The air-cooled Porsche 911 has become such a flip-worthy car that it’s almost a surprise when a seller takes the time to detail why a specific vehicle is special or unique. Thankfully, this one owner 1977 Porsche 911 is one of the few in recent memory where the seller has truly sweated the details as it relates to why this specimen is worthy of the $54,400 asking price. The 911 shows under 50,000 original miles and comes with a host of desirable factory options, and remains in outstanding condition inside and out. As the seller points out, it’s the last of the narrow-body “G-body” cars, and it’s listed here on craigslist in Scottsdale, Arizona.
The impact bumper 911 is considered one of the last remaining air-cooled 911 models that hasn’t crept past six-figures in value, and with the standard rear fenders, no whale tail, and a naturally-aspirated flat-six, it likely didn’t get much of a second look when it was just a used car. After all, back in the day, the 911 everyone wanted was the turbocharged 930 with its bodacious body and bananas powerplant – these non-turbo cars with the narrow hips just weren’t as sexy. That’s all changed now, of course, not only because air-cooled 911s have been on a spike for a while now but also because enthusiasts have wised up to just how good these standard models were out of the box.
To make this 911 even more of a treat, check out the options: sport seats with the huge bolsters, straight from the factory; a top-flight Blaupunkt hi-fi stereo, complete with the period cassette storage box in the center stack; rear window wiper (yes, these were options); and a rare AC delete, which means the engine bay is free from the clutter of air conditioning components that never worked all that well to begin with. The interior is in like-new condition, with a crack-free dash, spotless carpets, and the desirable sport seats showing no indications of heavy use. The paint appears nice and even from the body into the inner sills and door jambs, too.
The 2.7L is the numbers matching unit, and the seller notes it comes with a detailed paper trail of steady maintenance. For California residents, the seller points out that the factory air pump, thermal reactors and EGR all remain installed, which will make it easier to register but would be ripe for deletion for non-Californians as adding heat to burn up exhaust gases was never a good idea for an air-cooled engine. The seller contends this is an extremely well maintained example, and that preventative work related to head studs, valve guides, chain tensioners, oil cooling and backfire protection have all been addressed in response to the issues above. Pricey, but likely worth it.
I owned a 76 911S and these used to be an affordable entry into Porsche ownership. The weak link on these cars is the magnesium case in the 2.7. Back when I bought mine a lot of these cars were engine swapped to the 3.0 SC engine. Thermal reactors were the main demise of the engine with the extra heat causing head studs to pull from the case and premature guide wear as he mentioned. Hopefully the engine has been treated to a rebuild and the case line bored and case savers installed. Get those reactors off as soon as possible. Better yet buy a 78 to 89 911 for the same money.
Interesting comment about the AC’s capability. Spent 14 years in Oklahoma City and had no problems with the AC in our ’76 or our ’77 924. Considering it hits 105 or so in July they seem to do just fine. The head studs pulling out required putting in different studs but other than that the 2.7 was a great engine. The SC 3 liter solved all those problems and is probably one of the finest air cooled engines Porsche ever built. The narrow body cars also made great autocross cars.
Please take my money! This is a real classic, and if it were to check out to be OK, a fair price. When I worked for PORSCHE drove these daily. Not as much fun as the 930s or Carreras, but also easier, cheaper to maintain and work on. Most decent mechanics can actually work on these at home with some elbow grease. Parts are costly, but hey, it’s a PORSCHE so that is to be expected. Good luck to buyer and seller.
The way I remember it almost all of these came from the factory WITHOUT air. The dealer added air was a nice profit maker for the dealers. And it worked just fine.
“The way I remember it almost all of these came from the factory WITHOUT air.”
Back when there were less pu$$fied consumers, huh’….
“The way I remember it almost all of these came from the factory WITHOUT air.”
Back when there were less sissified consumers, huh’….
Nah, it was just a means for dealers to make more money. In Europe in the 70’s air didn’t sell, cloth seats was their idea of air. Of course in those days Euros didn’t bathe much either and didn’t use deodorant.
At my age, and the summer climates in virtually any area of the US, I want A/C even if it’s in New England. Northern states also get heat snaps… and in the southern states, A/C is a MUST.
Nice car, though.