I have a friend that has friend (No Joke) who has a 1977 930 that has been sitting for a very long time. It was wrecked at 3,800 miles and the guy that owns/repaired it is a real metal craftsman and one would be hard pressed to see where he dismantled it and replaced the sheet metal. This must of sat for a major portion of 30 years collecting dust. I understand the front was damaged but it was not totaled so it does not have a salvage title. The engine was recently removed, torn down and resealed completely. The interior smells new and the whole vehicle was repainted. I have not seen the car yet; I plan to look at it this weekend and maybe take it for a drive. I was contacted by a mutual friend who is major gear head and an automotive instructor at the local J.C. He knows cars but is not current on the in's and out's of the Porsches. Why question to the forum is what is this car worth and what would it be worth if it was never wrecked?

 

I can't help you with the "What Ifs" but I can tell you that with a wreck in its history, you will be looking at a "Driver" price. I mean that it will just be a driver and will never be a collector car unless it has some sort of "History" to it. If it has been repaired well and drives without any quirks, then it may move up into the upper driver category. That price range can be found here and in many other places. If I were to get real serious about it I would take it to a good alignment shop that knows these cars and have them go over it real well. After all, why do we buy these cars in the first place? Handling. Ok, some of us are into S&M. IMHO.

 

All the seals in the car will be a problem not just the engine (which was rebuilt ) All brake lines , fuel injection etc. This car will need a total overhaul.

 

I'd want to cross measure it on a jig before buying it......if the front end was hit hard due to the accident..........just to make sure it is OK and measures out right within tolerances. 911's that get hit in the front are very hard to repair correctly.

If it has been sitting for years and you start driving it......expect to have to spend money to fix things......so accept that it "may" take $10K in the first year to get the car to where you want it to be. It's good that the engine was resealed recently.......but others things may act up. You may get away with less than $10K........but plan to be safe.

Having said that.....the 1976-77 turbos do nothing for me at all......

 

whats wrong with the 76-77 turbos?

 

They are not 1978-89 turbos. That is all.

I prefer the 1986-88 model year examples personally. The 282/300 HP engine is way better than the 234 HP in the 1976-77......the wheels are larger, and the interior is of a much better design as well on the later cars.

 

Well let me just say (and probably start something here) but many of 1976-77 turbos have been smacked and repaired... some better than others.

I say this because when these cars were new, it was not uncommon for them to drive off the lot and be back on hook to the dealership within the 1st half hour after sthe sale! These cars were $26K brand new and most of the guys that could afford when new had the driving skilss of your teenage daughter and many of these cars were totaled and put back together, some suffered only minor damage.
The early cars were notorious for "getting away from you."

That being said.. I would check the car out carefully, I wouldn't neccessarily shy away from it because it had been hit. It would depend for me on the extent of the previous damage and the quality of the repair.. I would have it checked for proper alignment and panel fit by someone who knows these cars... then make a dewcision with the price adjusted accordingly. Just because its been hit does not always relegate it to the "just a driver" catagory either... (wait a minute, I thought they were all drivers?)

You would be surprised at the number of Porsches out there that have been hit, repaired, and the damage had never been disclosed. The term totaled is sometimes factual and sometimes relative. Look at the cars at a concours, do you really think all of those cars have never been hit or damaged in any way? I've seen concours cars that have had thier front ends twisted and obviously been successfully repaired so beautifully that the question would never even come-up.

My point being, take your time, check it out... or have it checked, and decide what your comfort level is with the car, and make a decision.

P-

 

Weren't the early cars lighter & had the shorter gearbox so the engine was 1" nearer the front of the car?

 

I think the weight advantage the early cars had was due to no intercooler and S brakes, mostly - the shorter tranny helps too I suppose. Maybe theres some stuff I'm forgetting. They had stronger cranks and rod hardware though.

 

Back about 22 years ago I ran my old 76 against a 79. At that time I only had a K-27 and Garretson IC. My car would walk away from that so called superior 79. Braking? What braking? That was another story.

 

Then your car, in that form with those mods, would have been the equivalent in design and function to a 78+......with the bigger turbo and IC it is no surprise.........therefore your analogy is flawed.

 

So you think I was getting 35hp out of just a K-27 and an intercooler? My car was the Euro version so it supposedly had 265 to start with and the 79's supposedly had what, 300hp? Anyway that was then.

 

Maybe I'm mistaken, but don't forget the 1989 had 300bhp and the SE had 330bhp. Wasn't this extra 30 bhp due to bigger i/c & turbo?
I agree the very early turbos were substantially lighter so should have better power to weight ratio. great fun!

 

Hmmm.. interesting talk..

Think if the 76-77 Turbo was lighter it would be relative considering the HP increase from 78 >
76-77 had the S brakes.. Which were aluminum calipers in front only.
78 had aluminum calipers at all 4 corners..calipers may have been heavier due to size.. but not by much.

Beyond the tail, rear suspension, wheel size and addition of intercooler.. and of course the increase in both HP and displacement, there was little difference if any to the rest of the tub or appointments of the car. So I'm not thinking that small difference in weight would make much difference.

Yes, 76-77 had the shorter trans.. the difference was at the bell housing .. to say that was a signifgant weight difference would be splitting hairs.

So I'm not necessarily buying the "substantially lighter" argument.

Also.. I've heard that 78 930s got 300hp regardless of US or ROW.. may have been 78 & 79.. I've got no proof or baseline for that but I've read it somewhere and have heard so in several discussions.

????????

 

I don't ever recall hearing that US 930s ever got more than 282 BHP, in stock form.

To the OP: I agree with the others. Unless you're looking to buy for a museum, a "low mileage" car like the one you describe might not be the mechanical gem for which you're hoping. There's a lot that can go wrong when these things sit unused for 20-30 years.