Help with early 911 identification

[osagequattro]

First post here. I'm not very knowledgeable about Porsche but have been around vintage cars for a while.

This car is sitting in a used car lot down the road from me. The salesman claims the car is on consignment from an older gentleman who bought it in Germany. The story goes it was a turbo test mule. It's VIN 9114300783 which shows it's a 1974 coupe s.

"supposedly" the turbo engine was sold off and it now has a 3.0l which I confirmed.

I call BS to the story and just assume they’re trying to get a pretty penny for a widebody conversion they claim is a real turbo car.

Your thoughts on this would be appreciated.

[scotricker]

I sort-of believe what you think is correct. Anything else just would not make sense. Maybe you can buy it super cheap!

[twistoffat]

If it had been a Turbo the VIN would had been 9114"7"00783. As Scot said its a BS story

[Hil911]

My book says that it is a 1974 911 S coupe.

It is non-U.S. though.

Hil

[IROC]

If it is truly a rare factory test mule, somebody ruined the value of it by putting a bunch of non-period correct stuff on it, so whatever value it would have had in that guise is gone. I'd treat it as a 1974 911 with turbo bodywork and an engine out of an SC.

[vintagecarlover]

How much are they asking?

[osagequattro]

They're asking $28k.
Any insight into realistic value would be helpful.

Some other questions:

The salesman was excited to tell me the rollbar was a racing piece from 74'. Anyway to look into that?
The wheels are supposedly custom. Any ideas?
I can get better pics of the car if it would help.

Many thanks.

[77Targa0912]

The wing is not an early Turbo or Carrera wing.

[IROC]

The wheels are definitely custom (i.e. not made by Porsche). If it is being sold on consignment, maybe you could get some more info from the actual owner?

In reality, it may be a perfectly great car, but the story about the "turbo test mule" is pretty unlikely so it would be nice to get the real story on the car. It's difficult to arrive at an actual value (without some more details) but if all the work was done correctly the $28k number isn't outrageous in the new world of air-cooled 911 prices we seem to be in these days.

[wayner]

Those look like custom 3 piece wheels.

Budget about $4 grand to replace them from a variety of custom manufacturers.

[gshiwota]

Lot's of modern stuff on that car. 993 Mirrors, 964 style rocker covers, 17" 3-pc wheels, even the roll cage looks modern from what is seen in the pictures. I wouldn't buy any of the stories you're getting. You should check if it's a steel or fiberglass widebody conversion. Fiberglass was not used by the factory and is further evidence that the story is BS.

However it does look like a nice car. Maybe you can use their lack of knowledge on the car as leverage to get the price down.

[osagequattro]

Honestly this car has reignited my love for the early 911. As a kid I had a poster of one on my bedroom wall. Maybe some of you can relate.

[jittsl]

The story is almost certainly not true but 28k for a hotrod 74 is not an unreasonable ask if the car is in good shape, rust free and not in need of any immediate repairs. Have it inspected by someone who knows 911s before even considering buying it. 74 is pre galvanization and they can be very rusty - particularly if imported from the wetter parts of Europe. My last piece of free advice is that with a budget of $28K you can find some pretty good mid year 911s and reality is that an unadulterated one will probably be a better investment (and possibly a better drive) so don't be afraid to let this one go. If they can't even tell you the truth about its origins god knows what else they are hiding. Did I say get it inspected?

[osagequattro]

I spoke with the Porsche technician who serviced the car and he vouched for the car's mechanical integrity.
He did say the body had been pieced together so looking for more of that story. Truth be told this may not be the one but definitely has got me looking.. Thanks all for the insight and wisdom.

[Robbbyg]

Originally Posted by twistoffat

If it had been a Turbo the VIN would had been 9114"7"00783. As Scot said its a BS story

Not quite, if its a turbo vin will start with 930. Xx

[tdw28210]

Looks cool, story seems to be total BS. I'd price it out as a Franken-porsche though. $22 to 24k.

[tdw28210]

Originally Posted by osagequattro

Honestly this car has reignited my love for the early 911. As a kid I had a poster of one on my bedroom wall. Maybe some of you can relate.

I actually hated 911s as a teenager. I wanted hard-edged 80''s stuff. Like Kit from Knightrider and Fiat x/19s (what a pos). Thank goodness I came to my senses before the prices all went crazy.

[jittsl]

Originally Posted by osagequattro

I spoke with the Porsche technician who serviced the car and he vouched for the car's mechanical integrity.
He did say the body had been pieced together so looking for more of that story. Truth be told this may not be the one but definitely has got me looking.. Thanks all for the insight and wisdom.

I suspect you are making a wise choice. Hope you find what you are looking for.

[vintagecarlover]

Originally Posted by Robbbyg

Not quite, if its a turbo vin will start with 930. Xx

Early turbos didnt have 930 vin. I think that started with late 77-78 on the 930 vins. Earlier, especially 74 def had 911 vins.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by vintagecarlover

Early turbos didnt have 930 vin. I think that started with late 77-78 on the 930 vins. Earlier, especially 74 def had 911 vins.

Wrong, wrong, wrong... where do you guys come up with this info?

All early production turbos had a chassis number that began with 930.

And there were no 1974 model turbos produced for sale. The first turbos were produced as 1975 models.

JR