Found:'76 S w/engine removed 10 yrs ago - engine parts needed

[mdshaw]

I've always wanted a 911. I still don't have one due to life happening - wife, kids, then youngest son with down syndrome. When our oldest son moved to Florida, I asked him to be on the lookout for a 911. He has found a '76 S which had the engine removed 10 years ago & has been in a garage since.
The owner will sell for a fair price & is a solid complete Florida car. The rub is as always (for me anyway) the cost of the new engine parts to get one back on the road. I just got Wayne's book today & have been reading constantly. I've rebuilt lots of engines & done lots of Japanese engine swaps. I also MegaSquirted my 87 CRX (converted from carbs) & converting from CIS like the Bitz is a really nice way to go.
I had dreams of building a short stroke 2.5 using a a 2.0 crank but considering most projects, they wind up costing @50% more than the best estimates, plus the unique tools now needed, a stock 2.7 is in order - but if I can cheaper good parts, I'll build whatever I can.
Anyway in assuming the worst for a 2.7, lots of parts will be needed after reading Wayne's book.
So if anyone has the tools for sale and any good engine parts for sale, please let me know.
I am planning on this as my winter project & our son Josh is looking forward to the little back seat since it's just his size.

[GaryR]

A fair price for a 76 with bad motor and questionable everything else (as it doesn't run!) would be next to nothing. As a pre-galvanized car there may be hidden rot, the tranny may be messed up, clutch bad, etc. etc. etc. I would keep looking unless this is a great example at a VERY low price..

[masterdave]

I agree with gary on this one. A lot of people seem to be selling 911's these days. I just bought a 78SC for 9000$. The engine had been rebuilt 18,000 miles before i bought it, the interior and targa top had been recently recovered and the car ran great. I know i was some what lucky with the find but that is not to say they are not out there. I dont know if you have a preference to the 76 but when i was looking i went for a post 78 so it was galvanized. I have worked on other cars, and the complete lack of chassis rust is extremely nice on 911's. It sounds like you know what you are doing, in which case these cars are actually not as expensive to work on as some think. There are many places to buy both new parts and parts out of cars that have been parted, for very reasonable prices. I am in college and have no money for any thing and some how manage to keep the old girl on the road no matter what. If you were thinking of MegaSquirting a pre injection porsche i honestly would not. I use MicroSquirt on the formula SAE car that i work on. It is good but unless you are turbo charging or doing some thing crazy the carbs on these cars do the job quite well, and are far more reliable. It sounds like you are quite eager to pick one up, I know the feeling, I am the same way. I spent almost a year searching craigslist, ebay, hemmings etc. till i found what i wanted. If you are looking for a project car i would expect to pay from 1000$ for the worst rust bucket with a seized engine, to around 7000$ for some thing that cranks over and has its fair share of rust. any thing over 8000$ better be running and some what drivable if im going to pay for it.

As for tools, in all the work i have done on my 911 so far which is not a huge amount, the only special tool i needed was the wrench for the fan pulley. A good set of metric wrenches, pliers screwdrivers, etc. will get you 80% of the mechanical way. Body work is a whole other story.

When you say engine removed, did he sell the engine or does he still have it? If it has been sold i would have some thing lined up if you are truly going to buy this car. You dont want to find your self spending 10G on a new engine when you could have gotten a full car for that price. That being said you dont want to have a chassis lying around and not be able to get an engine for it.

In the end of the day they are great cars, there is no denying that

Best luck with everything
Dave

[Ray_G]

I was in pretty much the same boat when I bought my 76. Mine had the engine installed, and it ran, but barely. I have pretty much gone through everything including a bare metal repaint. My 76 was completely gavlanized and even though that was the case I still had corrosion in the battery box area that was not noticeable until I had it torn apart. I did a full rebuild on my 2.7 as I thought it was a cheaper way to go, and although I don't regret keeping the original engine in the car it would have been cheaper to buy a good running 3.0. Food for thought. My case was not warped so it did not need to be line bored. Ollies said that was one in a hundred. The case work and valve job was 2200.00. There were no parts included in that, just the machine shop bill. It adds up quick on a 2.7.
I didnt mind doing all the work involved but it cost way more than I estimated. In the end I have nice running, nice looking car I will NEVER sell it for anywhere close to what I have in it. Looking back finding a nice SC would have been way cheaper. As the forum says they are all 20,000 cars before they are done, and that is pretty acurate. If this is your first rodeo with a 911 I would highly recommend that you have someone that knows these cars take a look at it to see if it is even close to worth it. If you have to farm out the repair work run! If you can do it yourself and have the time and money I would say it is rewarding for the experience, but you will never get back out what you put in to a mid year.
Good luck.

[Bob Goding]

'75--galvanised floor pan
'76-- gavanised whole shell

[mdshaw]

"but you will never get back out what you put in to a mid year."

What is meant by mid year?
I'm sure the '76 are all galvanized. The motor is included. plus "many extra parts" they say- including steel turbo fenders - not mounted. The car is known by the owner of a european performance shop owner & assures me it is a solid car. He has known the car for a long time. I'm sure that's why it has been sitting this long - not cost effective.
There is a good 2.4 CIS for sale in the classifieds here. That motor, clutch & Megasquirt would be a quick on the road proposal.
I know all about not getting out what one has in. I spent years souping up an XR4Ti. Try selling a car that no one can pronounce, can't get parts for unless you mix & match Ford parts but was exceptionally fast.

[sm70911]

"Mid Year" 74-77 narrow bodied G series cars with impact bumpers.

"but you will never get back out what you put in to a mid year." Whileyou are not ggoing to make a lot Im not sure you're going to loose much. I see MY's are selling for the same and in some cases more than SC's.
Lots of MY's in desirable 'vintage' Porsche colors out there. There's a couple of threads on MY's on marketplace discussion, and check out some of the narrow bodies on the ultimate Mid Year thread in the tech forum.

[dad911]

Originally Posted by Bob Goding

'75--galvanised floor pan
'76-- gavanised whole shell

Almost doesn't matter with this many years gone by.... I've seen extensive rust on carrera & sc models, even some hidden rust on a 964 I stripped.

[dtw]

I bought a '76 just like yours - engine out but included more or less in pieces. Body 'supposedly' in great shape (it isn't rusty but the paint is failing due to shoddy prep). It is the one 911 (and I have owned a ton) that I have gotten truly arse over teakettle upside down in. For what I have in it now, I could have gotten a nice driver 3.2 Carrera.