L8 Apex

First off, thanks to everyone who gave me advice on the last thread that I started about that blue '70 911 E with extensive mods (2.8L). I appreciate all of the advice and information that everyone gave me and it did aid me in my purchase decision. I think An6drew was looking into the blue '70 911E, we'll have to see if he ends up with it!

I ended up buying a black '72 911S, which was the model that I really, really wanted. (who doesn't??!!) I ended up getting a car that was in a lower condition than other cars I was looking at, but it was half the price and it was an S so I knew I'd be happy with it for a long, long time, so I could justify spending a little more money on the car over the long term.

I paid $6200 for it, it drives straight, the shifter is sloppy, there is occasionally a "clunk" from the right rear suspension area during takeoff (CV joint?), and it is pretty sluggish below 3000 rpm, which I think is due to the carb setup. I brought the car from 7000ft to 1200 ft altitude and haven't changed the jets. After 3000 rpm, HANG ON! The steering wheel bearings squeek sometimes and the passenger heater box is stuck open. The sunroof needs some work, it doesn't want to open or close very well. There is a VERY small oil leak that drips out of the belt pan on the rear of the engine, about half the size of a dime over 2 days or so. I did commit the cardinal sin of buying a Porsche: I didn't have a PPI done. I started to do a compression check after I brought the car home but I let the engine cool off too much and haven't done another yet, but I will.

That's the basic operational condition of the car, the rest is cosmetic or bodywork.

Here is a link to LOTS of pictures of the car so you guys can assess the cosmetic condition. I know it's a pretty remedial website but I put it together real quick just so I could show the pictures, so NO LAUGHING! That's not nice.

www.xsalerc.com

SO...how'd I do?

JackOlsen

If it's a numbers-matching S, and you're able to do the motor and paint work for a reasonable price, I'd say you got a bargain.

My big concern would be rust. I looked through your pictures, and I think you may be being a little optimistic about the extent of it. But that's just a guess.

There's a guy on the Pelican BBS who recently picked up an inexpensive S and started addressing rust. As I understand it, he's considering throwing in the towel, he keeps finding so much.

L8 Apex

Well, I hope that's not the case but I know it's possible. Underneath the car seems really solid. Seems like most of the rust, that I know of anyway, is in that front passenger fender. I still haven't cleaned out the front nose area though, so I know I could find some in there. I'm not really that concerned about rust in the rest of the car right now though, because there just doesn't seem to be any...that I can see.

I'll know what I've gotten into within the next month.

JackOlsen

I don't want to make you worry too much. It could be very clean, down on the bottom. I bought a 72 tub that looked like it had just left the factory, no matter where I poked. So they exist.

And let's say the car's worth $27,000 in nice clean shape. That gives you a lot of room to spend, and still be ahead of the game, financially. That's a rare thing in the world of 911's.

an6drew

Good stuff!

A numbers matching S for $6000 is pretty good going, especially if the engine is sound. Did the PO keep the MFI?

I guarantee that you'll need to replace that fender. If you start sanding the rust off you're going to end up with one big hole. Thats the exact same area the blue 70E is rusting- I think I am going to pass on that car as I don't think the price reflects the amount of work to be done there.

The H1's are a really nice surprise. It looks like the rear shocks are KYB's (white?). You might want to look at upgrading those eventually.

L8 Apex

Jack,

I went out piddling around with the car after you posted, jacked it up and got under it, and it just really seems solid everywhere, even the inside of the fender and under the nose, so I'm pretty confident that I'm not going to have any huge surprises. Everything looks really good except for that fender. But you never know until you get under that paint I guess.

I don't really think this car will be worth anywhere near $27k with what I plan on doing to it. Maybe many years down the road but I don't plan on having more than $15k in it over the next two-three years. And I think the fact that it's a gray market car will hurt the value, but I like it because it gives a story to tell about its history.

An6drew,
On the blue E, that's kind of how I felt. To deal with the tranny work and still have possible rust issues at a price of $11,250 (what he told me) was not a great deal, or so I felt. He kept saying he was really motivated to sell but his price didn't reflect his "motivation"! It didn't even look like he had that much money tied up into it, the PO is the one who did all of the performance mods.

Thanks for the info on the shocks, I was wondering what they were but I thought they might have been Boges. I'd like to put Bilstein's on it eventually. And what's the story on H1's? Obviously they predate H4's, are they hard to come by or what? Their lighting performance doesn't seem to be that stellar. But I like them because I know they're Euro. I figure since I have those it should be pretty easy to put the rest of the Euro lenses back on to take the car back to it's original configuration.

And yes, I have all of the MFI parts except the filter, I think. If anything's missing it will be a banjo or some other small part that I should be able to source from Easy or some other salvage. All of the parts that I got with the car are on a "Parts" link on that website.

onewhippedpuppy

If that is a true, numbers matching S, you stole it. I paid $5900 for my T, and I don't think it was in that good of shape. I later sold it for $7500. Like Jack said, you can sink a lot into it, and still come out ahead. Also, the S models have skyrocketed in value recently, so that value will only increase. Not sure why, but my T also had a passenger side antennae, but it wasn't power.

r911

The 72 is the best year because of the balance and the funky oil door.

Pull the headlights and tailights and check around in there for rust with mirror & flashlight. Hose all the crud out too. Get the car up in air and look at and probe the bottom carefully and thoroughly.

I think the location helped keep the value low. Contrawise it will sell for less there too. If you do ever sell it, try to do it in LA.

The #1 thing to do right away is to replace all the rubber brake hoses with new ones and flush out the old fluid with a quality new fluid. This is a safety issue.

Also, change the other fluids, use Swepco in the trans. and if the tires ar > 5 years old, replace no matter how much tread they have.

Congrats - you may have a steal. Send a note to Bruce Anderson at Excellence and tell him about it. We'll look for his report and comments.

epbrown01

He's got the MFI - it's listed on the "parts" page, so the car is complete. For a 6 grand '72 911S, you can't go wrong. It's a good deal.

Emanuel

JackOlsen

Next step: click on the "VTK" link in my signature. It will let you join the Vierte Tur Klub (Fourth Door Club) which is (exclusively) for 1972 911 owners.

Check out this forum as well for a lot of early-car-specific knowledge.

Brian 96C2

Jason,

Congratulations looks like you have a #'s matching '72S. The engine serial # looks to be 6320546. If that is the # then I am very sure it is the original engine based on the chasis and engine serial #s listed in the Early S registry roster of cars. The Cert. of Auth. will give the final answer though.

The fact that it is a European car will have no negative bearing on the value what so ever. The 2.2L 'S' models had the Aluminum engine lids and license plate panels. Now the adventure begins.

fixnprsh

congrats, looks like you have plenty of work set out for you in the garage over winter.

L8 Apex

Brian,

Thanks for the research! Yes, the serial number is 6320546. I appreciate that! I'm thinking that a framed Kardex will make a good Christmas present from my wife.

I've already got newer seat belts for it that came out of a 944, and I'm planning on replacing the brake rotors, lines, pads, and fluid before I start any of the body work. After those safety issues are tended to, then I'm going to start on the body work. The body work, headliner, windshield, and sunroof operation are really bringing the condition of the car down, so I think that's where I'll get the most bang for my buck.

Then my plans are to either re-install the MFI or rebuild the carbs, not sure which I'll do. I'd rather have the MFI in the car, but I really don't want to spend $1000 now for a pump rebuild, new injectors, etc, when I can rebuild the carbs for less than $150. Although I could bench test the pump to see if it looks like all of the pistons are working and then put it on without a rebuild. It appears to have been off of the car for several years. Any thoughts / experience concerning that?

onewhippedpuppy

Rebuild the MFI! Not only will it boost the value of the car if you ever sell, the responsiveness blows carbs out of the water. This is from lots of Pelican 911 forum reading, my old T had Webers, so I haven't compared them back to back. Just for resale though, it's worth it, plus you could probably get $1000-1500 for those Webers, that would go a long way towards the rebuild cost.

L8 Apex

I saw a set of 40 IDA's sold on Pelican for $750 recently, and I think they were rebuilt. Think I'd need to rebuild them to get decent money out of them? They look pretty varnished in places.