When it comes to early “long hood” Porsche 911s, pretty much all of them have become desirable specimens by now. Rust or no rust, they’re going to fetch far too much money because the train has left the proverbial station as it relates to the model’s perceived value by collectors. The only way to make an early 911 project even more desirable is to have it come with a numbers matching drivetrain, rare factory options, or a desirable color combination. This rusty 911 misses on the first two criteria, but does feature a preferred color scheme of Slate Gray over a red interior. Find it here on eBay where bidding is at $21,400 with the reserve unmet.
The bidding on this car doesn’t surprise me, although I’m still baffled by the prices paid for a 911 in this sort of condition. This one doesn’t have a complete drivetrain, either, so you’re going to have to tackle bodywork and the painstaking process of trying to find a correct date-coded mill, or make do with what the seller describes as a “period correct” aluminum block with all internals but still not a complete engine. The transmission is a 5-speed core, so you’re not exactly stating with the best assortment of parts – and you have to wonder whether the 911 was acquired in pieces and the assortment of included spares is just as far as the previous owner got in tracking down spares.
All that aside, the color combination really is tough to beat. A steely battleship gray paint job with lipstick red seats and door panels is a very attractive combination, and despite how incomplete the 911 is, the interior is in surprisingly good shape. Like many of these early air-cooled cars, the floors need work and the listing notes the floors are simply screwed in for shipping purposes. The seller notes the primary areas of rust concern are the floors and inner and outer rockers, which is fairly typical for a project-grade long hood model like this. The dash retains gauges and some switches, but that’s about it.
Here’s what you’re working with, which I suppose is better than nothing. The seller doesn’t go into the history of the 911, but given it resides in Lakeville, Connecticut – right near Lime Rock Park – it wouldn’t surprise me if it belonged to a track-day enthusiast or someone who simply parked it track-side on a regular basis. There are always interesting hobby cars hiding out in driveways and behind barns in this part of the world, much like in the adjacent communities to Carlisle, PA. This 911 will almost certainly be restored, and likely at considerable costs. Are these old 911s worth the investment?
I do find prices for what I would consider a basket case hard to believe. I think back to the late 90’s when a guy I knew bought a 67 911S driver. I helped him get it running better but that car was in one word very tired. It was also surprising to me at the time he spent close to 20K for it. I guess you could say prices have always been strong for 911 models considered special. My first 911 was bought cheap because at one time the 76S was considered the bottom of the barrel. Paid $7500 for it and it was a good runner but not so as a looker. No rust but it needed paint and interior refresh. That was eventually done and 2 years ago my friend sold it for 37.5K.
nowadays if it has an “S” after the model number that adds 50K to the bottom line :-(
In the 80s I looked at an early 911S. The owner’s widow told me it did not start. I put in a battery from another car and it fired right up and I drove it to my son’s school to pick him up. We could not come together on a price, which seems like a bargain now. It had what I’m calling a valance at the rear. I used to see them advertised in R&Ts. The 911s and 912s had a wide space to accomodate a European license. And this “valance” filled in that space so there was only room for an American license. Does anybody else remember these?