All Original Driver: 1976 Porsche 911S

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This 1976 Porsche 911S is a nicely presented driver with what the seller claims is original paint and a matching-numbers drivetrain. Sitting on attractive Fuchs wheels that appear to be staggered slightly given how they fill out the rear wheel arches, this 911 is powered by a sometimes-dicey 2.7L engine that had a fairly high failure rate when new. Fortunately, the seller confirms that somewhere in the records is evidence this car comes with a rebuilt engine, which provides some peace of mind that his claims of being so confident in the car that he’d drive it to New York (from Colorado) tomorrow are valid. Find the 911S here on eBay with bids to $35,000 and no reserve.

I recently took a chance on a later water-cooled 996-chassis 911 and let me tell you: nobody talks more about engine failure and potentially fatal design flaws than Porsche owners. The later cars obviously had their own issues with IMS bearing failure and bore scoring, and if you spent the same amount of time I did in December researching the decision, you’ll soon realize if you paid attention to the internet about all the things that could go wrong, you’d never leave your house. The 911 as shown here looks like heaps of fun, especially with those desirable sports seats in the cockpit. This “S”-package car is optioned out just the way you’d want to spec it, and the condition looks excellent for an unrestored driver.

The best way to tell the story about the 2.7L engine is to give credit to The Truth About Cars, which provided a detailed blow-by-blow of the faults with this engine: “As it debuted in 1974, the engine had issues. The magnesium cases warped, the head studs pulled out, and all of this often happened within a few years of purchase. The valve guides didn’t last 50,000 miles, which was a problem that, in some form or another, would dog Porsche until the very last 993 left the factory.” As an added bonus, Porsche would soon add the dreaded “thermal reactor” to this already defective engine, which just accelerated the numerous issues it was born with.

Fortunately, the seller claims he has a respectable stack of records from the previous owner, including one that proves the engine was rebuilt. This helps to eliminate at least one potential headache for the next owner, as one would assume a competent Porsche engine builder in the 1970s and 1980s would develop workarounds for the shortcomings of the original engine design, much like they’ve done with the IMS bearing fixes in the water-cooled engines. This 911 really does present well and no matter what era you’re looking at, an “S” package 911 will always be sought after. While it’s hard to believe this generation of the 911 is now a $40,000 car, it’s still a relative bargain in the air-cooled world.

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Comments

  1. bobhess bobhessMember

    Nice car. The case and head stud problems were easily fixed by local Porsche gurus and aftermarket parts suppliers. Don’t remember large scale problems with the valve guides but the smog gear, especially the catalytic converters, overheated the cylinder heads. Most folks including me solved that problem real quick. 2.7 is a good engine with the problems fixed. We took a ’74 Carrera Targa with a 2.7 up to and over 140 mph. 6″ front wheels and 7″ rears are a popular addition but doesn’t do a thing for handling, just looking cool.

    Like 9
  2. alphasudMember

    My first 911 was a 76 911S. Fortunately by the time I got the car the engine was sorted with a line bored engine case with case savers. I think the author of the article mentioned has overblown the problems of the 911 engine. When I bought my car in the mid 90’s it was common practice to find a 3 liter SC engine and swap out the 2.7. Now with the prices of 911’s the 2.7 models which were one the ugly stepchild of the model have become desirable. Guards red, sport seats, and receipts from past work are 3 desirable things to have in a 911. The wheels on the 76 were not staggered. That came with the SC in 78. I can say from first hand knowledge trail throttle oversteer was easy to achieve with the 15X6” wheels. The wider rear tire on the later models was to reduce that tendency so you would not be surprised in mid corner when you entered too fast and did the wrong thing.

    Like 7
    • bobhess bobhessMember

      Once they put the wider flares on the special factory race cars for the ’73 models and introduced the ’74 Carrera the race was on to weld on wider rear flares and put on 7 and 8 inch wheels. Put on several sets for customers and quite honestly I think they looked great. Much better than the ones on the Turbos. As for handling, any of the 911s of that era could be greatly improved by slight lowering, good anti sway bars front and rear and slight decambering both front and back. Could do that with this car but you would have to put the 6″ wheels back on the rear.

      Like 4
    • Martin Horrocks

      Agree. Surely no-one would risk such a fragile motor on a track, rally stage, Dakar, Pikes Peak, etc. And certainly not as a daily driver unless you own the franchise.

      Like 1
  3. Mike Hawke

    Even 10 years ago it was hard to sell a mid-year.

    Like 1
  4. GIJOOOE

    I’d love to buy this and build a 2.7 RS replica out of it, but still haven’t earned enough money in my lifetime to be able to afford that dream. Still, air cooled 911’s are the bees knees in the collector world, magnesium cased engines or not. This era of 911 are relatively lightweight cars and like Bob said- a few well chosen suspension mods and wider rear wheels and tires helped kill the widowmaker reputation they had from the beginning. I understand that Porsche flat sixes are about the most expensive engine to modify for power, but they sure do sound sweet with an aftermarket exhaust. I got my first ride in a Porsche, which was an ‘85 Carrera that had a few engine modifications that brought it up to around 250 horsepower and I will never forget the sound that thing made at 7000 rpm’s.

    Like 2
  5. wuzjeepnowsaab

    This presents very nicely and for the price (even his ask), with full receipts, it might be a good buy.

    Like 2
  6. Somer

    Looks like overspray along the pan?

    Like 0
  7. jaker76

    Looks like this would be a great driver. First thing and actually not an expensive need to do is a pop off valve on the air box….had several friends that had those air boxes break from a backfire…Love the sport seats and look…exactly what i would love here but the last few years been tough on the bank account so hope whoever gets this enjoys!

    Like 0
  8. PRA4SNW

    Seller mentions that the engine is rebuilt, so the factory issues are probably addressed.

    In the ad, it is mentioned that they are asking 51K, so if it stays at the current bid, my guess is this will be another “seller ended auction because there was a mistake in the listing”.

    Like 0
    • PRA4SNW

      Looks like I was wrong -the seller let it go for the high bid of $37,100, well shy of the 51K they mentioned in the ad. Nice to see that they didn’t end the auction early because the car wasn’t pulling what they wanted.

      Like 0
  9. djkenny

    Hard to fathom the incredible over valuing if 911 cars. It was was to get a late 70’s one for less than half thus amount just a decade back.

    Like 0
  10. douglas hunt

    very nice…..always wanted this era of 911, but unfortunately I never realized that dream.

    Like 0

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