Bringing back this 1977 911S
 

Hi everyone, I'm Brian and I'm a longtime lurker but this is my first thread. I've been a car enthusiast since I was a teenager, and I just turned 40 this year. I love to tinker on my cars on the weekend in our two-car garage.

This thread is about my first aircooled Porsche, a 1977 Porsche 911S that I picked up locally. It spent the past 10+years in indoor dry storage in nearby Lexington, NC. It was originally Ice Green Metallic. I wanted to find the car with the best bones I could in my budget. The main thing for me is that it has a super straight rust-free body, as I am not a body guy. I can mig weld but it's to everyone's benefit if I don't need to often. It was repainted in the 90s with a Maaco special which is failing. Looks pretty good from 20 feet away but not so great up close. Also, it has a 914-6 engine in it which I plan to sell and replace with probably a carbureted 2.7 or 3.0 but we will see. As for my goals with this project, I have very plain taste. I would like to redo all the mechanicals, get the car reliably running and driving (and probably hot rodded a little), lower it some but not aggressively and get rid of the 90s interior additions. Beyond that we will see as we go. I work full time, have a wife and teenage daughters so I will typically work for about a half day on the weekend and update the thread weekly as I go.

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Prior to this project, I've mostly had VWs, specifically Mk1s and Mk2s although I also had a Beetle and Karmann Ghia. I finally got to a place in my life a couple years ago where I could fulfill a lifelong dream of owning a 911. I bought a 996 which you can read about here if you are interested: My Arctic Silver 99 C4

I owned it for about a year and a half and really enjoyed it but was running out of things to tinker on, so I recently sold it on Bring a Trailer.

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A couple of my past projects include this CC on airlift suspension and a 1977 VW Rabbit that I picked up in Georgia and got back on the road which you can read about here: 1977 OG Rabbit but there have been many others. People always ask me why I put so much work into cars just to turn around and sell them when I am finished. I guess the fun for me is mostly the problem solving, time in the garage working with my hands and figuring things out. Once I run out of things to work on, I tend to lose interest and move on to a new project. Thankfully, this 911S needs a lot and should keep me busy for a long time.

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My advice for everyone like you is to get it running first, so you don't lose motivation (otherwise it can become a project that sits in the garage for years or decades). Then fix stuff as necessary. Don't get all goo-goo eyed over daydreams of a pretty car. Restoring this sucker will cost you far more than it would have to buy a good clean one to start with. Keep it a "driver."

Second bit of advice: Only make ONE CHANGE AT A TIME. You can follow that advice, or learn the hard way.

Love mid years! My 75 was also ice green metallic but painted over with a crappy paint job sometime before I owned it. I like the advice above, get it running first. Mine needs a lot of work but I can drive it now and I do. Keep posting your progress.

How is the motor? Does it run now? Compression and leakdown numbers?

I have a ‘77 911S that has been in the family for 40 or so years. I got my hands on it about a decade ago after it had been sitting in a garage without much attention.
I had a few interesting surprises when I first got it.
The shifter bushings turn to dust. I drove the car 500 miles to get it home. The last 100 I couldn’t get it into 3rd and the last 50 couldn’t get it into 5th. I slept some time doing research on this forum, bought the parts from our host and a week later did my first repair. I was hooked. It is an easy repair and the results made all the difference. I actually thought I might be mechanically inclined. There are many high end options for these bushings but after 10 years I am fine with what I got.

Next, don’t be surprised if your CDI box dies. I had an old prematune and went for the MSD upgrade. That install took a while but I learned a lot. While you are in there be sure to get rid of your points for an upgrade and get a new coil.

These are two relatively cheap fixes you can do on your own.

This forum is all the help you need.
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Welcome to the forum! And PeteKz is spot-on with his advice...

This is my plan. I learned the hard way with a 1961 Beetle when I started welding in rust repair panels and took the car off the road for years. Eventually I do want to get it repainted but not right away.

Sounds familiar and thanks for the encouragement.

Yes the motor runs but I haven't gotten it out of second gear as the transmission shifter bushings and coupler are so shot. I ordered a bunch of parts and plan to knock some of that out this weekend and update the thread.

congrats on the new project. Ice green is a great color. Can't wait to see how this thing progresses.

What's the vin on the engine? There is a chance there is a 914-6 owner searching for this one. Could be a cool part of the story to reunite them.

What is your plan of attack?

Looking forward to following this NC build! Really like your plan with this car, and as another first-time air-cooled owner, I promise you’ll be glad you picked the car you did. You’ve built some nice cars and I’ll visit those links as well. On vaca this week so looking for interesting content and various rabbit holes to dive into...! I’m near Raleigh and quickly found the local F & G body support group - made lots of new friends too. I’m sure you will too in the Queen City.
Here’s my middie. The thread needs updating though. Best of luck, Patrick
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/1122278-9126001675-3-0l-coupe-nc-ownership-updates.html

Edit: I am seriously going down a rabbit hole here — first you Rennlist 996 thread to your 996 seller’s BaT purchase, then to your BaT listing and saw the mention of your book on Amazon, ordered that for delivery next week — all in about the first 7 minutes. Now back to reading without self distractions!

Ice Green Middie
 

Here’s an attractive mid-year that resides in the mtns of WNC. Met the hot rod and it’s owner at the Spring ‘23 Air Cooled Rennsport dragon rally. Your original color.

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Update 8/27/23:

This weekend I replaced the shifter coupling and shifter bushings. The coupler was toast. After I adjusted it, I can shift through all the gears in the old 915 now. I was so thrilled I took it for a quick maiden voyage around the block. I also replaced the trim above the hood with black instead of chrome and replaced the center dash vents that were broken. Wanted to get more done but it was in the upper 90s all weekend and my garage isn't air conditioned. More to come next weekend.

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Thanks man, and I agree!

Did the shifter bushings on mine this weekend and now I can find all the gears instead of just one! I can already tell I'm going to love wrenching on mine too.

The engine serial number is 6404037. If anyone has any idea of how to do that, a registry or something, please let me know. What a story that would be.
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Sorry if I ruined your vacation! Your 912E looks amazing. Maybe when I get this car running a little better we can get the two together. I subbed to your thread.

IGM is just so good! I'll have to plan to attend the dragon rally next year if the car is ready.

Nice car! Highly suggest you consider getting a 2.7 with CIS.... carbs are cool but man, I am so happy with CIS. Starts easy every time, and I recently took a trip and got 22mpg. CIS is just trouble free once you get it set up. Seems like carbs need more attention more frequently, and the mpg is inferior.

Hell, my 3.2 with CIS gets close to 30 MPG at 70MPH highway.

The ironic thing is that I have a ton of experience working on CIS in older VWs and Audis. I would love to get my hands on a 2.7 CIS engine. Haven't found one yet but I will keep my eyes open.

Also, this came in the mail yesterday. The car had some pretty cool options originally! The green tartan dress inserts will be very tempting to bring back one day.

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Man, what a great spec. Ice green with green tartan inserts and a black Carrera script? Amazing to imagine. So many people do custom interiors to have interesting inserts but yours came with them. If it were me, it wouldn't even be a question. Everyone has their own tastes though.

Right? Great specs. But end of day, who cares, build whatever you want. :)

I would reach out to some of the Porsche Race shops in your area. Many have motors stored for various needs and may have one they can sell you. Also, DC Automotive may be helpful.

I thought Porsche wasn't doing those spec sheets anymore?

That one the op posted doesn’t have engine or transmission numbers so maybe they still provide them but with less info.