1974 Porsche 911 Targa?

Question

115k miles

The following two paragraphs are from an ad:

"The car is in working condition and also passed inspection about two weeks ago. The outside is free of dents and only has about two little dings. There are a few rust spots (pictures will be provided upon request), but nothing out of the ordinary considering its age. The inside requires some TLC. A previous owner attempted to restore the interior, but it was never completed. We purchased it with the hopes of restoring it, but a recent move to another state and new business owners...we can't take on the project.

I replaced the oil pump and all the valve seals last summer. The previous owner rebuilt the engine in 2001. The car is in working condition, however, keep in mind it is an antique."

Here are pictures from the ad:

http://aycu06.webshots.com/image/18725/2003999177951236498_rs.jpg

Now, I have two questions:

1. How much would you pay for this car?
2. From what you can see, how much would a simple restore cost?

And by a simple restore, I mean getting rid of most rust, making the interior more presentable (not necessarily perfect, just no rips/stains), making sure there are no leaks or mechanical problems, and just cleaning it.

Answer 1

Well I would start by saying about 1500.00

But assuming that the rust is probably pretty bad, I would say closer to 2500.00 or more, for a complete revamp of the car, getting it ready for the road.

Depending on your color, fading and how the new/old paint is.

You could spend more than 8,000.00, depends on the condition.

Answer 2

There are a few additional questions you'll likely have to consider before getting to a point of just what the car is worth. If you look around at 911S models that are in the '74-'77 range you'll find a pretty wide variation, that is going to run as low as a couple thousand up to the low teens. So, as a starting point, the car is somewhere in there.

Rust... there really is no such thing as minor rust on an older 911, and any repair could wind up being fairly involved and costly. What I can see in the picture isn't terrible, but experience tells me that what you are seeing is usually just a very small part of the problem. A full on restoration of the car would address this, but would also quickly cost more than the car could ever be worth (any tear down to bare metal, repair, repaint, and reassembly is going to be at least $8k, and probably more than $10k).

The engine - if a potential buyer overlooks the rust, you will also need to at least be able to answer questions about the engine and what it's history is. If I recall correctly, termal reactors were not installed on all '74s as they were on the later 911S US models, but even without this, the 2.7L engine from this era has likely issues that would have only been addressed during a rebuild. The fact that the engine was rebuilt in 2001 is good... however, this will be considered mostly meaningless if certain things were not done: racewear or divilar head studs and a change to the 11 blade cooling fan would address most buyers possible long term concerns).

If you can document the parts involved in the engine rebuild, and that they were the right ones to address the 2.7's traditional issues, the car is probably worth ~$5K. If not, most buyers will look at the car considering it as needing an engine rebuild which would detract from the value quite a bit.

Answer 3

What you pay for the car is a personal opinion, it will depend on how much you really want it. Do an e-bay motor search for a "74 911 and see what a comperable cars are selling for.

As far as things to look for;
Rust is a problem for these 911s especially if they lived in northern climates that used salt on the roads. The 925/02 Sportomatic Transmission parts are becoming rare and costly, the repair of these transmissions is difficult and failure may reoccur. The 1st and second gear syncros wear easily. The cylinder head studs are a known weak point. Rear window and windshield seals leak when they get brittle. Timing chain/guides/tensioners/tensioner support shaft/idler sprokets all fail. If the guides inside the chain brakes they fall into the chain, derailing it, stopping all the valve action = major rebuild. Fuel lines tend to leak with age. Any transmission work requires the engine be removed at a shop $800-1400. Then the repairs and parts begin.

Parts for older Porsche cars are expensive. Porsches also require a small fortune for special tools to do any internal engine/tranny work.

Best advice: Know what you are getting into and be able to afford the worst. I've seen many folks buy an older Porsche not realizing that you can far exceed the value of the vehicle just trying to keep it on the road. If you need this for a daily driver, I think you will be disapointed. P cars are wonderful machines if you have the time and $$ to invest until it's completed.

Answer 4

1974 Porsche 911 Value

Answer 5

Don't even bother....this car is:

a) a unibody----rust is FATAL in many cases

b) not worth all that much....just save up and buy a good one.

c) the "owner" rebuilding the engine is a very scary statement.

Just remember, if this engine blows up, it costs $12,000 to rebuild. Do you really think the previous owner spent 12,000 bucks on it? Do you/he have any receipts?

There's a golden rule for old Porsches.

Buy the very best one you can afford. Never EVER buy a fixer-upper unless you want to spend about double what a ready-to-go car would cost you.

So much about this ad makes no sense...it was rebuilt in 2001 and yet someone had to put in an oil pump and valve seals? Now why is that? Normally a 2.4 Porsche engine is good for 200,000 miles.

Neglected Porsches are money pits.

Sure if you can score it for $1,500, you can part it out for that but for god sakes don't pay too much for it and don't put a lot of money in it.

The color is awful as well and will hurt value....sorry to say.

You want a 70s Porsche targa? Well save up about $12,000 to $15,000 and you can find one that's ready to roll. And don't buy a 1975-77 model with the 2.7.

The best early 911s are the 1978-83 SC models. These are gems and worth every penny----and---a bit of a bargain right now----AND----95% of them came with sunroofs.

ALSO (phew) think twice about the targa---it squeaks and it leaks....

Answer 6

The car is worth in the neighborhood of $6,000 by visual inspection and description. Since there is rust present and some work needs to be done overall just to make this into a driver, I would hold the limit at $5,000.00
Even though it is a desirable car, the maintenance and repairs can be pricey. If you intend to use this car as a daily driver the bills could get expensive. These cars are best left to experienced Porsche loyalists and technicians who have the expertise in keeping them going.

Answer 7

Run Forest, Run!

Seriously, you are looking at a resto that will likely cost far more than the car is worth. IMO, the '74 Targa is not particularly desirable. The 2.7 alone strikes fear in most "in-the-know' enthusiasts....and it reflects in the market value.

As far as refurbish costs, how about the (more than likely) need for a targa top rebuild at $1500-$2500.....just to start.