While the owner of this 1971 Porsche 911S says that it isn’t a rust bucket, it will certainly need some work before it is ready to tear at the tarmac once again. It has been sitting since 1990 and is in need of a complete restoration. The Porsche is located in Saint Simons Island, Georgia, and is listed for sale here on eBay. The owner has set a BIN price of $45,000 for this German classic.
The owner says that the Porsche is not a rust-bucket, but there will still be plenty of rust repairs required on this car. The floors have some pretty obvious rust, and while the owner says that he believes that these could be addressed with patches, I personally believe that the floors will all require replacement if the car is to be returned to its best. The simple reality is that when you consider what it would cost in time and labor to undertake patching, then it would cost little more to do the job properly. There is also a fair coating of surface corrosion covering the outside of the car, and rust is also visible in the lower fenders. You can get a few glimpses of the car’s original Light Yellow paint in some spots, and you can then appreciate what a pounding the paintwork has taken during the 5-years that the car spent parked outside.
The rear-mounted engine in the 911S is the 2,195cc 6-cylinder boxer engine, which produced 178hp. This was sent to the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transaxle. The engine hasn’t fired a shot since 1990, although some minor work has been undertaken to revive it. The oil tank that was leaking, and was the initial reason for the car being removed from active duty, has been repaired but will need to be refitted. Similarly, the valve covers were removed to replace leaking gaskets, but have never been reinstalled. Given how long the car has been inactive, it is going to require a complete and meticulous inspection before the next owner hits the starter. Adding to the whole quandary is the fact that the owner has made no attempt to see if the engine will even turn freely. Given the level of corrosion that is evident in other parts of the car, I hold grave fears for the state of the engine.
While some aspects of the interior appear to be quite acceptable, there are other areas that will either require restoration, or possible replacement. The cover on the driver’s seat will need to be replaced, along with the upholstery on the door trims, and the carpet. The dash looks pretty reasonable, as does the console. Once again though, the interior of the Porsche is another aspect of the car that looks like it will require complete restoration if the car is going to be returned to anything approaching showroom condition.
It would be very easy to write this Porsche off and to throw the whole thing into the “too hard” basket. There is no doubt that it is going to require a complete restoration, and that process is going to be anything but cheap. The possible saving grace for this car would be its potential value, especially if it is restored properly. You would be hard-pressed to find a decent, original 1971 911S for sale today below $70,000, but 6-figure sums are far more common. Really good ones can achieve prices of around $150,000, while $190,000 or more is not beyond the realms of possibility. Yes, restoring this car is not going to be cheap, but it does appear to be economically viable…provided the job is done properly.
Seller’s right. All that rust won’t fit in a bucket. Look at a map and you will see that the location of this car tells the story. Besides spending a lot of time under sea water St. Simons Island is pretty much hot with high salt content humidity. Leaving the valve covers off will pretty well insure a huge engine fix bill. Dollar numbers stated is about 99 percent too high. Notice I didn’t say anything about hurricane flooding.. but I thought about it. Junk.
Someone needs to start a non-profit. Maybe call it the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Automobiles. SPCA ?
If this isn’t a rust bucket, what is?? I love it when a seller makes outrageous claims and lies about things that are obviously not true – it let’s me know not to believe anything else he says too.
More like a rusty 55 gallon drum.
I’ve followed this seller for some time, he has some unusual finds in his collection of unrestored cars. His descriptions have been spot-on. His cars are warehoused above water level, but there is a humid, salty air nearby. As always, a personal inspection is warranted, but I trust the seller’s description.
It’s been mentioned twice in this thread. I ignored it the first time. There is no such thing as “humid, salty air”. Salt does not evaporate into the air, only water does that. That’s how the oceans got salty in the first place. There is lots of humidity in coastal areas, but there’s no salt in it.
Ran when parked……………………in a lake.
45K for this pile? I could get five decent cars for that kind of money. It wasn’t worth anything to the person that parked it.
“Shoot for the stars kid…”
No.
Hmmm…not a rust bucket? No attempt at starting it and doesn’t intend to? This guy doesn’t have a clue. And I think you guys are correct about the flooding and sea water. IHMO, Think its a yuppie or a gold chainer that watched too mant BJ auctions. Like Skorzeny said, you could buy 5 cars for that kind of scratch. panels don’t need to be replaced just patched?? Oy Vey, not a clue.
Cheers
GPC
This pile of junk apparently sold at the Buy It Now price. Yikes!
Porsche owners are a strange bunch…..probably going to be flipped in the near future
This is the third time it’s been “sold” this month, none of the transactions have been completed, so far.
Steve R
The owner’s a politician, right? Or a used car dealer. Oh wait…
P T Barnum said it best. A fool and his money will soon be parted.
They already were. Vehicle has been sold. I bet you he got every penny. We are seriously due for a market correction.
Wow. I gotta find me some Porsches with “patina” so I can retire.
Good Lord
What a Turd…Not rusty? Omg
Everything has a level of price, I believe
you’d be out wack to spend $45K plus
the cost and the time to restore this car.
You’d be better to buy a running and driving unit , at least you could enjoy it.
The market on these has cooled with the exception of extremely well documented cars that retain original panels. Restored this is a $150,000 at very best. Even a shop with the experience could not turn a profit doing this and flipping. Restoration costs will easily exceed $125,000. However, this is one of the best years for an early S, it is a very good color, and these make fantastic touring/driving cars.