Edgy01

As the former owner of a 1977 911S I can tell you that it was the worst year for a 911. Porsche installed thermal reactors in those cars to get around the catalytic converter requirement that ultimately was on the 1978 911SC cars. When a car sits for that many years without being driven things happen,--all bad.

You have to spend money on a variety of things. Seals can be an issue when it's not getting cycled routinely. (You need to replace the rear hood shock(s) for starters. (holding it up with a stick is very declasse). Electrical things will be another problem,--all grounds should be located and cleaned thoroughly. Those little electrical gremlins will plague you,--trust me.

You need to restring the leather on the steering wheel,--non-stock, by the way for 1977.

The alternator fan has been (luckily) replaced with something better than the original stock 5-blade fan. Good move.

You have no A/C in the car. Was it thoroughly removed at some point? It's pretty worthless by now anyway if it wasn't cycled. Clearly it came with it because he left the condensor on the engine lid. Why take SOME of it off? Take it completely out. (You can then support the deck lid with a single shock).

The heater side of things is missing. (There was a plastic tube on the left side of the engine compartment to aid the 911S engine with air movement for heat in those days).

It appears the fresh air pump was removed. Check to see that (from directly underneath the engine) that each air injector port was properly plugged. This was a common thing to do for the 77 cars.

Since it has been sitting around since 1979 it is VERY doubtful that the mechanic ever installed the Carrera (1984 and newer) chain tensioners and oil feed lines. This is a very simple modification that is more of a retrofit and NECESSARY to all these engines. Figure about $350. Also, you probably need a pop-off for the CIS air-box in the event it backfires,--and it will, and take your CIS airbox with it (it will crack it and render it worthless). Pick up something like the 911 fixer upper book and read it!! In its present state probably worth about $8 tops. Some people like the narrow body cars.

There were some things I liked about the 1977,--but the list of hates is a lot longer!

Good luck!

whalebird

Edgy01 is right on the money. Any 2.7 911 is least desirable at this time, but a good running 2.7 is remarkably quick. I like driving them if they are in good shape. The autostick is a turn off, however it makes a great auto-x sleeper. I have driven a number of sportos and they can be under rated as they can be a lot of fun, just not my bag. The '73-S sportomatic is becoming desirable because of the limited production. Peter Gregg had a sportomatic as his personal car - given to him from factory.

dshepp806

+1 and dead on........it will probably frick up (only) right after you buy it. Without a firm, thorough, independent PPI (EVEN as a flipper kind' guy) , I'd walk (briskly) away.....

on the other hand: roll the bones, if you feel lucky, and have lotsa $$$ to spare.


........just 2 cents.......

Best,

jakeflyer

I bought the '76 911C Targa with good tires, paint, nice tranny, and needing seats, 100,000 miles. Driving and leaking some. $3,500 with clean title. A year later we were able to flip it with only a loss of $500 after the interesting and educational battle. Being a fair to middlin wrench, I had no fear. Now I have fear.

cwigg66

Awesome advice guys... Edgy01, whalebird, jakeflyer, dshepp806.... very much appreciated. That is exactly the kind of info I was looking for and have decided to move on. I was looking at this car as possibly a temporary daily driver for the wife (she wants an old 911), and possibly as a flipper. Hearing all this and after some extensive research, I'd rather have an SC with a little more wear and tear. You guys are what makes Rennlist work, can't thank you enough.

Chris W.

theiceman

Good descision Chris

I try not to speak on wether guys should buy cars or not as it is a personal choice and you could have passed on a great deal at 5K or been stuck with a disaster .. but now that you have made up your mind..

some would argue you could not make a 77 not proerly sorted , low miles, not driven 911 any worse ... but you actually can ..... put a sporto in it ... !

jakeflyer

We were lucky and very happy to sell the S and got an SC. We have to replace the tranny at some point, but it is a sweet car and we will not sell it. word of caution--- the car market is upside down like housing and the financial institutions such as Bear last week(the Fed took an action with them for the first time since the Great depression). P cars have taken a hit over the last months. Purchase what you want to keep cause you may have problems selling it. There are two trains of thought that I have. 1. P car prices will fall for at least another year, depending how grim things get maybe longer. Liquidity disappeared on Wall Street last week and the USA printing presses pump $ into the financial institutions to keep stability(creating inflation which the P car may hedge against due to the Euro). Toy money will become harder to find. 2. I saw the Jags, Healy, Abarth, MG, Triumph, Alfa, Lancia, cars go- from many and cheap- to -not there -over 50 years of playing with cars. I think some of the Porsche cars will suffer the same fate. I am going to buy into this falling market to get a 2nd 911. No hurry, cheap today will be cheaper tomorrow, but gone at some point

WitchDoctor

Barry, I've read a couple of posts from you, here and there I think, giving a broader financial picture that is helpful for any of us to keep in mind if considering buying, holding, selling, or as you are contemplating, getting a second sports car.

It's a darn shame the car our friend is looking at is so suspect. It looks so nice, and the last owner probably thought he was doing the best thing for its preservation.

Good luck with your search, Chris.

jakeflyer

Chris, I have avoided some serious mistakes by paying attention to information and asking questions here and on the 944 turbo side. Bad advice and misinformation is usually corrected. If any of my ongoing Pcar education can help a new guy, I hope to do so. I pulled apart our 911S engine and then went to Ollies and got an education regarding problems with the S engine from George that was worth a fortune(the education). Too many things can be overlooked by the novice builder or the non-best Pcar mechanic. A S engine really needs a lot more machine work than maybe a SC Case line bore and deck milling to get the cyls at the same height is almost a given. Cam towers trued, cyl base turned (6), and cam and crank attention. That may be about $2000. Assuming luck with having Mahle cyls and pistons, the pistons are probably worn under specs, another $2500 or so. I have heard too many stories about after market pistons to ever buy a car with that rebuild. I do not think you can cheap rebuild this engine and get many miles from it. I doubt that many first time builders get it right. The S engine built correctly is worth as much or more than the car and the reasons are valid. The extensive top overhaul is a sham on most of the S engines(my opinion).