Looking at a 1966 911. Aside from rust and being old, what problems do the motors and suspension have? I believe they have 3 barrel Zeniths or Webers on each bank.

 

Hey, a '66 911! My first Porsche was a '66, and I owned it for ten years. What a fun car! And, boy did I love the way it sounded. I had fun revving the engine just so I could hear the sound of my own exhaust.

Hopefully the car is (mostly?) original. These cars are at their most elegant when unaltered.

The bottom half of the 2.0L engine seems to be pretty strong, while the upper half seems to experience normal wear. Which is to say my '66 had seen two valve jobs in its 180k or so miles of life, but only a single complete rebuild.

If you ever decide to rebuild the engine, you might want to consider installing the 2.2S pistons (if absolute originality isn't an issue). Requires some re-jetting of the carbs, machining of the heads, and premium fuel (always). Did that in my car, and it worked well, adding a little extra poke.

Clutches seem to wear out relatively fast. I replaced the clutch a few years after I bought the car, and it needed another one when I sold the car--after only some 60k miles, and the only clutch I've ever worn out in my life.

The cars originally came with Solex carburetors, but Porsche switched over to Webers at the end of '66. If the car you're looking at still has Solex's, it's a rare bird. Most people eventually got rid of the Solex's because they had a notorious flat spot and were difficult to tune correctly.

My '66 was a reliable car, and I used it as a daily driver for several years. That said, you should be aware this is not a modern car (despite how fun it is!). Worst of all is the window defogger--or lack thereof. I eventually quit driving the car in the rain because I couldn't keep the windows defogged--it was dangerous, even with my manual defogger (a rag, that is).

The suspension seems to be pretty robust. Sure, I replaced all the shocks, ball-joints, etc. But, once replaced, never had much trouble.

One scary thing. 1966 911s only have a single brake master cylinder. I believe the dual was introduced in '67.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

R.G.'s Old '66

 

Hi Arthur..!

First - Randall's comments are exactly correct - but let me add a few things from the '65 and ’66 I restored. First - look specifically for rust in the front of the trunk - especially around the "belly pan" (forward of the tank). Also - check the battery boxes for rust (there are 2 of them:-). All of these can be replaced fairly easily.

Another area to look for is in the rear longitudinals - both sides near the rear/bottom. Take an ice pick and tap that area. Most often overlooked is the rear torsion bar tube, though. On these earlier cars - they tended to rust from the INSIDE of the tube out - so about 9" from the weld point at the bottom of that “cross-tube” - again, use a sharp object to tap that area. (I always get asked *why they rust from the inside out* - the torsion bars "flex", which creates heat. When the air inside of the tube is warmer then the outside - moisture develops and collects on the inside of the tube. After a number of years, this process is repeated and that moisture collects before having a chance to evaporate In a non-galvanized torsion bar tube –rust develops inside the tube, and eats its way from the inside out..).

As for the 2.0 - it's a great engine. However, you most probably do have Solex carbs. These are excellent carbs - but - are very temperamental to adjustments. Also, jets/tubes/air-correctors are difficult to find. Another weak point is the twin fuel pumps driven off the left cam. Parts are very difficult to find for these pumps (especially the diagrams) so most go with an after market electric pump. (You'll need to block off that chain cover if you do that change)...

The 901 tranny I personally like (I have one still in my 914/6 3.0 and Jen's '68 911L). Not as precise in shifting nor robust as the 915 - it can be "tweeked" to shift without a lot of "slop" (In fact, in my 914/6 – it shifts more precisely then my G50 – no kidding! But – I had to fabricate my own shift bar to make that happen;^). I also prefer the shift pattern on the 901 with 1st low and to the left – esp. for the track,

Also - the half shafts - you probably have the Nadella (sp?) type - but you can upgrade these to conventional CV's by changing the tranny flanges from a later 901 (which is very simple). This should get you the correct OAL for the updated rear suspension for that changeover.

I'll left off a LOT of other minor stuff to look for/at - but hopefully this will get you started!!! Let us know what you discover, OK??