Garage find 1974 911s

[chrisbarnesuk]

Hi and great forum! Last night I came across my dream car - a 911. It has been in the garage for 12 years but was running when laid up. It has a service history including an engine rebuild and repaint (in original mexico blue). It has bills going back to the 1980s. It is in fairly good order - a bit of bubbling on the door bottoms but underneath and floors are solid. There is a bit of bubbling under one front headlight but insides under the front bonnet is all solid. The engine has not been started in ten years but does turn by hand. It was rebuilt and serviced less than 2000 miles ago (but this was in 2003!).

The interior is good - dusty but complete and the dials etc are all original. Mileage is about 130,000 and all previous logbooks and handbooks are present.

I am thinking of getting her maybe running again... what should I be looking for chaps?

Thanks and have a nice day

 

[davidsinger]

Hello looks like an interesting find, as these cars are getting pretty rare. Of course what you do with it depends on what the purchase price is, what your budget is for refurbishment and what your plans are for it in the future! I am sure that you will have read lots on where to look for rust on these cars and I find the Peter Morgan's book "Ultimate Buyers' Guide" Porsche 911 1964-1989 (ISBN 978-0-9549990-9-4) very handy. If you say there are signs of bubbling around a headlight and door bottom then in all likely-hood you will find plenty more rust in all the usual places. The biggest / worst place if you have major rot is in the "Kidney bowl" area. If you are convinced that there is only a small amount of rust and that a quick bit of work will get it all looking nice then you could have a very fine motorcar for not a lot of money. However if you wish to keep it as an investment you will almost certainly have to take it back to bare metal and cut out and repair every piece of rust which is not going to be cheap. If after that the car is then looked after well and used sparingly (not salty wet roads) it should last many more years! As you are probably aware the galvanizing process did not start until 1976 and so cast your mind back to any car made in the 1970's and you instantly think rust! A Porsche is really no different! I don't want to put you off as they are the most fantastic cars to own and drive and to my mind the last of the "narrow bodied" cars in the impact bumper era of 1974-1975 are by far the prettiest. Values of good cars are rising but to get one from a barn find / non runner with some rust to a "very good" car could cost you in excess of £25k but can you put a price on the sheer pleasure of driving them, though? As a foot note it might be worth your while getting a proper inspection done first, by an experienced early Porsche person, as it is very easy to buy with the heart and not the head! Good luck and let us know how you get on! Rgds David

 

[Max Homewood]

Hello from Berlin. I bought an unrestored 1976 model 911 (built late 1975) just over a year ago from a specialist in old Porsches here in Berlin. It was like yours except that it was fully "on the road" with the German equivalent of an MoT. I've spent quite a bit on having the gearbox rebuilt and on stripping paint, replacing metal and respraying the front wings, thresholds and the bodywork just behind the doors. In Germany there is a special insurance for "Old Timer" cars (it's much as if one was insuring, say, a piece of antique furniture or a classic painting) and the insurers insist on an independent valuation by the equivalent of the MoT before they'll touch it. I had to have it valued on purchase and again after the restoration. If it's any encouragement to you, the value went up by twice as much as I spent on the restoration because demand for good "narrow" 911s far exceeds supply. If the bank will run to it, all I can say is "Go for it!" But if it won't, please, please walk away. All the best!

 

[petercook]

Hi Chris,

I have a '76 911 Lux and looked at plenty! Doesn't matter if the engine was rebuilt a few thousand miles go if it hasn't run for so many years it will have to be 'sorted'. Probably fuel head refurbed (£400+) rubbers changed everywhere, possibly cleaned or new injectors (not cheap), and if petrol left in tank all that time remove sender unit and check tank is not rusty inside. brakes need complete overhaul (not to expensive but maybe couple of hundred). If its been stood shocks are probably shot, £100 a corner.

Body depends - what you see is the tip of the ice burg. sounds like new wings (£400 a side for new) or repair which cannot be guaranteed, doors can be skinned but labour intensive. The cost of body restoration depends on how much you want to throw at it and who does it - lots of garages say they can do it but few can 'do' a 911 properly and will always tell you that its never as good as it looks! Don't understand why it has had a repaint if bubbling? A car in good condition, re-sprayed and stored out of the weather for 10 years should look tired but no rust.

If its a 'keeper' then go for it (at the right price), don't buy expecting to speculate on making a profit.

 

[chrisbarnesuk]

Thanks for your tips everyone. Time does pass really quickly - I only managed to join the club yesterday! So since July, I bought the car and I have been all through it. I replaced all the fuel lines, rubber hoses, leads, plugs, rotor, points, tyres, removed and cleaned fuel tank, rebuilt brakes, spruced up the interior, clayed and waxed exterior, cleaned metering unit and injectors, changed oil and fuel filter and adjusted mixture as was running lean. Clutch was seized but I managed to free it. Changed transmission oil and works pretty good.Put her through an MOT and it went straight through. Rust is not too bad - the bottom of the doors are poor so I need to get these done and the bubble under the headlight needs looking at but other than that it is very solid underneath and inside the wings and nothing on kidney bowls etc. It was waxoiled when rebuilt and this has helped a lot. I think it is pretty rare in Mexico Blue being a 911s and it drives great. I hope to bring it out and about this season so hopefully will meet some of you at events.

Have a great day - I just wish I could take it out today but I am waiting for some caliper pins to arrive...