When you have the perspective of knowing a project car without an engine or transmission at one time, sold for peanuts, it can be hard to rationalize how expensive the same car now costs. Inflation, and all that. This 1982 Porsche 911 Targa has no engine or transmission and is listed for $10,500 – which seems slightly bananas but is all that surprising in today’s market? It has a few things going for it, which include seemingly rust-free condition and what may be a fairly rare color scheme. Mileage is listed as 52K miles and the seller notes that he has misplaced the title.
Thanks to Barn Finds reader Chuck F. for the find. The body, while it may be rust-free (seller’s words, not mine) has suffered some other panel damage over the years and part of the rear bumper is missing. The photos show a dent in the rear passenger side quarter panel and the front fender on the same side. The driver’s side actually looks pretty straight, and the glass is in good shape as well. The big rear Targa window is a hard item to replace when it’s damaged, so it’s good to see that the glass, targa hoop, and removable roof panel are all in seemingly decent shape. However, there’s some chatter on Facebook about this car that indicates it has frame damage – are those indentations in the body signs of more issues underneath?
So, first of all, you can see here the engine has been removed, and it’s hard to tell if the extraction was done cleanly. The seller doesn’t explain what became of the original engine but this is going to be a costly replacement. Even with the asking price seemingly being “cheap” amongst the price of an entry level air-cooled runner that now clocks in at $60K or better, a used air-cooled engine will likely cost north of $15,000, and a rebuilt 3.0L motor will set you back $30,000. Those details aside, I like seeing the matching paint inside the engine compartment, wheel arches, and front trunk, and it looks to be “Light Bronze Metallic,” a color you don’t see everyday.
The chocolate brown upholstery pairs nicely with the bronze paint, and the matching carpet suggests that this is an original interior we’re looking at. The posts on Facebook lay into the seller about the cost to restore this 911, which I certainly understand, especially given any air-cooled shop is going to charge you to the moon and back to get this Targa into running order. As someone who is nearing the finish line on restoring a car that typically costs a fair amount to buy in very good to excellent condition, I am a big believer in bringing a car back to life in phases to keep costs in control. However, most air-cooled collectors these days want a runner, not a restoration project, so it will be interesting to see if someone steps up to saving this battered bronze 911. Find it here on craigslist in Central New Jersey.
It’s always sad, to me anyway, seeing these unobtainable cars for most of your life, relegated to less than beater status, in amongst all the other neglected projects. The 911 was one of those cars.
Can be saved cost-effectively by someone with skills and a pile of parts out back.
Given it needs bumpers anyway, some sort of longhood backdate restomod would be an effective way forward.
Bumpers are there. Only thing missing is the bellows that tie the bumper ends to the body and the two rubber overiders in the rear. Certainly agree on the buyer’s talent and parts level. Left out the metal filler pieces front and rear that need to be put on.
$10k no power train and no title …. Best I can do is $2,000 and I would need sheriff deputy or state trooper to run a vin check before money changed hands, then this thing would get a LS swap and the off road package with roll cage so you can just go have some fun.
How do you misplace a title ?
Especially for one of these..did it “fall off a truck” and lose its running gear? Something’s fishy here, because you don’t pull the drive train out of a 911 without replacing it and also “lose” the title.
The car we are building now came with no title because the seller’s mother had dementia and couldn’t remember where the paperwork was. Going to be a race car anyway so wasn’t a big deal.
I have the same question. It seems like every new project I pick up has a “missing title.” I have owned hundreds of cars and never once lost a title.
I luv Targas, sad to see this one in such shape…..wish I had all the funds to bring it back, would gladly spend the time, but the money is beyond my reach to make it nice.
Looks like somebody probably made their money harvesting all of the easy pickings off of it ten or fifteen years ago. That wasn’t unusual with Targas. Sold mine in 2013 for $7000!!! And it was complete, titled and turn key. Should’ve hung onto it for a few more years.