Hi Felix
First off, apologies for the "look elsewhere on the forum" comments. I have a feeling I am responsible for those. Not very helpful is it. However, this is a totally new subject anyway!
When you say "narrow arch " I take it you mean you like slightly flared rear arches but don't want the "turbo look"? With the exception of one or two "special" models all 911s until 1974 had no flares at all. From 1974 onwards all normally aspirated 911s (except the specials) had slightly flared rear wheel arches and turbos had significantly flared front and rear arches.
So assuming you want the mildly-flared-arches-look you need to decide whether you "need" a galvanised car. Until the middle of 1976 the body of a 911 was not galvanised, and therefore is prone to rust. The first galvanised model of note was the Carrera 3.0 that Jamie mentioned. Also in 1977 there was a 2.7 litre 911S but to be honest these are best avoided as they have a number of known problems and are somewhat underpowered.
For most people, there is not a great deal of difference between the 200 bhp 1977 Carrera 3.0 and the 1978-1983 SC 3.0 that followed it (the early ones of which had 180bhp and the later of which had 204). SCs are a normally a couple of grand cheaper and offer a similar driving experience. You would have to drive a few of each to decide whether the Carrera 3.0 is worth the extra couple of grand over an SC.
It then starts to get complicated because the next model, the Carrera 3.2, is again, very similar to the SC but has a larger (3.2) engine and more advanced fuel injection. It produces 230 bhp. The reason it is complicated is that these cars are now very similiar in price to a Carrera 3.0 or SC, have more power and are up to 10 years younger. From 1987 the Carrera 3.2 also had a new gearbox, called the G50, which was a great improvement over the older model and feels a lot more modern. (The 915 gearbox found in the Carrera 3.0, SC and '84 to '87 3.2shas been described as feeling like "stirring-a-bucket-with-a-stick").
Personally, I like the slight rarity of the Carrera 3.0 and the fact that it is rare, can me modified to fairly easily produce 240bhp (with some engine changes), and is a bit lighter than the later cars make it a bit special.
For a better "time-line" than I just described have a look at:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/911/technical_specs/911_guthrie_faq.htm
Also, buy a few books. They are a small investment relative to the car! Paul Frere's 911 Story is excellent (but might be too detailed). Peter Morgan's nicely illustrated "Original Porsche 911" is great too and although it has less detail covers all the main points of each generation of 911.
When you start to settle on a model you could do a lot worse than talking to the Porsche Club GB representative for that model. Each model has a "register". For details on who to contact have a look at:
http://www.porscheclubgb.com/registerlist.asp
Cheers, James
Hope this helps.
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