There's a 74 Carrera (USA) on eBay that is seeing some decent bidding action. The car looks solid and unmolested, but is a bit of a question mark and needs some cleanup/sorting.
Porsche : 911 - eBay (item 260754019947 end time Mar-27-11 15:54:46 PDT)
Since I now own a '74 Carrera (USA Nr. 386), here's my 2 cents
A friend called and said he knew of one for sale. I wasn't even looking for another car much less a 74, but when he told me it was slate gray and non-sunroof, I suddenly became interested. I eventually bought the car but was a big doubter on the performance after reading all the negative comments over the years. That, and my other car is an early '71 2.5L hotrod. So PMOs and more were in the budget before I even went to look at the car!
Well, the performance has completely surprised me. The engine is stock (175HP) except for SSI's and an M&K 1-out muffler (sounds fantastic!). OK, the performance is not comparable to a 73 RS (I've driven a few). But it is comparable in spec to a 1972-73 2.4L 911S and nobody ever classifies those as a slouch
The 74 Carrera w/ 175HP/174FT-LB vs the 72/73 911S w/ 190HP/159FT-LB (and the 72/73 911S, 73 911RS, 74 Euro Carrera and 74 Carrera USA all have the same compression ratio of 8.5:1 and run on regular octane fuel). With SSI's/M&K muffler, I'm guessing a 5-10HP increase on my car. So we've got only a 5-10HP deficit but a
15FT-LB torque increase and that's where you really feel it. Bottom line - I'm no longer planning any engine mods. The CIS (which is mechanical fuel injection, BTW
) is deadnuts reliable. It doesn't have the hair-trigger response of MFI or Webers, but it's more than adequate for the street and FAR superior to modern fly-by-wire throttles!
I also like the fact that Porsche only sold 2 cars with a ducktail - and the 74 Carrera is one of them
