New guy looking at a '75 2.7

[bgyglfr]

+1. Buy it now.

A middie is as close as you can get to an early car feel without spending astronomical money. These are increasing in value as well.

At 130k miles, I would gamble that the motor has been out at some point. The 2.7 motors are really not any worse than earlier mag motors. They just have some heat issues to resolve. If those issues are dealt with, you can get 200k out of a 2.7 just like any other 911 motor. I would not tear into the engine unless you have a known issue to repair. As said above. Inspect for pulled head studs and get a leak down.

Convert to early style heat exchangers if not already.
Get the CIS tuned. Make sure it's not running lean.
Install an external oil cooler.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

Originally Posted by J. Perrault

Thank you for the support everyone.
Javadog,
Thanks for the numbers and yes, I am hoping for the first scenario of valve adjust. clutch, leaks etc. (wishful thinking)
Spoke with an older guy who runs a shop 30 mins away about the P.P.I today. I knew this was a low price, but he quoted $150 for a P.P.I.
I asked about a leak down test, etc. He claimed everything he needs to know can be done in a few hours, visual and road tests are telling to the engine heath, head studs, valves etc. I'm a little disappointed, but he certainly seemed to know the older cars and did not sugar coat anything.

This is the other thing, In the North East and there's not many air-cooled cars around, at least cars that come up for sale and I swear they are more than a few thousand dollars more here.
The thing is, the owner will sell for 10k. and has not advertised the car yet.
I figure that's not too bad...until I look at the repair cost.

I wouldn't trust a $150 PPI. That's a "get it in the shop down the road for major work" price. What shop quoted that?

At $10K, if there isn't any significant rust (likely there is if it's been in NE it's whole life), I'd just buy it.

[don gilbert]

Yea, as others said, get it before its gone. Middies are the next big thing.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by Shaun 84 Targa

I wouldn't trust a $150 PPI.

Yeah, that's maybe a third of what you need to spend to do it right.

JR

[bobrestore]

The price of the PPI is irrelevant... You may pay a lot and get a little .... or pay a little and get a lot.... some very good shops do the PPI for not much money as an introductory/ promotional scheme for their shop... don't be afraid of price in any instance .... check the shops reputation.. don't assume.......... bob

[javadog]

I haven't met a shop owner yet that only charged for 1/3 of his time. I'm just trying to give the OP an idea of how much time is involved to do it right. If he can get it done for $150, great. My experience has been that few such inspections are very thorough, so if he gets quoted $150, he might want to have a chat about what, exactly, is going to be done.

A bad 911 motor can still feel halfway decent, so the guy that figures a test drive tells him much about the internal condition of the engine is not a guy I'd trust.

JR

[J. Perrault]

Thank you for the support everyone, and I take everyone's opinion to heart.
If all goes well the $150 P.P.I takes place in the morning.
They say the Pelican community is top notch, and it certainly appears that way.
Thanks again- J.P

[black_falcon]

Hope the PPI goes well, but 10k for a decent running/driving 75 coupe is giveaway money. If it were me I'd already be on my way with the cash, hell with the PPI. All it'd take is for the owner to do 1 minute of valuation research or open his mouth to someone else, and game over. Worse comes to worse, you stick it on Craigslist for $15-20k and let people fight over it.

Post pics, we'd love to see!

[J. Perrault]

Went well, although I had a "what am I getting myself into" moment right after. Poorly redone interior, needs a clutch, P.P.I could not diagnose definite source of oil leaks, there is wind coming through the windshield and some odds and ends. Its going to take a lot, but its a hardtop coupe that's mostly complete. Doesn't have belts for the back seat, the kids are disappointed !
My wife was on board from the get-go and loves it. Thanks again everyone, I am sure I'll have lots of questions for you ! Trying to post pics, but just picture a silver mid year with an incorrect after market tea tray haha

[Charles Freeborn]

Sounds like how my car was when I bought it. 10+ years later I'm still working on it and driving the wee-wee out of it. My total investment, including purchase is currently at $18k+-. That's the price of a cheesy toyota sedan these days...
I probably have a set of rear belts I don't need.
-C

[tdw28210]

10k???? done and DONE!. Paid 8k for my non-running middy and felt that was a decent deal.

[bgyglfr]

Congrats! Good luck with your new adventure.

[NYNick]

I'm smelling the rust from here. I live in the northeast, and the only part that's worse than NY is New England.
There are a lot of red flags with this car. Air coming through the windshield? A tear in the floor pan? No records...at all? It grinds a little? Oil underneath?

Still, at $10k, you're getting a bargain. If you're gonna do it justice, I bet you put twice that into it in the next 5 years. They're all $25,000 cars as the saying goes...

[DohertyCM]

What is he asking for the car..?

All the mid's need some work... I rebuilt a 74 2.7... I now wish I would have never sold it.
(upgraded to a 930)

Anyway, I replaced the clutch and pressure plate assy...ran about 900 dollars in parts..
Rebuilt the tranny...$1400
Rebuilt the motor...I did the work...1000 in parts and 1000 in labor...because I did it in a guys shop and he helped from time to time...special deal he worked out for me...

body work etc..

point being is, it was a great car, I added extra oil cooling feature and always kepted it at 210 or below. I ran the dog-mess out of it at the track for 7 years and never pulled a stud and only had a couple of issues...one being a fuel distributor..because i let the car set too long the last year I owned it.

Price is important...there are alot of cars out there...the only value on the car is what you are willing to shell out to get it where you want it.
But you will not be unhappy with the car in the end...

THE 2.7 ERA THING IS A MYTH!.