Color change my 74 Carrera ???

car-reras · 04-20-2006, 07:26 PM

OK, I've had my 74 Carrera for 2 weeks now and had enough time to find most of the issues. It has a fresh rebuild, and I have taken off the wrong tail and wheels. Now,...it needs cosmetics and paint.
It's original GP White with one repaint. I thought for sure I was going to keep it all correct, but....I like Mexico Blue and Viper Green. I have to go to all the trouble of stripping and straightening the car anyway, can I color change it? Always thinking of resale value, I know it isn't the thing to do, but I want to end up with something fun after all the time and $$$. It's never going to be a concours winner anyways right? ...and I have an 87 in White already that I have all but talked myself into keeping as my driver. Lets see some colors and thoughts. thx, Derek.

obrut · 04-20-2006, 07:36 PM

is it a MFI or a CIS engined car? if the former, then i think maintaining originality is of value. if the latter, then i doubt it would make much of a difference if the colour change is done well.

jackb911 · jackb911's Garage

Hi, Derek,

Color is a matter of personal taste. You will get lots of opinions on this, but since the '74 Carrera is a rare piece - I believe only 528 USA coupes were made - it will definitely hurt the resale value if you do a color change. This is a moot point if you keep the car forever. Something else to consider is that to do a proper color change, the car has to come completely apart, engine removed and all. That can get very expensive very fast.

I'm probably the wrong guy to give advice on changing the color of your car, as I think the Grand Prix White rocks on these cars! How about a different color Carrera graphic and wheel centers (or Harvey Weidman's RSR finish), though? Blue and green graphics were used on some of the '73 Euro RS Carreras, and perhaps on some 'Euro 74's as well. The only graphic colors I've ever seen on a US '74 Carreras are black and gold.

Darn, two awesome white Porsches in the family. What a dilemma.

car-reras · 04-20-2006, 07:46 PM

Ryan,

Bone stock US CIS car....although it drives like all hell is breaking loose, and I wonder if the motor isn't beefed a little. Might just be I am used to the sophisticated feel of the 3.2 in my 87. In any event, the car won't be ready for paint for some time ( we have a 4 year old too) and I will likely change my mind a thousand times before it's time to shoot. The orange and blue Gulfs are in my mind also...Oh and the Beige/Grey just occurred to me!!!!

car-reras · 04-20-2006, 07:51 PM

Jack,
I have had several SC/Carrera cars, and done every Carrera graphics color in the book backdating them. I have the Gold for this one already on the shelf, but come on, Gulf Blue with Orange graphics!!!! I won't keep it forever, most of you know, but damn I want to have some fun with this car....and I have to take it all apart to even paint it White again for quality I can live with. Thx for the input, Derek.

jackb911 · jackb911's Garage

Here's a Gulf Blue '88 Club Sport. If it didn't have a burgundy pinstripe interior (!), it would look pretty cool with orange wheel centers.

livi · 04-21-2006, 12:53 AM

My take is of course silly as it (I hope) does not apply to you. My current life situation is a full blown catastrophe. In that perspective the speculated resale value is of no importance. Hence, I would go with whatever color I like best. The car is for you to enjoy NOW. If you didn´t buy it as an investment, that is. Which I doubt. Incidentally, I love GPW.

Jim Richards · 04-21-2006, 04:04 AM

Derek, if it was a Euro with MFI, I would've urged you to restore it to stock. But since it's a US Carrera, I'll not take a position. Your car after all! I would recommend that you give more thought to colors, as too many people end up doing the same thing. Like how many Viper Green re-colors have we seen lately. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just think about some of the other funky choices available to you.

Fidalgo911S · 04-21-2006, 07:11 AM

Derek,

That is a beautiful '74 Carrera. I would honestly leave it GP white. Jackb911 is right, a proper color change is very expensive. Disregard all the slander about this being "just" a US Carrera. Keeping it stock will only increase the value in the long run. A '74 is a wonderful Porsche and it looks like you bought a really nice example.

My only suggestion is to swap the tails between your cars.

MOMO3.2 · 04-21-2006, 07:34 AM

Derek:

I really like both your Carreras. White is one of my favorite all time colors for 911s. But, if it were my car, I would look long and hard at either an Olive or Chartreuse. I have seen both these colors in person at shows that were steeped with Porsche's finest and they stood out as my favorites.

Regardless, you have one fine looking stable just as things stand.

Mike

car-reras · 04-21-2006, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Jim Richards
Derek, if it was a Euro with MFI, I would've urged you to restore it to stock. But since it's a US Carrera, I'll not take a position. Your car after all! I would recommend that you give more thought to colors, as too many people end up doing the same thing. Like how many Viper Green re-colors have we seen lately. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Just think about some of the other funky choices available to you.

I know lots of us are going 70's funky colors, and maybe viper green is out, but how many in your neighborhood or even town still will you ever see? Good point though.

thx Mike, forgot Chartreuse.

car-reras · 04-21-2006, 07:54 AM

this was the original plan....

jmz · jmz's Garage

I say leave it original. That being said I love Mexico Blue on these cars but I'm biased.

elbean · elbean's Garage

Hey Derek, How about irish green

Both great looking cars as always and I hope to see them before they're gone!!

Mark

car-reras · 04-21-2006, 01:07 PM

Thx Mark, last month I owned a 75 Carrera in Irish Green for one day.
I freakin loved the color, but the motor was gone, and the seller agreed to take it back. I'm thinking Green for me, and use the white one when I take the wife out with A/C (she hates the early colors).

kilodawg · kilodawg's Garage

Okay my 2 cents,

I've owned 2 '74's, one new and the other in the early '80's. They were my first ownership experiences with 911's so there will always be a place in my memory for them but having said that you either return the car to it's purely original form or you do what makes you happy. Just do it right!

My personal opinion is that there really was nothing that "special" about the '74 CIS car. I can recall thinking that even in '74. Not enough at least to warrant the way those cars are looked at today. The MFI car has a closer lineage to the earlier RS that's the special car as we all know. The '74 CIS car is just fame by association in my book.

If you do decide to switch colors one of my '74's was Mexico Blue and all I can tell you is that if you at all like that color you will definitely come to love it over time and never tire of it. I really don't think you can go wrong with any of the bright colors from that period.

porschenut · 04-21-2006, 01:23 PM

Now, don't take this the wrong way....your car isn't worth that much anyway, and it's not collectible, and it's already been repainted once anyway, and it will never be concours (as you say), so who cares what color it is. Go ahead and paint that thing to make you happy! The repaint will cost you several thousand regardless, and the most a color change would reduce that car's value by is probably $1k at the most, so paint it like a rainbow if you want. It's not an investment! You're going to DRIVE it aren't you? Good boy.

jtkkz · 04-21-2006, 02:14 PM

74 carrera's are rare, I would keep it original color, prices on this cars will go up, 73 RS and 74 Carrera Euro prices are up and buyers will start looking for the US versions cause they are still affordable...

I bought one a '74 US Carrera in its original Gulf Blue color

car-reras · 04-21-2006, 03:04 PM

That's the crux here. They are not that expensive, but rare? Well how many can really be left? Time will tell on that one, so for now, I'd like to think I have the balls to stray from the resale worry, and paint the damn thing bright! Have a great weekend all, Derek

skinnerd · skinnerd's Garage

Rare....well maybe a little.
But the 2.7 CIS engine will never make that car that desireable in my opinion.
The car is light weight though....a friend of mines weighed right at 2300 lbs.
Now that is something to get excited about.

I guess I'm of the opinion....who gives a flip about collector's (I certainly don't).
I buy cars cause I like them, I want to drive them and I want them to look like "what I want them to look like"....not some what somebody else cares about.

That said, I love so many of the bright, early 70's colors....it would be hard to decide.
My repaint was from Bahia red to Viper green. I love it, and don't mind telling people it's not the original color.
Some of the oranges are killer.
I think there was a rasberry color that I've never, ever seen.
Maybe that would be the color for you.

Do what you want....it's your car, isn't it?
Good luck!