This 1973 Porsche 911 Targa was recently extricated from a barn where it sat for 30 years after being driven in under its own power. The 911 is a numbers matching example with no real rust to speak of, and is shown in as-discovered condition parked next to another enthusiast’s delight, the Merkur XR4TI. It has since been relocated and presented out in daylight, and all indications point to it surviving well. Find it here on eBay with a $30,000 Buy-It-Now.
Targas are hardly the most desirable model, especially now that the 911 bubble has settled down a bit. Still, collectors are still paying real money for good cars, and restorers similarly like solid starting points. The seller notes this one was originally Sepia Brown, which is an awesome 70s color. While a repaint in white is hardly the worst thing, the seller notes bubbling under the paint. If it were me, I’d absolutely bring it back to the original color.
The interior features awesome period Recaro seats, installed by the previous owner in the 1980s because of how well they matched the interior. You have to love that – stumbling upon a set of sweet Recaros, and then seeing that they match your stock interior perfectly. The original seats are not included, and you’ll note some other tweaks from stock with the upgraded aftermarket steering wheel. The seller notes the factory carpet was destroyed over time and will need replacing.
Engine-wise, the 911 remains numbers-matching. The seller notes their initial assessment revealed the engine was resistant to spinning but they eventually got it to break free (always an exciting moment!) The MFI butterflies are stuck and the seller isn’t going to force them, so you’ll be rebuilding those at the very least, along with the braking system. Overall, there’s noting too intimidating here for the seasoned air-cooled enthusiast, especially given the lack of rust.
Pretty stiff price for a not particularly sought after 911. There’s a great deal to be done to get it to the level any one would want, A lot more money to be spent but as my daddy used to say: there’s a backside for for every seat:)
….and I think those fantastic Recaros would fit my backside quite nicely!
$10-15k should be tops for this car. It’s going to take another 10-15 to bring it up to decent shape.
Agree with Mike P. Going to cost pretty penny to get it back to the car it should be. Worth saving. Sepia brown is nice, so is Bahama yellow!
Far better car than a rusted out pos 356 .
I would have serviced it and got it running before listing it. A compression readout on each cylinder would be nice to include as well.😬
I like the post ’18 as cleaner, more: room inside, performance, and H2O.
Beddah all round frm nine eleven to 996 !
I might not have read the original eBay posting correctly, but I believe he wants an extra $7500 for the Recaro’s that are in the car. $30k without.
$37500 with the Recaro seat and $30000 without!!!! Run away as gonna be way upside down in this even if the buyer has a shop and the ability to do everything themself!!! Didn’t realize vintage Recaros are that pricey!
30K with no seats. This guy must have chocked on the frog he had for breakfast. Other than the price this car looks to be solid. Any 911 engine that “broke free” is going to have jug damage that has to be repaired or possibly replaced. Go price a new set of jugs, rings, etc. and you will see what I’m talking about. Like the man said, upside down from the start.
Bob are Porsche parts more expensive than VW parts just because of the name, or are they really more difficult to manufacture? A set of Mahle pistons is very affordable…for a VW.
Kurt… In the mid ’80s Porsche decided to move up market. We had a restoration business that specialized in Porsche. At the time a 911 fuel pump was $89. In a month and a half it went up to $280. Bosch got on the bandwagon and ran their wholesale/dealer cost up to around $190. It snowballed from there to where it is now. We lost a few customers that just weren’t going to pay those kind of prices for Porsche maintenance. We owned three Porsches at the time and bailed out in the late ’80s. It was fun while it lasted but the doctors and the bankers filled the gap we left.
Thanks for the reply.😬