This 1974 Porsche 911S Targa is offered for sale by the original owner who bought the car new from the selling dealer. The seller reports that due to this health and having just left the hospital, he is no longer able to drive the 911 and has listed it for $42,000 with a clean title in hand. This Targa looks like a car that has been enjoyed, with some personal touches evident and likely some mechanical flaws, too, as he hasn’t driven it much over the last two years. The market for old air cooled 911s is always hot, especially for survivors like this. Find it here on craigslist located in Reno, Nevada. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Rex M. for the find.

The 911 has clearly lived a few different places. It’s in Reno but wears old-school California blue plates, and it has a set of Illinois license plates in the frunk. The photos reveal the seller has a thing for sports cars of a certain period, with what looks like a C3 Corvette Pace Car resting in a nearby driveway. The 911 has some tweaks, including the RS-style “duckbill” rear spoiler and what looks like a lower than stock suspension height. The photos reveal the original deck lid panel is sitting in the back seat, and I’d swap that back out right quick if this were my car. The duckbill spoiler just never looked right on anything other than a genuine RS, in my opinion.

That’s a minor concern for sure, and the interior looks to be in very nice condition despite the 911 actually being used with 78,000 miles on the clock. Photos reveal that the upholstery beneath the sheepskin covers is in very good shape, with an attractive plaid / tartan-like pattern. The dash is cracked, which seems inevitable for a car that’s resided in places with endless sunshine. The 911 sports an aftermarket steering wheel along with a non-stock set of amber-colored fog lamps. Overall, these are very minor deviations from stock, and point to an owner who enjoyed finding ways to dress up his pride and joy – but not to a point of excess. The seller notes it comes with al of the books and manuals it left the factory with.

Buying a car from the original owner gives you access to the car’s most intimate details, the sort of stories that get lost after multiple owner changes. The seller can likely still recall the day he walked up to the sales manager and asked to take home a brand new 911, a feeling that most of us would love to bottle up and experience every day. This 911S Targa has the right amount of flaws and beauty marks to back up the claims made in the listing, as it just seems like an honest driver that’s been used and enjoyed rather than kept under wraps for 30 years (or scooped up and over-restored by a flipper.) The asking price seems reasonable for what you’re getting, as we rarely see 911s like this anymore on internet classifieds sites.