Cool thread.
I had always wanted a 911 since I was about 5 years old. I can't tell you how many bad renditions I had built in LEGO as a kid.
I had started looking in earnest around mid-2009 but never really found anything that was "right". I was looking for an SC coupe and usually the car was gone when I called, somebody wanted too much money, or there was something very wrong. Projects didn't scare me, but I didn't want a badly-abused vehicle either.
One fine morning in late June of 2010, I found I couldn't sleep. I got up early, sat down in front of my computer with a cup of coffee and pulled up the Craigslist cars and trucks section. Right there at the top was the ad for a '75 Targa - not a coupe and not an SC. Just for fun, I called them later and they said the car was still available but not running.
I did go visit for some reason and got the whole story. The owner had picked up the car from a cousin about 6 years previous; the cousin had pretty much driven it into the ground. The owner had big plans about repairing/restoring the car, but had run into some medical problems and so the car languished in his carport. He was finally looking to sell to help pay medical bills. The guy and his wife basically interviewed me like I was adopting one of their kids. We chatted about the condition of the car (poor - more on that later), my background (mechanical engineer), my experience with auto repair (Audi and old Mopar stuff in high school), why I wanted the car, how long I had wanted a 911, etc.
The car itself was in not in good shape: Moldy interior, rusty front fenders, won't shift into gear, won't run, questionable engine, bad respray, and a couple boxes of random parts in the frunk - but mostly intact. It was a project, but not one I was really looking for.
I offered them half their asking price, explaining that there was significant work to do just to get it to roll. They downplayed the work required and thanked me for my interest. They stated they had a couple other potential buyers scheduled and were holding firm for their asking price.
I got a phone call from the wife about two weeks later. They wanted to sell me the car and said I was the only person they met that would put the car back on the road. She said they had two offers in excess of their asking price, but both potential buyers intended to dismantle the car.
I trailered the car home the next weekend and gave them a bit in excess of my offer. We agreed to stay in touch and show them progress as I rebuilt the thing. I certainly wasn't in love with the car or even sure I wanted to keep it very long. I figured I would try to get the thing to run as cheaply as possible and decide what to do with it later. I even had some crazy thought that I would do an electric conversion if the motor was trashed rather than rebuild.
About a month later I got the engine to run and that sound changed everything - I was immediately smitten. No electric conversion - internal combustion needed to be unleashed in all its glory. And then I found out how much trouble I was really in:
- Broken clutch fork
- Totally destroyed transaxle
- "Frankenmotor" - 2.4 case/pistons with the 2.7 heads/injection on it
- Oil everywhere but inside the engine; this thing leaked a quart a day just sitting in one place
- More than half the electrical didn't work
- and on and on and on....
I did learn the truth in the old adage: "There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche..."
Many years later and I've got a nice lightweight Targa with a tight 2.7 and everything else mostly sorted. (I still need to do suspension and maybe paint; it's currently got a vinyl wrap.) Not a drop of oil on the floor of the garage.
I've tried contacting the previous owners a couple times; no response. I do hope they are all right...
