1974 911s R.O.W. help

[mike2000]

I recently purchased a 1974 911s with VIN 9114102923.
The car is in beautiful shape but appears to have been repainted from what I think was yellow originally to guards red. However, it was apparently frame off because even the inside of the engine bay is beautifully finished. Was guards red a 1974 color? Is it possible that the primer for the car could have been yellow?
Also, the vin denoted the car as a 2.7 R.O.W. what does that mean and does it increase the value of the car. The car appears newer than a 1974 (has mirrors on both sides) which i dont think was an option then. Im just trying to figure out what the car went thru, a resto or an upgrade. Any help is appreciated as I am new and learning here. Thanks guys!
Mike

[Chuck Miller]

Mike,

The VIN. for the car you own is that of a standard 911 ... a '74-S VIN. would be 911 430 0001 - 1359 for a Coupe and 431 0001 - 0898 for a Targa... Your car is a '74 911 ROW (Rest of World)
Coupe, and the 2923rd of 4014 ROW standard coupes made.

'74's almost always came with just one larger rectangle chrome mirror...

Yes, Guards Red was a '74 color...

Not sure about your question about primer... I know for my Glasso system #54 repaint in 1990 the German primer was a kind-of-a light ocher amber yellow - and the German sealer made it a little darker... but not sure how the factory primer looked back in '74...

Hope this helps...

[mike2000]

Chuck,

Thanks for your help! couple more Q's. The car has an a/c which the seller said was factory, was factory a/c also an option in 74' or was it simply added. Also, what does the "Rest of World" mean. I read that the "ROW" cars didnt have the heat problems associated with the rest of the 2.7's. Is that accurate? Is the car more valuable as a R.O.W.? Does the ROW mean it came from Europe?

Thanks Again for your time
mike

[JackOlsen]

As Chuck points out, unfortunately, that's not an S. A lot of times, "S" badges find their way onto non-S cars, especially during a repaint.

My 73T came with an S badge, and the sincere promise that the (swapped-in) 2.2-liter motor put out a reliable 300 hp. Fortunately, I found out I was being lied to before I negotiated a final price for the car.

On the plus side, the difference in value between a 74S and a normal 74 isn't that great. After 1973, the "S" designation was more of a marketing tool than anything else. The difference between a 1973 T and a 1973 S was 60 hp. In 1974, tha difference had been narrowed down to 25 hp.

AC in 1974 could either be factory-installed or dealer installed. In both cases, the system was not very effective. To make it work requires replacing all of the old non-barrier hoses, for starters.

1974 cars didn't have thermal reactors, which were a big part of the magnesium/overheating problem. The 1974 motor is arguably the luckiest of the 74-77 era.