Dear fellow old Porsche enthusiasts,

I would please need your feedback & experienced advice on making an old dream come true: finding a nice & fun old 911 has been a long time dream of mine and now is the time to find the one
I'm looking mainly for a late 70's / 80's car that would have been modified with taste to have some road race / "Hot rod" feel to it. I prefer cars that have been finely modified and tuned for performance over the years by a loving owner rather than all original & "matching" ones. And it often also helps making them a little cheaper which is good for my limited budget in those days of the after that crazy bubble we have seen the last 2-3 years.

That being said, it seems difficult to me to "value" modified cars especially since each one can be unique, but do you have some "rules of thumb" to share on how you value such modified cars?
Do you have any advice for looking at modified / hot rodded cars? Any particular experience, DOs / DON'Ts to share?

Secondly, to be more specific, here's a car I saw that is the kind of feel I'm looking for and looked like a nice cool one:
Hot rodded 3.2L on ebay
What do you think of this particular car? How much do you think would be a fair value?

My initial thoughts on fair value have been where the bidding about ended, but the seller wants significantly more.

Thanks in advance for any advice or input.

 

Maybe this one?

https://rennlist.com/forums/showthre...1#post13261491

 

Thanks Rick for the link, I had seen that Targa but a little too much on the "race only" side for me (full roll cage...), I'd like to also be able to sometimes share the car with the kids at the back
And on a pure personal aesthetic taste, I much prefer the G-bodied Targa to have the wide body (especially if there is a tail).

 

The only rule of thumb is that there's next to no value in a car like that ebay link. Really, just look at that last photo of the ducktail. Not to mention all the paint, here, there, and everywhere. But, you know, Magnus Walker peed on it, and it's got some really kool ad photos.

Yeah, I'm being overly harsh. But there's no reason to chase after something that's been can kicked. Not sure what price range you're looking at; that car didn't make reserve at $35K with no evidence of any mechanical refurb.

I really don't know what to tell anyone anymore.

 

There are bargains to be had, but for a new first time Porsche owner being able to properly assess when one is presented can be a bit of a challenge. Last year I bought a 74 that was dressed up to look like a 935 slantnose. It has a 3.2l Carrera engine swap. The price of entry was attractive enough that I was then able to pay a paint and body specialist 5 figures to rip all that stuff off and do a bare metal respray in the original Gulf blue color. I took off the 935 vented rear fenders and put on SC flares for a bit of a 74 Carrera look. The car is still a work in progress and I fully expect to spent several thousand dollars on parts with my own free labor to install them, over the next couple of years.



Here's what it looked like while the paint was still curing. It's home now and I've been making slow progress on the interior.

If you buy someone else's finished hot rod you get their tastes. Maybe it matches yours but it often takes some time to find the right car. Also, people get emotional about their projects. It's an age old argument whether a modified car should be worth more or less than stock. The recent run up in prices has really placed a premium on originality. But if a guy takes what is a $25k car, and spends $15k on a hot engine, $5k on the gearbox, and another $5k on the suspension do you really think most will want to sell it for $25k? Mods usually bring about 50 cents on the $1, but these days that tends to be a bit less with the originality thing. Just don't expect to find a car that someone spent $50 putting together for that same $25k unless he put it together a decade or two ago.

 

Thanks all for your inputs.
Race911, besides the paint flaws that are clearly present on several areas, did you see other points to be cautious about on the photos? I'm honestly looking for any education possible on assessing those old cars.
I had asked for a more detailed list of work done on the car, that would be a mandatory requirement to me before going further on a potential deal.
My budget is about in the $35k range for such "hot rodded" / modded old 911.

 

As Matt said its a risky business for a newbie - these cars are valued on cost & desirability of mods which is hard to assess. At $35k you will probably just get one that is dressed like one (in polyester) or a tired track car.

 

Yes I understand that with $35K it's a hard shot; I could push up to $40k for a real "love at first sight" car, but above will be very difficult.
From the past few months of reading/learning/looking around, I thought it could still be feasible if patient.
Just seen this one for instance, not a big fan of the bright green but looks nice otherwise: https://www.pca.org/classified-ad/314505

 

I assumed you were looking for a coupe! Targa is a fun car but has extra weight, is quite noisy at high speed due to targa roof & the chassis is not as stiff as coupe all of which go against your "hot rod" requirement.

 

Thanks Mondrian for the feedback on the Targa.
I was not against a Targa but that may come from my ignorance on the cons. Basically the targa chassis looked appealing to me for the open air ride at medium/low speed, but if the noise & added weight is really a major burdain I may reconsider that.
I imagine test driving some would be the best way to get first hand experience but could you please elaborate as much as possible on how "bad" the noise & weight / stiffness issue is for mainly sport road drive + may be occasional few amateur classic race events?

 

The chassis flex and weight on a targa is really only an issue on a racecar. For a toy car that gets tracked on occasions you won't ever drive it hard enough for it to be an issue. The open air motoring of them can't be beat, but yes they are noisier. They also have more headroom than the "more popular" sunroof coupes.

 

Thanks for the input. Open air rides is really appealing on those old Targa.
How bad actually is the noise difference? I suspect we talk about wind noise from not so good roof seals don't we?

 

Not an expert since I've only driven 3 targas and one coupe, but the difference is noticeable. Not just wind noise, a solid roof offers a different level of insulation than a targa top. Having said that, to me that's part of the charm.

 

No matter what you buy plan on spending at least $3,000 a year to keep it going. Some years it will be less and some years it will be more.

Go into this with your eyes wide open.

Richard Newton
Car Tech Stuff

 

Thanks Richard, that's very valuable reminder. You gotta have a good plan to do the right maintenance on those old cars.
In your experience do you see that average yearly amount vary depending on the car model? (like SC VS 3.2L, or Coupe VS Targa, etc..)

Hearing the motor or car itself more is ok to me (that's what the open air ride is also about), but wind/air aerodynamic noise with targa top on coming from bad sealing is the thing I could be worried about.