Giggity

I am new to buying a Porsche and I am looking to purchase a 1976 Porsche 911S rolling chassis for sale. The car needs painted and interior work but is overall rust free. The guy says that he has a new 2.7L engine short block (not original to the car) for it and a 5speed trans.

I am looking to buy just the rolling chassis and 5speed trans. How much would that be worth or how much would you pay for such a car?

The car looks to be complete other than engine and trans being out of it. I am trying to stay away from the 2.7L engine because I have read so many bad things about them. I would be looking to do some kind of engine swap as originality does not really bug me.

What engine would you guys swap into it?

JCP911S

First, what is a "new" 2.7 short-block?... but lets leave that aside for the moment.

Assuming the tub is rust-free and has no accident damage, it is a great base for a hot rod... what you are buying the option to spend another $20-50K building a car.

I'd value a solid 74 tub at $2.5K, and a rebuildable gearbox core at $1K. Also does it have wheels?

Budget $3K for gearbox, $5-12K for body/paint, $4K for suspension/brakes, $10-20K for an engine, $5K for interior and misc fittings, $2-4K for wheels, and $3-5K for beer and hoots.

Have fun

theiceman

yeah i pegged the chassis at 3 before reading JCP comments so there is your ballprk.

Your engine options are about as unlimited as your budget. But the most popular choice by far is the 3.0 litre engine.

You could go 3.2 or even a 3.6 although your tranny would need beefing up . But these options can get expensive fast as you have to upgrade brakes and suspension to keep pace.

Good Luck.

Giggity

The "new" short block would be a rebuilt shortblock that has had all machine work,new pistons,cam,etc already assembled. I should have chose a different word to describe it.

JCP911S

Hmmm... that may be worth some money... do you have receipts?

JCP911S

Gees, after re-reading my comments, I peg it at negative $3K

spanky

I cant help with the pricing as I have never been in this market before. As for the 2.7 engine, If its has been rebuilt correctly with the known points of failure ( pulled head studs) corrected I would hold on to it and use it. I kept my 2.7 engine, had the req'd casing work preformed and used new 930 turbo steel studs for the heads. That was 13 yes ago and I havent looked back.

JCP911S

Yes, if rebuilt properly, the 2.7 is a fine engine...

Just for some perspective, a top-to-bottom professional rebuild on any 3.2 or earlier engine will run $12K minimum, and a rebuildable core will be $2-4K, so do the math here.

I'm very suspicious of "good" used engines... these run $6-10K, and could be great or could be timebombs...

If the 2.7 has good documentation on the rebuild and can be had for $6K-ish money, it may be a good option.

tcsracing1

1976 rust free roller with title would have to be 5k but can see 10k.
74-77 tub Makes for a good hot rod base and they are in demand lately thus prices are up.

1984-1989 3.2L would be nice engine i think.....

GTgears

Ill buy every rust free middie roller you can find me for $2.5-3k. That's a 2010 price. Hell, just the suspension and brakes could be ripped off and sold for close to that. $5-8k is the real market in middies now.

Sounds like a fun project if you can turn wrenches. My only hesitation with that engine has nothing to do with it being a 2.7. A machined 2.7 is a great engine. Where I live a '76 needs smog, so smog pump and thermal reactors. I would put a 3.2 or 3.6 in a car like this and have more power with updated smog equipment.

Giggity

Thanks for the reply. I think a nice hot rod could be made of it. I am not concerned with 100% originality.

Giggity

Thanks for putting price in some perspective. I also think it will be a fun project.

JCP911S

Yeah, prices for these cars is really a moving target... its gotten crazy. I'll still stick with my revised estimate of negative $3K

If you really like the project, a couple grand more on the tub is really just p*ss in a hurricane... its really about condition. If the metal is good you'll save it all back on body-work.

Before you jump in the ocean, put a really detailed budget together.... then whack it up 50%...there's an old saying about swimming half-way across the ocean... make sure you can bring it across the finish line

GT makes an important point... definitely check with your state DMV about title rules and emissions... they can vary widely from state to state.

If you jump, send some pics.... we love spending OPM...