SOLD on Jun 15, 2026

Elite Dealer

1978 Porsche 911

Michigan

$77,995

Vehicle Details

Make

Porsche

Model

911

Year

1978

Mileage

37,000 miles

Exterior Color

Black

Interior Color

Tan

Transmission

Manual

Drivetrain

RWD

Fuel Type

Gasoline

Engine

3.0L Flat 6

Condition

Excellent

Description

1978 Porsche 911 SC – Black – 37k Miles – Original & Exceptionally Preserved This 1978 Porsche 911 SC is an outstanding example of an early SC, finished in black with a clean, well‑kept interior and showing 37,000 miles. It has been used mainly for weekend drives and has always been cared for. The car is original with one repaint, carries a clean title, and has zero rust.

Key Features Black exterior with excellent shine Clean, preserved interior Original Porsche gold honeycomb wheels Factory rear tail Removable Targa top Original body with one repaint Never any rust Non‑smoker car Options & Equipment Believed to have all major options available for 1978: Power windows Factory A/C (needs recharge) Full leather interior Power antenna (still works) Books, both keys, and original emergency tire kit Mechanical Condition The car runs and drives extremely well. Recent maintenance includes: Fuel regulator Fuel distributor Fuel lines Fuel injectors Spark plugs Tune‑up All fluids drained and replaced Battery and oil service completed over the summer Everything works as it should, and the car starts, runs, and drives beautifully. History & Documentation Some service history spanning 27 years Both keys Original manuals and emergency kit Long‑term ownership and well preserved Overall This 911 SC is in incredible condition inside and out, and it gets attention everywhere it goes.

Replacing a car like this today with a new Porsche would cost well over $150k—and it still wouldn’t draw the kind of attention this classic does. Values on clean SCs continue to rise, and this is the kind of example collectors look for. Please Note The Following **Vehicle Location is at our clients home and Not In Cadillac, Michigan. **We do have a showroom with about 25 cars that is by appointment only **Please Call First and talk to one of our reps at 231-468-2809 EXT 1 **

Classic Porsche 911 Buyer's Guide

Full guide

Sarah Whitfield

Pre-War Classics

1965–1989

~5 min read

Updated Apr 2026

Definitive buyer's guide for classic Porsche 911 1965-1989. Long-hood and G-body generations, structural rust hotspots, engine number authentication, and Porsche Certificate of Authenticity essentials.

This guide covers

✓ 10-point inspection checklist

✓ Common issues & what to avoid

✓ In-person inspection guide

✓ Market pricing by year & condition

✓ 5 FAQs answered

✓ History & fun facts

Read the Full 911 Buyer's Guide

Porsche 911 Market Overview

Based on 34 Porsche 911 listings currently on ClassicCarsArena.com

Listed Now

$85,074

Avg. Asking Price

1967–2001

Year Range

Price Position on Our Site — Average Range

This car: $77,995

Low: $23,995 High: $159,995

Transmission Distribution

Automatic 12%

Manual 74% ◄

Condition Distribution

Excellent 9% ◄

Good 9%

Data from ClassicCarsArena.com listings Browse all 34 listings →

Classic Porsche 911 Buyer's Guide

The Porsche 911 has been in continuous production since 1964 — sixty years across eight platform generations — but the air-cooled era (1965-1998) defines the classic 911 market. From the long-hood early cars (1965-1973) through the impact-bumper G-body (1974-1989) and the 964 (1989-1994) and 993 (1995-1998) generations, each platform has its own engineering character, its own pitfalls, and its own collector trajectory. The Porsche marque is exacting in its documentation requirements, and buyers entering this market should understand exactly what separates a documented original car from a clone, a re-skin, or an outright fraud.

What to Check Before Buying

✓

Order Porsche Certificate of Authenticity ($254) — Available from Porsche Cars North America via chassis number. Confirms original engine, gearbox, color, options, delivery.

✓

Verify engine number stamping against COA — Stamped on flat pad on engine case (passenger side, near fan housing). Mismatch = 15-50% value reduction.

✓

Verify gearbox number against COA — Stamped on gearbox case. Original gearbox preferred; replacement gearboxes acceptable but reduce value.

✓

Inspect kidney bowls (pre-1976 cars) — Visible from inside footwells with carpet lifted. Critical structural rust point on non-galvanized bodies.

✓

Inspect longitudinal sills under doors — From underneath car with strong flashlight. Perforation = $8,000-$25,000 structural repair.

✓

Check battery box and front trunk floor — Battery acid leaks plus rust = perforation. Front trunk floor commonly rotten on neglected cars.

✓

Compression and leakdown test by specialist — Should read 145-175 PSI with <10% leakdown. SC and Carrera 3.2 head-stud failures are known issues.

✓

Inspect heat exchangers from underneath — Long-hood and G-body cars use exhaust heat exchangers for cabin heat. Rusted units = $3,000-$6,000 per side.

✓

Verify chassis number on body and dashboard — Multiple stamping locations should agree in style and patina. Mismatched = re-shell or body swap.

✓

Test all electrical and CIS fuel injection — Mechanical CIS (1973+) works well when serviced but fails expensively. Verify pressure regulator and warm-up regulator.

Common Issues

Air-cooled 911 rust is the structural killer for cars from any climate where road salt is used. The kidney bowls (the curved structural elements behind the front wheels), the longitudinal sills under the doors, the front trunk floor, the battery box, the suspension pan ahead of the front wheels, and the rear suspension mounting points are all critical structural rust zones. Long-hood cars (1965-1973) are particularly vulnerable because Porsche did not begin galvanizing the 911 body until 1976. Mechanically, the air-cooled flat-six is exceptionally durable when serviced correctly but unforgiving when neglected. Top-end rebuilds are required at 100,000-150,000 mile intervals due to head-stud failure (a known weakness on 1978-1983 3.0L SC and 3.2L Carrera engines), valve seat recession, and worn timing chain tensioners. The 1965-1973 Mezger-era engines are the most robust but also the rarest. Heat exchanger rust on long-hood cars is universal — a properly restored heat exchanger system is $3,000-$6,000 per side. Electrical issues vary by era. Pre-1972 cars used Bosch fuel injection (mechanical) on the 911S and 911E variants; 1973 brought the introduction of CIS (continuous injection system) which works well when serviced but fails expensively. Original wiring harnesses on long-hood cars are 50+ years old and prone to chafing in the engine bay where heat and vibration converge.

What to Look For

The Porsche Certificate of Authenticity ($254 from Porsche Cars North America) is the gold-standard documentation for any classic 911. The certificate confirms the original equipment of the car: engine number, gearbox number, color, interior, options, and delivery destination. For any 911 priced over $60,000, the certificate is mandatory. Engine and gearbox numbers are the second-tier verification. The engine number is stamped on a flat pad on the engine case (passenger side, near the fan housing). The gearbox number is stamped on the gearbox case. Cross-reference both against the certificate. Mismatched engine and gearbox numbers (versus the certificate) reduce value by 15-30% on driver-quality cars and by 30-50% on premium cars. Structural rust inspection is the first non-negotiable for any pre-1976 911. Lift the carpet at the driver and passenger footwells and look at the kidney bowls (visible from inside the car, behind the foot pedals). Inspect the longitudinal sills under the doors with a strong flashlight from underneath the car. Look at the battery box (front trunk, driver side on left-hand-drive cars). Look at the suspension pan ahead of the front wheels. Perforation in any of these areas is structural and expensive to repair — $8,000-$25,000 minimum for proper professional work. Car matching numbers (the chassis number stamped on the body in multiple locations) is the third-tier verification. The chassis number appears on the dashboard plate (visible through the windshield), on the front trunk hinge area, and stamped into the body in the front and rear suspension mounting areas. Mismatched stamping styles or different patina between locations indicates a re-shell, a body swap, or a fabricated car.

Price Guide

Long-hood 911s (1965-1973) are the blue-chip end of the market. Driver-quality 1969-1973 911T (the base model) cars run $65,000-$110,000. Documented 911S (the high-performance variant) cars run $140,000-$280,000. The 1973 Carrera RS 2.7 is the holy grail — $700,000-$1.5M+ for documented Touring (M472) cars and $1.2M-$3M+ for Lightweight (M471) cars. G-body 911s (1974-1989) are the bargain entry into air-cooled ownership. Driver-quality 1978-1983 911 SC (3.0L) cars run $45,000-$75,000. 1984-1989 Carrera 3.2 cars run $55,000-$95,000. Documented Turbo (930) cars from this era run $80,000-$180,000 depending on year and condition. The 1989 Speedster and 1989 Carrera Speedster are special cases — $120,000-$220,000 for documented examples. 964 generation (1989-1994) was the bridge between the air-cooled classic era and the modern 993. Driver-quality 964 Carrera 2/4 cars run $45,000-$80,000. 964 Turbo: $140,000-$280,000. 964 RS America: $95,000-$180,000. Project cars (running but rough) start around $25,000 for G-body cars and $50,000-$80,000 for long-hood cars. Stripped roller candidates can be had for $15,000-$35,000, but rust restoration on a long-hood 911 typically runs $50,000-$120,000 in body and structural repair alone. Buy finished cars from competent specialists — restoration economics rarely work on 911s.

Did You Know?

The 911 was originally going to be called the 901, but Peugeot held the trademark on three-digit model designations with a zero in the middle (Peugeot 304, 504, etc.) and threatened legal action. Porsche changed the name to 911 in October 1964, just before public launch — only 82 of the original 901 cars had been built and badged before the name change. Surviving 901-badged cars are now among the most valuable production 911s, with documented examples trading for over $1 million. The 1973 Carrera RS 2.7 was originally homologated for FIA Group 4 racing and required Porsche to build 500 road-going examples to qualify. The car was so popular that Porsche eventually built 1,580 — exceeding the homologation requirement by more than three times. The RS Lightweight (M471) variant weighed 200 kg less than a standard 911S thanks to thin-gauge sheet metal, fiberglass bumpers, and stripped interior. The air-cooled flat-six produced its final road-going version in the 1998 993 — and the engine architecture traces directly back to the 1948 Volkswagen Beetle flat-four via Ferdinand Porsche's design philosophy. The 1998 993 represented the end of fifty years of horizontally-opposed air-cooled engineering at Porsche.