Searching for a 911

[911pete]

Searching for a 911

Hello Chaps , I hope you don’t mind me putting this post in with the CLM arrangements and plans. I am pretty new to this forum but have been in and out of these informative and friendly pages for the last 2 or 3 years on the lookout for a suitable original car matching numbers in RHD but with no luck. I have decided to be a bit more pro active and have recently started looking on the classified adds almost every day and am now a payed up ddk member. Hopefully i can meet up with some with some of the Nottingham DDKers in the not to distant future.
My plan was to find a very good running car in excellent condition – but over the last few years my budget has gone from being able to afford a nice S or mint E but with rising prices my budget as gradually diminished to a good E or T. The 72 Tangerine E that was recently advertised on DDK would have been perfect but the 85K price tag was giving me heart palpitations as it was at the very outside of my budget. Again i pondered and now regret not viewing as it was soon gone.
The perfect 911 for me would be a bog standard unmodified RHD matching numbers standard 1972 2.4E coupe in a bright colour but have been either too scared to commit due to lack of knowledge or not impressed by what was on offer. The last car i viewed was actually a 73T but caked in very very thick under seal and could not tell what was hiding behind it. I am probably very cautious but don’t want to get burned. However, looking back I probably should have bought what was on offer as i never envisaged the prices going up to such levels.
I am now thinking of a change of plan – would I be better looking for a non driving original and complete project and then get the shell restored by a specialist? I could then spread the build over a couple of years when money allowed and ultimately end up with an excellent car that i know is good inside and out. Probably a harder route to take but this i am willing to do if i end up with my dream car. I can imagine that it is a very pleasurable experience bolting parts back onto a nice new painted shell and am very inspired by following the good spirit and restoration work of DDKers and the stunning rebuild from Darren with MCY182L .
If there are any members out there who have a good original RHD car out there tucked away ripe for restoration then i am very very interested – a possible new restoration thread for the pages of DDK ? I am willing to pay strong money for the right car. Please get in touch if you have anything nice and original lurking in the depths of your garage.
Cheers Pete.

[sladey]

Good luck with your search Pete

[Gary71]

Best of luck with the hunt! I'd suggest that constraining yourself to RHD will slow the process massively.

[hot66]

RHD is wrong hand drive anyway

Good luck with the search. A friend of mine was looking for the same about 6 months ago and to be honest it's not an easy search. In the end he bought a RHD 1973 2.4E in a fabulous colour .... Bought as a running 'project' , but soon to be fully restored

[Bertroex]

Same here, Pete. Good luck.

One advice though: get one with an MOT so you can get some events (CLM, Le Mans, OldTimer Grandprix (Nurburgring) in August, any DDK drives, Goodwood, a track day or two, a handling circuit session with a pro) under your belt BEFORE you start ripping it apart.

I bought my car relatively cheap, had the engine rebuild, body rebuild, seats done, all mechanics overhauled, etc. BUT.... whilst it was not economically viable, at least I -and numerous friends on roadtrips- had unforgettable memories. From that perspective, a not-too-precious car is more fun than some of the immaculate cars I had to pleasure to own or drive. In fact, the condition of my car now -although still having a two A4 page snagging list- makes owning it not quite the same as when I just filled her up with petrol, slung a hold all in the back, checked that I had bottle of diet coke and a few espesso's in a take away cup in the door pocket, ensured ipod and phones were charged, had a credit card with a man sized petrol budget allowance and room for a half decent dinner somewhere and off it went for 1000 miles in whatever direction.

In my opinion, you either get a "bargain" if you happen to purchase from a dedicated enthusiast with an engineering background /mechanical understanding who has spend all his/her money already and somehow you manage to compromise on a price, OR you buy a complete project and start from scratch: 300 to 500 hours on bodywork, 200 hours on prep and paint, 5 figure parts orders (note: not singular), renting vans to drive up to the lakes for a gearbox overhaul, and three weeks later haul somewhere down south for an engine rebuild, ah and 3 months later back again to the lakes to, well, perhaps have a second opinion, find a guy in Oz after 72 hours of obscure internet searching who reproduces the correct pattern headliner and this guy in a dry state who happens to have a New Old Stock stash of unobtanium bits and at a price that humbles Concorde spare prices, find a spare fuel accumulator from a guy that seems to live in his garden near the welsh border that is not quite as described - but jeez, the drive back and fro was bucket list stuff- etc.

Most of DDK-ers have deserved their T-shirt with honours and wear it with pride but by golly.... A wise man once said: "in life, it is about reducing aggravation". Sometimes.... I am tempted to walk into some shiney tiley showroom and get a 3 year old 997 targa and flick some plastic. But then I start up my C3 and my inner child laughs out loud and screams "feck it, to hell with being normal."

Take care,

Bert

[sladey]

What he said.

Beauty, and 911s, are not just skin deep

[Darren65]

"in life, it is about reducing aggravation"

Damn!…..that's where I've been going wrong!

Good luck with your search Pete and thank you for the kind words.

Bert is bang on with his observations, restorations aren't for the faint hearted and do tend to take over your life in a big, big way…..that said, you're right that it's a comfort knowing the integrity of your car.

I wouldn't get too hung up on T, E or S, they're all fantastic, although all cost the same to restore, also worth considering LHD, love mine…….remember that a driving MOT'd car at £40K + will generally require the same money spending on it as a non-running £15K shed, although benefit will be that you can possible use it for a time…..don't worry about a car being original, that can be put right and try buying a car with as many original items as possible, that's where a lot of the money goes!…..

…..all a minefield and never easy but worth it the end….best of luck again

[210bhp]

Pete

I wouldn't get too hung up on specifics. Model, lhd/Rhd, colour are all nice ideals but the driving experience of an early 911 is what counts and there is precious little difference between them. Ok, you might have the perfect car in your head but in the real world a 'bag of bits' in your ideal spec will soon give you more grief than the miles of smiles that a ready made car in 'nearly' the right spec will give.

Chasing the ideal is what puts those cars at the top of investors buying lists and if you are canny, fly just a little under the radar, you can get a really nice car at realistic budget. It will be ready to drive, you can enjoy the camaraderie of Ddk and save the heartache of years of turbulence that a full on restoration brings. I applaud those that have done it but remember they probably bought at much lower levels even a year or two ago and have the skills to perform at least one of the major jobs needed 'in house' eg metalwork/welding, painting, engine building etc.

The point is, that if you have never, or hardly ever, driven one of these machines you are living in the dark expecting your tangerine 2.4S Rhd with sport seats and fully refurbished bodywork to be 'way better' than a lhd tatty 2.4T with strong engine. The reality is that back to back the enjoyment of driving is pretty similar. For instance, Margaret brought her silver T to my place recently and allowed me a spirited drive to 'see what it was like'. I've owned several different models and I can tell you I could easily fall in love with her car. It's better than some E's or S's I've driven. Margaret pointed out some of the 'issues' with the car but it didn't matter. When you get on the road you always find something 'nice' about each and every one. It had a butter smooth gear change, a throaty growl from her exhaust, and a lovely balance and ride on the road. Every bit as nice as 50 more horsepower and a gleaming body.

If your budget is say £60-£65k I can think of at least two lovely cars to buy. Both lhd, one a T and one an E, one in a love it or hate it colour, one totally refurbished, the other a lovely original car. Both in the USA. It will take you far longer to restore a car to these levels that it will to import. Both from secure sellers and both ready to drive and enjoy when they arrive at your door. Both might be sold by now but what I am saying is that you can get something nice within your budget if you compromise just a little.

However, if you are hell bent on finding your exact spec then you have discovered the two options,
Wait a long time and pay up for a running car (and hope it's a 'good-un') or
Buy a total restore case and wait a long time for it to be finished to your spec.

Both these two options will be way more expensive that buying one of the two cars I mentioned above and take up far more of your valuable time.

Good luck.

Regards
Mike

[johnM]

I'm always a little surprised that folk seem to disregard the 2.0 litre and 2.2 litre cars and favour the 2.4. I would bet my 2.2 car drives just as well (with a different power delivery) as a well sorted 2.4. In fact many a 2.7RS has never lost me when out for blast.

As the guys have said ALL these cars when well sorted provide a fantastic driving experience. The hard part is finding a good one.

Good luck with your search.

Kind regards.

[Gary71]

...than a lhd tatty 2.4T with strong engine....

I've got one of those

Holds it's own perfectly well in classic Porsche driving company, has a few bubbles, leaks a lot, and when I drop my kids bike against it I don't have a heart attack

It's what I call a 20/20 car, from 20 feet at 20 mph it looks perfect.

[Lightweight_911]

Great advice from the dentist ...

[Darren65]

Great advice from the dentist ...

....ah, worth considering a rep too!

[Nine One One]

Good luck with your search.
As for reps, did you consider this?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/291172447867? ... 1423.l2649


I think there are members on here that know this car, that could help you decide whether it is worthwhile or not.
Likewise, they are all helpful with advise, if you do see something, and want, or ask for prior knowledge of it.

Never be too afraid to ask, they'll tell you if it's a lemon or not, or as above, give constructive advise

Ian

[Nine One One]

or there is this??


http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... hd/2446943

[Darren65]

or there is this??


http://www.pistonheads.com/classifieds/ ... hd/2446943

Mmm……interesting car, S engine…..could be a bit of a bargain?