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19k Original Miles: 1977 Porsche 911 Carrera

It seems unlikely that the reserve price will be cleared any time soon on this extremely low mileage Porsche 911. Said to have just 19,000 miles and to be a European-spec Carrera, the 911 wears rare colors and certainly looks like a time capsule-grade example. The listing notes it was stored for 30 years prior to coming up for sale, and the current bid seems quite light for such a desirable 911 in highly preserved condition. The current bid is just over $32,000 and the 911 is listed here on eBay and located in Vacaville, California. Will bidding take off in the next few hours before the auction ends at 9:00 p.m.?

As a seller, you have to wonder why a car like this isn’t escalating rapidly in terms of the level of bidding a specimen like this should drive. The European specifications typically mean better performance and lighter weight, along with nice-to-have features like better lighting and unique interior patterns. The color alone is a rarity among air-cooled 911s, listed as being Platinum Metallic and certainly a color I can’t recall seeing all that often. The whale-tail style spoiler certainly isn’t to everyone’s tastes and doesn’t compliment the non-flared fender models.

The interior features what looks like the factory sport seats, and as mentioned, an upholstery pattern unique to overseas-market examples with what looks like half-cloth, half-leather surfaces. The Fischer cassette box is another trinket U.S. cars didn’t typically get, and the cabin certainly looks like that of a low-mileage car. To me, this is the purest form of a 911, with the subtle Euro-bits and the nicely bolstered sport seats – and, even better, the cloth inserts in the buckets seem to correspond nicely with the exterior finish. Door panels and carpets all look as nice as you’d expect in a low mileage car, and there are no cracks noted in the dash. The head unit appears to be a period-correct Alpine deck.

The seller doesn’t talk about the health of the engine, just that it has received all new fluids. One would assume it runs quite well, but 911s of this era like to leak, so I wouldn’t count on it being completely dry unless the seller is willing to make that claim. I’d love to hear from our readers as to why bidding is still lower than expected for such a special car, as there’s a chance it’s known in the Porsche community for one reason or another. To my eyes, this is a $50,000 car all day long, and while it could still get there by auction’s end, I’m surprised to not see it closer to that number at the moment.

Comments

  1. Avatar JoeMac

    Received new fluids because the prior fluids leaked out. I heard this guys garage is now a Superfund site. Highly preserved? Did you see that engine bay? There’s a reason this hasn’t caught on bidding fire yet and it’s all about engine and undercarriage condition. Good luck here….

    Like 8
    • Avatar Al

      If you have a 911 with no oil leaks it’s empty

      Like 3
  2. Avatar Ken Jennings

    Hasn’t sold at price because if you just have to have a P Car, you can buy a more modern one at a small fraction of the price that will leave this one in the dust. Nostalgia is only worth so much.

    Like 6
  3. Avatar 901

    European-spec yet the speedometer registers MPH?

    Like 4
  4. Avatar Jesse Mortensen Staff

    What makes this car special isn’t the fact that it’s a euro model or the material on the seats. It’s the engine!!! That’s the same 3.0 engine as used in the turbo! It was bigger and beefier than the standard 2.7 but didn’t have turbo lag. The rear fenders are actually flared because it also came with wider wheels in the back. This was meant to be a replacement for the earlier Carrera. Read up on those and you’ll understand the appeal. This car also paved the way for the later SC.

    @Ken – You buy a car like this because you want an air-cooled 911. Later water-cooled cars lost the character and quality of the earlier cars. Compare the two back to back and you’ll see what I mean.

    Maybe bidding is still low because a lot of people don’t know what it actually is? Or maybe it’s the lack of info in the listing? There’s still time left so you never know.

    Like 23
    • Avatar Ken Jennings

      You may be right, but right now, people do not seem too interested. Perhaps the tanking economy. When money is tight people tend to think long and hard about what is important in their lives.

      Like 8
    • Avatar Jesse Mortensen Staff

      I don’t know. It’s up to $32k with 48 bids and 17 bidders. I wouldn’t call that a total lack of interest. Classic car sales are still going strong too so I wouldn’t blame it on the economy.

      The car did just came out of long term storage though so potential buyers know it’s still going to need some work to be driver. Compression test results might have made a big difference here because 911 engines are expensive to rebuild.

      Like 12
      • Avatar Stan Marks

        The bidding ended last night @ $36,100.

        I love this car…….

        Like 1
  5. Avatar Ken Jennings

    It is a pretty car. I am surprised that some company doesn’t make knock off bodies as kit cars so people could build their own at a fraction of the price. Beck has made many of the old style Porsche’s, why not this body style? Just think of the engine possibilities! Wouldn’t it be fun to see a VW Bug engine in one? LS? A slant six Chrysler! (complete with a three speed)

    Like 3
  6. Avatar 370zpp Member

    Try as I want to, I cannot get past those 29.95 Walmart speakers in the back deck. and, powered by Alpine?

    Like 5
  7. Avatar Bluetec320 Member

    I call BS on the 19000 mile claim. The overall condition of the car is simply not a low mileage car. It was common practice with a lot of people in the day to unscrew the speedometer cable and drive the car for a few years and rack up 10’s of thousands of undocumented miles. If I had to guess, I would say that is what happened to this car, or else the speedometer was replaced.

    Like 19
    • Avatar steve

      I agree with you.
      The underneath & engine bay are not like a 19000 mile car.
      My 60000 mile 964 turbo was not as dirty as this example

      Like 1
    • Avatar Steve

      I agree with Bluetec320,
      How can a car with the engine bay in filthy condition have only 19000 miles.
      My 964 Turbo with 60000 miles was much cleaner than this

      Like 6
    • Avatar Stan Marks

      You’re correct, Bluetec. It has 19,738 miles.
      All kidding aside…. The undercarriage looks suspicious. A little too much rust for a low mileage car. In the engine bay, it appears the two hoses & clamps, on the left, are brand new. From the looks of the worn tire treads, a car shouldn’t have that much wear, with low mileage.What’s with those two spots, on the front hood corners?
      Is it possible, when the original owner purchased the car, he had the speedo changed to MPH?
      What’s the old saying,if it’s too good to be true, etc….
      So many questions… .

      Like 4
  8. Avatar E63911

    ‘74-‘77 are generally considered the least desirable Porsches as they were grappling with new emission controls and new safety factors (bumpers)…
    additionally, European market cars imported into the US in the early ‘80’s (aka Gray Market cars) weren’t desirable in part because no federalize game for US specs was inconsistently done by folks without the same level of knowledge or experience as the factory. Only appeal was that they were cheaper to acquire.

    Like 1
    • Avatar E63911

      Sorry. I meant to say:

      “…in part because the federalizing for…”

      Damn autocorrect!

      Like 0
  9. Avatar bobhess Member

    Those are the standard seats, not the sport seats. Big difference in bolsters etc. Does seem like a lot of rust on the sheet metal underneath. Maybe the low mileage is due to trips to drive on the beach. Salt water sand does wonders on tin. These cars are fun and the 3.0 liter engine has a bunch of power. The lack of AC might be helping keep the price down but it’s hard to tell. As a Euro car it probably came over with a Kilo speedometer that got changed out….

    Like 1
  10. Avatar Art Brothers

    Back in 1980’s there was a thriving grey-market import business going on. The strength of the dollar made it possible to pay far less for the same car in Europe than you’d pay at a US dealership. If this car was brought to the States as a grey-market import, the DOT rules would have required the odometer to be changed out from KM to Miles. Thus the 19k miles claim is probably way off. Looking at the condition of the undercarriage and the crusty suspension bits, it is clear that Bluetec320’s observations should carry some weight. If the car was brought in under the 25-year rule (where you don’t need to update to DOT/EPA standards), the odo would probably still be in KM. So, it is likely that it racked up substantial used somewhere in the EU before it made its way to the US and a new odo. Under those same DOT rules, you should be able to find a sticker showing what the original KM was when the odo was replaced. Given the lack of provenance, relatively poor condition (considering the supposed low miles), lack of info in the auction it is no wonder this car is not bumping up against higher values. This is not a 19k mile automobile.

    Like 13
  11. Avatar sparkster

    I read the comments FIRST then looked at the pictures. 19,000 miles ? Nope. I’m calling BS. Perplexed at the amount of bidders.

    Like 5
  12. Avatar aboyandhisdog

    That “whale tail” has just got to be about the ugliest car appendage installed since the Superbird. This would be a good looking 911 otherwise.

    BTW, no way this car has only 19k. Those VDO gauges pop in and out very easily.

    Like 3
    • Avatar Al

      That’s also when the plastic gears in odometer break!

      Like 1
  13. Avatar Mark Holmstrand

    The seller has takeh the ad down.

    Like 1
    • Avatar Mark Holmstrand

      * taken

      Like 0
      • Avatar Stan Marks

        Not surprised……

        Wasn’t it nice, when we could edit our posts, after realizing spell check doesn’t woik? Work… Nyuk nyuk….

        Like 1
      • Avatar Jesse Mortensen Staff

        We haven’t changed anything with the edit feature. I’ll look into it though.

        Like 0
  14. Avatar Stan Marks

    Hey Jesse,
    We haven’t had that feature for quite a while. After a post, you had a 2 or 3 minute count-down clock, to make changes before it became permanent.
    Thanks for checking…

    Like 3
  15. Avatar Bmac777

    I still have the edit feature when I post but for the last few days when i hit the back arrow after comment is posted , the same comment appears in the box and I have to erase it

    Like 1
    • Avatar Stan Marks

      I haven’t seen that feature, in. Months.

      Like 0
      • Avatar leiniedude Member

        After maybe a year I am getting updates from comments. Not sure what was going on. Happy to have it back. Got an old post from 2019 yesterday. Pretty cool to be able to keep up. I like seeing the outcome.

        Like 0
  16. Avatar TimM

    You know an auction should be just that!! An auction!!! Putting a crazy reserve on a car and it not making reserve in my mind is just not right!! The market speaks and the seller doesn’t listen!! Just keeps putting it in the auction till he gets his price!! Don’t worry in 20 years or so you’ll get your price!!

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Stan Marks

    I’m not defending the seller, but sellers have the right to accept or pass on a sale. Most of the time, sellers know what they need to break even or make a profit.
    Empathy goes a long way.
    Just sayin’…

    Like 1
  18. Avatar Jeff Zekas

    Fun reading all the comments, as a long time Porsche lover, I find truth in the comments about the fake mileage, and the lack of provenance. I remember when sleazy sellers were converting Sunbeam Alpines into tigers, and there were always gullible people to buy them at five times the value of a real Sunbeam Tiger. Same for many fake muscle cars, where someone buys the cheap six-cylinder version, and then converts it into the desirable model, especially true with fake Shelby mustangs.

    Like 0

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