74 project 911 rebuild begins

[chrissaari]

First, thank you to the Pelicans who helped during my search for a car over the last year, and thank you to everyone that has documented a build. You've been inspirational, and I'll curse you as I fall down this rabbit hole

I picked up a 74 911 that has been sitting for ~12 years in a warehouse and looks like an abandoned project. No interior to speak of, 2 seats that are totally trashed, but at least the dash isn't cracked. At some point, it had metal turbo flares and turbo tail added, along with side sills and front and rear bumpers as part of a slantnose-esq body kit that I have yet to identify. The worst part (so far) seems to be that the battery leaked and corroded through the front floor pan. That will get replaced when the whole shell is stripped, repaired and repainted. How much of that work I do myself is TBD, although I'm inspired by the work many of you have done! I'm going to tear down the car first and then decide once I have a more complete picture of what work is needed.

The odometer reads 68K, but as I have no history on the car who knows if it is correct. Judging by the state of what I can see so far I suspect it is accurate. The engine got replaced at some point with a 930/06 with no serial number AFAICT. VIN 9114100901

Since it has been sitting for so long the plan is to tear down and rebuild it. If the fuel distributor is toast after so many years (?) I may just go directly to an EFI conversion.

I'll wave as I plummet past down the slippery slope!

[tdw28210]

Slippery it is. Good luck brother. Sub'd.

[fanaudical]

Congrats on the acquisition.

In my opinion, there is a lot of freedom in starting with a project like this. You could restore it to near-original condition, but you don't have to - you can mod this thing all you want to make it the way you want it (and can do so without feeling like you're molesting an "original car").

Got pics of the engine? Any idea what you're starting with?

Have fun!

[al lkosmal]

perfect base for a hot rod..........................

[chrissaari]

I admit that big part of the appeal is that someone else modified already, it so I have "permission" to go in any direction. Some bad pictures of the engine bay:




I don't think I'll really know what I've got until I tear it down, but the journey is part of the fun!

[riverstonefly]

Nice! I'm in the same boat myself with a 74 Targa bro lol

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[75 911s]

A good start! Keep us posted.

[Spumato]

Wow, this should be fun.

My 1974 had sat for 18 years. Eighteen painfully long years that ultimately led to issues with pulled head studs.

Having been through this... I would suggest starting there. Drain your oil if any and check the head studs on the 2.7. If you cannot get them to break loose and torque back down to spec, well you know off the bat where you stand.

From there, you will want to flush the entire fuel system so no varnished fuel gets introduced into the engine down the road. Remove the fuel tank, send to radiator shop for flush and seal. Blow out the hard lines with compressed air. Replace the soft lines in the engine bay. Purchase a new fuel pump, send your CIS out to Larry at CIS Flowtech.

You will need a voltmeter to check the electrical system. After purchasing a new battery, with the ignition on, you will want to check your WUR, and your CDI box. These come after buttoning up your fuel system.

If your head studs are trashed, you will want to upgrade to the 3.0L engine which is considered by many to be the best engine Porsche ever made and is bulletproof!

This is a slippery slope and worth every ounce of time and money invested. I spent $20,000 on my engine. But she screams. And was built right, and will last a long time.

[boyt911sc]

Chris,

The engine bay does not look like it has a '74 motor (?). Could you check if you have a 3-pin or 6-pin CDI? The engine number/type would also help. What are the CIS Bosch id numbers for the WUR and FD? Thanks.

Tony

[fanaudical]

Red shroud? 3.0 liter?

[kc911s]

If it is a 2.7 it should have a green shroud.

[riverstonefly]

Wow if it's a 3.0 with 74 exhaust you hit the jackpot

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[Modifier]

I've got a '74 I'm slipping and sliding with too...about to send it off to be stripped and rust work done. And to think we initially thought we could do some minor maintenance and drive it down the road haha!

Good luck!

[chrissaari]

Originally Posted by Spumato

Wow, this should be fun.

This is a slippery slope and worth every ounce of time and money invested. I spent $20,000 on my engine. But she screams. And was built right, and will last a long time.

I agree this will be fun, and thanks for the advice on where to send the parts! I am planning on stripping the car down completely to fix the rust, and as part of that I'll drain all the fluids, replace rubbers and gaskets, etc. Basically a complete tear down and rebuild. Whee!

[chrissaari]

Originally Posted by boyt911sc

Chris,

The engine bay does not look like it has a '74 motor (?). Could you check if you have a 3-pin or 6-pin CDI? The engine number/type would also help. What are the CIS Bosch id numbers for the WUR and FD? Thanks.

Tony

It looks like a 78/79 CA 3.0L got put in there at some point. The engine is stamped as a 930/06

[Luccia at Pelican Parts]

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing and looking forward to watching the progress. I hope that our tech articles will come in handy for you during this project: Porsche 911 (1965-1989) Technical Articles - Pelican Parts. If you need anything please don't hesitate to let me know.

['76 911S 3.0]

Also looks to have Carrera tensioners, so off to a good start!

[chrissaari]

Finally got a few hours to drain the oil and remove oil hoses last week, getting ready to drop the engine. No school, so I had a helper!


Interesting finds:
- The oil filter looked brand new, like oil never went through it.
- The driver side rear sway bar end was totally disconnected with the bushing MIA.
- The transmission looks darker than the engine case, and the stamp confirms it is the older magnesium case. Also has the simpler clutch cable connected directly to throwout arm setup.
- The window trim looks like it was originally chrome that someone painted black. Or does the original black trim tend to flake off paint and the aluminum looks polished underneath?
- Still no sign of rust beyond the front suspension pan, so keeping fingers crossed... it hopefully goes into JWE for the body work in a few months. If I time it right I may be able to have the engine rebuilt by the time it gets back.

[Luccia at Pelican Parts]

Anytime a father gets his daughters hands dirty with him the garage, it warms my heart. Bravo.

[75 911s]

Chris what is the Engine serial number?

Looks like it's a 78 SC 3.0 motor as you have already observed. Again, as you mentioned already, the 930/06 is from a California SC coupe or Targa. You can see the original smog pump pulley there as well as the air injector pass through on the engine tin. That would have led to a spider line that injected air to the exhaust right before entering the headers.
Extremely nice find as the 74 is the best midyear imho. The trim would have been bright. Someone likely painted it black to forward date it.
I know what I would have the body shop do, but what's your plan there? And an engine rebuild? How extensive?