I may just end up with the P car that started it all for me.
 

Life is bizarre. .... I have been actively chasing down my next p car. I was set on either another 951, or a only very very good deal on a broken 996 . I had a lead out on a 964 in pieces, but did not think that would come to fruition.
A few months ago, one of my neighbors from where I grew up friended me on facebook. I have not seen him in 25 years, but his dad had a 74 carrera, in light yellow. It was the first Porsche that I had any familiarity with, and it was the car that started it all for me. I honestly remember drooling over it in his garage, and the sound it would make pulling out of his driveway every morning.
So, I get a face book message this morning, that says, " do you want my dads old 911? It needs a lot of work, and he just wants it out of his garage. You could probably have it very cheap. Wow.
I have already been in touch with him. We are to talk more tomorrow. Who knows.....

Talk about coming full circle.

Cool.

Whats even more strange is that I just googled the phone exchange #, and this car is in the same neighborhood as our rental houses. This is going to be an interesting weekend. From the sounds of it, I will have to move a lot of stuff to get at it. It is buried in an old block city garage. Heck . I'll even clean up his garage for him if I have to.

some things are meant to be. good luck.

Good luck

Worst case it sounds like time well spent.

That's very cool, keep us posted.

What a great opportunity. Congrats.

Karma.

Yes, sometimes a beotch, but always pays in kind.

Good on you.

Best
Les

This has ruined my day, my thoughts are consumed with this old car. For the life of me, I cannot remember if it is a targa or coupe though. I'm thinking it was a coupe, but my dad says targa. I bet I have not seen it since 1982/83. I think the parents divorced ,and he moved out of the neighborhood with the car. It is funny, because I was just talking to another neighbor about this car recently . He remembered it will.
A Porsche in our whitebread middle income neighborhood stuck out like a sore thumb back then. I cant wait to hear more about it ..
I have this picture in my head of a dilapadated old leaning garage, with a roof that has been leaking since 1985... I hope not.

Kismet!!! Gotta love it. :)

Sounds delicious!

Sorta like the night before Christmas, isn't it?

You better post some pictures but it truly sounds like a wonderful Christmas story!


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Good luck! Seeing this thread motivated me over to Craigslist just for a look-see. I live waaaay out on the boonies, so it's very rare when something that is local holds any charm for me. Then this ad pops up: 1987 Porsche Carrera 911 SC (obviously not an SC) . It's located about 5 miles from my house. Haven't spoken yet but exchanged a couple of e-mails with the chap. Says it has "sat" in the garage since he bought it 15 years ago. Driven about 1000 miles/year. Does not have original wheels (unfortunately) and has a "small oil leak". Not as romantic as Fred's adventure, but may have a look this weekend as well.

Yes.

Here's wishing you the best!!! http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat6.gif

Wait, I don't think Porsche made a Carrera with a Targa roof in '74? I'm not really sure about that though...

Subscribed. I had to marry my high school classmate to get her dad's 27 year old car in my garage. I hope the car and the deal work out well!

Porsche definitely made the Carrera in a targa as well as a coupe in 1974. Plenty were targas, actually.

There was also two distinctly different Carrera models that year, the U.S. and euro models. They looked identical from the outside but were quite different mechanically with the U.S. model using the regular CIS motor from the 1974 911 and the euro model using the 2.7 MFI RS motor from the 1973 RS. They also made the euro model for the 1975 MY with the MFI engine.

There is obviously a HUGE difference in value, (and performance), between the two but with the general rise in older 911 prices, even a nice '74 US Carrera is worth a couple bucks. For years, they were sort of a neglected child in 911 circles. The truth is that they are cool cars.

I know of a euro '74 Carrera that is sitting in a guy's yard for decades(?), just rotting away. He won't sell.

Very nice Fred!

Please keep us posted.....and yes including pitchers!!!

:)

Good luck!

Subscribing for the pictures!

I'm getting pretty excited about this. Any updates :)

I'm so excited , that I have to pee.
I got another Facebook message from my old neighbor this morning. His dad had passed away 5 years ago. I had mistakenly assumed the man I was talking to on the phone was him, but I guess, it was a good friend of the family who has been storing the car for years.
The man on the phone , was a little short , but receptive with me yesterday, understandably so, I cold called him out of the blue, and was asking all sorts of questions about an old Porsche . I am supposed to talk with him today, and hopefully, I can get down there and see how much work is involved getting this car out of his garage.
In Eric's message to me this morning, he told me that he called the gentleman with the car, and told him to "practically give it to me" I always take pictures, and or short videos of first starts of cars that I have been working on, and post them to Facebook, it seems corny, but has proven to be a great advertising tool for me.
He said that it would make him very happy watch his dad's car come back to life.
He lives about two hours away from me. If this all comes to fruition , an the car is saveable, I plan on shooting up to his place, and taking him out for a spin. He lives in Pa/New york wine country, and there are some really great driving roads up there. It is a nice area to spend a summer weekend. I'll keep you all posted. My new to me dually has not hauled a Porsche yet, I'm hoping to break her in today/tomorrow. Lots of pictures I promise..

Subscribed also. Checked out the 87 yesterday and was disappointed. Definitely not what was represented by the owner or his expected purchase price. Counting on living vicariously through you! Good luck.

Hope the great god of rust, or should I say Satan of corrosion, has not been too active on the old girl. Look forward to you story and good luck on the 15 year stored 87.

Dan

I would have more faith in a barn find in California or Arizona because the weather is better ie. drier. I just hope it works out for you Fastfred!:) It would be a nice Xmas gift if it works out though...
G.

When do we get it?

I just had one of the strangest conversations that I have had in a long time. I'll fill you guys in a little later. I am going to shoot out the door, and try to get a shower and get down there before dark, to get a glimpse of it.
Looks like my predictions were true. It was put in there in 95. Has not run since. The roof , has indeed collapsed. The guy told me he has not idea of what condition the car is in. Eric , was his ex lover, and they have been split for a few years now. He said it pisses him off thinking about the car. He has not looked at it in a few years.
Here is the short story.
The Bad:
1). I cannot have this car till spring. He is not receptive to removing it in any way , shape or form until spring. He has another car in a garage that is blocking this car and garage in. It is a 56 ford, he said it is not moveable, and he is not willing to try until spring.
2). the roof of the garage collapsed years ago. He does not know how much damage , or rust there is on the car, and not willing to look right now. It has been exposed to the elements in Pittsburgh for some time.

The good:

1) . We hit it off real good. He is also a car guy, and a landlord in the same basic area. We talked for over 30 minutes, and could have gone on for an hour, but I got interrupted, by a customer.
2). He has the clear title in his name. Eric transferred ownership over to him 10 years ago.
3). I am nearly 100 % sure I will own this car. Eric contacted him this morning, and basically told him that he wants me to have this car, and to just give it to me. The current owner seems like he is on board, and wants to meet me. I said I would be glad to meet him, and shake his hand in person so he can see, that I am a stand up guy, and not some flake. I let him know, that I was not looking for a handout. His 56 Ford needs some motor work and we spoke briefly about some horsetrading.
4). He mentioned it having a ducktail. " Not the big spoiler he said, that funny little thing that sticks up at an angle". I also remembered it being mentioned as a Carrera. Remember, though, I was 12 last time I saw this car. If it is a euro carrera, I will pass out right there on the spot.
I'll keep you posted guys... Off on a new adventure. Hope I can at least get a photo of it. He said that I cannot get into the garage, but I can climb up , and look through the hole in the roof.

What a story/adventure! Good luck.

SmileWavy

You don't have to worry about passing out because you will not be able to tell if it's a euro model by looking at it through a hole in the roof.

It's not good that it's been stored in a damp barn for years but hey- who knows- maybe you'll get lucky.

All '74 Carreras did indeed have duck tails, they were cool looking cars but the euro and US look identical from the outside and interior.

"Look through the hole in the roof"
Kind of like Santa looking down the chimney........can't wait.

Has the roof not been fixed all those years?

Who does that to their car or their house?

Someone that doesn't give a crap?
.

Yep. ^^^

Oh wow !!! This is turning into such a dramatic story ! I am loving it ! Keep us posted !!

If it's a rusty '74 US Carrera, it's worth parts value. If it's ANY '74 euro Carrera, it's worth major 6-figure $$ minus resto/repair costs.

Waiting with baited breath. :)

Very sad, but I think mother earth is trying to take this one back. I had to climb over a rusty metal fence, then up on a old stone retaining wall, that is caving in , and then hang off the side of the garage while trying to get a look in through the hole in the roof. Hole in the roof, my ass. The whole roof caved in, and it looks as if it has been this way for a long time. It was not a pretty sight.
Sorry, but there was no way I could get any sort of picture, I was hanging on to the wall trying to peer over.
Removing this car from its tomb is going to be more of an excavation than your typical car pick up. I can see this easily sucking up a weekend.
There is no way in gods green earth that I can get my trailer , or a tow truck back in there. It is on a typical Pittsburgh goat path of a back city street . Steep, and narrow. The garage is landlocked in by two houses, a cliff, and two dilapidated garages. I could barely get my half ton pickup in and out of there. I bought one like this before,and we had to chain it up, and drag it two city blocks to a safe, open place to load it. The good news, is , it is not in the ghetto. Met the owner of the car, and the neighbor, and talked for a while . Nice guys.
The other good news is that , it appears as if the roof caving in did not harm the car that bad, all the rafters, and debris seemed to fall to one side of the garage, mostly missing the car. The bad new is , that this car has been tarped up and open to the elements in the Burgh for a long time. I can picture it sitting under a foot of snow all winter for the last 15 years. I am quite sure there will be a cornucopia of mold, decay and rust hiding under the tarp. Probably a few critters too.
I could only see the rear right quarter, maybe up to the rear of the wheel arch, a little of the bumper, and the rear corner of the tail. Very hard to make out, but looked like a euro bumperette. Could not also tell if it was a targa , or coupe. Sort of looked like the outline of a coupe, but very hard to tell under all the debris. The tail was under the tarp, but if I had to guess, I would say it had a tea tray, not a duck. I was up 12 feet or so above the car, and it was very hard to see, but it appears like it is going to be super rusty. Looks like the paint is peeling off in sheets by the taillight, and I saw a nasty brown scaly substance underneath.
Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to update this thread until April/ March. I will bring this car home, even if it is in two halves. I am not very optimistic about this one ever seeing the road again. I am supposed to check in with him in April, and we will plan our excavation of the vehicles.

pray for the best, plan for the worst.

Send in a drone.