1979 Porsche 930 (...and 78's too!)

where did the weight savings come from in the US cars?

 

A mystery...certainly not the light weight thermal reactors.

Here’s another interesting aspect that must have complicated Porsche’s final production of the last 50, U.S. ‘79 930’s.

The ’79 U.S. 930’s were equipped with two different engines: 930/64 (49 State) and 930/65 (California). For the 49 State cars, the serial numbers started consecutively at 0001 and I’ll call these 49 State cars “California Delete” since “49 State” is an option on window sticker. For the California cars, the serial numbers started at 1001 (source: 78, 79, 80, 81 Models, Porsche 911 SC, Turbo 3.3, Technical Specifications). The California cars were equipped with the 930/65 engine and had the special engine plate (marked California) as well as the decal in the side window whereas the “California Delete” had the standard; “this vehicle conforms to EPA regulations applicable to 1979 model year new motor vehicles, blah, blah, blah.”

Okay, where am I going with this? For the last 50 ’79 930’s, the Porsche factory had to have known the exact number of ’79 930’s that had California engines verses cars with “California Delete” engines.

Another thing to ponder…my ’79 930 (1164) was equipped with a fairly early engine serial number: 6890807 (6 - 6 cylinder, 8 - 911 Turbo, 9 - 1979, 0807 production number - original to the car per PCA COA). What’s interesting is that the parts on my engine have dates in the mid-79 production range (e.g., intercooler, 6/79, etc.) that correspond to the fairly early 807 engine production number. I’ve seen U.S. ’79 930 VINs in the 800’s that have later production engine parts than mine. Makes you wonder if the engines for the last 50 ’79 930’s were “pulled out of the barn” so to speak to complete the U.S. production run.
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More timeless quotes from Patrick Bedard’s editorial in the Feb 80, Car and driver:

“The Porsche 930 Turbo cares nothing about enlightened generations. It just goes fast. Three-digit speeds are not sweat. The brakes will stop the earth on its axis. The windshield-washer system springs to action so fast that getting splashed by a truck on a slushy night is no drama. You can cover a lot of bad road in this car, and not take much time for it.”

“The Porsche 930 Turbo is as close as modern transportation can come to the spirited horse. It’s the only road car I’ve driven in the last few years that always gets the adrenaline pumping. It’s a worthy adversary, and I have to see it go.”

Here’s a vintage Porsche commercial with 1970’s racing images of 934s and 935s:

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRQzHwti5jw[/ame]
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Quotes from “Save the Whales”, Jan 80, Motor Trend:

“I chose a short eastbound section that runs to the Tappan Zee Bridge and pointed the Porsche to it. The onramp is about a mile of winding pavement, and no “one” was around but me and Godzilla, so I cracked the window and then the throttle and listened to the Turbo’s exhaust. No other car makes the same sound; at the top of each gear, the exhaust howls like an animal and it’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard. And when you’re alone in the blackness, knowing what you are in and what it is capable of doing, your skin crawls like it was alive. (Uh huh, at a buck-fifty who’s going to know what you looked like before?).

“So how does such a smoothly terrifying car land in America anyhow? It must be a dream, because speed and capabilities like this have heretofore been racecar lore. It amazes me that such a car does exist, but the handful at Porsche responsible for the Turbo starting with their training back in the ‘60s with the development of the turbocharged flat-12 917 racer.”

“Can you still buy a 930 from Porsche? No…Oh. There is a minute chance that you might be able to connect with one of the signature-edition 930s that will have blown across the border (these list for a bit more than 42 grand), but in the real world, you’ll probably be better off trying to wangle a Countach for the same money you’d have to lay out for the last of the Whales.”

“Worked up enough? Don’t lose your place in line. The people at Porsche are destined to replace the 930 with something almost as good. This new Porsche will be based on the Porsche 924 Turbo, but it will have enough guts to run at least 150 mph and will handle better than the Whale.”

A sign of the times that Porsche was emphasizing the 924 Turbo and "new" 944 as replacements for the 930. Interesting that the featured ’79 930 in the article is a “turbo badge” delete.
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that's more to ponder. one thing that is intersting is that some early and late cars may have the flush headlight washers (and the owners indicate the carts have not ben damaged/repaired/came from the factory that way), but most like mine #600 ish have the snorkels. i could understand some of the very last ones but why the early ones? here is the nose of my 79 with her sister my 88 cab. my wife loves the cab but hates the 930. she say's it loud, smells funny, and rides hard. i told her that sounds like her except she is hard to ride
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Very nice color - is your car a 49-state car? If so, is your engine VIN below 800?

Several books (original 911, Porsche Red book, etc.) date the 1980 model year to the flush headlight washers (continue 1979 series for 930’s) VINs – 9309800818 to 9309801200. That being said, it’s very possible that demarcation point for the flush headlight washers was earlier than VIN 818. The Porsche factory should be able to answer this question (when someone writes the book on the 930). However, if you see the flush headlight washers on a very early ’79 930, it’s a dead giveaway that they were replaced especially since the original snorkel versions are very difficult to find and expensive.

“Smells funny and rides hard.” Very true about the unique odor of the ’79 930 (at least mine). Do the later cars have the same distinctive odor? It's just as distinctive as the odor inside an old airplane.

 

not sure of the engine #. the window sticker doesn't indicate if it is 49 or 50 state car, seeing it was delivered/sold new at Holbert's in PA it probably is 49 state car. yes the smell is the from old full leather interior (dash and all), but she also is referring to the oil cooking off on hot parts from some minor leaks when i pull it back in the garage.

 

More on the 917 brakes from: “The Porsche 911”, Chris Harvey, Oxford Press, 1980.

“…the Turbo was substantially the same as the Carrera RSR it was intended to help qualify for Appendix J racing…It was also intended to upgrade the braking system by fitting the 917-style ventilated and cross-drilled 12-inch discs, but production difficulties delayed the introduction of the cross-drilling. One of the chief problems was the cross-drilled discs tended to crack easily.” For the 78 930: “At last the Turbo was given the 917-style cross-drilled brakes, the cracking problems having been solved, and four-piston calipers.”

Road and Tracks Aug 73 road test of the Porsche RSR mentions that this car also had the cross-drilled discs from the 917. Unfortunately, the 917 cross-drilled rotors are barely visible behind the RSR wheel in their photo.
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Charles, if you look at the plate under your engine lid you will be able to tell if you have a California or 49-state car. I'm sure its a "Cali Delete" since it was sold at Holbert. Rich

 

i'l take look at it shortly. i was planning to do some work on it today.

 

Here’s another image of the 3-litre Carrera RSR with component layout including the brakes. It’s interesting that the RSR actually had 917 floating rotors on the front and rear. Although based on the 3-litre Carrera RSR, the 911 Turbo would only be equipped with 917 floating rotors on the front. Porsche probably made this decision due to the fact the 911 Turbo was not a race car (like the RSR) and expense. Due to cracking of the discs, the cross-drilled brakes were delayed three years until the 3.3 liter model was produced in 1978. After only three years of production (1978-1980), the decision was made to discontinue the floating rotors on the fronts but continue the cross-drilled discs with fixed rotors on front and rear (remained unchanged through the 1989 930).
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More props to the ’79 930 - the only Porsche victory at Le Mans based on a production-based 930. Photo is from another great book by Michael Cotton, “The Porsche 911 and derivatives including 959”, Motor Racing Publications, LTD, 1980.

Porsche’s competition history with the 935 summed up by John Teague in “Motoring News” from the 1979 Le Mans:

“But the day was surely Porsche’s – despite the failure of the works cars. Of the 23 classified finishers 12 were products of Stuttgart, and nine of them 935s. Now that it has won everything in endurance racing, the Porsche 935 must surely go down in history as one of the great sportscars of all time, ranking alongside the Jaguar D-type, the Ferrari Testa Rossa, the Ford GT40 and the Porsche 917.”

At the ’79 Le Mans, victory went to Erwin Kremer’s 935 driven by Klaus Ludwig, Dick Whittington and Bill Whittington. Close behind in second place was as another 935 driven by Rolf Stommelen, Dick Barbour and Paul Newman.

The caption is the book is telling, “Outright victory at Le Mans in 1979 fell for the first time in many years to a production-based car.”

The production ’79 930’s have the brakes of the 917 and allowed Porsche to win the 24 hours of Le Mans in a 935 (per the FIA rules, a silhouette based 930).
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More images of the 930 from the 1978 U.S. brochure. The cloth seats "centers" featured in the brochure are seldom seen on 78 & 79 930s.
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More images of the 930 from the 1979 U.S. brochure. A rare “non-optioned sunroof” silver 930 was on the back of a ’79 U.S. flyer.
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More images of the 930 from the 1980 German brochure. The psychedelic cloth patterned seats were more common on 928’s than 930’s of the period.
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Road & Track test drove the 912E, 911 S and 911 Turbo Carrera in Jan 76. They briefly mentioned the Turbo brakes in their Steering, Suspension & Brakes section:

“All three cars have very good brakes. Information received at the 1976 Porsche long lead led us to believe the 912E and 911S share identical braking systems. Almost, but not quite. The 912E’s discs aren’t vented as we reported in the December issue and a slightly softer pad material is used up front. Consequently, braking effort is lighter-35 lb for a ½ stop vs 45 lb for the 911s – and the brakes exhibited slight fade vs. none for the S and Turbo. Otherwise the brakes perform similarly.

In R&T’s Jun 78 issue, they lauded the upgraded 930 engine and intercooler but neglected to mention the upgraded brakes in their test:

“OUTRAGEOUS, SIMPLY OUTRAGEOUS. That’s the reaction of every staff member who drove the 1978 version of the Porsche Turbo. How else can we describe a car with this much acceleration and unrestrained performance?

“The observant will have noted that Porsche no longer tags the Carrera name on after Turbo – it’s simple, straightforward Turbo now, as that is what makes this car uniquely exhilarating. The new Turbo’s sohc flat-6 engine displaces 3299 cc versus 2994 for the previous examples. Horsepower (SAE net) is 253 at 5500 rpm while torque measures 282 lb-ft at 4000, compared to 234 bhp at 5500 and 246 lb-ft at 4500 rpm in the 1976-1977 car.”
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More images from the Apr ’78 Car and Driver “Super Test” of the 928 and 930. The article features a great cutaway of the ’78 3.3-litre engine. The cutaway even included the smog pump (left front of the engine) for the treaded thermal reactors. Note the Porsche badge by the turbo logo.
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More from the Aug 79 Car and Driver, “Turbo Car vs. Turbo Bike”. Noted by Danny Ongais, the Turbo bike pretty much outperformed the car in all areas except stopping (testament to the 917 brakes on the 78-80 930’s):

“The car does stop much better than Than Scooter does, I think because you’ve got maybe ten times the amount of rubber on the ground.” The effects of weight transfer are also accentuated by the motorcycle, whereas the rear-engined Porsche takes maximum squatting advantage of its massive P7s and simply stops moving, properly allowing the locking of fronts first, with sufficient, easily modulated pressure.”

Another interesting comment by Ongais on the unique handling of vintage 930's:

"I have it on good authority that more than 40 percent of the Turbos sold by one West Coast dealership have been crashed backwards. No mean average, that. Today, Ongais has demonstrated car control beyond compare."

The 930 in the article is an earlier ’79 with the snorkel headlight washers and is also a “turbo badge” delete.
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This car came with some interesting paperwork that indicates it was imported to Neil Huffman Porsche+Audi, Montgomery, AL on 1/24/80 with a VIN of 9809800724 (build date 7/79). The import date is only one day earlier than my car's (1164) U.S. receipt at Import Motors, Grand Rapids, Michigan (1/25/80).

I wonder if the flush mounted headlights washers are original to this 930 and the transition from the snorkels occured prior to VIN 818. Anyone have snorkels on their '79 before VIN 818?
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Upon closer look, this ’79 930 also has the updated center vents. This car looks clean and unmolested so it’s more likely that Porsche updated the ’79 930’s with flush headlight washers and new center vents prior to VIN 9309800818. The only update for VIN 818 would have been the 85 MPH speedometers. Anyone have a stock ’79 930 with a VIN between 724 and 818? Anyone out there?
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Agree - he knows a thing or two about Porsche 930's and 935's. Here's an image of Danny Ongais' Interscope 935.

http://www.comicozzie.com/gallery2/v/1979/IM/GT/79-IMSA-11_001.jpg.html

In R&T's Jan 86 issue, they test drove the new 1986 911 Turbo. They mention the very different character of the 86 911 Turbo compared to the 78 & 79 930's:

“The Turbo is back, named plain 911 Turbo and much refined. The Turbo version of the 911 six is larger, with a 2-mm wider bore and 3.3 liters of displacement. The Turbo engine has been seriously retuned, not de, but re-tuned. The current version has more peak power, 282 bhp versus 253, but nominal compression is higher, boost is lower and the power has been shifted higher in the rev range. The result is throttle lag, as opposed to classic turbo lag, and the result of that is an engine less likely, or so the development team hopes, to catch the driver unaware.”
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In their Jan 95 issue, Road & Track test drove the new 1996 Porsche 911 Turbo and also provided a 911 Turbo history:

1978-1979: “The shape of whale tale tells you there’s more to the second-generation 930 that meets the eye. The boxed-in area below the rear spoiler houses an intercooler that chills the supercharged air as it rushes toward the intake values of the venerable Porsche flat-6, whose larger bore and longer stroke increased displacement to 3.3 liters…acceleration was dramatically better: The Turbo, as the model was called, could go from 0-to-60 mph in 5.0 sec., remarkable even by today’s standards. A stronger clutch, taller top (4th) gear and generously sized vented disc brakes inspired by the racing 917s are among the features that make the 1978 and 1979 Turbos much loved among Porsche cognoscenti. And the last 930s to (officially) reach our shores until 1986.”

1986-1989: American Peter Schutz took over Porsche and mandated that the Turbo return to the U.S. And so it did, but while the slightly revised 3.3-liter engine produced nearly 30 more bhp, new emissions controls took the edge off performance and impaired drivability. On the bright side, wider rear wheels (by 1 in) and sticky low-profile tires improved handling and helped reduce oversteer.”
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More on the different character of the new 3.3-liter 911 Turbo in the Jan 86 issue of Car and Driver:

“Nevertheless, if 1979 was a great year for turbochared 911s, 1986 ought to be even better, right? Twenty-nine more horses, fatter tires, and six years of chassis development could only make things positively dreamy.”

“With a searing 0-to-60 mph of 4.6 seconds and clocking of 13.1 seconds at 105-mph through the quarter-mile, the 911 Turbo is most assuredly this season’s acceleration ace-providing you’re willing to resort to rough, wheel-spinning, drag-race starts. On the road though, these numbers pale next to the Turbo’s boost-lag arthritis. Even the healthier of our two test cars took forever to spin its turbo to liftoff speed. Once it was up and running, it was plenty strong, but it just didn’t awe us the way the old 930 used to.”

Still looking, but I have yet to find a period article (R&T, C&D, etc.) that refers to post-1986, 911 Turbos as 930’s. Anyone?
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