Considering a 1971 911T rebuild

Hi there,

I have been looking for a car to rebuild and came across an interesting one the other day and seeking opinion on the decision to take or leave it. I shall list the pros and the cons...

Its 1971 Australian delivered 911T, 90,000K's with matching numbers engine, sporto replaced with 901 5 speed.
Its claimed to have only two owners
Its as good as complete, and in original colour conda green.
Also comes with a 2.7 which from what I can gather will also need a top end rebuild

However,
Its in rough shape, 2.2 engine seized, rust in many of the usual places, decklid rusted beyond repair
It has had a post date impact bumper conversion, but has rusty original bumper and seats
Fuchs have been replaced with cookie cutters
There is no history "whatsoever" and no books as he did all the work himself.
asking around 25K but I'm sure its open to negotiation, I'm thinking 15K

My questions...is the history important considering it will be fully rebuilt? I'm thinking it would be, for any resale...
Is it worth doing considering its an Oz Delivered car? I have spoken to PCA and confirmed the engine, VIN and colour as genuine local delivery

Thanks in advance

Hi Rob

The Aussie providence seems to be almost overly sought after for some reason. Many buyers will take a crappy Aussie car over a much nicer LHD import or converted car - even though the cost of getting out there driving is far more. So in that respect, you can't go wrong beginning with an aussie delivered car with matching numbers. If the car is essentially complete, then it's almost certainly worth the buy in price at $25k. There is at least one record of a recent sale of an Aussie T being sold for +$100k so even without books/history/providence you can probably afford to spend $40-$50k in a restoration... And you will spend that sort of money doing it! Good front guards will and a hood will be some of your hardest parts to find when correcting a 'forward' dated car. The rear engine lid is pretty much the same across the years (with a few exceptions) so pretty easy to find. You'll blow $2-3k on good fuchs.

There is a hyper-link in my signature to the restoration I did on my 69 T over the past 4 years. If you can see some rust externally, then I guarantee you will have extensive rust internally; but all is not lost as pretty much every panel is still available from the factory or aftermarket suppliers. The big cost is in the bodywork, if you factor in 400-600 hours for a worst case restoration you can see how the money gets away with a good panel guy charging $100 per hour... If you can do a lot of work for yourself then the costs tumble, but you have to know your personal limits.

Factor $15-20k for a worst case engine rebuild - if that engine has seized badly and you have rust on the crank etc, then it'll be a case of salvaging the case halves (for the matching number) and replacing all the internals. But like most people you tend not to rebuild an engine to 'factory T spec' when for the same sort of money you can rebuild it with a lot more performance.

I'm sure others will offer their opinions, but having chased a few of these cars around for others and buying a couple myself I can offer the following... I know that they are getting harder to find full stop. The prices just keep going north. Aussie delivered cars always attract more buyers at better prices (rightly or wrongly), and everything can be fixed for a price :) Also Conda Green is a great original colour to have. I'd gamble to say that if you pass on it, you be hammered by lurkers here keen to follow it up at its asking price.

Rob,
As John says, the biggest factor is how much, if any, of the restoration work you plan to do yourself? If you're going to use professionals for everything and plan to take the car back to a high standard then unfortunately you will spend a hell of a lot . . . $80k or more is easily possible. If you spend $25k for the car and $80k+ on the restoration then you are likely to be underwater for a few years until the value catches up with your investment. The bugger is that it costs the same to restore a T as it does an S!

Thanks for that John and Nick. At this stage I don't have the room to accommodate the rebuild myself and would have been looking to outsource most of it. However after looking at the money involved to do a good job on it, perhaps I should be looking for a car with less work required...it would be a good opportunity but there is a lot that needs to be done. I think it would possibly need a donor car as well as a significant amount of the interior parts are beyond repair...

Cheers guys, will let you know how it goes

Hi Rob

It's good that you're considering your limits. Too many jump in only to realise these things are marathons and not sprints. I'm not sure I have another restoration in me... they take a lot out of you!

Spot on John. Mine is going to take a lot out. If mine wasn't an S it would be questionable. Rob, take a look at my resto and that will probably show what can lie beneath.

http://www.early911sregistry.org/for...ge-1970S-resto

john,

this is far better buying, whilst the initial price is greater, your head will be well above water !!

http://www.typ901.org/showthread.php?t=4313

regards