Was looking for a project and i found a S and and a sportomatic

[nouga88]

HI all ,

Since about 6 months i was looking for a early porsche to restore. The dilemne now is that i have found 2 cars and i don't know which one to pick. They are selling both of them in the 20K range . 1st one is a 911S 1970 (S motor S body 911 trans) but not a matching number coupe with no big history, the seller which is a porsche mechanic will deliver the car to me as a rolling chassis with mostly all the mechanic redone , i will have to restore the body, trim and paint, change the 2 quarter panel and assemble the rest 90 % of the material is present. The second one is a original 1968 911L sportomatic in need of TLC, i just made a road test with it this afternoon , it is a mathcing number car and everything is there. Very special to drive without the clutch but it work fine. Weber carbu , original radio , chrome everywhere but in need of a complete restoration , Rust under door, front valence , oil all over the place undercarriage.

In both case they are good project i wonder what your first tought concerning these 2 cars if you had to pick a choice.

Thank

[Eminence Gris]

It's your labor, and your emotional attraction to these cars enters into it. but from a dollars and cents standpoint, the S is going to give you the best chance to *not* be underwater when you're done with all the work.

This is an instance where the very best body and paint work you can get will give you the best return. No idea where you are, so cannot recommend a shop.

[ST Man]

HI Nouga

I think you must consider your future budget. It seems S will cost more to restore but then an S is more valueble. The L costs less but less input....
I have owned a sporto and really loved it. Its the best sunday drive car you will ever have and I raced mine in local time trials. The problem for me was spare parts for the sporto box and systems. The diafram in vacuum system and torque converter failed on me. I then changed car to manual car.
I never buy a car to sell but it is a big consideration as I dont know what the future holds. So I try to make sensible buys that will ensure some safety in the margin when selling. When you sell the car in future the S will sell ten times easier than the Sporto L.
Check the engine in the S hopefully is a non mathing S engine and not a T...

If you have restored a car before work out your budget and add 25% safety on top. If you have not restored a car before work out your budget and add 50%.
Leon

[nouga88]

Thank you for your input, i just put on the web some photos that i took of both cars :

911l : http://www.flickr.com/photos/88750038@N03/sets/

911S:http://healeyfan53.ca/healeyfan53/911_S_1970.html

Gilbert

[Eminence Gris]

I took a quick look at the S shots and counted 4 different colors on the chassis. I advise you to carefully examine the chassis for indications of prior trauma that would indicate why various parts of the chassis are light yellow, aubergine, silver and green. And of course why the driver's side door is tangerine.

[POS]

Normally I say if you're going to spend the money/time to do a car, then you should end up with the best car you can from a collector point-of-view. In other words, in only costs marginally more to do an S as it does an L, and the S will be worth more. Between these two, however, it looks like a no-brainer that would be based on your personality. The L needs some work, but nothing huge and the car is currently driveable and will probably continue to be. The S needs a pile of work and won't be driveable any time soon.

If you feel like taking on a large project, take the S rolling chassis and have some liberties with the body/interior since it isn't original anyways. Make it what you want.
If you feel like taking on a smaller project and start driving something in original condition, then you get the Sporto (if you're okay with the auto, of course - are you?).

It's your personality that will dictate the better choice.

[davep]

I agree that the 1970 has a lot of colors, and I notice that there is no photo of the paint badge. I would carefully examine the car for stitching together of various bodies. The engine may not be original, but if so it is very close. On this car I would get the production number from under the knee pad and verify if it matches the VIN, as well as asking if the engine and transmission numbers match the VIN. The numbers matching aspect of this car would enhance the value a lot.

The numbers matching aspect of the 1968 has a lot of appeal. The sporto does detract from the value, but as long as it is working fine then it is not too bad. The 1968 is a tricky year to restore due to one-year parts.

Interesting that the 1968 is in the midst of a bunch of trans am cars and the 1970 is very near an ST.

[Jim Breazeale]

The production number on the 70 will not match the VIN number, nor should it!

Regards

Jim

[fryardds]

Hi Jim,

Dave was wondering if the production number is for a '70 Porsche built coupe. The PN should be 100XXXX for a VIN of 911030XXXX. The trunk stamped VIN and B pilar VIN tag look original. I see the AL VIN tag on the trunk latch panel is missing, hopefully it is still with the car and not gone.

[raspy2point2]

the 68 911L looks interesting It is a Euro spec model(1181xxxx) So no smog pump ever came on this car, no side marker lights or vacuum advance on the dizzy with the throttle valve. It has a rare interior color which looks nice with the burgundy paint. The big downside is that it looks to be one of the first Mag cases for 1968 in that mid year brought in the start of the Mag cases. If you convert the car to a 5 speed, you could keep the tranny so it would still be a matching number car. My vote is for the 68L. The 70S ---- I don not like all those colors on the car. People will do anything to save an 911S including welding on front clips, changing VIN numbers or cover up damage to the body. All those colors is a red flag for me. Regards Chris