It's not in a barn, but...

[TBone78SC]

So yes, the current owner is a close friend, and is a Porsche guy, although he's been out of the P-car loop for quite a while. And because he is a close friend, he and I will need to come to a point where we are both happy. If we can't reach resolution that works for both of us I'll walk away as the friendship means more.

Having said all that I really want this car, I feel like this is an opportunity I'll likely never be presented with again. And I also feel I'll be a good steward to doing all the right things to get this car back to where it's supposed to be. I plan on doing all the work myself and I'm excited by the proposition.

I've been researching 73 and 73.5 pricing for a while now, and while there are some data points, there aren't a lot. And from what I've seen there are quite a bit of fluctuations, and I'm not sure what drives this.

As I stated in my OP, I have a $ value in mind, as well as a $ budget in mind for what it would take to get it road worthy again. But there is so much history and knowledge on this forum I'm hoping for some feedback:

Value of the car as it currently sits

Budget for getting it back on the road in an all original condition

Kinda long winded, maybe I should drink decaf.

Thanks,

[PropellerHead]

Value as it sits:
I'll take a stab at $45k

Budget for bringing it back on the road:
Without mechanical rebuilds of engine/gearbox, assume $3k to get it driving. Brake system work, fuel system work, some electrical gremlins, tires and whatever made it go 'park' in the first place?

Fixing those things to make it a ~$75k car:
Another $5k+ in cosmetic and restoration work, not including exterior paint to do things like bring gauges back to original function, carpet set, interior door panels, dash, etc.

If it needs paint, engine work or a gearbox rebuild - add $3k-$20k+

[PropellerHead]

For reference, I brought a 1971 911T back to life after sitting for 8 years. Was a 2 owner car with the 2nd owner having some 30 years of ownership before I bought it from him. I spent months working to bring it back to life. Removed and cleaned the fuel tank, replaced all fuel lines, rebuilt carbs, usual tune-up items, charging system woes, battery(ies), ignition system tuning, valve lash, oil system refresh, fixing leaks, tending to cables and linkages needing lubrication, restoring cosmetics along the way, rebuilding pedal cluster, fixing clock and gauges, restoring map pockets, replacing suspension bushings and restoring brake system. All this adds up. Factor in some additional upgrades (I installed S brake calipers, new dampers, new springs, sway bars, etc.) and the bills add up fast even doing it all yourself. I started tracking it all but that became a difficult task as life got in the way and I started enjoying driving it instead!

[TBone78SC]

Thanks PropellerHead, that's exactly the feedback I'm looking for.

Anybody else?

[fryardds]

Is there any original documentation or a CoA that describes the car as it was delivered? Looking for confirmation of an original engine and options.

Great color and certainly a desirable model and example. Make it work if the engine is original. Agreed, probably would be the only opportunity to have a great classic like this.

[TBone78SC]

Guess what fellas, it took a lot of patience, but it finally happened! Picked it up yesterday and dragged it home. It looks as good in the light of the day as it did in the storage unit. Quite happy. Time to put together a plan and bill of materials. Can't wait to get rockin'.

I'm going to be leaning on this forum for help, one off fuel injection system has me a little worried...

[ficke]

Originally Posted by TBone78SC

Guess what fellas, it took a lot of patience, but it finally happened! Picked it up yesterday and dragged it home. It looks as good in the light of the day as it did in the storage unit. Quite happy. Time to put together a plan and bill of materials. Can't wait to get rockin'.

I'm going to be leaning on this forum for help, one off fuel injection system has me a little worried...

It looks great! What fun, enjoy the new adventure!!

[David Borden]

Congrats! Great car and color...

[Matt Monson]

Congrats.

[Flynt]

Congrats Tom! Car looks fantastic.
One-off .5 year fuel system isn't that different than the later years - not too many oddball parts - Airbox is slightly different than the 74+ cars, steel intake runners, hand throttle, full-size spare fuel tank with swirl pot, oil pressure fitting is on a banjo instead of the "block" the later cars have.. As long as you have all the parts you'll be fine - it all works the same as the later CIS cars.
One big thing - make sure the cold start injector is not leaking!

Those big rubber overriders are really growing on me.

Edit - one more thing - When you refinish the fuel tank, don't have it coated - it has a plastic "swirl pot" inside which the coating will flake off forever and clog the fuel system.

[dg567]

Congrats! Specs on the brown one?

[Jay993]

Everybody wins! I'll just never know why people leave cars like that in storage. Let's see 20 years of storage costs....

[Reddy Kilowatt]

Congratulations. Have fun.

[TBone78SC]

Thanks guys for the replies.

Flynt, thanks for the feedback, I’ll be sure to check the cold start injector. On the fuel tank I’m going to need to do some research as it will probably need to be cleaned and I’m concerned about the plastic swirl pot. I’ve also heard that it is a one-off, one year only fuel tank. The big rubber overriders haven’t grown on me, not a fan, and one of them is cracked, so I may pull them and put them into storage and replace them with the earlier chrome deco pieces from 72. Not sure on this though as they are not correct for the year. We’ll see.

Dg567, the brown one is a ’78 SC, bone stock with 80k original miles. It’s an awesome canyon carver.

Jay993, it’s an interesting story, the original owner is a friend of mine and work took him to Hawaii. Originally the job was to be a one-year gig, so he put the car into storage without much thought or preparation for storage. 19 years later he’s still in Hawaii. Every year my wife and I vacation with him and his brother and every year I had been badgering him to sell me the car. He finally agreed to sell it. It’s funny, when we first started negotiating 9 months ago, we agreed on a price almost immediately, but it took him 9 months to part with the car, as I’m sure we can all understand.

Started giving it a once-over cleaning to get rid of all mouse evidence in preparation of the work.