Sorry, Katie, but that VIN is a 1973 911E coupe built in the summer of 1973.

I see lots of rust at every corner, and the black-centered needle tach was apparently transplanted along with the engine!

The turbo looks like a BAE kit.

I'm guessing this will raise a few questions from the board. Hmmmm.

What I find interesting is the external appearance of the engine. It looks like it was Turbo-charged some time ago (I'm guessing 10 years+)....and the engine still hasn't self destructed (maybe). This would indicate that there was some rebuild involved (lowered compression, Dilavar studs, etc.). The VIN feedback should be interesting. One word still comes to mind.....r-u-n.

Looks like page 9...here we come.

looks like a rust bucket to me... your way over your head on this one

So Katie, what have you decided?

Katie,
get some pics of the batt tray. Also the underside where the front T-bars bolt on. The back side of the B pillars (lookng at the latches from the backside) The door hinges (doors open, from the inside) remove the spare and look there. (the body not the gas tank) anything else you can think of. Lots of pics.
The tail lights don't even line up with the body, or each other. I see alot of work here.
You are looking at paying more for the car than I did for my very clean 82SC, you have other options but lets see some more pics.

Well that's one of my problems, I've never negotiated car prices with anyone, I usually leave that up to my dad (well, I mean, he's always been the negotiator of the family cars).

He knows the car's for sale, and that I want it, but nothing else, including these pics or this board discussion...since we have one P-car and too many other cars, I don't think there's be much of a chance in hell of convincing him to get another P-car anytime soon...:( but I haven't given up *all* hope yet...

I did tell my grandma that it seems like it'd be a lot of work with rust, etc and she was fine with that, she even said that on that old of a car she'd expect there to be rust issues and things breaking, etc.

Katie,

I SAY RUN, RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN!!!!

But you're not gonna; are you?! Hell...I'm not so old that I don't remember kid!

If you're going to pursue this, then look closely at:

inside the doors and into the rear of the front guards; that rust on the front guard screams "warning" to me. you won't be able to see as much as is really necessary without removing the front guards, but have a good close look on both sides of the car.

We've seen more than our share of these cars with rusted out A-pillars; the only external indication of which has been rust on the top of the guard and/or scuttle like what's in your pic.

Get the car on a lift and poke around the undercarriage with a screwdriver; particularly under the battery boxes and across the front X-member.

Pull up the rear mats and have a close look as well.

Get a compression and leak down test; at least the tacho has been changed to signify a more appropriate redline.

The engine doesn't look well cared for at all - signs of what appears to be corrosion on lots of bits.

There's lots more; the guys can point you in the right direction - gotta do some work!

Cheers,

Lisa

PS - look at the brightwork strips under the rear quarter windows (if they are there); right at the front edge where the rear of the door closes. If they are damaged it is a sure sign of prior accident damage of no small proportion.

Sweet Jesus, that car looks awesome! Why are we still talking and not buying?

I'd prefer someone else who knows their stuff to come with me to look at it on a lift, or at least take a closer look at it for me (he might not bull$hit a guy like he would me). Matteo can't make it due to work and so far no one else has stepped up...

The guy will be out of town this weekend (he told me he goes out of town every weekend, kinda strange) so with that in mind, I'm assuming no one would be able to get a good look @ the car unless he's there in person, which is a shame.

I'll probably end up passing on this car, unless I could get him talked down on the price significantly...but in the meantime, I'd like to find out as much info as I can about it while I have the chance...

There's been a lot of good advice on this thread. Good luck Katie!

Napa oil filter

I've got to ask. What do you see in this car? It looks like a death trap to me.

That car looks pretty bad... I would say be patient and wait for a better example. I think you will end up regretting the purchase. I know it is hard to not be emotional about Porsche's but I would really step back. My experience is that if the car was a good value it would already be sold. There is a reason why it is still on the block.

If he wants to sell this car; he will have to make himself available on a weekend for you - that's how it works. Hopefully one of the guys will be able to help you look it over on a weekend...c'mon fellas!

Once you have someone orgainsed to look at the car with you; go back to the seller and give him a date and time without locking him down to the minute. If he is not agreeable to putting himself out then he's not selling...or is not keen for anyone to take a real look that may uncover more *****...

Head needs to rule heart here - get tough and brush up on your negotiating skills ;) !

I don't know how serious he is about selling. I'm sure if I turned up tomorrow with a $12k check, he'd probably give me the keys then and there.

However, the details seem to be a bit sketchy, I haven't seen any paperwork yet as to details of what's been done on/to the car, and the fact that he goes out of town every weekend is just a bit weird to me. I didn't ask why because I didn't want to seem nosy or piss him off. However, I *should* have asked why he wouldn't let someone take it to get a PPI done...that's a red warning flag if I've ever seen one!

>> Sweet Jesus, that car looks awesome! Why are we still talking and not buying?

That's too funny.

In a perfect world, I'd do one of two things:

1) I would buy it, after carefully negotiating the price considerably lower, and then stick it in my garage until I was done with school (or until summer) and then attempt to work on it, assuming I could learn how to do and know what I was doing;

or, and I like this one better from my point of view:

2) I would convince someone local (or semi-local) to buy the car, for less than what the guy's asking of course, have them do any repairs on it, and then when I finish school, I'd buy it from him, even if the price is a bit higher, but at least the car would be in a lot better condition than its present state, and I wouldn't have to worry about sinking my money (or my grandma's) into a money pit...:rolleyes:

In the meantime, either way, I think I'm going to put some of my money into a CD or something that'll accrue significantly more interest than my sorry checking account (don't get me wrong, there's money there, just not much interest). That way I'll be earning some kind of return on my hard-earned money.

Katie - You say on your Myspace home page (the link you put in your profile) that you're interested in BDSM. If you're looking for some sort of masochistic activity, I'm pretty sure you can find a much cheaper way to beat yourself up than that sad looking old misrepresented Porsche that you're looking at.

People can be a bit strange about letting anyone else dig around their car - especially mechanics! It does ring bells with me too and I usually tell my cleints to walk away from a deal if the seller won't allow a PPI.

The car has sat around for a couple of years on the market - that rings more warning bells with me (along with your pics).

Also, I am seriously concerned about the safe driveability of this beast. You sure you're up to a turbocharged 3.0L? It could have an awful lot of lag which will get you into big trouble in no time flat (usually in the middle of a corner when the boost finally decides to kick in).

However, I still consider it is a good exercise for you to go through. This car has got under your skin and you need to go through due process to get it out of your system :) .

The question should be I think, "will he take it to a shop to have the ppi" rather than can you take it.
It looks rough and will take a lot to be a correct 73E or a hot rod. It looks to be a project for someone that has a plan and a budget $$$.
Good luck on your Porsche quest.
Bob