Bear with me on this . . . I have been reading this forum for about six months, and y'all are really good with the right answers. I have an opportunity for a '77S. This might be my 2nd 911, depending on outcome of threads. The first one was a Polo Rot (red) '69T, which I did my own maintenance (clutch replacement, Webber overhauls, tensioner replacements), so "wrenching" is not an issue. Don't throw rocks - sold it to build and road race a BP Corvette.

Car Details: Present owner (my sister) is the 2nd owner for fifteen years. Car has no rust (really, none), never been crunched (or scratched), has original paint, never overhauled (even has original tensioners), never driven hard, etc. I have read the horrors of the 2.7L, and don't know how it has gone 112k mi. The only known problems are the proverbial "hot start" fuel pressure leakdown and inop fuel gauge.

I would like a car that would make weekend driver and track toy. If she can't sell it for $6000 as is, I can have it for ~ $3000. Y'all have often mentioned "the early cars are lighter, more nimble, etc.". Would this be a good start, or should I look for something else?

Your thoughts are, and will be invaluable.

 

Sounds like a good start for a street/track car to me. The 1977 911 will lighten up nicely if you are willing to strip the interior and sound deadening, plus you have the galvanized chassis that is more resistant to rust. Earlier 911's might be lighter and more nimble, but it sounds like the 911 you have a line on is a solid car, and worthy of your consideration.

Before you decide, you should find out the condition of the engine (and entire car for that matter) so you will have an idea of how much $$$ to budget to get it to top operating condition.

Heck, I might be interested in this car!

Good luck,
Jason
1977 911s 3.2 (soon to be 3.6)

 

Seems hard to gowrong for $3,000. The only objection I have to pre-SC's is the tire limitations forced by the unflared fenders. 'Course that's nothing money won't fix!

 

One quesiton.... do you feel comfortable doing major engine work.... say a top end overhaul? If so, hard to get hurt on this car. If it does pull head studs... the usual rap on the 2.7... probably looking at $2K for parts and you have a virtually new engine... all the upgrades (timecerts etc) are well documented in the Anderson book, and on these forums.

Mentally budget this work and drive the car until you have a problem... probably a good idea to check the studs before you drive it too much... the car can seem ok under light load even if the stud is broken.

IF you are going to track the car, double check the tensioners... they may be ok for a modestly driven street car, but for track upgrading these is a relatively cheap precaution.

You dont necessarily need to flare the car.... if you are doing BP racing you are probably a pretty experienced driver, and have a go fast car when you want to go out and stomp people... if you just want ot have fun, these cars are a total blast to drive with the narrow tires (can you say trailing throttle oversteer?)....

Resale on these cars is generally modest (maybe undeserved, but that is the case).... under $10K for a nice car, so I would be careful about how much $$$ you put into it, but don;t go crazy with mods and you can have a relatively cheap fun car here.

BTW.... why should you apologize for a Vette?....ooops sorry....

 

Sounds like a good car. Many people will say to stay away from the 2.7, but the truth is that once the "2.7 problems" have been delt with, they are just as reliable as any other 911. At 112k miles, if the head studs were going to pull, they would have done so by now, most failed in the first 60k. Upgrading the chain tensioners is a must, and you might want to consider adding the turbo valve covers. As far as fitting wider tires, many people have rolled the fenders, using the lip on the inside to add a little more width. It being your sisters car for fifteen years, then you have a very good idea of how the car has been treated and what kind of maintance has been done. This is a huge plus as one of the scariest parts can be not really knowing how the car has been treated in the past. At $6k sounds like a good car, at $3k I think it would be great. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

Blake

 

To JCP911S: The BP was "a few years back", and we were limited to 9.5" wheels-not much rubber for the power. Back then (or now) I could not afford to build a race prepared 911, so went with the 'Vettte. It was a hoot. 911s were a little pesky in the turns, but there was "no substitute for cubic inches". I do remember "trailing throttle oversteer" in rain and ice with the '69.

To All: Thanks for the responses so far. I'm very comfortable doing all the engine work, except for machine work. Reading some other posts, I saw engine updates using the 3.xL. I was considering locating one and installing it while the 2.7 was in rebuild. Any recommendations or "snakes in the grass"?

What books would be a good investment?

Kevin - Dallas

 

Books?

BAs Performance Handbook
Factory Manuels
Wayne Dempsys books (101 pjts and rebuild)
Take BAs rebuild class
Upfixins (PCA collection)

These should be all helpful. Some more than others...

 

A 3.0 conversion on this car should not be too difficult. Biggest problem will be finding a good 3.0 engine. These are getting upwards of 25 years old now. For many an SC an engine rebuild is an economic head shot...My rule of thumb is "good car, good engine... good car junk engine....junk car junk engine".... so where will the pool of good 3.0s come from? They are around, but I would assume a ratio 5 crap engines to 1 good one.... be very careful about the source... you can really get burned... alot of schiesters around ...(e.g. GPR...check the threads) A good 3.0 complete should be about $4,500 +/-.

IMHO, I'd just invest in building a good engine for this car... if you can do most of it yourself, it shouldn't cost more than $3-4K, and then you have a really perfect new engine... if you want more power, it isn;t a big deal to put bigger P&Cs on... you will probably want to replace them anyway.

 

Sounds like a great car. And yes you can upgrade to your heart's content with 3.0, 3.2, 3.6 etc. and have a very fun car. Earlier comments about being careful looking for your donor motor are true. But you could by a worn out donor 3.x motor and rebuild it at your leisure while you drive the 2.7. My car is an early narrow body car with 3.2. Most people would opt to flare the fenders to get more rubber back there. I have left it as is, and it's a handfull on the track, but on the street it's not a problem. One man's "handful" is another man's "oversteering demon" so it's a personal decision.

Volney

 

Thanks to everyone for the excellent advice! I have been reading these posts for several months. This board has the best experts (and opinions) seen. Will let y'all know outcome. Even if it doesn't work out, I've gotten fired up to get another P-Car.

Kevin - Dallas