'71 911E purchase

Hello everyone,

Hopefully, by this time next week, I'll be the proud owner of a stunning '71 911E. So, before I actually make this commitment, I wanted to ask you "What am I getting myself into?"

The 911E's body appears to be in excellent shape, the engine drips a little bit of oil, but is otherwise clean and felt strong during a couple of test drives, the shifting is quite sloppy and finding first gear is a bit of a chore.

I can do some mechanical work myself, but clutch and serious engine work is currently beyond me. About how much should I expect to spend on maintenance for this car in its first year?

Hi,

This story sounds really good. But I would never do a diagnosis from just 3 sentences. Its all depending from the price you pay for it!
Make sure, that you are not blinded by body mastic, fresh paint, some polished parts.
Make sure that the car is COMPLETE and has the original engine/trans or at least a similar one. Have a close look to rims, tires, and all sealings. Make sure that EVERY electrical thing is working (e.g., heated rear window).
If these points are good, its just the price...
Some dripping oil might be OK, but have a close look underneath where it comes from. A full set of new sealings is several hundrets of $$ and might need a total engine dismount.
Check compression on ALL cylinders (be present yourself!) Let someone drive behind you and give full throttle at various speeds to check worn valve guides (smoke from oil burning.
Check noise at warm engine at approx. 2500-3000 rpm (chain tensioners).
If everything is OK, enjoy it!
How much you will have to spend in your first year is more or less a matter of luck and your own demandings on perfection.

Good luck!

The 911 "E" is a wonderful car, but do yourself a favor and lift up all of the carpets, move the seats all the way back and then forward and look for rust or soft spots. Make sure the mechanical injection can still be adjusted and that the fuel pump and stacks don't need rebuilding. Look for turbo tie rod ends and carrera chain tensioners, both make a big difference in the reliability and feel of the car. Jens is correct in everything that he said. One test you can do on the fender wells is check to make sure that the wells are rough in feeling. This will indicate an original fender... usually. If the rear ones are smooth, they have, most likely, been replaced. Run a check on the engine, vin, trans, and any other numbers you can get, to make sure it is authentic. "E"s are great cars... don't buy one of those and get a good fake. Good luck with your purchase, but check out what you are buying very carefully... they are wonderful cars if you get the right one.

Thanks for your advice.
I had a local mechanic check the car out and he found a few things that I wasn't sure I could live with. The engine compression wasn't too positive (110,85,110,100,120,120) and there was some questionable mechanical work done on the car in the past such as an after-market A/C welded in... These two things scared me a lot, so I'm going to continue my search.
My objective is to get a decent (not perfect) 911 for (significantly) less than $10,000 in first year expenses. If I can get a $5,000 911 that needs $5,000 in repairs to get it to good condition, that is okay. If I can get a $10,000 911 that is in good condition already, that is better.
I'd like some practice driving rear engine cars before spending much more money on a newer 911. (I also really like the lines on the earlier 911's)

Thanks again for your advice.

Peter