Do I walk away? 2.7 911S Engine experts HELP

[Lund]

In need of advise from the experts here, Long story short;

I have the opportunity to purchase a 911S US import here in the UK for a decent price.
Car was a "garage find" that's been sitting for about 15 years in the US and arrived recently here in the UK.

Seller have over the last couple of days cleaned up the fuel tank, lines and injectors, and installed a new fuel pump and new CDI unit.

Got the car started, no smoke but runs a bit on the rough side to say it least.

So what's going on here, sticky valves and top end rebuild required?

https://youtu.be/skEJLGaPtAw

Thanks
Chris

[Luccia at Pelican Parts]

Hello Chris - do you have independent shops local to you that specialist in P cars? I'd highly recommend a PPI by a certified shop that knows these cars inside and out to determine what may or may not be a problem area - aside from specifically just the engine. Hopefully some other Pelicans will pop in with some additional advice as well. What ever may pop up, be sure to take a peek at our tech articles for info on what will go into the replacement: Porsche 911 (1965-1989) Technical Articles - Pelican Parts and you can use our parts catalog to determine the cost to repair specific things or if the part (if any are needed) may be NLA. Good luck!

[T77911S]

like I told my brother when he bought my car before I bought it from him and it was running bad. it would only rev to 3500 before a lot of spark knock.

if it has good oil pressure and a good compression test, its just a matter of rebuilding the CIS and or ignition. next would be valve guides.

just remember these cars are going up in value.

BTW, he paid 3500 for my 77s and I paid 7k for it. drove it 10yrs. it had a bad motor and a bad 3rd gear syncro. I sold it for 7500 and put very little $$ in it. (he did most of it).

[Joe Bob]

Check for pulled head studs and if the thermal reactors are still on.

[Omegaman]

Hi Chris, Where in the UK are you ?

[tharbert]

I reiterate Luccia's call for a PPI. You really need to know if that 2.7 engine has been sorted. If all the typical 2.7 issues have been addressed, then you need only tune up that CIS and you have yourself a gem.

I know next to nothing about CIS but there are LOTS of threads like this one and a bunch of folks here who can help you get it right.

On the other hand, if you have to get into the engine internals, a rebuild will be north of £10k.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[Lund]

Originally Posted by Omegaman

Hi Chris, Where in the UK are you ?

Southampton

[Omegaman]

Not too far from me....I can help you check it out if you need help. Need to take all the plugs out and do a compression test really. As long as that checks out good then the issue will be electrical or fuel.

[Lund]

Originally Posted by Omegaman

Not too far from me....I can help you check it out if you need help. Need to take all the plugs out and do a compression test really. As long as that checks out good then the issue will be electrical or fuel.

hi Omega, leakdown test was good, dont have the numbers but the shop that got it started said the gauge was in the green on all cylinders.

as its a 77 it had thermal reactors which have been replaced with the bursch manifolds. also have had the 5 blade fan upgraded to 11 blade and carrera chain tensioners, so work has been done to it in the past.

[Lund]

78k miles, and has had a widebody conversion done to it in the past. no rust.

[bgyglfr]

Did the shop get it running smoothly? It looks to me in the video like there's a spark/timing issue. I would guess this old spark plug wires are grounding through the braids by now.

[Lund]

Originally Posted by bgyglfr

Did the shop get it running smoothly? It looks to me in the video like there's a spark/timing issue. I would guess this old spark plug wires are grounding through the braids by now.

no, it was left like this. seller knocking of a grand for me to fix.

[DRACO A5OG]

A Leak Down Test will tell you more than a compression test but you need to see the actual numbers too.

+1 miss-fires possible Spark issues.

[Jack Stands]

Definitely have a qualified shop check for broken or pulled head studs. After all these years, many 2.7 may have had case savers installed, which would alleviate many of the issues that plagued these engines. Sounds like the previous owner had made some good upgrades already.

[ClickClickBoom]

Originally Posted by Jack Stands

Definitely have a qualified shop check for broken or pulled head studs. After all these years, many 2.7 may have had case savers installed, which would alleviate many of the issues that plagued these engines. Sounds like the previous owner had made some good upgrades already.

Agreed, if it has the headers and fan installed, most likely the case saver inserts were installed. The things that cause the studs to pull are the overheating caused by the fan and thermal destroyers. My bet is you get the CIS sorted and it will run like a top. The shielded green primary wire is a known failure point, but its usually all or nothing. I replaced mine with a local autoparts store wire to no ill effects. If the engine runs, it can be made to run well. I loved my 2.7, sweet little mill, with SSIs and sport muffler it sounded and ran awesome! It looks like a nice car, hope it works out well for you. Another maint. point is the distributor, if the bushings are shot, it can make the car run like crap. Parts Klassic has rebuild kits, Pelican has the smash pin in stock, so don't use the roll pin.

[timmy2]

Could still be crud in the fuel system. Get a set of CIS fuel pressure gauges and do a run down on the system. Dirt in the WUR screen maybe?
Spark, fuel and compression all set up correctly is all it needs if it is a sound engine.

[72_sporto]

I'm been running a 75 2.7 CIS for a while. You normally don't hear or see the effects of loose head studs at idle, unless they are really bad! Sounds like spark problems to me. Get someone to check that the leads are connected to the correct cylinders. Does it still have points? Why did they need to install a new CDI? Maybe look at that first...

[Omegaman]

If the numbers are good then its likely a fairly simple problem to sort. I have a spare set of shielded plug wires you can have for a reasonable price. Could be rust in the injector body....worst case a replacement can be found on ebay for around £350.

What kind of money are they asking for it? looks clean enough....£30k???

[T77911S]

mine was a turbo conversion too cept it was a targa. my fenders were steel and butt welded. also had Porsche spoilers. paint job sucked though.

looks like a good car cept the wheels.
if the price is right I would be all over it.
would consider a 3.2 or 3.6 conversion for that car.

[Lund]

Originally Posted by Omegaman

If the numbers are good then its likely a fairly simple problem to sort. I have a spare set of shielded plug wires you can have for a reasonable price. Could be rust in the injector body....worst case a replacement can be found on ebay for around £350.

What kind of money are they asking for it? looks clean enough....£30k???

Appreciate it mate, I'll send you a pm.