Piston Slap: Sanjeev, New Mustang or Old Porker?

by Sajeev Mehta

Updated: May 16th, 2014 Published: July 10th, 2013

Coupe Confusion writes:

Sanjeev,

I currently own a 2012 Mustang V6 with a manual transmission. I’ve added Flowmaster exhausts and a cold air intake, so it scoots along very well, looks great, and has nice creature comforts. However, I’ve been offered an opportunity to buy a mint 1978 911SC that has been with its current owner for 25 years. In the last 10k miles/5yrs it has had an engine-out rebuild, $13k paint job, and all the great stuff done to update the transmission, cam tensioners, refinished Fuchs, etc. Economically I can basically sell the Mustang and buy the 911 and possibly have some money left over due to my connection with the owner.

I’ve always wanted an air-cooled 911 but am wrestling with the paradigm shift from a larger, modern coupe (great a/c, bluetooth, nice stereo) to a completely analog old-school sports car (where’s that lever to . I have a wife and 2 daughters (7 & 4yrs old). The Mustang/911 is/would be our second car; my daily driver to work (large urban Midwestern city, 20-30 minute commute) but otherwise generally for me to use running around one of the girls or for nights out with my wife.

I like the Mustang but am staring at depreciation on it, albeit modest since I keep it pristine and will average about 6k miles per year. The 911 would be a more fun daily driver with minimal depreciation.

What would you do? I only have a few days to decide before the 911 owner puts it out to the general market.

Sanjeev answers:

Not an easy answer. I wish you were a single college student with one car that you depended on to get to work/class. That would make this so much more entertaining…for me. Furthermore, don’t ask Sanjeev what he’d do if he were in your shoes!

Sanjeev would obviously, immediately sell the fat Elvis Mustang, wish your Porsche friend the best on the sale, and get himself some delicious 5.0 Restomod Fox Body. Mustang if necessary, but LTD, Granada, Cougar, Mark VII or Continental if possible. But Sanjeev digresses…

Where is your wife in this equation? Because it sounds like you are the only decision maker here…and that kinda makes me scratch my head. Does your wife drive when you are at work? Do you value the safety features present in newer/larger vehicles for the sake of your daughters?

I say keep the Mustang. You are under pressure to buy the Porsche before it hits the buying public, and I don’t see it working out as an adequate second car. Maybe if it was a third car…

Sajeev Mehta

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8 of 117 comments

Krhodes1 on Jul 11, 2013

I find it absolutely hilarious that the folks who have actually OWNED/currently own one of these cars say "go for it" and the beige-mobile driving dullards who would never in a million years contemplate such a thing say "don't be ridiculous" and come up with all sorts of made-up and imagined reasons not to. I have not owned an air-cooled Porsche, I do own a water-cooled one of similar vintage, an Alfa Romeo of similar vintage, and an even older Triumph. And some modern stuff. The modern stuff is far better of course. But properly maintained, the old cars are just fine too. And they are SIMPLE. Even an air-cooled Porsche is an anvil compared to just about anything modern. And while I agree that *I* would not drive it in foul weather, that is out of fear of some other idiot hitting it much more so than rust. These cars were among the most rust-resistant in the world by the late 70s, Porsche was a pioneer in that area. They are TOUGH cars. As for seating four, no front airbag means one rugrat gets to sit in the front seat. The back seat is not much worse than the Mustang - I grew up in the back of a 911 and I was TALL. But do get something cheap and cheerful as a second car, and use the 911 as a third car. As for the safety argument, you only live once. The kid could slip and fall and be killed in the bathtub too. Fatal car accidents are actually pretty rare events, for all the worrying about them. If we could eliminate idiots not wearing seatbelts and drunks they would be a lot rarer. One thing not mentioned yet is insurance. Agreed value classic car insurance is STUPID cheap assuming you can meet the requirements for it. Typically, it can't be your "main" car, needs to be locked in a garage for storage, and you are not supposed to commute in it. How cheap? I pay

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- Thats one fast cat on Jul 11, 2013
  
  +1. Very well reasoned; now let's see a picture of the Triumph (TR6 in that cool flag blue colour, pls.)
  
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- Krhodes1 on Jul 12, 2013
  
  @thats one fast cat Nope, Spitfire in Pimento Red. No way could I have afforded a TR6 when I was 26. :-) But here is a picture: http://flic.kr/p/aG3B5p Pic is from some years ago, when I had a bunch of older BMWs. That is the Volvo Turbo that exploded a deer too. All long gone other than the Spitfire, which looks exactly the same today.
  
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- Thats one fast cat on Jul 12, 2013
  
  @krhodes1 Sweet, sweet ride. +1. Oh, and I learned it isn't flag blue (that is boat colour!). Turns out it is "Mallard Blue:" --Thanks BaT!! http://bringatrailer.com/2013/07/10/bat-exclusive-clean-1974-triumph-tr6-2/
  
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- DougD on Jul 12, 2013
  
  @thats one fast cat Nice car, a well done Spit & I particularly like your choice of wheels. However, you've only partially convinced me with your arguement. What I find hilarious is that all the people saying "Yes,I'm doing this, go for it" are doing the Porsche side of the equation, which is arguably easier than the family half. True you are able to run your Porsche successfully and reliably, but you also have at least two other vehicles to fall back on should you have a breakdown or have to wait for parts. You havent mentioned how you ran the Porsche as your DD for a whole year without backup and made it to work every day, and attended every one of your daughters soccer games, took the team out for ice cream afterwards, then left the goo on the seats until Saturday morning when you got up early to clean the car and do your weekly maintenance before ballet lessons at 10. Yes this isn't "The Truth About Families" but this guy has to do both sides of the equation.
  
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- Krhodes1 on Jul 12, 2013
  
  @thats one fast cat I don't buy the argument that that because a car is 35 years old, it has to be unreliable. It simply isn't true. I daily drive my old crocks all spring/summer/fall, and they are perfectly reliable. That is because they are maintained properly. I haven't had a no start situation or a break down in eons on any of them, nor do I expect to. In fact, the last car that had to be towed was my then 4 month old BMW. People seem to think old cars are unreliable because they buy crappy examples and don't do anything but fix them when they break. Which they will do all the time because they are unmaintained pieces of crap. As I mentioned, my Mom's daily driver was an old 911 back when it was just an old used car, not a classic. And not a particularly nice one either. She managed to get me to school and herself to work in it for many years, year round, and it did not bankrupt the family. More expensive to fix/maintain than my Stepfather's Grand Prix? You bet. Proper maintenance is not changing the oil and checking the tire pressure. It is going through the car and finding what is GOING to cause a problem, before it actually causes a problem. Is it something that is old and can strand you? REPLACE IT if you need to depend on the car. You don't wait until it breaks. It will break at the worst possible time. You have to pay attention to the little things before they become big things.
  
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- DougD on Jul 12, 2013
  
  @thats one fast cat Maybe you don't buy my argument because you're focussing on the car, and my argument is more about the life circumstances. However, you did just confirm that you yourself are not doing what you have advised this fellow to do, which I think is a consideration when interpreting the "Go for it" comments. So, any other midwestern fathers of young children driving a 35 year old Porsche as their sole daily driver out there? Didn't think so.... Looking forward to hearing how this all turns out!
  
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White Shadow on Jul 11, 2013

A V6 Mustang? Dump it for the Porsche. Now if the guy had a new V8 Mustang, I might struggle a bit to tell him to dump it. In my opinion, the Porsche is a "special" car. And there's really nothing "special" about a V6 Mustang. But a V8 Mustang, while not particularly "special" now, will most definitely be "special" in the future when V8 engines are all but dead. In other words, when a V8 Mustang is as old as that Porsche is today, it will indeed be a car that is sought after in a big way.

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