Morning sportfans... True to my past, I've jumped into another Pcar that I know nothing about. No pics yet but I have a 76 911 targa due to be delivered next weekend. Its somewhat of a basket case. 133k, engine removed (supposedly in good running condition). The body looks very good and interior only moderately bad. It is generally in the same condition as that of my other pcars at purchase time (those have turned out to be a lot of fun).

I am a garage junkie but know zero about air cooled Pcars. I'm hoping you guys will help me slowly put this puppy back together. Maybe you have some ideas and I sure want to hear them but I'm thinking I will put the engine back in and get it running so I can figure out a to-do/shopping list. Then pull it all back apart for some gentle updates and a respray. I'm a little bit of a purist, so no big mods or any sort of track time. Suggestions, ideas, heckles?
...signed, Grasshoppah.

 

Hmm, '76 isn't the greatest year for the 911, or the best year for a newbie project.

Not sure what your goals are, but you have to assume the engine is toast and needs a full rebuild. Not to rain on your parade, but just a bit of reality, a '76 Targa is probably currently the least valuable and least sought after air-cooled 911 out there, by a decent margin.

You sound like you have a lot of work ahead of you, with engine rebuilt, complete paint, probably interior and everything else. One thing to keep in mind, you could buy a 70-73 basket case, do the same work you will be doing on the '76, for the same cost, but end up with a car worth $25K instead of $9K.

So, , just be careful about what you are doing. If you don't mind being way, way upside down on the project, that's ok.

The car itself is pretty simple, basic stuff. The biggest thing you need to be concerned about is a proper engine rebuild. It's not like an SC or Carrera, where you basically just rebuild the engine. The '76 needs to have certain things done to it during a rebuilt to make it more durable. You should do plenty of research on that.

 

I know you are a purist, but you might be better off buying a second hand 3.2 and install that instead. Again, as M491 pointed out, chances are you will not make any money on reselling this car and will probably end up being in the hole quite a bit, which is fine if you love this car and are buying it purly for your own enjoyment.

 

I haven't entered into such an ambitious project myself, but I have done some work to my 911. I didn't have much experience working on cars other than some basic tinkering and fixing prior to tackling projects on my Porsche. I can tell you this: of all the cars I've worked on, it was the first that I actually enjoyed.

The 911 seems a little more well-thought-out than most. I suppose that's what happens when engineers slowly and gradually engineer a car rather than rushing to re-invent one every 5yrs strictly for marketing.

There's a lot of wisdom here on the boards to help you out along the way. I have found that the 911 Forum is super friendly.

Prior to 76, rust is an issue. But you shouldn't have any real rust issues in a 76+ car. According to Pete Zimmerman's book, the 76 cars had premature engine failures that caused the reputation to suffer. But let's face it, by now that issue should have come and gone in this car.

Don't get discouraged. This is a labor of love, not economics. There's no better way to be "in the moment" than working on a 911.

And, my only real advice: Get a Bentley Manual and Pete Z's book (The Used 911 Story). Also, 101 Projects is a good guide though it sometimes leaves out rather important steps.

 

Congrats, way to dive in! Don't be discouraged by the nay-sayers. The mid year cars have a stigma attached to them because of the issues associated with the 2.7 but otherwise they are perfectly good cars. Remember, it's still a 911! I believe the main gripes on the 2.7 were a result of the thermal reactors which cooked the top end and caused premature valve wear and oil leaks. Also cylinder head studs would pull out of the magnesium engine case. If your car has had timeserts installed, a valve job and no thermal reactors you may be ok. As noted above, the 76 is a zinc galvanized body so rust should be less of a problem than the earlier cars. If the chassis is sound and you don't have a lot of money invested this car could be a candidate for a 3.0 or 3.2 conversion. One nice thing about this car is that it is not so valuable or complex that you are afraid to experiment with mods and diy projects. The possibilities are endless. But, it's wise to go into this project knowing that the car will probably be worth more to you in the end than its resale value. Good luck and welcome! Post some pics when you can.

 

before putting the engine back in i would pull the covers and see if the head studs are intact. if any of them are pulled out you are looking at a fairly big dollar rebuild as the case has to be torn down.

 

Thanks guys, especially for the encouragement. I have been reading those books that Shannon mentioned and a few others. One of them shows a sort of makeshift engine stand with a running engine. That struck me as a good place to start to know what I have. Have any of you ever done it that way? I guess I'l fab that stand on the fly unless maybe someone knows of a sketch. With the stand, maybe I can get a leakdown, compression and a handle on any oil leaks. I'm hoping to avoid an all out rebuild but will roll with it if need be.
I'l get some pics this weekend and we'll have more to talk about. Thanks again for helping...Bruce