Receipts and documentation are a good sign. Again, good luck no matter what you decide.

If the only way you can afford a 911 is by buying a ****ty one, move away man and forget about 911s.

Sorry to be so arsh but it's the cold hard truth. This car will eat you.

I am really surprised at the extreme negativity.

If you can buy this car for $8k or whatever the price,
If the car runs, you literally can not lose money on this.

This is a no brainer. You are on a forum of purists.

I think you should buy this 911 and flip it on Ebay for a guaranteed $15k-$16k, maybe more.
100% ROI inside of a week.

Use that money towards a better 911.

Engine Decoded.
 

I Wanted To Find Out More About Motor,
Turns Out Engine Is NOT a Modified 3.0 Carrera Motor.
More Than Likely The Original Motor Than Was Built Up
With The Dual Plugs & Webber Carbs.

Does It Help Value That Motor Is Original Motor Modified, or
Does It Hurt That It Isn't The Carrera 3.0 Modified?


Quote:
Originally Posted by Car-Crazed
Vin# 9117210101

Build Date 08/76

Engine #'s 911/85 & 6270241


VIN and engine number look correct for a '77 US spec 911S
Most likely the original engine

I say this without any malice ,and yes my opinion and life experience come into play. It SEEMS to me you are looking for a reasonable reason to buy this car. The more experienced ,more knowledgable Pelicans say don't buy it. Some of the lesser experienced pelicans say to buy it. I am a member of the lesser Pelicans but smart enough ,experienced enough to agree with the members who discourage this purchase .You've not owned a 911 before but you like them. That's great. And this one seems so reasonably priced and you think it looks good. You are possibly willing to bet your money that it will turn out to be one of the 175,000 mile unopened tank like examples. That is your heart thinking that. The chances of that being the experience you will have are very low. What is much more likely is that once it sinks in that you have bought a cobbled up mess that this car certainly is ,your thoughts will be "why didn't I listen ,why didn't I look for an unmolested PPI 'd , service record rich example for a few dollars more and have something I could be proud of the provenance on" . At least with the latter described car ,repair costs may be reflected in the resale. With this car ,a total restoration will not raise the value by much. That is why in my previous post ,I said ,you may feel like parting it out with a sledgehammer. I humbly suggest you find a "good to great" example and start there.good luck with whatever you decide and welcome to the forum. Thanks for reading ,Wayne

Full Exterior Repaint
 

If I Do Decide To Buy This 911 Cabrio Custom,

I Will Probably Do A Full Exterior Repaint Of The '93 Amazon Green (Love The Color).:D

The Jams, Door Bottoms, Trunk Area, & Engine Compartment Paint All Look Awesome.

I Figure If I Remove All The Exterior Trim & Pull The Windshield Myself,

I Can Keep The Paint Work Down To Around 4K or Less.... I Hope :(

Which Means I Will Be Into Car For Close to 12K :(

Mechanically I am Not Worried..... Runs Strong, Stops Well, Shifts Ok,
No Strange Noises Or Tapping From Motor.

Replace The Visors, Clean The Interior Up A Bit (Rugs).

Detail The Motor A Little More.

Then Drive Her For A Summer, Maybe Sell Next Spring, Or Who Knows....

I Might Just Hang Onto Her.

At Asking Price I Don't Think I'll Get Hurt, As Long As Mechanical Issues Don't Arise.

Just Still Haven't Decided Yet.

Ignore nickycyde, he or she is the resident greeter, and kind of a moron. Told me to sell my car because I drive too fast. Just spouting crap... Blah blah blah.

Buy the damn thing already. We'll support your work and progress. Like Gary said, immediately put a rollbar in the thing, and enjoy. Have fun.

From your replies it sounds like you have fallen hard for this car. And maybe subconsciously you were hoping you'd get input telling you to buy it. That's probably not going to happen. I'd recommend listening to guys in the hobby and find another car. Of course, if money and hassle later are not a concern, go with what you feel. It's like any car marque, if I were looking for a Corvette I would not be familiar with possible pitfalls so I'd ask people who knew, even though I am a car guy. I would not touch a cab conversion.

I don't understand all the anti-comments here.

That is a great motor as far as the setup. You need to get a mechanic to evaluate the condition of the car and the motor.

Twin plugs means it can use worse gas and/or make more power.

Carbs mean it will be harder to start when cold, but will run like a real sports car.

People who just buy and sell stuff, "in the hobby", shouldn't have an opinion on a technical board 914.

Buy the car. It's sexy...hot wheels, screaming motor... Thing is nice. For the price you can't beat it. I crap 10 grand in the morning. It's a no brainier.

Really?

Are we reading the same thread?

No one is saying this car is without risk, only that the 10k buy in is low enough that those risks are mitigated by the fact that you could part it out and get your money back as a worse case scenario.

To the OP: the fact that this car has the original engine may be significant. As this car is a "midyear" it may have the magnesium case engine. I can't recall for sure when the changeover was to the aluminum case, but I seem to think it coincided with the intro of the 911SC in 1978 (3 liter engine). The older 2.7L engines did have some issues such as head studs pulling out of the cases which can be expensive to repair properly. Given the engine is hot rodded with carbs, its possible these items were addressed.

BTW, I see your location is Furlong PA...lots of good Porsche roads in Bucks County.

If it's originally a 2.7, it will have a mag case. Aluminum cases were found in some of the Carreras but the turbos and the 911SC were the first widespread use.

There's never been enough information in this thread to learn much about the car in question. As some have said, it could be parted out to get his money back at $8k, if he has the skills, the storage space and the inclination to do that. Not everyone would choose to go that route.

He needs to have a PPI done and then make his own decision on what he can live with. Originality/matching numbers isn't much of a consideration for this car. It's all about the work done to the motor and the condition of everything else.

JR

Matte black hoods are all the rage these days if you feel you cannot match the rest of the car.

I'm doing that on my silver car, the donor hood is gloss black already but needs some touch up around the hood crest.

Everyone seems to love my black hood, yet not one person before I did it thought it would look good.

Do not use the engine to slow down the car, use the brakes - Porsche's are known for having excellent brakes.

A few years ago a former BMW owner got on the forum and complained he blew his Porsche transmission and bent up his valves the first week of ownership. He then proclaimed Porsche's are crap, because his old BMW allowed for this style of driving.

Universally people educated him that he wan't supposed to aggressively downshift, and had to lean to drive a Porsche the Porsche way.

I've dialed in my shift coupler the best I can, I don't shift into first until almost totally stopped.

Best I can do it at is 5-10 mph and it's not been a problem for me.

EDIT: I learned quite a while back that some 1977's indeed came equipped with 3.0L not the more common 2.7L. I think the prospective buyer should clarify the displacement.

A twin plug convertible monster, somebody's always going to want to experience this themselves, at least I do.

Do some more work on it and have a Speedster - really mess with some folks head then.

To kach22i
 

I Like The Idea Of The Matte Black Hood Till I Am Able To Do A
Proper Respray Of The Entire Exterior.

Do You Have Any Pics Of Your '77 With The Black Hood On It.

BTW This '77 Cabrio Conversion Was Originally Silver.

Engine Displacement Was Thought To Be 3.0 Carrera,
This Was What The Former Owner Who Had The Car Built Told The
Current Owner Of 13 yrs.

What Ever Is Truly In Her, She Pulls VERY Strong.

Speedster Conversion..... Not A Bad Idea,
Would Really Mess With The Purists :p

Not That I Would Ever Have The Funds For Such A Conversion....

Do it ! Do it! Do it! http://forums.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/wat3.gif

Most 1977 911s, including all of those sold in the US, were 2.7 liters. The Carrrera 3.0 had a 3 liter engine, with an aluminum case. It was not sold in the US. A handful have made their way over here in the past 30 years.

JR

No, but I've collected a bunch of images off the Internet and put them into an album which you can view.

I did the hood late in the year and haven't taken photos yet because I still have to paint it racing stripe matte black and put the crest back on.

I was considering fake carbon fiber film in lieu of paint, but decided it might be tacky or disingenuous.

PORSCHE BLACK HOOD Photos by kach22i | Photobucket

I have a bunch of wheels copied too, including several bright colored wheels in addition to black ones but haven't yet created an album for it.

Thanks Kach22i
 

I Like The Look Of The Black Hood Minus The Crest On This Blue Coupe.

The Color Of The '77 Custom Cabrio Is Amazon Green ('93) Might Look Close.

Thanks For The Album Link.... Really Gives Me Some Options :)




http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1392341345.jpg

I think that some of the hoods in the album, at least the racing car ones are the black gel-coat which some fiberglass hoods are delivered in.

Hey, matte black hoods....hmmm. Maybe I should plasti coat my hood.......oops sorry didn't mean to hijack your thread.

Car buying for guys that hang on car forums is largely an emotional decision. I bought my 911 with no paperwork and its been great, I had a good reference for the seller (no, a GREAT reference) and that was it. My dad once bought a 67 vette at a car show after a couple of walk arounds. It's all emotional. Besides, sounds like you can get in for what some guys pay for in suspension mods.

Buy the car and have fun.

Jeff

PS. Might want to read The Gold Plated Porsche by Steve Wilkinson. He posts here on the forum.

It comes down to this:
You can get this Frankenstein 911 for $8k
or you can spend $18k-$28k for a more proper example.

What is your goal? You are drawn to this car bc of its price, not bc of the car.
If this $8k 911 didn't fall into your lap, would you even be shopping for $25k 911's today?
It doesn't sound like it.

So, stick to your guns. You are here b/c you have found a deal too good to pass up.
You may be smart to not invest too much money into a lost cause like a this cabrio conversion.
But, for $8k, with no huge surprises, you are guaranteed to flip it for a 50%-100% profit overnight.
This is why you're drawn to the car, so now go close the deal.

If this guy posts his car online, it will be sold within 24 hours. Keep that in mind.

PushingMy Luck Your Right.
 

Your Right......

If This Car Was Posted On Craig's List It Would Be Gone In 24 Hrs Or Less.

I Didn't Want To Rush And Buy It The Day I Saw It, Even though I Did Have

the Cash With Me. I Wanted To Investigate The Motor, And Price A Few Odds &

Ends 1st. Plus It Gives A Few Nights To Sleep On It. I've Enjoyed Reading Everyone's

Posts & Opinions On This Car. Seems Purists Are Against It, Which I Understand.

I Had A '67 Corvette Conv. That Was A #'s Matching, Frame Off Restored Show Car.

Back Then I Was A Purist, but I Never Got To Enjoy The Car, Just Show The Car.

If This 911 Was Immaculate, I'm Sure The Asking Price Would Be In The High Teens.

I Have Photos That He Posted Of This '77 From 2010 When I 1st Learned Of It.

I Loved The Color Combo, Stance, Wheels, Etc. I Liked It So Much I Saved The Pics On

My Computer. Back Then I Had No Idea It Was A Targa-Cabrio Conversion, I Just Liked

The Look.

Now Out Of The Blue He Decides It's Gotta Go, So Of course I'm Leary Of The

Car. The Only Turn Off Is The Paint, Other Than That The Car In Sound, And From

What I've Seen In The Records, Also Appears To Be Well Maintained.

Owner Lost His Storage Garage 5 yrs Ago, So It's Been Under Cover Year Round In His

Driveway. If It Were Still Garaged I'm Sure There Wouldn't Be Any Paint Issues.

My Guess Is If I Buy, Paint The Car, Do Some Detailing, I Will Still Only Be Into Car

For 12k Max. At 12K Where Are You Going To Find A Strong Running 911?

I Don't Think I Can Lose..... I Could Just Paint The Hood For 400-500 Drive It For A Summer

Then Do A Proper Paint Job Next Winter, If I'm Still Loving The Car.

Anyway I Look At This Deal I Don't Think I Can Lose..... :D

FWIW, you can't do a proper paint job on a 911 for $4k. That would just about buy the materials and new rubber.

JR

Sounds like you have already decided to buy it, so buy it. I've seen worse - like the one I bought - but I am having fun working on it and I'm sure to not lose money on it.

Paint....
 

I Was Thinking (Hoping) If Pulled The Windshield, Trim, Door Handles Etc.

I Could Do An Exterior Only Paint job For 4K.

Jams, engine bay, Front Trunk, Etc. All Perfect.

Still Have To Talk To Paint Shop For Worst Case Scenario Price.

Screw the paint, put in a roll cage and stiffen that tub before a door comes flying open the first time you push it around a sharp turn!

I Like That As A Name For This Car "Frankenstein"......

Kind Of Fitting Since Car Is Amazon Green :D

Checked In With Seller Today, Couldn't Contact Him For Awhile,

So I Started To Fear The Worse, That He Already Sold It.

Luckily He Still Has It, And Says not To Worry That He Is A Man Of His Word.

Hopefully We Will Get Together Next Week And Hopefully Make A Deal.

If All Goes Well..... "Frankenstein" Will Be Mine This Time Next Week :p

I'm excited for you.

Let's just hope this monster don't try to kill you.

THANKS......

Getting Kinda Anxious Now....

These Cars Are Totally Different Animals Than I'm Used To.....

I Figure I Gotta Lot To Learn :cool: