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Thread: Date codes, how close is close enough?

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  1. #1
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    Date codes, how close is close enough?

    Hello All!
    Just beginning to restore my 71 T. It will not ever (while I own it anyway) be concours judged. But I would like it to be restored as close as I can afford to original, should the next owner decide to have it judged. I’m not building it to sell, but eventually I’m sure it will change hands down the road. I’d rather not have anything that I do to it during the restoration be a hindrance to the value later on.

    My car was built 12/70 according to the VIN sticker on the B pillar. When it comes to parts that were outsourced by the factory, what kind of variance could one find? My cylinder heads are dated 5x at 10-70 and 1 at 11-70. What kind of date range would be acceptable for the wheels? I’m guessing it would be in the same 2-3 month range???

    Thanks for your guidance. I’ve only been a member here for 2 months and have already learned a lot!

    Dan
    ESR member 4002
    1971 911T project
    1999 Boxster
    2001 Porsche 996 Cabriolet 4

  2. #2
    Senior Member raspritz's Avatar
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    Nobody is going to pull heads or wheels to check date codes at concourse. Furthermore, with all due respect, a restored '71T will never be invited to be shown on the lawn at Pebble Beach. I restored my '69T with almost all NOS parts, which was quite heroic given how many are one-year-only. My mechanic marveled that I certainly have the "newest" '69 911 on the planet. But at a certain point I had to get realistic.
    Rich Spritz

    1959 BMC Huffaker Mk1 Formula Junior racecar
    1967 Porsche 911 racecar
    1969 Porsche 911T
    1970 Winkelmann WDF2 Formula Ford racecar
    1973 Merlyn Mk24 Formula Ford racecar
    2007 Porsche 997C4 cab (totaled by an idiot running a stop sign)
    2014 Porsche 991 TurboS cab
    2019 Cayman GTS (wife's)

  3. #3
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    Rich, thank you. I appreciate your response. I guess my question is more aimed at a potential buyer down the road, rather than a concours judge.
    ESR member 4002
    1971 911T project
    1999 Boxster
    2001 Porsche 996 Cabriolet 4

  4. #4
    Senior Member ejboyd5's Avatar
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    For most people any part that is appropriate to your car's year and type, i.e., a 1971 911T, would suffice. That would include parts dated after your car was built as long as the part did not change in design or finish from what was available as of the build date. Other more picky folks might be looking for items dated prior to the build date of the car, but they would make up a small number of potential buyers. When questioning the "lag time" between when a part was made and when a car was assembled, you are embarking upon a very slippery speculative slope best left to the Corvette fans who seem to really care about such inconsequential matters. To argue 50 years later whether a part could have made it from a subcontractor to a final assembly plant in one day, or one week, or one month, seems rather pointless as there are too many variables to ever attain a consensus. On the other side, what about that box of three year old parts that were never installed on cars, were just discovered, and Porsche didn't want to discard. If they were the same as the present production part (or close thereto functionally) they would simply be thrown into the hopper and would become attached to a much newer vehicle even though their dates were way in the past. Don't obsess, drive your car and enjoy it.

  5. #5
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    EJ Perfect! That’s what I was looking for, but didn’t know how to ask the question properly.

    I highly doubt my restoration will get the attention of the “picky buyer” crowd, although I will do my best to bring it back properly. within reason. (A $5000 set of matching date coded wheels, compared to, as you say, the correct wheels that would have been available on the same made range, but dated later and/or random dates)

    As for when it is finished, I truly look forward to driving/enjoying every mile I possibly can!
    ESR member 4002
    1971 911T project
    1999 Boxster
    2001 Porsche 996 Cabriolet 4

  6. #6
    Nobody will ever tell the date codes of your wheels when they see it. I wouldn’t worry about it at all as said above. I obsess over some cases but only when valuable and all original.

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