Old Porsche prices- I just don't get it

[Dan D.]

Re: Old Porsche prices- I just don't get it

I know what you are saying. Last weekend I was at a fairly large cruise-in and I was surprised at how many youngsters were taking pictures of my '72 convertible with their phones...especially since it was parked next to a '63 Split Window.

[Phil D.]

Re: Old Porsche prices- I just don't get it

Most kids in their formative years are not interested in old used cars but rather the bright and shiny new cars.

Like most boys I had hundreds of matchbox and hotwheels cars before I was even ten years old and dreamed (still do) of someday getting a full-sized one of each. The c3 was burned into my psyche about that age when our next door neighbor got a 77 Corvette. I think it starts long before you are old enough to drive.

Also have a Porsche 928 on my very extensive bucket list but there are some who believe the only collectible Porsches are the air-cooled ones. Heck, for standing the test of time, that's a car that almost looks like it could be introduced as a brand new 2018 model.

[William F.]

Re: Old Porsche prices- I just don't get it

If you like em, woods are full of em-cheap. Also, mid 70's through even most of 90's (some exceptions) were terrible in terms of performance. I remember one year in 80's fastest US car tested by Car & Driver was a pickup.

[Mark E.]

Re: Old Porsche prices- I just don't get it

Also, mid 70's through even most of 90's (some exceptions) were terrible in terms of performance.

Catalytic converter era-C3s were challenged with an aging chassis. But even the "slowest" C4 (1984) performed better than virtually any Corvette before it. From C&D's road test:

The roadholding on this new machine is so advanced that we recorded the highest skidpad lateral acceleration — 0.90 g — ever observed with a conventional automobile by this staff. That figure practically trivializes the previous high-water marks, in the 0.82-g range, generated by such exotics as the Porsche 928 and assorted Ferraris. It is hands-down the fastest American automobile, capable of 140-mph top speeds, 0-to-60 times under seven seconds...

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...ived-road-test

[William F.]

Re: Old Porsche prices- I just don't get it

Darryl,
I think you said it well. While I always thought the "70 was pretty nice, the best of the C3's and a good performer, too many later rubber duckies, smogged down motors, and poor build quality= low collectorbility. Also regarding the Car and Driver "test" saying the '84 was fastest Corvette yet. BS. A mid year SB L79, not to mention the solid lifter 365 hp SB's would easily better an '84. Also remember that Car and Driver admits that they put cutsey writing above tech knowledge and admits many of at least their old "tests' were fake. Remember the Pontiac GTO ( which had a massaged 421 instead of a 389-though they didn't tell till years later) against a non existant Ferrari GTO?

[Daniel K.]

Re: Old Porsche prices- I just don't get it

Mark -- '72 Corvette versus '72 911. Interesting topic, and a lot of interesting viewpoints in this thread. As others have pointed out, on the supply side we have more than twice as many Corvettes produced (~27,000 versus ~13,000), and on the demand side the Porsche was (and remains) popular in more markets than the Corvette. Although I hope to own more than one C3 in my lifetime, and I don't ever plan to own a Porsche, I recognize that even here in the US the Porsche has a cache with a lot of men (and women) that the Corvette doesn't enjoy or, as someone else said, "snob appeal". Performance and reliability of the '72 Corvette to the '72 911 seem a little apples and oranges to me. They are very different cars with their own sets of pros and cons.
In my opinion the 911 will always bring more money, but the valuation gap is likely to narrow in the coming years. First, all C3's -- even the chrome bumper cars -- spent an awfully long time at the bottom of their value curve. Given how many cars were neglected, abused, ratted out, raced to death, or parted out, do we really have any idea how many '72's exist? My intuition is that on the average a '72 911 has lived a better life than a '72 Corvette, and the remaining supply of '72 Corvettes compared to '72 911's should be closer than production numbers would suggest. Also, I'm a believer in the role demographics play in classic car valuation -- although that varies by make and model. With Corvettes, if the newest, baddest Corvette in your neighborhood or hometown when you were little was a C3, that's probably the first classic Corvette you're going to buy -- and you'll probably buy it between your 45th and 55th birthday. (If you do the math, that means now or in the next few years!) With a 911, I don't really see that kind of age-driven interest... collectors young and old seem to appreciate pretty much all air cooled 911's.
But I think we are still in the early stages of an uptick in demand for C3's. In conclusion: the Porsche is worth more because there is more demand, but the Corvette should close the gap in the next few years.
One last technical point: no AIR on '71 LS-5s. Believe me. My unrestored '71 is not "smogged down" in the least.

[David C.]

Re: Old Porsche prices- I just don't get it

I have read that the AIR system was a better solution than CCS to minimize performance impact of emissions controls. This is why the LT1 used AIR in all years, even when CCS was used for the other engines.

[William F.]

Re: Old Porsche prices- I just don't get it

Wishfull thinking , I'm afraid, on coming uptick in C3 prices unless LT-1, L88 or maybe the '70 model that still had high compression. Too many, poor performance later years, rubber ducky bumpers.