drcollie

A friend of mine who knows I'm into Porsches (have a 991S now) saw this 911 parked to the side of an abandoned house in Tennessee when on a bike ride. I asked him to take some photos of it so he did a few and got me the house address. He says the house and car have been abandoned for some time. To me, this appears to be a '72 to '74 vintage based on the mirrors but I'm not that up to speed on model year details. Looks like it has the original Fuchs wheels on it, don't know if there is an engine or trans in it. Anyone care to guess on model year? I will probably try to track down the owner and see if I can acquire this - not sure what I would do with it once I got it, but its not doing anyone any good sitting out in the woods. Thoughts?

Amber Gramps

Poor thing needs about $40K worth of work.

fskof

I would be all over that. Wouldn't it be cool to get it running and drive it as a "survival" . Take it to a car show and park it next to some fully over restored car

Good luck and let us know what happens.

JCP911S

First, if it actually has an engine in it, it is worth serious money as is. It is clearly '73 or earlier. "Trigger" door handles indicate it is '70 or later, which is a good thing.

If your friend can get access, first thing is check the rear lid for a model designation... 912, 911T, 911E, or 911S, then look in the rear grille for sign of an engine.

The fact that it has Fuchs wheels is a good sign that it is a 911 at least, in which case, It's worth a minimum of $50K in complete, restored condition.

I don't know your financial situation, but if this is a 911 with an engine, I'd pay up to $5K sight unseen.

That said, finding the owner may be problematic. Getting a clear title may be problematic. If you can get a VIN on the car, that would be a huge benefit as you'd know what the car is, and be able to track the latest owner. Does it have tags?

Armed with VIN, first call is to Tenn DMV. They may be able to get you the current owner's name, and also explain the laws for recovering and titling an abandoned car... these vary state by state.

Good luck, but definitely worth some sleuthing.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

Its a SWB car and very much worth digging out!!

Check out that VIN to see what that is, but if its a 911 or 911S, its gold.

suban

Get a county Plat book and figure out who owns the land

theiceman

Looks like an exciting project but seeing where it is I can imagine everything roted out underneath and not limited to floor pans either .. Torque tubes most likely gone to .. Un galvanized body with all that humidity ...

only one way to find out i guess..

JCP911S

Yes, its probably safe to assume this car needs everything, but that is not necessary a bad thing. "Barn find" cars in this condition are bringing ridiculous numbers in today's market... sometimes almost as much as a fully restored car.

I don't get it. I don't get KISS either. But the market speaks, and they are both huge.

Small bumper 911s, particularly the SWB cars are becoming blue-chip collectables.

Even if you don't buy the car, doing the research to locate the owner and/or getting clear title to the car could net you a nice commission from a broker of collectable Porsches.

It is well worth your effort to pursue this. Keep us in the loop, this is a great story.

Steve Weiner-Rennsport Systems

With SWB 911S cars bringing $250K, its worth a closer look since you can spend a LOT of money with full cost recovery and then some.

JCP911S

Yes, its probably safe to assume this car needs everything, but that is not necessary a bad thing. "Barn find" cars in this condition are bringing ridiculous numbers in today's market... sometimes almost as much as a fully restored car.

I don't get it. I don't get KISS either. But the market speaks, and they are both huge.

Small bumper 911s, particularly the SWB cars are becoming blue-chip collectables.

Even if you don't buy the car, doing the research to locate the owner and/or getting clear title to the car could net you a nice commission from a broker of collectable Porsches.

It is well worth your effort to pursue this. Keep us in the loop, this is a great story.

ADias

Is that a SWB car? SWB cars dod not have passenger side mirrors and did not have that front bumper or those US sealed headlights. I suppose all of that was (unfortunately) added over time.

drcollie

Thanks for the input, I'm going to try to track down the property owner this coming week. Meanwhile, my buddy is going to ride back over there and see if he can get a few more photos. It's a 12 hour drive from me, but if I can get it, I shall try.

911661

Why is everybody referring to this car as a swb car? I thought swb cars were 69 and earlier?

theiceman

maybe they mean long hood ?

GTgears

Steve is basing his SWB comment on the location of the torsion tube hole. He's knows the difference between lwb and SWB. I can't tell on my phone but trust Steve's eye.