DL Lawrence

Hi folks-

Looked at a 1974 Targa today, with 59K original miles. Owner has reciepts for engine rebuild and new clutch. Seems to drive well, pulls smoothly, and tracks straight. Seems to pull strong, and brakes evenly with no pulling to either side. The paint and interior were in remarkably good condition for a 32 year old car. There was one small bubbling spot right under the chrome trim around the rear window about the size of a dime. 5 speed, clutch is very smooth.

Before I head towards a PPI for this car, though, I have some questions, though-

Running at 4K RPM, where should the oil pressure read?
Where do I find the VIN?
On the flat black rubber strip between the trunk lid and the front bumper, there seems to be some bumpy spots, maybe some "bubbling" Is there metal under there, and could this be rust under there?
After driving for about 20 minutes, temp gauge read about 190-200. Is this where it should be?
At what RPM should this car idle? (it's at about 2K rpm)
Also, at idle in neutral, when you turn on the lights, the idle drops dramatically-what does this indicate?
Where the front and rear tires the same size on this year?

Thanks in advance for your advice, and pardon the newbie questions, please.

Thanks!

psychoideas

I had a 74 'S' targa back in 84 so it's been a while but I'll give it a go.

Don't know.

In the front, under the carpet, just behind the fuel tank, on the right hand side of the car.


That's the 'Smile" and it has a metal reinforcement in it that rusts causing bubbles.

Don't know again, Sorry.

900 RPM.

Not real flash on Auto electrics but I think it indicates that your battery is not holding the correct charge or the regulator is not charging the battery properly.
When you turn the lights on the power should come from the battery and not affect idle. If your battery hasn't enough charge then the regulator tells the alternator to send it some more charge.
The altenator is driven by the fan pully and hence, loads the crankshaft up and slows the idle.
(Auto elec's please feel free to jump in at any time here)

Mine was an 'S' from the UK and it's standard size was 15 X 6 all round.

Hope this was some help.

Frank

GothingNC

Where is the car located?

I would check for rust in the rear quarter panels by the tailights , battery area, underneath the rear seats and underneath the door threshhold rubber.
Check for any bondo repair and see if case inserts were used during the engine rebuild.

Also verify the milage is true because the odometer could be on it's second round.

I would be concerned about the rust spot near the rear window and have that closely looked at.

Good luck

DL Lawrence

Engine Rebuild and new clutch was done at 53K, mileage on the car is authentic.

rsracing/david

better check to see if the case was inserted with time serts and studs replaced with devilar studs. 2.7 liter motors are going to pull the case studes if the problem is not addressed and is not a cheap fix.

Edgy01

I hate to be the naysayer here but this car had about 1800 miles put on it yearly? Hard to believe. If that was truly the car it was pampered, and babied, and the 'smile' shouldn't have evidence of rust forming inside. The fact that it had an engine rebuild at 53,000 miles is also suspect. I had a much worse 911 from that era,--a 1977, and it easily went to 100,000 miles before it needed a rebuild. Normal rims on the 74 cars if it was a 911 were the 6x15 inch steel wheels,--and optional were the Fuchs 6x15s. If the car was a Carrera than the rear flares should look like those of an SC and a 1984-1989 Carrera and the wheels were 1 inch wider at the rear.

Droops83

Hi, I know this thread is a couple weeks old, but in response to your questions, the rule of thumb for these cars is 1 bar of oil pressure for every 1000 rpms so 4 bar at 4,000 is about right. The oil temps you mention sound about right. You don't want them getting much hotter than 210-220 however. Regarding the RPM drop with the headlights on, the earlier 911s had alternators that just don't put out much at lower rpms, to the point that sometimes when they are cold at idle the alternator light will be on. That is nothing to freak out about unless the light stays on when you rev it up, of course. If you are still considering the car have the alternator output test during the PPI. Good luck, hope this helps!

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Chris Andropoulos
Schneider Autohaus
Santa Barbara, CA