This 1969 Porsche 911S may have a boat-load of hours into its restoration, but the builder has stopped short of gutting the car in favor of improving what needed improving and saving what could be saved. The Light Ivory exterior has been preserved, along with all of its original glass, but the interior has been refreshed and the numbers-matching engine rebuilt and bored out to 2.5L. It’s an ideal blend of old and new, and is listed here on eBay with bids over $50,000 and the reserve unmet.
This was already one of the most desirable specifications of a long-hood 911 before the restoration began; with the improvements that have been made, it’s even more attractive owing to its drivability improvements. The 911S features what sounds like original paint and the suspension appears to have been modified to European ride height standards with the slightly staggered appearance. The tires are a period-correct style and the Fuchs wheels obviously look terrific.
Here’s where they lose me a little bit: I love the idea of a top-shelf interior in a survivor car with a patina’d exterior, but the cockpit enhancements here go a little too far. The seats just look very modern for a car made in 1969, and while it’s an OEM sport seat (and quite sought after), it pops just a bit too much on an example that seems to be a survivor more than a restoration candidate. The corresponding trim on the dash also strikes me as a bit tacky, but to each their own. I would love to see this 911 with a set of original, unrestored sport seats inside.
So many small details are right on the money, however, like all of the original glass still being present with the correct markings. The windshield wiper appears to extend too far, however, but that could be a trick of the camera. The 3,000 hour restoration included plenty of nut-and-bolt replacement work, along with bigger projects like the engine rebuild that now has less than 500 miles on it. Lots of original parts come with the 911, including the Blaupunkt “New Yorker” radio, so it would seem this example will keep both the preservationists and the restoring crowds happy.
Nice car. The bore to 2.5 ltr gets the engine to the factory race engines specs at that time. If they did the the other modifications to the heads and cams to match they have a very hefty engine in this car. Not sure why all the excitement about the refurbished red interior as you could order a multitude of colors and accessories those days. Wouldn’t have minded an engine picture but overall it looks like a very nice car.
Like a moth to a flame would best describe my love for all things 911. Unfortunately there are not enough zeros on my bank statement to step up to 911 ownership. Red interior in an early 911 is quite rare IMHO. Beautiful car that would probably bring in excess of 150k in today’s world. Having owned a 911 with a euro spec 2.7 with Weber induction I can honestly say my eyes get watery when I hear one at full song. Car wasn’t fast by today’s standards but with the skinny tires and no stagger you best be on your best game driving one fast.
Drop that rear down 2 inches and decamber 2 degrees and you greatly enhance the handling of the no flare cars.
Wider rear tires is the best answer for an already over-steering car. If the engine became stronger i’ll strongly request wider tires. In later models Porsche itself not only supplied the 911 with wider tires, giving the option to the buyer-driver of equal-unequal width front-rear 205 to 255 (2001 onward) but increased the distance between the rear tires. The downside to this is that you have to be careful when entering a gate you have to calculate the extra width in regard to the front-rear wheels, the same if you put the front wheels flash to the pavement the rear start to climb on it, then wheel damage or loss of control is highly likely.
To go wider takes putting flares on the rear fenders. Doing that to a car like this one is called hacking up an original piece of history.
Piece of history as opposed to safety.
A car named soyg by the Brits became even more so. To my opinion shared by engaged or race drivers when a horsepower upgrade is done it should be accompanied by safety upgrades. After all this is what Porsche did with successive more powerful versions of the 911 as i said in a previous comment (soyg=spit on your grave).
In any case the ‘new’ 911 of the article should be driven with extreme caution.
When talking about hours involved in a restoration, you have to consider what was done against those hours. In and of itself, 3000 hours is not a lot of hours. However, if it was 3000 hours restoring the dashboard, that’s a different story. I’m not criticizing this car or the work that was done, just making a general statement about the hours that go into any restoration.
I don’t assign much significance to the number of hours spent restoring a car. What takes one builder 8 hours may take a more experienced builder 2 hours, with equivalent results. The fastest route from New York to LA takes about 48 hours. Taking the scenic route might take two or three times as long, but both routes end up in the same place. Which is better?
Flying and its cheaper too. Kidding! I drive to Naples,Florida every Fall with my wife and a German Shepherd. It 3 days. I hate it!
It depends who is paying. The time is moot if it is spent on the right things. Sometimes it is just as important to say enough. I cannot argue with the end result though. Beautiful car.
I’m a sucker for red leather interiors. Not six figure price tags.
You might not have experienced the feel of a classic German car. Add to that the sound and the tactile feedback of probably one of the best steering gear ever put in a car. Oh, and there is the sound. So sweet and delicious. If not maybe a Maytag or a GE would be better suited.
Yes, but they handle poorly. The turbo ones were called widow makers. Now, don’t tell me about all the won road races. Those cars were set up different than a street car, plus driven by pro drivers who spend multitudes more time behind the wheel that an average man does. Plus, lets not forget the lure of copious amount of factory money as incentive to win. BTW, I have felt the thrill of a German car, I drove a GTI in the early 80s. An awesome ride, true of all the things you mentioned, but not asking the kings ransom that these cars do.
Guess I missed something during the over 300,000 miles I’ve driven Porsches as daily transportation and autocrossing. Rat racing through the western mountains or cross country high speed runs never had a handling problem. Also, never compared them to the several VWs we had as they were completely different cars with different uses like prowling the western deserts to grocery shopping. Well said alphasud.
You’ve never heard a Ford 427 SOHC at full song, then? Now there’s “sweet and delicious.”
Huh?? 3000 hours?? At $110 per hour (which is what my local small town car body/engine shop charges, that’s $330,000…. Somethings not adding up here…
Hobby labor rate is $5/hr. Hate the seats and dash. That money buys any one or two of much more interesting cars. Prettier cars. Faster cars. better handling cars. More unique driving experiences. Better sounding cars. It’s kind of like buying a Rolex. Good watch? Yes. Overpriced for what it is? Yes. Are there better choices? Yes. But the heart wants what the heart wants.
met a fella recently with a C2 corvette 700 hours in paint work alone. Looked it too.
I wonder how they “bored out” the engine? I’m thinking that they. must have opened up the case to accept wider cylinders with the same amount of thickness as the stock cylinders for heat dissipation.
Correct you are Kurt. The cases are easily machined to take the larger cylinders. It does take a shop that specializes in Porsche engines so “don’t try this at home”.
agreed
A 911S with a 2.5 is NOT anything like a Volkswagen. If you’ve never driven one, comments like yours are just old. I own a 72 911 T with a 77 S engine. With the engine tweaks done to it, it’s putting out almost 200hp and a weight of 2100 lbs (with a half tank of fuel.
Find someone who has a pre 74 911 and drive it.
true
I like Porsches but because I have back problems they just don’t work for me. I also don’t like a car that decimates my limited bank account when it needs to be fixed as I’m all thumbs and can’t do it myself. That said, it is a great car whether you can afford it or not. I can’t. To each his own.
There are many wonderful sounding engines. The Alfa Busso V6, Ford FE big block, Z28 302, and the Porshe flat 6 to name a few. All need to be experienced to understand what makes them so special. I have been lucky enough to hear all of them at full song. No matter what cars/manufacturers you like, listen to a Tesla and know what we have to lose. And we will all lose.
Tesla (the car) will never win. Too many gearheads in the world!