Another early 911 Barn Find

[silver911rdb]

I thought I'd post my recent barn find. I picked up a 1973.3 911T last week. I wasn't even looking for a car... but a friend heard from a family member that a co-worker had a Porsche in storage for the last decade and might be thinking of selling due to a divorce. My friend thought the car was in pieces due to a restoration he was doing but never completed it. So naturally, they thought of me. I thought, great! Just what I needed, another project car. I told her to get me the guys number and I'd give him a call. So I call the guy and he begins to tell me how he bought the car in Florida back in 1973. OK, so at that point he's got my attention because he's the original owner. He continues to tell me that he's had the car covered in his garage (ok, so it's not exactly a barn find but you get the idea) for the past decade because the car was having running issues due to the CIS. He was told that the problem was most likely rust or stuff in the fuel tank that must have clogged the outlet to the fuel pump. So he removed the fuel tank and cleaned it and treated it. He said that he did find rust in there and he treated the tank with some sort of rust killer made for gas tanks. So he wasn't doing a restoration, but merely trying to correct a poor running issue with the car.

Apparently life got busy and he never got a chance to put the tank back in. So there it sat since 1999. The car has 90,000 miles on it and is original. It has everything in there that was delivered when new, right down to the radio. He did mention that he replaced the fog lights with some JC Whitney units because the originals weren't working correctly. But he did have the originals in a box for me. The engine was rebuilt at 50,000 miles because his mechanic thought it should be rebuilt. So at this point I have an original car that hasn't been run in a decade. I turned the engine over by hand and it does turn over easily.

Check out the pictures of the interior. The dash doesn't have a single crack, the door pockets/panels are immaculate. Even the seats look good. The worst part about this car is the baby poop brown color (that's what my daughters called it). Over the next few weeks I'll start workng on it to try to start her up and see what's what. Hopefully everything's in order. I'll do the usual changing of fluids, filters, fuel lines, etc before I try to start her up. I'll try to keep you posted on my progress but I'll warn you it might be slow. Work and family are quite busy right now.

In case your wondering how much I paid. I'd rather keep that to myself just in case I decide to fix her up and sell. I wouldn't want to tip my hat to any potential buyer. What I am curious about is how much would you pay for this car. From what I can see it does have a couple of rusty areas on the door jamb and rear quarter window, but that's it. The battery boxes, front pan, floors rockers, all look solid.

I'll ultimately have to decide whether I want to restore this car back to original, build a track car out of it, or sell it. Life is full of tough choices.

[ossiblue]

Rich, you lucky *&%$#! From you description and pictures you have found a great car! It looks to be a highly optioned T--wheel well trim, AC, fog lights, cookie cutter wheels. Does it have an "S" bumper? Are the original fog lights through the grille hellas? Is there documentation on the rebuild?
Man, there are so many things that look great on this car. Is that paint original and looking that good? Door pockets, perfect, bright work, perfect, dash perfect....the only fly in the ointment is the extent of the rust, condition of gas tank, and verification of drive train.

What would I pay? Couldn't say without a bit more confirmation and details. I will say, however, that if you don't decide to keep it, please don't make it a track car. It appears to be just too close to a good quality original to go that route.

Needless to say, I'm jealous. I'm glad to see someone who appreciates these early cars with it, though. Best of luck

[HarryD]

Rich,

Very nice find!

Hopefully, the body is solid and you will have a great car.

[AndyK!]

Originally Posted by ossiblue

I will say, however, that if you don't decide to keep it, please don't make it a track car. It appears to be just too close to a good quality original to go that route.

+1 on above. Keep it original! It appears to be in good shape, especially the interior. Great find. Please keep us updated on your progress.

[silver911rdb]

The fog lights are originally hella through the grills. I took a picture of the original window sticker. Apparently it was equipped with option group G03. I'm not sure what that included. The original owner is still getting all the documents together for me. I should have everything including the engine rebuild papers and maintenance records by next week. When I went to go see the car initially I think I caught him off guard. I showed up with cash and my trailer. It sounded like a good car so I was prepared to take it away before he changed his mind.

[robmog]

+1 on keeping it original.
if it starts its worth 25k+ based on originality/condition.
maybe more with that original paint (great period color BTW)
great find

[Evans, Marv]

+2,3,4,... on keeping it original. You don't find a car like that everyday. Beutiful interior. I like the paint color BTW. Lucky guy!

[HarryD]

Nice set of options. $10k was a lot of money back then for a car.

I am sure the option group G03 is one the "S" Appearance Group ones.

If you haven't yet poped over, the guys over at the Early 911S Registry BBS (http://www.early911sregistry.org/forum/index.php) may be able to better tell you about the options included in Group G03.

Somewhere on this site, I think it was Grady Clay who posted a series of posts on the steps to safely revive a car that has been stored. You might want to look for that as well.

[LakeCleElum]

I have a 73.5 that did a lot of sitting in the 19 years I've owned it. Your two biggest issues will be:

1) CIS - Clean and/or replace any fuel line before you run the fuel pump. Most likely, the fuel dist. will need to be cleaned. The cold start valve is very unique to this year only. Very hard to find and expensive. Check the fuel system carefully for vac. leaks. Once ready to start the car, remember the cold start valve is activated only by pulling the handle throttle all the way up. It's only in operation while the starter is cranking, so it's no uncommon for the engine to start and then die right away for a few times in cold weather.

2) Brakes - Pull the rubber flexible lines going to each caliper and see if you can get compressed air thru them. The swell from the inside and often don't let the calipers retract. Better yet, just replace them. Then check for dragging calipers - likely they will need gone thru. Depends on the humidity of were the car was stored......M/C likely needs rebuilt or replaced.

Other than that, keep it stock and enjoy it.......G'luck.....

[Macroni]

Great Find! Keep it original.

[Mo_Gearhead]

Great Find! Keep it original.

Ditto!

[Ray B]

Congrats! +1 more on keeping it original. Seems like the older I get, the more I like the sepia. hmmmm...

[Rusty 356]

It's a survivor. I'd treat the rust but not repaint if the paint is still original. Sweet find. Take it to the parade as a survivor. Good luck with it. Post a few more pics.

[hcariss]

Ha I'm saying 'great find' through clenched teeth ... sheeeeet I could not be more jealous, it looks top shelf.

[ossiblue]

Just to let you know what you found, do a quick check on availability/cost of original hella through the grille fog lights, today! $70 in 1973...wow.

My computer screen is green with envy as I type this, you lucky ______________(fill in your own expletive)

[crater64]

Pretty car, and another vote for keeping it as a survivor. Good luck with it.

Ed

[Sunroof]

Rich,

I have the identical car! The color is "Sepia", and its advisable to keep it original if your looking to sell this car down the road. The color grows on you and interestingly, it was Dr. Porsche favorite color. Much said good, bad and ugly about Sepia, but its one of Porsche's unique colors.

Looks like the fuel filter was updated to the smaller cannister; however, your AC is original down to the the fabric covered red barrier hoses and compressor. Restoration could be a chunk of money, but if the engine is strong and rust not too bad, you'll have a worthy survivor well worth the investment. Before the economy started going south recently the posted value of the 73.5T was going anywhere from a low of 18K to 38K and up. You have the last of the longhood models and a strong collectible.

When probing for rust a hot spot on the early 911's is the pan under the rear seats. Rain water would weep through the worn rear window (pop-out) seal and make its way down under the rear seat cushion where it softened the metal overtime and made its way down into the pan. A notorious place for perforation.

I certainly hope you keep it original and enjoy the heck out of it. The 2.4 is one of the best engines Porsche engineered and excellent in day to day traffic. BEst of luck and congradulations on the find.

Bob
73.5T in Sepia

[KNS]

Beautiful car, don't change a thing. I almost bought a 73.5 911T , all original, biege-grey, original leather, unmolested, 63,000 mi, Arizona car. I was just a little short on what he wanted for it ($14,500 in 2001) I had to pass on it. I told him I wanted to keep it original, as-is, which pleased him but still not enough cash for him at the time.

A couple weeks later a saw the new owner driving through town with a huge, fiberglass (no rubber trim) whale tail on it. Never saw it again after that.

[Fishman7]

Nice car. I located a very nice 73.5 project for a friend that he is going to restore, we pick it up tomorrow! Keep it original!

[Sharonkerry]

Rich-

The window sticker says the car has mechanical fuel injection so this is a 73' right? I have a 73.5' and of course it has CIS.

Love the color. It is one of my total favorites. I also vote for you to keep it as is. An original - even though it is "just a T" - is getting tough to find.

All the best!
Sharon