[Tom F2]

Find out if it still has the thermal reactors. If the car was driven 40,000 miles with them, you can expect some problems. I found a couple of out of round cylinders, and other damage that I blame on high heat, on my '77, which has the same specifications as the '76, except for the through the body front sway bar, power assisted brakes and boost gauge. Also, these cars are geared wrong and they have lightweight clutches. Driving them around town can be a chore, with the standard ratios. As with many of the older 911s, look for broken head studs.

That said, I think that the original 930, with the small spoiler is the best looking 911, except for the Carrera 2.7 RS.

If you get the '76, then I predict that you will want to regear the transmission (or do the shortened G50 thing, or possibly do a 915 conversion as frequent board contributor John Walker did), put on the later Euro style exhaust and change to SC cams, a project which I am into now. The signs are that this will make the car more driveable.

If you want to build a hot rod, definitely go with a later car, particularly a gray market car, where you may get a pretty good break on the purchase price, compared with a US market car. The larger tail to fit an intercooler intercooler, the stouter motor and the fancy brakes are essential for a fire breathing Turbo project, but that is not my cup of tea.

P.S. I saw that my response crossed with John Walker's. I should have said that I love this car, too. I've had a bunch of normally aspirated 911s, and the 930 is really a different animal.