Following up on another thread I started in regard to a potential purchase of a 1972 911E with factory sunroof.
Car is for sale near where I live and on Saturday I had the joyous occaission of racing it (test drive) through some very twisty mountain backroads of British Columbia. Still trying to figure out what 5th gear is for since I rarely got there on the roads I was on!!!
Price is great (about $ 6500 US) BUT their are some major issuesas described below. Car loved to run, especially through the corners. Wandered a bit on the straighaways, but don't know if that was the car, tires or road or all three. Even the braking was decent.
EXTERIOR: Both front fenders shot - exterior for sure, couldn't fully check fender wells. Rusted driver's side door pillar. 4 x 6 rust hole in battery pan. Numerous rust bubbles poking through. Magnet wouldn't stick to left or right rear quarters. Fuchs (including f/s spare) appear to be in excellent shape, new rear tires.
INTERIOR: Tired. No rips or tears, but wear on the seats is significant enough to require full replacement or major restoration. Gauges not working properly. Most electrical components work (including heater fan and electric sunroof). Various cracks in dash top and door top trim. Interior could stay as is for some time, but needs full restoration.
TRANNY: Shifted great without any issues identifiable in 1 hour test drive, and with the roads I was on I was constantly shifting.
ENGINE: Good power and it loved the corners. Smoke at start up and under heavy accelleration - but hasn't been drove much in past few years. Significant leakage - mainly from seam where the two halves of the engine are joined. Another leak with oil on to fan, but couldn't trace source. Upgraded to carrera tensioners. Supposedly it was rebuilt once already.
MISCELLANEOUS: No COA, but engine and body are at least both from 1972 (according to the research I did). Need to confirm if original but suspect they are. Factory manuals and unused 10 year old body seal kit come with car. All parts that are not rusted (trim, deck lid, sunroof, etc.) are in great shape. Mileage is totally unknown. Odometer reads 48XXX, but owner states it hasn't worked in the past 10 years. Am assuming the 48XXX is actually 148XXX and car likely has close to 200 000 miles on it.
THE BIGGY: Car was "flipped" early in its previous life and has a slight dog track to it.
I figure $ 30,000 - $ 40 000 to get this beast back to a solid car - not concours but a very reliable driver. This should cover removing and going through the engine, body and rust repairs and interior upgrade. Outside of the concern with the engine leaks, most of this work can be done over time and by myself.
For me, I want a driver and not a trailer queen. If I was to bring it back to a better life I would be "subtlizing" it (subtle customizing - mainly paint and interior) - car is triple black, and I feel some white highlites would really set it off.
So the question is whether this would be better simply to part out or to try and bring back to life on the road? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
jb
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Originally Posted by WM711
