1977 Porsche Turbo

Noporscheform · 06-04-2013, 12:24 PM

I am looking for an air cooled turbo to purchase and am trying to educate myself concerning these cars. I have a neighbor down here that has one (that may or may not) be for sale - it is a 1977 with just over 100k miles.

Seems to be original (silver with red) and has some documentation, including work done when the engine was out - about 8-10 years ago - I have not seen the paperwork yet. The car was originally from somewhere in the upper Midwest (snow-belt) but does not show any exterior rust, yet. It does need some interior clean up etc.

It does not have the original wheels - has some 17" aftermarket wheels that look nice. I do not have any pictures at this time.

What should I look for and what is a fair price for this type of car?

Thanks,

jwasbury · 06-04-2013, 05:03 PM

'76-'77 turbos are the early ones. Originally these had no intercooler, short bellhousing 4 speed transmission, and a unique tail, along with "S" brakes and 15" wheels. '78 was a major revision when the intercooler was added (with a revised tail to accomodate it), 16" wheels and "turbo brakes", and a lengthened bellhousing on the 4 speed gearbox.

The market is pretty small, so its hard to say what's fair for this car without more details. The buzz for the last couple years has been the early turbos are going to be the next hot Porsche to go up in price...of course this applies mainly to pure original examples. Silver with red interior is a good looking combo. Originality and condition will dictate price, as always. Pre-purchase due diligence is pretty much the same as any naturally aspirated 911, and cost of correcting issues is similarly high. The turbo engine is more easily/quickly damaged if the fuel system, or ignition timing is out of spec, or if the wastegate is not functioning properly. Leakdown test is the best insurance.

Jimmy18E · 06-04-2013, 07:26 PM

Have a 77, silver black.

In addition to what jwasbury said..... The 3.0 75-77 turbos are a shorter stroke than the later 3.3 cars. The case is very desirable in that it can use the 66mm or 70.4 crank. The NA guys pay $3K ++ for a bare case to build a short stoke motor on.
I have read that due to the shorter short bellhousing tranny that the motor is 30mm forward of the later cars (I can't confirm that). The short bellhousing tranny brings big $$$ and is sought after for racing applications, more so than the 78+ turbo tranny.

The 77 came with 16 inch wheels where the 76 and 75 had 15 inch.

I would have known how to answer your price question a few weeks ago but saw a nice running example go for $38K. Up until this one example I would say a rust free but in need of resoration early turbo would be in the $30K range.

Good Luck with your search

Jimmy

CountD · 06-04-2013, 09:13 PM

To me these years are very special cars, and with that comes a special owner who needs to be pretty involved with pride of ownership/maintenance and overall attention to detail. The colors are right on - I don't know how much you drive your '94 but if things may line up in your favor (ie it's for sale, and it's a deal) then I would sell it, as this car will be the car to have in 5 years. These are serious cars, and if you are serious I would go with it and see where the journey takes you. I don't see many for sale from these years so that tells you something, and about the only ones I do see are ones that have cheesy modifications.

Macroni · Macroni's Garage

These are special cars and depending upon originality can be quite valuable. PM me and I will direct you to an expert. I recently saw a very original 76 for $77,000. I would have bought it in a minute and he had a back-up full price offer. He decidied to keep the car.

Noporscheform · 06-05-2013, 08:30 AM

thanks for all the help - I appreciate the input - pm will be sent in a few minutes

WPOZZZ · 03:47 PM

Mac is spot on. The early turbo prices are going crazy right now and are all over the place. Why? I don't know. I was lucky to pick up my 77 about 6 weeks ago and was going to keep it for a fun year and sell it. Now, I think this may be more of a long term car as it is more fun to drive than all my other turbos. People like Joe Sackey, Richard Sloane and Tony@Voiture know the value of these cars because they track the sales. A 76 at CPR sold for $155k after a "sympathetic" resto. What is a "sympathetic" resto? I have no clue.

shlobeck · shlobeck's Garage

Great thread and as a '77 owner I thought I'd chime in. I think you have an opportunity to own a special car, barring it hasn't had a glaring issues; major accidents, or been heavily modified. First off, I think people sometimes over estimate the current values and price potential for 930s. But with that said, these cars will only rise in value in the long term and retain its value in the short term. I've noticed a lot of world interest in these cars in the past few years. I've heard of many US spec early 930s going back to Europe. Partially because of attrition (lack of cars), time (35 years old) and the exchange rate with the Euro. I've seen several 76-77 cars sell in the same day, many to European customers. The production number for 75-77 930s cars are under 3,000 world wide and US spec cars were only imported in '76 (520) and '77 (717). A little over 1200 cars total for both years. In contrast they imported 1190 US spec '79s. They're a rare breed.

But most importantly the car is an absolute joy to drive.The car is 2600 pounds and puts out 234hp (stock US). I compare it to a long hood P-car with a turbocharger. Much more balanced than the later cars and the turbo gets on you very quick. There's a lot of fervor for these cars because of the way they drive. Simple yet refined. They will never make a finer, a truly hand built porsche such as this.

I would a least drive it and see what you think. Looking at your signature it seems you know your way around P-cars. If you're interested in discussing the car or it's worth you're always welcome to PM me. Good luck.

LPMM · 06-06-2013, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Noporscheform

The car was originally from somewhere in the upper Midwest (snow-belt) but does not show any exterior rust, yet.

It's not always a negative, most folks who care about their vehicles store them in a climate controlled environment for the winter. Just look it over and you'll be able to tell whether it was driven or put away.

cellison · 06-06-2013, 11:22 AM

Belive it or not , even though the link is to a F car website, this is a very active thread on 3.0 TCs.

930 Turbo Carrera - Page 67 - FerrariChat.com

willtel · 06-06-2013, 05:56 PM

This one just popped up. I wish I had the room and cash for another one as I think an early car would be a nice contrast to my '87 and hold it's value.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/754515-1977-turbo-coupe-930-rare-color.html

cellison · 06-06-2013, 07:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by willtel

This one just popped up. I wish I had the room and cash for another one as I think an early car would be a nice contrast to my '87 and hold it's value.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-cars-sale/754515-1977-turbo-coupe-930-rare-color.html

nice find if it checks out clean.