Q's about buying 1st 911

[philjohnson911]

Hi there, I'm looking to buy my 1st 911, and was wondering whether any of you could point me in the right direction. I'm looking for an early model (without impact bumpers) i.e. 60's and 70's. Being based in the UK, local cars will have a big question mark about rust. So I thought a US car would be the answer (is Texas dry??). I found the following advertised, and it's within my price range, what should I be asking and looking for.

Imported from the Texas in May 1999 this 1970 911 'S' Coupe is finished in Black with a new Black leather interior. A new 2.2 Engine was fitted in the US in 1986 and has since covered only 50,000 miles. It has triple 'Weber' carburettors and has been converted for 'unleaded' petrol. Full documentation and £30,000 of receipts (also have original manuals and unused original tool kit), this car is completely rust-free with a clean frame and has never been welded or altered! The car is garaged in London and has only been lightly used however it is ready to be driven - it looks stunning and sounds fantastic!
It is in genuinely very good condition with lots of photo's, 'Kenwood' CD Player, fully UK registered and really must be seen!

Final couple of Q's - this is an 'S' how much less in percentage terms would you expect to pay for a 'T' or 'E'. Is the 'S' much better performance wise. This car has fuchs wheels that are all black, not black on silver - is this right?

Phil

(tried to attached a photo - not sure if it worked)

[epbrown]

The 911S tends to have a 25% premium over the 911E and is around 50% more than a 911T. The S is a great performer, but consensus seems to be that because of it's high-revving nature it's not very suited to being a daily driver.

Yes, Texas if one of our drier states, but have the car inspected anyway. From your preliminary description, it sounds like problems are unlikely, but better safe that sorry.

The Fuchs were likely repainted by one of the previous owners to his taste. It's a common practice.

Emanuel

[marc weintraub]

The "S" is perfectly suitable to be driven as a daily driver. Those that say it's not, don't have their MFI sorted out. The fact that the one you are looking at doesn't have the original "Mechanical Fuel Injection" shows that the MFI can be a bit of a pain to get right and it was probably converted to carbs because of this.

The Weber conversion takes away from the authenticity of the car and devalues it to a certain degree. Have the car gone over by a noted Porsche shop (Autofarm if you can) and get all of the numbers (engine, VIN, etc.) to make sure you are getting what you pay for. Don't pay "S" prices for a "T".

All The Best,

Marc

[Saffs]

Hi Phill,
I'm English and over in the US now, if I can be of any help, email me.
I've owned and bought (now sold) a '75 911 2.7 over there, and I bought a '73 T over here.
Are you planning on using everyday, all year round? I've done that - make sure the heat exchangers are in good condition, I did a Winter where they weren't!
You could come over here for a holiday, buy a car, and import it back - not cost effective as in the airfares, tax bringing it back to the UK, plus shipping, but FUN! LA would be a good starting point.
Anyhow, let me know if you need any more help.

[Randy W]

Phil, I would be very careful about purchasing an early 911 from Texas. Houston has as much humidity as Florida, and if the car spent much time there rust will likely be an issue. I've heard from dealers that this is not the best state in which to look for no-rust cars. I would think, however, that if the car was from the central or NW section of the state it might not suffer as much from this problem. Best bet would be to have an early 911 expert in Texas like Ed Mayo check it out for you first. Email me for his phone number if interested.