive colour combination.

Oh, and did we mention that this is matching numbers car.

The values of classic 911s continues to climb, especially for earlier cars. The sale of this complete car offers the rare chance to bring one back to life. It will surely be a wonderful winter project, maybe for the talented home restorer.

Once rejuvenated, think of all the fun to be had next summer, roof panel stored, a little rousing music playing from the stereo and the sound of that iconic flat six engine playing its own merry tune.

We estimate the car will sell for between £13,000 and £23,000. Find another!

Viewing is always encouraged, and this particular car is located with us at The Market HQ near Abingdon; to arrange an appointment please use the Contact Seller button at the top of the listing. Feel free to ask any questions or make observations in the comments section below, or try our ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.