High mileage 2.7

Firehawk · 12-22-2003, 10:38 AM

Hello,I am new to this forum and 911s. I have a qustion about a 1974 911 I am looking at buying. The car is absolutely beautiful, no rust, great paint, perfect interior, runs and drives great but I am a little concerned about the mileage it has on it. The car has 135000 miles with no rebuild. It has had the Carerra tensioner upgrade but no other engine work has been done. I had a leakdown test done and it looked pretty good. The range was from 8% to 12%. I was pretty surprised because from what I have heard a 2.7 with 100k on it is ready for a rebuild. I talked to the mechanic about pulled head studs and he said with this many miles if they are holding now they will probably hold untill rebuild time. I am really looking for advice on this car, should I do It? It is a nice car but for the $9,500 he wants for it I dont want to have to rebuild it in the next year or two.

JTO · 12-22-2003, 10:44 AM

I've been down this road. I think $9500 is high for a 1974 911 with that mileage. If you drive the car, you will most likely end up needing a rebuild pretty quickly.

Troy

Rot 911 · 12-22-2003, 11:02 AM

What was the compression numbers? In my opinion any leakdown over 10% is not good.

Firehawk · 12-22-2003, 11:24 AM

Compression was around 155 to 160 for all six. I know the one cylinder that leaked down at 12% was alittle high but they were pretty consistent. Thanks for the replies and keep them coming. Are there any other signs I can look for that would give me a good indication of the engines condition? The mechanic I took it to said it was a pretty tight motor but his experience pails in comparision to the experience of everybody on this forum.

JTO · 12-22-2003, 12:38 PM

My engine leaked badly from every place, smoked badly on compression (bad valve guieds) the valves were noisy even when adjusted.

troy

fintstone · fintstone's Garage

Does the car have an external oil cooler? That makes a lot of difference in these cars..heat is what kills them. I would not buy a mid-year 911 with over 100k and no rebuild or external oil cooler without assuming I would have to rebuild within a year. Of course, if it turned out not to need the rebuild, that would just be bonus. The driving time would allow you to decide exactly what you want at rebuild time...upgrade to 3.0. carbs, mfi, etc. I think the price is a bit high. I bought my '74...... about like yours.....suprizingly clean, rustfree, fast, for about half of what you are contemplating paying. Sure enough, six moinths later...it needed a rebuild. Since it was not my daily driver, I stalled several years deciding what I wanted to do and saving a few bucks. Finally decided to upgrade to a professionally built 3.0 with CIS. Of course, as you could probably guess, that set me back more than the entire car originally did. Still, I sam happy with that. The '74 gives you a lot of nice features as it is a combination of sone early car features and some later ones. It also does not require smogging in most places which makes it a bit more in demand than most mid year cars. Good luck!

Bobboloo · Bobboloo's Garage

The car sounds like it's worth the $9500 the buyer is asking but keep in mind that it's a buyers market for the 74'-77' cars. For example. I saw a really clean 77'S Blk Coupe with a 3.2 Carrera motor go for $8100 recently. Granted you don't see deals like that all the time but they're out there.

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Like hitting on 16 with the dealer having a face card showing - in other words the odds are very much against you here. It's very likely that this engine will need rebuilding within a year or two, if not sooner. Of course, if you put five miles on it a year, probably not, but within 10,000 miles most likely.

Of course, you can get dealt a five and make 21 (and go 200,000 miles without a rebuild), but the odds are against you...

-Wayne

Larry Harris · 12-23-2003, 10:23 AM

A few years ago I bought a beautiful 911 with the 2.7 engine with 63000 miles showing. I drove it sanely for about 3-4 months with no problems. On the fateful day I was driding home and I thought I heard a series of small backfires. By late the next day it sounded like I had a popcorn cooker in my engine compartment- the headbolts pulled. I was fortunate enough to find a quality rebuild and put that engine in. I think Wayne's advice is very good. Save up for a rebuild!

vash · vash's Garage

look at wayne with the blackjack comparison! that is a great way of putting it.

HIT!HIT! but be ready to bust.

flmont · 12-23-2003, 08:24 PM

Well,.. Thats how I got my currant 77' 911 S,..was in (I feel ) fantastic shape..New tires,..paint great at 10' away, Interior Is perfect..PW,PB,A/C. CD but the 2.7 pulled studs at 125 k after the PO repaired them with Helicoil's..????? sold for kinda cheap,So I went for it,.. But it needed a engine,so I also went for the 3.0 at near 5k so far,. so becareful ....Frank

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by flmont
but the 2.7 pulled studs at 125 k after the PO repaired them with Helicoil's..?????

Probably repaired them with TimeCerts? These can pull out - especially if the engine is overheated. If you need to see an example of this, see the engine in the Engine Book...

-Wayne

flmont · 12-24-2003, 05:59 PM

Well,..These were coiled up wire,..as I backed out the case studs they backed out as well,..Frank