I'm new to this forum and I joined because I have been toying with the idea of buying a 911 as a weekend fun car.
I seem to be drawn to 70s black targa models. I'd like to study up on the different years and features to find the most reliable and easiest to work on.
I like driving on track so I'd like to be able to bring what I get to a track day without too much worry but it wouldn't be my primary track car.
Can anyone point me in the right dirrection and is it possible to get something good for under $10K?
You really can't get much of anything in the Porsche world under $10k.
There's what appears to be a nice 911S in eBay - auction #120578798100
I would suggest looking at the ******** forums or here:
Home Page
ORSCHE EARLY 911S REGISTRY
Porsche 911 Buyer's Guide, by Leffingwell 2nd ed.
The older Targas have a
lot
of flex vs. the coupes.
You really need to do your homework to avoid buying into a lot of headaches. For example: The 1970s actually includes two different 911 models. 1970-1973 models were the end of the "long hood", small bumper models which had 2.2 and 2.4 liter engines and came in different states of trim, power output, coupe/targa, and carb or MFI fuel delivery (T, E, S). Books have been written about 911s from just these years. In 1974 the short hood body was introduced w/ 5mph bumpers that lasted until 1989. From 1974 to 1979 there are also two variations, the 2.7 six in the 911S (74-77) considered one of the most problematic 911 engines due to case stud leaks and valve guide wear. The US 74-75 Carrera looks like the street homologation for the 911 RS, but does not have that European only car's 3.0L engine. In 1978 the 911 SC was introduced w/ a 3.0L engine that solved a lot of the previous 2.7L engine issues, but not all, such as hydraulic chain tensioners which came w/ the 3.2 liter engine in 1983. There are also gearbox issues among the various years. I'd start w/ reading Excellence magazine's review of these 911s and get some feel for the various models and their strong and weak areas. Obtaining a good buyer's guide that details what to look for in the various 911 models is also good advice. You need to get a budget in your mind about how much you can spend up front and later for repairs. In an ongoing series in Excellence the author paid $8300 for a 3.2 Carrera which eventually required a $10K engine rebuild among other repairs and refresh costs.
Many of the owners of the early cars belong to
Pelican Parts Technical BBS - Powered by vBulletin
, especially those in CA. Another source is
********.com
I agree with what Dave C stated above. Stay away from the 2.7L cars. Targas are nice because it is like having both a cabriolet and a coupe, but the rule with Targas is that Targa roofs leak, and that they do need to be maintained. You can expect to find a SC's in the mid teens, many will need some love and care ($$$). Anderson always said, buy the newest, nicest Porsche you can afford. What you don't spend upfront you will spend later.
I recall having the hydraulic tensioners on my 1983 3.0 (also the pop valve). The 3.0's are pretty bullet proof, I would be more careful of the gear box. They were pretty weak through that period. I would also not look to spend much under 15K - 18K for a good driver. Bigger question is tail or no tail!
