1974 2.7 Targa barn find

Rocket Car · 01:31 PM

I have been meaning to post this for a while, but just couldn't find the time until now.
2 years ago whilst looking for wetsuits on Facebook marketplace, a suggestion advert for a barn find 911 caught my eye. I contacted the seller on messenger straight away and hoped for the best... Nothing happened. One week passed and then a message came through that a number of people were already interested and they had first refusal. I was gutted but hey ho I guess I was too late and put the car to the back of my mind.

3 months passed and then out of the blue a message comes in that I can come and see the car as it was still available. So I'm thinking how is this possible, how on earth did someone not buy that car.

I was a bit suspicious but my curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to head down and check it out with a good mate of mine that also knows a lot more about 911's than I do.

The car had been purchased by the owner in 1982, then parked up in an old wooden garage in 1984, never to see the light of day for 37 years until 2021. The condition was quite remarkable for a UK '74 car. It was really solid with a just a few rusty spots and no deep rot anywhere. I couldn't believe it. The interior was also in great shape, except the front seats, which had been recovered and were passed their best. So now I'm thinking what about the engine...There was no way we were going to start it, but we did manage to turn it over by hand to check it was not seized.

Well I just had to secure the car but we hit an impasse on the negotiations as we were just too far apart. I guess this is why the car had not sold before and decided to walk away and drove home empty handed. That was tough decision, but luck must just have been on my side with this car. As fate would have it, the owner called me the next day and we made a deal. 3 days later she arrived home.

This is the car as stored and when it first came out from hibernation:

These are the photos I took when I went to see it:

Collection and on the way home:

E Sully · E Sully's Garage

Best of luck with the car. It will be interesting to see how it shapes up once you start the restoration.
Maybe you can get that steering wheel put back on the correct side

Jemal · 01-22-2024, 10:22 AM

No ticed your post about the fuel gauge!
If that's all the car needs, congratulations!
Do we take it that you got it running in the meantime?

tdw28210 · tdw28210's Garage

Congratulations. It has pivoting windows. Interesting.

Rocket Car · 01-22-2024, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by E Sully

Best of luck with the car. It will be interesting to see how it shapes up once you start the restoration.
Maybe you can get that steering wheel put back on the correct side

ha ha yes!

Rocket Car · 01-22-2024, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jemal

No ticed your post about the fuel gauge!
If that's all the car needs, congratulations!
Do we take it that you got it running in the meantime?

Yes I have got it running - will come to that part soon..

Rocket Car · 01-22-2024, 11:59 AM

So once I got it home it was time for a clean up!

Interior before cleaning:

After cleaning:

Engine bay:

Bravoaloha · 12:32 PM

At least a $40k car on Bring a Trailer... Congrats!

I'm always looking for 911's on marketplace but all that comes up is wetsuits! Maybe I need to change my approach..

Rocket Car · 01-22-2024, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bravoaloha

at least a $40k car on bring a trailer... Congrats!

I'm always looking for 911's on marketplace but all that comes up is wetsuits! Maybe i need to change my approach..

😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣

Otter74 · 01-22-2024, 02:21 PM

Looks great once it’s cleaned up. Curious to know what it took to get it running.

Jemal · 01-22-2024, 04:42 PM

well at least your ignition switch is um, on the right side!

Rocket Car · 02:00 AM

Next job was checking the electrics were working...
First of all I disconnected the fuel pump as I didn't want that springing into life at this stage. With a new battery fitted I proceeded to check the ignition and everything looked nominal. It even made the tick tick warning sound that the handbrake was on. I am not sure if other cars do this?

OK so I'm thinking engine time... This of course was hanging over me - was it any good, gulp!

This is what I did on the engine:

Drained the oil, cleaned the sump mesh etc, fitted a new filter and refilled with fresh oil.
Removed/replaced rocker cover gaskets and torqued all the head studs - they seemed ok and none pulled... I also checked all the valve adjustment screws were tight on the rockers but did not adjust them at this stage.
Replaced all engine bay fuel hoses up to the fuel pump.
Fitted new points, distributor cap and rotor arm
New plugs and HT Leads

The fuel tank was shot and full of rust so that was going to be scrapped. I wanted to get the fuel system cleaned out so I removed the injectors and ran the hoses into bottles. I then rigged up an inlet hose from a petrol can to the pump and ran the return into a collection bottle. What came out was pretty nasty and I didn’t have high hopes for the engine at this stage.

With the lines purged clean I then wanted to check if it would turn over and get some oil around the engine without trying to start it. With the plugs out and the fuel pump switched off it was time to give it a go. Ignition key in, turned to start and round and round it buzzed. It sounded very smooth and gave me the confidence to move into start mode.

ItzaMe · 01-23-2024, 08:59 AM

Great project find!!

I just got a 1982 911SC fired up after sitting for 25 years.

My car isn't in as nice of shape as your Targa but it's always fun to discover what you bought!

Looking forward to seeing more on this thing!

Rocket Car · 01-23-2024, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ItzaMe

Great project find!!

I just got a 1982 911SC fired up after sitting for 25 years.

My car isn't in as nice of shape as your Targa but it's always fun to discover what you bought!

Looking forward to seeing more on this thing!

Great work!

Yes it really is good fun and very rewarding. It has not always been plain sailing- ill get to that

Rocket Car · 12:26 PM

Coming back to the engine!

So having flushed the lines out I was happy the fuel system was as clean as it was going to be, without stripping down the metering head and going too deep with it.

I still hadn't replaced the tank or through body fuel lines at this point so I rigged up my gerry can fuel system again, but this time looping back into the can.
Injectors fitted, Plugs fitted, here we go!

She started on the 3rd try and didn't even blow out a puff of smoke. A miracle?!

Over the next few days I started her up until she was fully warm Sometimes it needed some help starting by lifting up the sensor plate. I had a feeling there may have been a small airleak on the airbox so I checked underneath it with a small mirror. There was a tiny crack between the upper and lower sections where it's screwed and bonded. That was something I was going to have to come back to, as I didn't feel motivated to start removing that assembly at this point, having only just got it started.

E Sully · E Sully's Garage

From the look of that rotor it seems it may have been parked in '84 when all it needed was a basic tune up. That scuffing on the side makes me wonder if the distributor shaft has a little side play.
Spent today working on my CIS. One is original 73.5, the other is a spare system I bought years back that has a few '74 parts.

PeteKz · PeteKz's Garage

Good job so far. Looks like you got lucky. Keep it coming.

And one bit of advice. Do not remove the metering plate from the arm. If the arm moved smoothly, there was no need to have diasassembled the metering unit. I'd put it bak toegether right now and set it aside.

Rocket Car · 01-23-2024, 10:15 PM

Ed nice work. Yes I think you are could be right about the distributor, I will have to check that out.
The point you made about why it was parked up also crossed my mind too. The rotor was damaged, the inside of the distributor cap was a mess and it had a cracked airbox. Sadly the previous owner died shortly after I purchased the car so I couldn’t ask him about what I found. My feelings are that it was running rough and he just parked it up and never got around to fixing it.

Thanks Pete-yes I won’t be taking mine apart in a hurry.

E Sully · E Sully's Garage

The ignition distributor on mine was not horrible, but needed a little cleaning to get the advance weights moving freely, and a phenolic washer by the bottom drive gear to reduce the up and down play in the shaft. Only tough part is getting the tiny C-clip on the upper shaft off to get to the advance weights.
If there is side play, that is a bit more complicated than most home mechanics could do.

E Sully · E Sully's Garage

Well PeteKz, some might not want to take things apart, but they are also around 50 years old.
The fuel distributor is a little involved. I did not find it too difficult as far as the air flow metering plate. A counterweight, couple of C-clips a little cleaning and greasing. It's basically a rod, 2 springs, rubber seals, and a ball bearing. Getting the plate centered and then tightening the counter weight is not too hard. Also a little shift of the wire clip to get the plate level.
As you can see in the picture, the system I bought for parts needed it. I spent 2 days cleaning and assembling, but now they are set for the next 50 years.