Your thoughts on a 73.5 911T I'm looking at

[Jim Richards]

Hi all,

I'm going to look at a 73.5 911T this weekend and I'd like to get your thoughts. It's white with a black vinyl interior. It has been owned by the same person for more than 25 years. From the pictures it looks like it has a clean body except rust in the passenger side rocker & door. It was stripped to bare metal and painted about 15 years ago. It has the S option package, factory Fuchs, no A/C, no sunroof.

It still has the CIS. The engine is original and the car has ~225k miles with a complete overhaul 20 years ago. It has mechanical chain tensioners (does this mean hydraulic?), a pop off valve, SS heater boxes, upgraded struts, lowered, short shifter, brakes and clutch are less than 2 years old, original seats (supposed to be in good condition), bad headliner, and a starter button jury-rig for the ignition (turn on key + press button to start). The car includes the owners manual, factory manuals, CIS tools and CO meter. The price is just under $7k and is firm.

It would be a bopping around car for my wife, who by the way doesn't care that much for A/C. Thanks in advance for your help.

[Don Wohlfarth]

From your info sounds like a fair price. With 225 on the clock and the motor rebuilt 20 yrs ago it may be ready for another rebuild.
3 letters to remember, PPI, PPI, PPI. I'd want an experienced tech to go over this car looking for rust.
Dr. John's in Sterling and Intersport in Vienna can do the PPI.
----------------
You might want to take the wife along to make sure that's she knows exactly what she's getting for "her" car. The voice of experience says that sometimes husbands and wives differ on what will be "her" car.

[Jim Richards]

You might want to take the wife along to make sure that's she knows exactly what she's getting for "her" car. The voice of experience says that sometimes husbands and wives differ on what will be "her" car.

This is definately the plan. My thought is that she might not be too fond of the fact that it's lowered. She thinks my 993 is low enough (and it's at standard ride height).
My concerns are the potential need for an engine rebuild, whether or not the transaxle is due for an overhaul, and rust.

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by Jim Richards

This is definately the plan. My thought is that she might not be too fond of the fact that it's lowered. She thinks my 993 is low enough (and it's at standard ride height).
My concerns are the potential need for an engine rebuild, whether or not the transaxle is due for an overhaul, and rust.

The lowered part is not a big deal, you can always reset the ride height. If it shifts ok with no grinding, then the transaxle probably has a good bit of life in it. My major concern is the rust you talked about. Rust in the rocker is indicative of a very serious rust problem. The rocker is a structural member of the car. Most definitely get this check out.

Be very careful of the rust. If you do a search here, you will find that if there is rust in part of the lower body, then it has usually run rampant. Also, if it is rusty on one side, then it probably is on the other. Please have it checked by someone that knows the older cars. IMO, the $7K figure is high for a car with any significant rust.

Mark

[jriera]

Jim as owner of a 73.5 (CIS) my first priority will be to look for RUST, the second to look for RUST and the third to look for RUST... and yes do a good engine PPI and bring your wife along to look at the car.

I bought mine 4 years ago for $5,500 and did not do any of the above before buying the car.. the Post-PPI showed some rust and engine leaks, four year later (and about $2,000 spent) the car still rusty and leaking.. but that is a different story.

Good luck.

[Jim Sims]

Rust showing is a big red flag! My son has a 73.5T which is under going a glass out paint job. When we bought the car there was no rust "showing" and it had started life out in California. However when we got the rocker covers and the deco trim off there was rust damage (through perforations) on both sides plus when the fenders came off there was rust perforations on the fins which attach the fenders and underneath the headlight buckets. All in all, we had to cut out about 20 places and carefully fit and form and then weld in patches. The rockers are rather complex in places and required several levels of patches. We did the work ourselves with the help of a friend. If we'd paid for all this it would have been about $3000 and then there would still be the painting work and the headliner. Get a PPI! In my opinion $7000 is too high given the engine and chassis mileage ($4000 to $5000 is a better price). I suspect you will end up spending $10,0000 to $15,000 on this car over the next two or three years. Be careful; consider what you could buy for $17,000 to $22,000 for that is what you'll likely put into this 73.5 T! Cheers, Jim

[DonDavis]

Jim,

Hmm, take a long hard look at the car. As everyone else has mentioned make certain that the car is solid and that the rust is not too far along. Also, it sounds like several modifications have been performed in it's life and it has a lot of miles. Depending on who did the mods and how diligent they were in doing them correctly can make or break the car.

7k for that car should mean it's in very good condition. I personally have seen several that have documented less than 100k miles in good shape go for 7 to 8k.

Good luck and don't be afraid to walk away.

Don

PS
7.5k for my 71

[Jim Richards]

Thanks everyone for your excellent advice. I'll look this one over very carefully. And Don, from the picture it sure looks like your $7.5k was well spent!

[Rustbucket]

Originally posted by DonDavis



PS
7.5k for my 71

Don....did that include the 3.0?
Good deal !
Very nice looking car. What is that color?

[Sunroof]

I drive a 1973.5T that fortunately was restored by the prior owner, in fact it came with $34,000 in receipts from the day it came out of the showroom. Imagine that!? Thats about $1,170 a year. Does not seem to be a bad value considering the cost of maintenance a year for the average car. But over 50% of that was spent the two years before I purchased it. The beauty of the is that it is the cheapest car you can own! That 73 your considering was no more than $8,000 on the sticker back in the showroom. Today, with no major restoration done its costing you just slightly less then new. You can enjoy it for a year or five and make your money back if it does not blow an engine!!

Try that with a Ford Pinto or a Plymouth Voyager!!

Luckily for me I benefited greatly by someone elses major restoration project investment. What I paid for it was a bargain and I believe that is the way to go for the older Porsches.

Have fun.......

Regards
Bob
73.5T

[DonDavis]

Clint,

Yes, that's with the motor and the color is a blue with some green in it....sort of. I once referred to it as 'Teal-like' and my wife (color expert ) promtly corrected me and said "No, it's just blue". So I now just call it blue. 86000 original miles. The more I drive it the more I love it. However, it has no a/c and here in AZ that makes summer driving interesting.

BTW, "sunny, warm Pittsburg?" Is that the same 'Burg I've been to?

Take care.

[Jim Richards]

Well, we looked at this 73.5 911T this morning. Predictably it had more rust than what was originally described. Except for the rust, it did look like the car was mechanically sound and it sure did look nice. My wife loves the early 911/912 look. The test drive was real short...my wife sat in the car, adjusted the seat, and tried to depress the clutch. It was much heavier than what she was expecting (compared to our 993, for example). End of test drive! She really didn't feel that it was something she could drive without putting a lot of energy into at the expense of concentrating on the task of driving. She's not a big woman, only 5'3" so she's worried that all the early 911s or 912s are this way. The clutch on this car is less than 2 years old. Do all the early cars have this heavy a clutch? I once drove an 83 SC and it seemed not too different than the newer cars. Thanks again for any and all comments on this.

[carnut169]

My experience with 993's is that the clutch is much easier to operate than the early cars. The cars w/ a 915 seemed the firmest, then the 87's w/ the G50 are better (easier), and they kept getting lighter. You drive the 70ish car and let the wife drive the 993! (great combo of vehicles- we are about ready to get my wife another car and while she won't drive a 911 without the modern conveniences, she did mention a TT could work )

[nostatic]

The clutch feel totally depends on the state of the clutch and cable. I've driven SCs where the clutch was like buttah and 993s where it took a healthy shove. I haven't driven that many early cars, but at least one had what I'd characterize as a pretty easy clutch to operate.

I think in general the '87 and newer tend to be easier due to the hydraulic operation, but a good (new) clutch with well adjusted/lubed cable should be very easy to push. That's assuming it isn't a race clutch, etc...

[Saffs]

Originally posted by Jim Richards
Well, we looked at this 73.5 911T this morning. Predictably it had more rust than what was originally described. Except for the rust, it did look like the car was mechanically sound and it sure did look nice. My wife loves the early 911/912 look. The test drive was real short...my wife sat in the car, adjusted the seat, and tried to depress the clutch. It was much heavier than what she was expecting (compared to our 993, for example). End of test drive! She really didn't feel that it was something she could drive without putting a lot of energy into at the expense of concentrating on the task of driving. She's not a big woman, only 5'3" so she's worried that all the early 911s or 912s are this way. The clutch on this car is less than 2 years old. Do all the early cars have this heavy a clutch? I once drove an 83 SC and it seemed not too different than the newer cars. Thanks again for any and all comments on this.

Jim, the clutches aren't too heavy, really, but they're not light and easy. On the whole, an early 911 is a primitive and basic car. SCs are more "modern" and easier to drive and live with on a casual basis, but an early car is, for me, much more fun due to its light and basic nature.
So, this is what to expect, in varying degrees, from a pre '73. Maybe the clutch cable was restricted or the clutch pedal bushes worn?
Have a look at another early car to compare?
Good luck.

[Andrew Luu]

Hi All,

Jim, I took a look at the same Porsche you did this morning (10:30am) and you were right about the rust. There are more rust in the front pan, door post, and bubbles on the body than I thought, besides the sill. The paint job was not very well done either. I can definately see the layers of repaint paints along the seems in the trunk, engine bay, and the door areas. The engine sounds great, however the piston and cylinder has been enlarged to an unspecified size. The interior is clean, except for the headliner. There seems to be excessive oil leaks as well, but aren't any self respecting porsches?. There are a few rock chips on the windshield also. i will definately get a PPI on it if the seller accepts my offer ($5.500), which he was not interested in. I am just curious, as I will have three more pre-74 porsches to look at next week, taken all this together, how much do you think a fair price for this Porsche?. Thank you and god bless. Andrew.

[HarryD]

I have looked at many pre74's and all I can say is that if you need to RUSToration, you will see $3-5k vanish in an instant. Be patient and find one that is NOT rusty but needs mechanical work. Once you fix the mechanics, they will stay fixed, rust never schlafens.

[Jim Richards]

Andrew, we were thinking about the same thing ($5k-$5.5k) for this car. I'm curious what your take was on the clutch. The pedal effort seemed high and it made a creaking noise as well. Let us all know if you get it.

[speeder]

Do not buy a rusty car, unless it is dirt-cheap, (under $3000), runs great, and you intend to use it as a battle-axe.

When it comes to early 911s, the more expensive ones are cheaper, IMO. If you buy this rust-bucket, consider it a disposable car, since reselling it could prove next to impossible.