'67S "Barn Find" - What Should I Do??

tom1394racing · 03-11-2006, 09:23 AM

A couple of Sundays ago the wife and I took a drive to the Berkshires and along the way what do I spot but the distinct shape of an early 911 roller under a tarp. RSR flares, Minilite wheels and fresh paint. Hmmm....This looks like a potential project.

Today I finally got a chance to talk with the owner . The story goes that he bought it from a guy in Colorado who was planning on building a race car but never finished it. The current owner was planning on putting in a 3.2 from his wrecked Carrera and giving it to his son for his 16th birthday. The grandfather gives the kid a Rolls for his birthday and the project never got finished. He says he will sell it for the right price. I ask what model is it and he says he thinks it's a '74.

Well... I roll back the tarp and the first thing I see is the 911S script on the glove box. I check the chassis number and it's 306522S. A '67S!!!

Here's pics:

Doesn't look too rusty (you never know) fiberglass front fenders and rear flares, fresh suspension components, 901 gearbox, good looking dash and seats.

So I'm thinking,...... I enjoyed building my RSR clone so much that I am missing having another Porsche project. If I were to buy this one, I would want to restore it to original condition and sell it. With the prices that early 911S's are fetching I might be able to turn a small profit for my efforts.

So help me decide what to do.
1. How much should I be willing to pay for this car?
2. How much do you think it would cost to restore it to original condition assuming I do everything except the paint and body work?
3. How much would it be worth if I did a 95 point type concours restoration on it?
4. Would I be better off making another RSR clone with it? (I don't think there is any profit based on what I spent on my current RSR).

I am looking forward to your advice on this.

DaveE · 03-11-2006, 09:52 AM

That's going to cost a few bucks to restore the rear quarter panels, find good front fenders. Does he have the original S engine? Is the chassis rusted? Early S's are worth alot and going up but you are going to spend alot on that car too.

randywebb · 03-11-2006, 10:04 AM

"The grandfather gives the kid a Rolls..." -- that's different from giving the kid a roller, right?

I agree you should restore this car. It's a S and the earliest one, too. Keep the flares etc. for a future project based on a "T" or 912, or sell them. The cost will be determined by your skills, time & ability to find junked parts...

Fidalgo911S · 03-11-2006, 10:19 AM

Barn find, barn find, barn find....what's going on around here?! They're coming out of the woodwork! Maybe I'll go drive around, I'm almost guaranteed to find a '67S or another '65

Seriously, nice find. The best of luck with whatever you decide.

stormmaster · stormmaster's Garage

Not that it really matters but the wheels are not mini lites....they are american racing Vector Mags...popular on muscle cars and vettes back in the early 70s....they weigh a ton....ask me how I know.......Nice find

ischmitz · ischmitz's Garage

dash seems to be in good shape

JSDSKI · 03-11-2006, 12:18 PM

Depending how big an itch you have for a project, start at $1K and maybe go $2K without original engine. Might go to $4 or $5 with all parts including engine. Cheapest thing would be a "R" clone because it would have the most repro and f/g parts. Most valuable would be OEM restro - any number between $30K and $75K depending on how obsessive you need or want to be.

Get rid of the flares - which look silly on a SWB, IMO.

What's the other white one in the background next to the boat?

Great find. Keep us posted.

Wayne 962 · Wayne 962's Garage

Don got to this first - those aren't minilites - the minilites are worth big $$$.

In my opinion, this is a *big* project with only one direction to go - finish the flared car. If you restore it back to stock, you will probably spend a lot more $$$ than it's worth, and if you don't have matching numbers, you'll only have limited appreciation potential. This is indeed a good race car project, but in terms of "making money", I doubt that you could, unless you bought it for $3K and sold it to someone for $6-8K after inventorying and putting up here on Pelican...

-Wayne

J L Cavazos · J L Cavazos's Garage

Tom,

First off, buy this car!! Take JSDSKI's advise on the offer.

Worry about what to do with it later.

I think that you are the perfect "home" for this car, regardless of what you decide to do with it.

If you do get it, kindly put me first in line for the FG stuff (provided you decide to decide to dump them).

Best of luck and keep us posted!

tom1394racing · 03-12-2006, 03:41 AM

Ok

The advice is mixed. Some say..."go for it". Others say..."too big a project and it will not return the investment".

Here's my deal. I'm not dying to own a concours '67S. My RSR clone is the perfect car for me right now and I don't want to sink a ton of $$ into the '67S if I can't get all of it plus a little profit (5-10%) back.

I would really enjoy restoring the car but at the end of the day it would have to be something special that both myself and the new owner could take pride in.

Matching numbers...Does this mean that the engine type number and serial number need to be of the same vintage as the car?
For this car I would need to find an early aluminum case with the engine type number of 901/02 and build it with the weber carbs setup. I would guess that it would not be impossible to find the case and the carbs and that the internals would also be relatively easy to find.

I guess that I will need to make some estimates of cash in vs cash out and make some decision. The owner is in no hurry to sell and I am not one to rush into this,

Keep up your advice.

atlporsche · 03-12-2006, 04:39 AM

re: matching numbers

almost. matching numbers is when a particular engine is matched to a particular chassis at the factory. the engine number and the chassis number are written on the same line of a log. That log is accessible to find out if you have the engine that came in the car from the factory. if it's a matching numbers car, that means the engine that's in it is the engine that was put in it on the assembly line.

sjd

scylla6 · 03-12-2006, 04:57 AM

Tom, probably the best idea is to do the R thing with it and use it as a race car. From the pics it looks like it will need quite a bit. Figure on at least 20k to restore it to stock, and thats if you can do alot of the work. I have seen some of your work and it is very good. This would be a big project and perhaps not worth it to put back to stock. Too bad.
Although having said that I'd also say to go ahead and buy it. A new project is always fun.
Tom

wholberg · wholberg's Garage

Dang, I keep trying to look in barns, but those pesky farmers always have a load of rock salt handy!

Flagstaff_911SC · Flagstaff_911SC's Garage

Quote:

Originally posted by JSDSKI

What's the other white one in the background next to the boat?

that's what I would like to know also

tom1394racing · 03-12-2006, 11:24 AM

"What's the other white one in the background next to the boat?"

The one in the background is a '84-'89 Carrera. It is a wreck that the owner has taken his planned 3.2 donor engine from.

Lots of parts on that baby!

Kevin Stewart · 03-12-2006, 12:14 PM

just remember everyone wants you to do a project as long is its not their wallet, if the shoe was on their foot it would be different, Kevin

would be a cool hot rod

304065 · 03-13-2006, 05:56 AM

Hello Tom, nice find!

"Matching numbers" means you get the certificate of authencity or Kardex for 306522S and it tells you the original engine number and transmission number, and they match what's in the car.

Here's the trouble. If you took this car to your favorite shop in Canton or a shop with a similar reputation for high quality and said "make it Concours" I would hazard a guess that doing so wouldn't leave you much change from a $50,000 bill. And you would have a car with non-matching engine and box, which to the crowd that strokes checks for $50,000 for a perfect SWB S will ALWAYS be a liability.

IF it had the original drivetrain I would say "buy it and invest the money and time" because like patches of dirt, they ain't makin' any more of these.

But here's the rub. If you buy it for $1 more than you could find a similar condition SWB normal tub, you've paid an "S" premium for a car where "S" doesn't matter. For example, if I were going to build an "R" clone, I would start with ANY SWB shell, because the whole body's going to be cut away and acid-dipped and then you start from there. Not much value left other than the VIN.

But there's one option left, which is what I would do. BUY IT, saw off those ugly flares, have the boyz graft on some skinny rear fenders, shoehorn in a 3.0 from an SC with some PMOs and a beefed-up 901 and drive it like you stole it!

Good luck!

Jim_Amsterdam · 03-17-2006, 12:57 AM

Tom,
that car has the body panels of a 911ST.
Check it's a project car and not an original. All ST's were based on the 911S and may have the original chassis number of the S. A recent ST sold for $184,000!

tom1394racing · 03-17-2006, 01:17 AM

I don't thimk the car I found is an ST. It has the VIN # of a 1967 911S and is a short wheel base car. As far as i know, the ST's were produced after 1968 and are based on the long wheel base chassis.

I should be so lucky!!!!!

Jim_Amsterdam · 03-17-2006, 01:22 AM

Yes, you're probably right.

Buy the car anyway. There's a lot of work done on it. The wheels are quite rare also. It looks good.