NJPyro

I drove a '74 911E with a Sportomatic for five years before selling the car. I bought it cheap knowing the body was shot, drove it for five years and sold it as a partially complete parts car to someone building a 914-6. The Sportomatic worked great and I had no issues with it (once I stopped resting my hand on the shifter . I kept the trans and some other parts thinking I would one day build a sporto car that wasn't rusty. 25+ years later they are still in my garage.

Depending on your intended use, I wouldn't be afraid of Sporto cars. If I was building a track car I would likely get a PDK.

Also note my '74 did not have power brakes and there were times I was worried my seat back would fail due to heavy braking with hand controls! (I still have the machined block used as a mount for MPD hand controls).

I once drove to Lime Rock with both my wheelchair and a friend's wheelchair, (both rigid frames!), in the '74. I don't think that would be possible with the newer cars and tiny frunks etc.

bullfighter

I do have a wheelchair, but can get around (slowly) with a hemi-walker — a one-handed, folding walker that’s pretty small and slips easily into a 911 rear seat. However, it would be great to be able to carry a wheelchair up front.

My only reservations about Sportomatic are service and repair - specifically replacement parts.

NJPyro

Parts are getting difficult/expensive to find for all air cooled cars and yes Sporto bits perhaps more so, and when you find them they will likely come at a premium, but once you have a working system it should be reliable. There are parts around it just might take some effort to source.

BTW the wheelchair frames were both in the back seats, one set of wheels as well, other set of wheels in the frunk. You could also remove the back seats, and store until you sell, for a bit more room and so you don't damage the interior. Targa was great too as I could remove the Targa top while seated in the driver's seat for topless motoring

Edward

Kudos to your aunt! And to you for helping her achieve that dream!
As for the sportmatic, you've heard the wisdom here already. So I'll just say awesome on you, as well, for going for it!

Edward

kalikazam

I have a sportomatic in my 74 Carrera Targa. They are becoming rarer though so as another poster recommended finding a local mechanic nearby if you do have an issue is important. My only issue I had recently was that the little cable that runs up the shifter broke while I was putting it in park. I lost the ability to shift the car more or less because without the electric the clutch cannot engage. Spliced it back together and it was good as new. Its really great though especially in traffic you can even keep the car in gear and just touch the shifter lightly to engage the clutch. Overall I love driving it.

mdkrp

Bullfighter- keep looking and hope you find one that works for you! I never knew about the Sportomatic trannies so learned something.

Igooz- your aunt is inspiring- heck I would love to come up from Tucson and go for a drive with her!

NJPyro

I too had a '74 Targa...miss it, loved it, but it was infested with metal worms when I bought it. Drove it for five years and sold it to someone building 914-6 who didn't need a sound chassis...

You shouldn't need to touch the shift lever as you have a torque converter which will disengage the drive train while idling and re-engage when you are above stall speed...I could drive mine around town in 2nd gear all day long, stopping and starting without touching the shift lever... and as I remember 2nd was good for 60mph, plenty of torque to go from stopped in 2nd as well. Body was SHOT but loved it, even kept the Sporto bits when I sold it thinking I would build a Sporto coupe one day...since have sold them off 💔