74 911 137k...original head studs possible?

I just bought my 1st Porsche 911, a 1974 911 coupe. I am the 5th owner. The
seller had owned it for 4+ years and had purchased it from a co-worker who
had owned it for 8+ years. The car has 137K miles on it and runs great. No
valve noise, very good acceleration etc. My question is " is it possible to
still have the original head studs that have been reported to pull, in a
car with this many miles on it?" Neither of these two owners was sure if
the studs had been replaced. Is there an easy way for me to check? From
everything that I have read, it doesn't seem possible that this many miles
could be on the car and have an engine that runs as good as it does without
having had the studs replaced...sorry for the long winded message.

Chris

The '74 model was a special case for the 2.7 engine, and did not have all of the heat-producing smog controls of the later, thermal reactor-equipped cars. Does this particular car have air-conditioning?

I don't know if you have something to be concerned about, or not. Have you thought of contacting a dealer, and asking what a complete inspection might cost to alleviate your concerns?

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

Warren, thanks for the response. No, the car does not have air conditioning. I did notice that it has the 11 blade fan (possible upgrade, I thought that the 74's had a 5 blade fan. There are plates on the glove compartment that indicate that this car was the 1990 SCCS A-Stock champion in West Virginia and the 1991 West Virginia SCCA Autocross Champion FTD (what ever FTD means. From what I can tell, it seems to be in great shape. The power sunroof works fine, no leaks, the power windows work albeit slowly (especially the pass side. Original interior. It was painted 4 yrs ago and it looks like the clear coat cracked. Fuchs cookie cutters. I don't see how the car could end up with 137K miles and run as smoothly as it does if the studs haven't been replaced. I was looking for an easy way to check...for peace of mind.

Chris

Chris, I don't really think I will be giving you a false sense of security, or sticking my neck out, but I don't think you have anything to worry about! The fact that it has no air conditioning tells me it hasn't had to deal with that heat burden over the years, and the fact that it was used in autocrosses as late as 1991 tells me one of the owners was an enthusiast who took very good care of it, indeed! FTD stands for 'Fast Time of the Day' a very high honor for the car and its' drver. And, autocrossing is hard on tires, and sometimes clutches, but not much else, so don't worry about the car having been abused, FTD-class drivers and owners HAVE to take good care of their cars in order to remain competitive! I suspect that the majority of the mileage on your car were 'highway' miles, and without air conditioning they would have been relatively stress-free from a thermodynamic load standpoint!

The '74 models had the 11-blade fan standard ... the 5-blade model did not come until later, '76-'77. Does your car have the front fender 'trombone' external cooler? Your car could have either 'Alusil' or 'Nikasil' cylinders, and I suspect that they are 'Nikasil', and that has contributed to the extra long engine life without problems! In addition, your transaxle was the last year for the use of the 7:31 ring and pinion (4.429) so rejoice in that celebration of the days before the factory became obsessed with quietness! A 6500 rpm rev-limiting rotor in your distributor is best enjoyed with that transaxle, rather than the limp, quieter 8:31 ring and pinion of the later years!

My recommendation would be to get an 'Excellence' magazine subscription, a copy of Bruce Anderson's 'Porsche 911 Performance Handbook', a Haynes manual, a 4221.21 'Spec Book' for your model year, and the Pelican CD-ROM ... and do some serious reading of as many of the archive articles and questions as possible over the next few weeks to get familiar with the maintenance routines for the 911, a most pleasureable car to own, work on, and drive!

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Warren Hall
1973 911S Targa

Chris:

I concur with Warren, since my very first car was a 1974 911. However, they did originally come with the 5 blade fans, since I exchanged mine for the 11 blade. But the good news is that yours already has it. These cars were bullet proof, except for a slight tendency to run hot at the track. But for autocrossing, you never get very high temperatures.

What color is your car? I used to live in the Washington DC area when I sold mine in 1982 for the new 911SC.

As to the rest, keep on driving and enjoying! If you haven't seen any problems yet, the only things you'll see in the near future are small problems that might cause your aggrevation, but patience and immediate attention to all problems will keep them from getting bigger. Like Grandma said "a stitch in time saves nine". Same with cars; fix it NOW, and it won't be the cause of other problems down the road.......Andras

Andras, my 911 coupe is Glacier Blue, the 3rd owner had it painted and apparently he said this was the original color. All the specs I could find indicated that the paint was probably metallic blue. It has the 5spd trans, pwr sunroof, pwr windows, fog lights, Fuchs cookie cutters that are the silver wheels...could this be your old 911 that made it's way to West Virginia then into North Carolina??

Chris

We've seen 74s with stud problems. It surprised us at first , because of the non-smog, no a/c, no racing stance of the car. As the years have gone by, we see a few more with this problem now and then. Point? the loose stud syndrome can still surface. We hear it when they already pull (sounds like an exhaust leak- blap- blap-blap) Not meaning to rain on your new purchase, but it can happen

We Time-Sert ALL 2.4 to 2.7's, we have seen them all pull. not so much from heat, but from expansion of the cylinders. All so the 1 inner stud we, you know the long 8mm, we time sert them all if the case is mag.

Roy at http://www.motormeister.com

Chris:

Sorry, it would have been great if it were, for I lost track of my old 1974. I sold it to someone in Richmond Virginia in 1982, when I ordered my 1983 SC, and then he sold it, and it disappeared from my radar screen.

My 1974 was a Copper Metallic, with beige leather, and highly modified for track and autocross. I still have lots of pictures, especially when I was president of the Potomac Region PCA in 1981.

Ah sigh, such great cars, despite their tendency to run hot.....Andras