rmally

Hey folks,

For those that have much more knowledge and experience than me, what of these two 911's would you lean more toward buying:

A 1971 911T in good condition, but needing about 2-3k to make it a very nice condition 3 car. Not original paint, 90K on a non rebuilt engine, no rust.

A 1976 911S in very good condition needing just minor things. No air, recent rebuild, so so paint, a very solid driver.

Both cars are priced within a few hundred dollars of each other. I really like both cars and wanted some feedback from the experts.

Thanks,

Brads911sc

IMHO its not a contest. the 71 hands down. I would never buy a 74-77 car regardless of whether it was ever rebuilt.

pu911rsr

The 71 is a much more valuable car as long as it's not rusty. It depends how you want to use car, as daily driver the 76 is probably a better car.
Phil

911Dave

What do you mean by not original paint? You mean it's been repainted in the original color, or that it's not the original color?

TroyN

71

rmally

Thanks guys,

The 71 has been repainted from it's original color to a complete different color. No rust, save a few surface spots.

What is the issues with the 76?

Whichever car is bought will only be a weekend driver.

TroyN

The later car has the stigma of the 2.7 magnesium (vs. aluminum) case engine, which has a bad reputation for pulling head studs. If they are rebuilt properly they can be pretty reliable but many people are turned off by the reputation alone. Also the earlier car has that certain purity that is missing from the later cars. The later car is one of those 'tweener cars that is missing both the purity of the earlier cars and the robustness of the later ones. MHO...

Edward

71 is a "long hood" ...no contest. So long as it's sound, get it and enjoy driving a true 911 classic. Worry about fixes later; address as you go

Edward

911Dave

Definitely the '71.

pu911rsr

Well all the 911's after 67 had Mg cases until the 76 Turbo came along when the switch was made back to Al for the 911 Turbo and Carrera 3.0. The 74-77 911's had numerous issues with 5 blade fans, overheating, thermal reactors and head studs, any decently maintained car has has all these issues resolved by now but the stigma remains. If the cars are the same price either the 71 is significantly underpriced if it isn't a POS or the 76 is significantly over priced. A decent 71 T should be 15-25K and 76 8-12K.
Phil

rmally

Thanks for the replies, here's the deal.

76 911S needing basically nothing, and paint 7 out of 10 with 12k on recent rebuild.......$13,100. (air does not blow cold but that doesn't bother me)

71 model with decent interior and rebuild 9k miles ago on non matching engine, has 72 FI. Color was changed from Green to Silver, small surface rust and needing tires........$12,700.

Both cars seem to run fine, and both are Targa's. Is the fact that the 71 has a different engine a "don't do it" sign or in the long run will that matter. I guess you could always go back to a 71 engine but it still won't match numbers wise, but how does it affect it's value.

Also, I'm looking for a car to keep not to buy and sell. I plan on using this car on weekends and local events, but if the engine makes that big of a difference in terms of value it would be nice to know.

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Brett San Diego

Non-matching numbers will prevent it from ever being a top-tier valued car, but nevertheless, a decent long hood 911 without numbers matching is still going to be a good value as long as the buy-in price is commensurate with condition and originality considerations. Color change also devalues the car. For your stated purpose for the car, it sounds like the asking price may be reasonable. But, you still need to do your due diligence to ensure the car is worth your offer.

Brett

Brads911sc

why dont you add 2-4k and get a well sorted 82-83 SC.

Much better than either of those two in my opinion.

Cajun

Go with the '71. I had a '76 and had the pleasure of having the 2.7 blow and leave me on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere...

Go with the long nose...

pjc

Hey Cajun - what you running now then - a 71? Problem with surface rust is that it's like an iceburg, all you see is the tip - believe it or weep!

PJC