When it comes to finding an affordable air-cooled Porsche project, you may have to lean pretty heavy on the project side to make the math work. There’s different ways of going about this – you could buy an original car with rust issues (hopefully in an easily repairable area like the floors) or you could buy something that needs an engine (by the way, decent flat-sixes of the correct vintage are going for around $12,000 – $15,000 these days). Alternatively, you could buy something like this 1978 Porsche 911 Targa listed here on eBay as it’s a backdated Project with the incorrect body panels for the year but does come with a so-called “professionally” rebuilt engine.

The current bid is $15,300 with no reserve. The bodystyle that this 911 is attempting to emulate is from the 964 era, and it even has the added high-mount third-brake light that came on the convertible models. The fenders are quite a bit wider than a ’78 model, and I can’t tell if this is just a result of the wider proportions of the later car or if it’s also had a widebody (turbo-look) kit installed. The whale-tail spoiler is typical, sadly, for these backdated projects, and overall, the fit and finish look like they leave a lot to be desired. But if it has solid bones and the engine work is up to parr, you could actually be starting on second base versus buying a project with unknown mechanical health.

Now, when you buy something that’s been made to look new on the outside, it often doesn’t change much on the inside. The older-style interior isn’t all that different from a 964 car, but it will feel dated in comparison. Fortunately, with the interior stripped bare, we can see what looks like solid floors and door sills. Obviously, when it comes to an older 911, rust can be hiding in pockets we can’t see here, but the seller doesn’t mention any corrosion issues. He also notes all of the parts are included to finish converting the interior to black, and that the seats are “completed” which we take to mean they have been reupholstered.

The transaxle is noted as being “good” which, again, requires some level of interpretation. The rebuilt engine will be more meaningful if some receipts are included that show a known Porsche shop being behind the rebuild. The seller claims the tires are new and as we can see, they’re mounted on a set of attractive BBS wheels. Overall, if you can perform the work necessary to either make the backdated conversion look a bit cleaner or strip it bare to return it to its 1978 configuration, you may actually end up on the right side of this project budget-wise and have a clean air-cooled 911 for less than expected.