1971 911 T

[1bad914]

I'm looking at purchasing a 71 911 T Targa, what do I look for as far as rust and integrity.

Randy

[jpnovak]

First plan to get dirty. Bring a flashlight, screwdriver covered in tape and a magnet.

You need to check the front suspension pan in front of the fuel tank and between battery boxes. Also check the boxes themselves. While the hood is up look into corners of cowl and slide hand into place. Feel for any rust should be smooth underneath. You should be able to feel all the way to the dash. Driver's side is tricky with wiring and emissions controls here.

Next is to Look at the fenders. Specifically under the headlight buckets (remove headlights if owner will let you). Check the lower trailing edge of the fenders where they meet the rocker. The vertical fender support and back of fender are bombarded with crud from the front tires. Drains clog and create rust.

Then work your way along the rockers. If there is trim, push in and listen for crunchy sounds, this is bad. Look at the lower seam of the outer rocker - look sound? Shine flashlight up into drain holes in outer rocker. What do you see? Look at jack tube and surrounding metal. Same as above. Also inspect door bottoms for evidence of work. you can also check the area on the sills as it transitions into the latch panel use a magnet here and see if its filled with bondo. Do the same on the lower edge of the hinge panel(front of the door).

SEe if you can lift the car with a jack. This will also help you look for rust around the jack tube. This will allow the wheels to drop giving access to the rear fender wells. Look up inside rear fender well to corner of latch panel, targa bar and inner/outer fender. Should be clean. Poke around any cracked undercoating as this is usually a sign of trouble. Then look under the car by the transmisison. Look for rust in the longitudinals by the torsion bar tube. This can also be near the rear sway bar mounts (if present, not all T's had them).

Inside, pull carpets and look for rusty floors. tops leak. Rear seats and deck don't usually rust on the targas. No place for water to pool on rear windows causing leaks. TArga top should come off easily and latch easily. IF not the tub may be sagging. Check condition of seals while top is off. These are very expensive to replace.


Look out for even door gaps. The top rear of the door will close up if the car starts to sag from rust.

This is just a start. Take some pics and keep us posted.

[jpnovak]

Oh yeah, your 914 sounds FUN!!!

[DonDavis]

VIN should be 911111XXXX where "X" is a sequential number. If stock 2.2, engine type should be either 911/03 for Europe or 911/07 for USA. This number is located on right side of fan on a horizontal surface and will most likely be covered with grime.
As you mention, rust is the biggie. If the car is in better than average condition, doors should open and close with a good solid feel and sound. Don't get too wrapped up in oil leaks. Most of them can be fixed with some moderate effort. Besides, the car is 30+ yrs old. Transmission should be type 901 with 1st gear to the left and down. Reverse straight up from there. Look under the spare tire, batteries and the bottom side of the doors for rust and/or body work. Don't be surprised if the trunk and engine lids will not stay up. Easy fix. Most importantly, let the owner talk about the car until he stops. Then ask a question to get him going again. Look under the carpet at the pedals for brake fluid. It will puddle there and then leak out to the ground. My car's master cylinder was leaking and I didn't know till I was trying to sell it.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[boston95]

Randy, as a recent purchaser of a 71T Targa, this is great advice. Jamie has help me out alot personally.

Good luck and let us know what you find.

Marc

[Shuie]

Jamie just about covered everything

If the owner will let you, pull the fuel sender and shine your light into the tank to see if there is any rust there. Rust in the tank, means rust in the fuel delivery system.

if the doors dont slam shut like a vault, check for bondo that is serving as a structural element in the rockers. Use the magnet/cloth trick where the rocker attaches to the latch panel as mentioned.

Another place to look is the the rear parcel shelf. Feel the carpet to see if there is any moisture under the rear window. If its real bad here, you will be able to see the problem through the engine compartment as long as the sound pad is out of the way. Pull the cushions up and check the seat buckets for the same. Water can leak in through the rear window and cause this:



good luck

[Cornpanzer]

Hi Randy
Its hard to find a solid early 911 in our part of the world. With your VW experience, you probably have a good eye for rust repair. If you can get the car up on a lift that will help a lot. I would spend a lot of time around the rear torsion plate areas if that hasnt already been mentioned. Trailing edge of the front fenders in the door jamb area is a bad area too. Take your time. As a fellow VW owner I can assure you that these things are much more expensive to fix than the VWs. Get a good one up front!
Dave

[1bad914]

Thanks for the advice. I do all odf my own paint and body work, so the minor rust repair is not a problem. The major structural stuff is my concern. The little places are the ones that jump up and bite you. This is the only owner statement that worries me:
"The car does have some rust near the front suspension mounts(under the front apron) that can be easily fixed." I'll have to make thqat judgement myself. Here are some pics:

[Cornpanzer]

Pretty car. The front suspension pan is one of the more straightforward repairs. But there is usually more. Try to get it on a lift.
On another note, the wheels on that car appear to be repro fuchs. Hard to say for sure, but I would chek them out closely.

[Rot 911]

Good eye Panzer. You are right those spokes do look awfully flat on the top don't they?

[1bad914]

I spoke with the owner again, the motor seems solid, he will put it on a rack and remove the wheels and tires for better inspection. He was very up front with it's issues. The motor is the stock 2.2 with the dual triples. It was restored in 86. He said he would feel comfortable driving anywhere for any distance. What is it worth, the interior is very nice. This will be used as a daily summer driver!

Randy

[Dan Morton]

Did the restoration include a rebuilt motor? Even if it did, be sure to get the engine checked out by a porsche expert. A rebuild can run up to $8k if all done by a shop. Also, you may want to pull the S trim off the rockers to get a better view for possible rust.
Open the hood and check for rust between the fender and body by pulling back the rubber seal. Poke around the battery compartments too.

Take a look at the spring plate bushings (bushings around the rear torsion bars) too, they usually are never replaced and will need it I'm sure along with the shocks. These are fairly easy projects too.
Hopefully they will have a complete list of all work done way back in '86.

Looks like a nice car!

-Dan
1970 911T Targa

[1bad914]

The rebuild has 27K on it. What is the rated HP for this 2.2 and what kind of performance can I expect. I know it will not be a 3.0 or 3.2, but will a VW beetle pass me by? Thanks for all of the advice...keep it coming. I've driven a 914-6, will if perform similarly?



Randy

[Tim Walsh]

A 2.2T is rated at 125, a 2.2E is rated at 155 and a 2.2S is rated at 180.

BUT a rebuild could include hotter cams and all sorts of other things to raise the HP. I've driven a 140HP 2.4T that is very peppy so I'm willing to bet that anything from a T-S should be alot of fun.

[Dan Morton]

Be sure they have documentation for the rebuild, since the term is used very loosely. Too often cars jus have the top end rebuilt which saves the seller money and buys them enough time to sell the car.

A stock T is fun but not a rocket off the line. I had mine rebuilt to E specs and it is a blast but will not win a lot of drag races...nor do I try to.

--Dan

[BK911]

Two additional items to look for in a 2.2T:

Zenith carbs. Difficult to modify because aftermarket parts are scarce. They do work very well once you get them dialed in.

Marelli dizzy – Caps and rotors are NLA. You may be able to find points occasionally. Expect to pay ~$250 for a suitable bosch replacement.