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Just Add Drivetrain: 1974 Porsche 911S

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Looks pretty nice from this angle, doesn’t it? This 1974 Porsche 911S has been with the seller since 1985, but unfortunately was the victim of an engine fire in 1996. It’s now up for sale as the seller realizes they won’t get to restoring it. The 911 is listed here on craigslist for $10,000 and is located in Cibolo, Texas.

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The seller claims to have sprayed rust inhibitor on the burned areas to prevent any further rust damage. I’m guessing this car has just been removed from storage, because it’s obviously just been rinsed off in the pictures and the ad states that interior pictures will be added later once they have cleaned up the dust and dirt. It must have been fairly decent storage, though, for the body to still look like this.

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I’m a little puzzled though. Even if the fire made the engine and transmission unusable, I would have hung on to them for reference if nothing else. Oh well, I guess that’s me. I do know this is a somewhat desirable car to Porsche fans, and it’s certainly an unusual color to find one in. So pretend for a moment it’s yours. Would you try to make it as accurate as possible, or use the opportunity provided by needing an engine and transmission to improve things by fitting a later model, larger engine and more robust transmission?

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You could buy the car and just show folks this picture–no one would ever know! While $10,000 seems a lot for an engineless, transmissionless car, you and I both know that 911s have gotten very expensive lately.  Think about it: while the 911S was given a bump of 23 horsepower over the regular 911 for 1974, it still only had 173 German ponies. So what do you think? Is the project worth it? And would you go back original, or perhaps a little more performance oriented?

Comments

  1. Avatar Dolphin Member

    If I wanted a Porsche this would be lightyears better than the 356 shell from earlier today and lots of other P-cars out there—providing it checks out as the car the seller says it is. That’s what you need to do, since the “barn find” marketing tactic plus 5 bucks will get a prospective buyer a very nice boutique latte.

    For your $10K at least you get almost a whole car. Just add a drivetrain, like Jamie said, so if you have one lying around this could look pretty good. Or, it would once that turquoise blue paint is replaced by a better color.

    These had low-HP engines that could develop serious problems, but I’m guessing that so many of these mid-70s cars have had engine transplants that the value would not be hit very hard by a replacement engine. People who want to drive the car instead of invest in it would welcome the engine change.

    I look at these bodies and have always liked them, and today $10K plus the cost of a drivetrain doesn’t seem out of line for a vintage German sportscar. But I just can’t get past the driving dynamics, which are definitely not for me.

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  2. Avatar Bobsmyuncle

    I’d LOVE to grab this for a Renegade swap.

    I’m going to fire off an email right now.

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    • Avatar Jamie Staff

      Let us know how things go!

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      • Avatar Bobsmyuncle

        Will do. I left a message and emailed (too eager LOL?)

        BTW someone else mentioned it so I see it is a ‘problem’, the site is VERY laggy, writing this is almost, impossible. I’m. U. sing the mobile version

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  3. Avatar Bobsmyuncle

    Did some troubleshooting. It’s not my phone, nor relegated to only the mobile site, nor my connection. Just thought you should know.

    It is so slow that typing is nearly impossible. I typed this in a separate program and pasted it.

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    • Avatar Dave Wright

      Must have something to do with the Canadian exchange rate…………

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    • Avatar Dolphin Member

      If you open Word or a similar word processing program in another window you can get your writing done while you look over the BF listing, the original ad, and also research the car on other sites. Then copy and paste your text into the BF comment box and hit ‘Post comment’.

      Anyone having trouble with script ads running and slowing things down on BF can use that as a workaround that will get rid of a lot of frustration.

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  4. Avatar GEORGE

    I’d put an Subaru SVX engine and trans and then enjoy a faster, more economical, and dependable car.

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    • Avatar Jeff

      That would be fun

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  5. Avatar Chris In Australia

    LS 1 swap. Looking at the headlights, is this a Euro spec car?

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  6. Avatar Bobsmyuncle

    Just got off the phone with the seller, seems a straight up guy. He was surprised by the amount of offshore interest LOL. Of course I told him about the site and invited him to check in.

    I’m going to have a buddy check it out in person. Does anyone have any links for some comparison values?

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  7. Avatar Jubjub

    In the current air-cooled Porsche world, seems like a bargain.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar JC

    Just put a Corvair engine and trans in it and you would have your cheap P. Car ;)

    Like 0

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