Starting a 73 S Targa

[bbulkley]

I just bought my father's '73 911S Targa, which he bought new. It has 42,000 miles on it, and is in perfect running condition. It needs only minimal work to get it perfect, but I'm new to the restoration game.

It has a crack in the dash, the driver's side carpet needs to be replaced (all the other carpet is perfect), it needs new weather stripping (the original stuff works, but it's cracked and worn), and that's about it.

The car was resprayed in the original silver, we have found no signs of rust, and it's never been in an accident. Other than a few repairs over the years (with OEM parts) - fixes for oil leaks, new vinyl for the targa top, and a new crest - the car is all original. It still has the original clutch, brake pads, tool kit, owner's manual, window sticker, receipt, original spare tire (33 year old XWX - never used), all service records (down to every oil change), etc.

Now I'm torn. I want to preserve the originality, but at the same time I'd like to fix the broken things. Do I buy a replacement dash, even if it's genuine Porsche? Do I replace the one section of bad carpet with new German Perlon? The tires are about 10 years old - should I replace them with Vredestein or new XWX's?

By the way, I do intend on driving it, though not much. I'll bring it to work on occassion or drive it to a PCA meet.

[glaverbel911]

My opinion,,, fix the leaks,,,stay with new XWX's,,, also, the new seals fit terrible on targas,,, leave the original's,,, your not driving in rain anyways are you?. Leave the original carpet and install cocomats over top for that period look... Original carpet for your S was not perlon but a velour type called Hargarn and leave the dash alone as well unless you find a perfect example out of another 73... My 39,000mile example also has one crack... New dash's are terrible at best.
Just clean and perserve the car the best you can the way it was built and enjoy it..

Regards,,,, Robert.

[mike walker]

A very nice car...keep it original. Consider having Auto International recover your existing dash that way it will fit original. You can find some threads about this if you search. New dashes don't fit well. I love the tan interior.

[Porsche]

Great colour combo - keep it original.

[kenikh]

HOLY SH#T; it always blows me away when a one owner, no miles car shows up on this board. Your car is lovely! BTW, your car deserves XWX tires, even given their high price.