New England Project: 1972 Porsche 911 Targa

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Boston, Massachusetts is not a place where you expect to find vintage project cars these days. Between a culture that seems to favor late model vehicles over vintage ones and a lack of a suitable place to park a project car for a few weekends’ worth of garage tuning, Boston – like most cities – doesn’t have much love for old tin. So seeing what appears to be a project-grade air-cooled Porsche 911 for sale in the belly of Beantown is indeed a surprise, especially since most cars this vintage in New England have been completely smoked by rust. Find the 1972 911 Targa here on Facebook Marketplace for $28,000.

The 911 Targa used to be a fairly unloved model in the hierarchy of Germany’s classic sports car. But as values continue to climb, there really was no one model that could be considered undesirable. Sure, the usual reasons related to structural rigidity still apply for why a Targa or convertible model is less sought after than a hardtop, but the fixed roof 911 these days is quite pricey to buy even in barn find form. The asking price here seems pretty reasonable in today’s market, but the 911 Targa does have plenty of rust to address.

The seller notes that the floorplan has rust issues but “…can be saved,” which indicates to us that total floor replacement may not be necessary. Other issues seem more concerning, with the description highlighting rust in the door jamb where the panel with the door striker meets the rocker. Another area of future rust repair mentioned in the ad is “…the horseshoe pan in front of the gas tank,” which the seller claims is “…gone.” There is also a hole in the panel behind the gas tank. To me, this is a full-fledged restoration at this point, as none of those areas are simple to repair.

The seller reports that the engine still turns over but that the carburetors are disassembled. That certainly makes it believable that the 911 was parked for a spell for what was intended to be a “quick” project of rebuilding the carbs, but we all know how that goes. It’s hard to say from the photos if this is the original paint job, but I doubt it; the missing stickers alongside the bottom of the panel below the engine is a tell-tale sign it’s been resprayed. The long-hood, air-cooled Porsche 911 or 912 is a desirable car these days no matter the ebbs and flows of the market, so I suspect someone will snatch this 911 up as a winter project.

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Comments

  1. Howard A Howard A ( since 2014)Member

    Got to make a 911 fan cry, heck, I almost did. Not sure about buying a vehicle from a place that takes “used oil”, the a/c unit looks so out of place, like some performance mod, and must have had a “hot one” in the back seat( what did he say?) I mean, how could anyone let a Targa like this get so bad? Okay, my MGB, no biggie, but a Targa, you’d think would command a bit more respect, no? Pretty clear, once again, it was just someones beater they drove year ’round and froze their arse off in. As a rule, schmoes don’t usually buy Porsches, but here we are.

    Like 5
    • bobhess bobhessMember

      You’re right Howard. Guess I’m no Schmoe (haven’t seen that name in a while) ’cause I’ve owned 25 of them and used two or three as basic transportation but always had a bad weather car to back them up. AC was available from the factory with the compressor where you see it but interior ducting says it’s an aftermarket unit either from Texas or California. The factory unit is a lot thinner and better looking.

      Like 5
    • Mountainwoodie

      As a certified schmoe I resemble that remark!
      .
      My ’70 911 T had dealer installed Coolaire and the compressor was much smaller. I also had a ’66 S soft window Targa which was super quick. Once again had I been a bit more of a clairvoyant I wouldn’t have sold either of them in the middle 2000’s.

      This one looks like it rained with the top off…often and then sat in the humidity. Takes a lot of nerve, or common sense I guess, to wring every dollar you can out of this. But 28 K for a P car that will need a rotisserie? Nope.

      I’d also check to see if anyone poured gasoline in the engine oil port on the rear fender thinking it was for gas..a ’72 only…. I think…. feature.

      I know people like to be hating on the P car but the ’66- ’72 iteration are a lot of fun…even the 912 which is a little better balanced if under powered in stock form.

      Oh well.

      Like 1
      • chris

        Hey Mountainwoodie, you might be mistaken. Porsche did not offer the soft backwindow Targa in 1966, nor did they offer the “S” model in 1966. It commenced as a ’67 model year.

        Like 1
  2. Chris

    Like you, Bobhess, I’ve had many Porsches over a 55 year driving career (about 75 in total, all air-cooled). Still have a couple of air-cooled now. I drove them year round no issue. In fact my favorite year-rounder was a 930 Turbo. All that weight in the back and using 2nd gear to reduce torques when stating off on slippery surfaces worked extremely well. I drove that 930 all over New England, skiing for many winters without a hitch. And the mention about the heat – it wasn’t inadequate…

    Like 1
    • bobhess bobhessMember

      Chris, you are my kind of Porsche owner.

      Like 0
  3. KurtMember

    The interior shows someone gave up loving this car a long time ago, which means oil changes and valve adjustments probably were neglected as well. Pass. At that price, anyway.

    Like 1
  4. V12MECH

    This gem has 90k plus miles, add timing chain and tensioners, at least, and probably a complete rebuild likely. Doing a ’73 now that jumped time, broken intake rockers and bent valves, and most likely more needed, same mileage. This is a rough customer for the money.

    Like 1
  5. Mountainwoodie

    @Chris- of course you’re correct………sticky ”7′ key……..impatiently smacked the 6 key. It was Porsche red with tan interior……..my foot slipped off the brake pedal coming up to a light. Drove the right front fender and wheel into the left rear of a Volvo wagon.Peeled back the fender….slight damage to the wheel. USAA totaled it! I’m sure it was rebuilt and someone is driving it around somewhere, though now it has a fixed window in the rear in the place of the canvas plastic. It was a whole lot faster than my ’70 T that followed it……back when a schmoe could afford a P car :)

    Like 2
  6. PRA4SNW

    I’m probably the only one who cares, but those pictures are not from Boston. I Googled Judge Charlie Jones (poster seen in the shop windows), and it looks to be a person in South Carolina.

    So, either old photos of a buy and flip, or ?.

    Like 0

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