Cost to restore a 69-72’ 911T? Is it even worth it?

[hellgrun]

Hey guys, first time poster long time lurker but regardless - I’ve been obsessed with these old 911s for a while now and it’s getting to the point where I’m starting to get serious about buying one.

I’ve seen tempting cars (20-35k) that look fairly complete but need to be restored. So that led me to the question, what would it cost to restore a fairly complete 911T with the usual rust (floors, rockers, battery box, etc)? I wouldn’t want a concourse level car, hell, I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t even painted so long as I could drive it. I could do pretty much everything except the body work & engine / tranny rebuild.

I’ve seen estimates ranging from 20k all the way up to 100k to get a car like I described back into running & driving condition, and wanted to get your guys take on what it would cost. Would you guys say in most cases it would make more sense to just buy an already running & driving car that doesn’t need any major work?

Thanks.

[uai]

Would you guys say in most cases it would make more sense to just buy an already running & driving car that doesn’t need any major work?

YES definetely. Or buy somthing with an overseeable amount of the work that you can do yourself

[ejboyd5]

"Restore" means many thongs to different people. It helps to decide beforehand if your goal is a safe driver or a show car and to be realistic while making that assessment as there is a huge difference in the amount of money involved. Not knowing anything about your own abilities and available equipment it can only be stressed that work on these cars by others is expensive. The best advice for long term happiness is to purchase the best car you can afford.

[Chris Pomares]

If the car has the usual rust and will later need paint and you can't do it yourself walk away. Proper body and paint is expensive. Can you do the mechanical work? Engine, transmission, suspension? If you can't do body, paint or mechanical work by the very best car you can. Labor costs will eat up a large part of any restoration. These are very skilled folks and deserve to make a descent living.
If you can afford the high end if 5 figures or even the low end of 6 figures by a car already done. I've seen some fabulous cars in that price range here and on Pelican Parts, The Samba, Bring a Trailer, etc. Usually the folks who quote the low end are skilled DIY guys that can do most or all the work themselves. I would guess I have a couple thousand hours in my car of research, restoring parts, looking for parts, prepping parts for others to paint or powder coat, zinc plating, disassembly, reassembly, of almost everything on the car, and buying parts. At $50hr and that's about half of what I get charged when others do the work that's $100K. Most DIY'ers dismiss this but I lost more than that in lost income I could have made if I was working. So if I had just gone out and bought a $100,000 car I would have been way ahead. When I was in searching for a car 10 years ago $100K just sounded crazy as it was 20 years previous since my last Porsche. I enjoy working on my car but if cost is the biggest factor, buying a car already done can be the less expensive option.
That's my 2 cents anyway. Good hunting.

Two 911T's examples on Pelican one mid 5's, one low 6's. I couldn't build either myself for these prices.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...bert-blue.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...972-911-t.html

[hellgrun]

YES definetely. Or buy somthing with an overseeable amount of the work that you can do yourself

That makes sense, the search continues! Thanks.

[hellgrun]

"Restore" means many thongs to different people. It helps to decide beforehand if your goal is a safe driver or a show car and to be realistic while making that assessment as there is a huge difference in the amount of money involved. Not knowing anything about your own abilities and available equipment it can only be stressed that work on these cars by others is expensive. The best advice for long term happiness is to purchase the best car you can afford.

That’s the new plan - looks a lot less stressful to go the route of buying the best you can afford.

[hellgrun]

If the car has the usual rust and will later need paint and you can't do it yourself walk away. Proper body and paint is expensive. Can you do the mechanical work? Engine, transmission, suspension? If you can't do body, paint or mechanical work by the very best car you can. Labor costs will eat up a large part of any restoration. These are very skilled folks and deserve to make a descent living.
If you can afford the high end if 5 figures or even the low end of 6 figures by a car already done. I've seen some fabulous cars in that price range here and on Pelican Parts, The Samba, Bring a Trailer, etc. Usually the folks who quote the low end are skilled DIY guys that can do most or all the work themselves. I would guess I have a couple thousand hours in my car of research, restoring parts, looking for parts, prepping parts for others to paint or powder coat, zinc plating, disassembly, reassembly, of almost everything on the car, and buying parts. At $50hr and that's about half of what I get charged when others do the work that's $100K. Most DIY'ers dismiss this but I lost more than that in lost income I could have made if I was working. So if I had just gone out and bought a $100,000 car I would have been way ahead. When I was in searching for a car 10 years ago $100K just sounded crazy as it was 20 years previous since my last Porsche. I enjoy working on my car but if cost is the biggest factor, buying a car already done can be the less expensive option.
That's my 2 cents anyway. Good hunting.

Two 911T's examples on Pelican one mid 5's, one low 6's. I couldn't build either myself for these prices.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...bert-blue.html

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsc...972-911-t.html

I really appreciate the input, that Albert blue car is beautiful! Have you found that you’ve grown an emotional attachment to the car after spending thousands of hours working on it?

[Cruisingnkali]

“The best advice for long term happiness is to purchase the best (rust free) car you can afford.” - great advice.

"Restore" means many thongs to different people. It helps to decide beforehand if your goal is a safe driver or a show car and to be realistic while making that assessment as there is a huge difference in the amount of money involved. Not knowing anything about your own abilities and available equipment it can only be stressed that work on these cars by others is expensive. The best advice for long term happiness is to purchase the best car you can afford.

[Haasman]

Good advice here, IMHO. Like a lot of us, I've be asked many times these same kind of questions. I often say owning a Porsche is about making a commitment.

Chris- really appreciate your "thong" advice.

[Chris Pomares]

I really appreciate the input, that Albert blue car is beautiful! Have you found that you’ve grown an emotional attachment to the car after spending thousands of hours working on it?

Yes.
Like any relationship there are good and not so good times.