1975 911s - Ice Green Metallic, Great Driving Project on 2040-cars

I bought this '75 911s a couple of weeks ago right here on eBay. I paid for the car, received the title, transferred the car into my name, and my buddy and I flew out to pick it up. We trailered it home just this past week. 

I got excited about the idea of an old Porsche project and started bidding on it, and "auction fever" kicked in a little bit. I paid $11,011.00 for it last week, plus the expenses of flying out and picking it up and hauling it back home. So, I'm into this car for around $13,000... and now that I have it, I've decided that I just do not want a project car right now - I'd rather buy a completed car and enjoy our short midwest summer. Nothing against the car, but it's more of a project than I am looking for - my loss is your gain if you're looking for a nice, original 911 project to complete.

It was a west coast car its entire life. It appears to be an unmolested car - everything is original to the best of my ability to tell. It appears to be rust-free (other than a couple of minor spot of surface rust from rock chips). The last seller used many superlatives to describe the car - many of which were quite true, and others not even close. I will describe the car's history and condition as best as I can. I am not a Porsche expert, but have done much recent research, and will share what I know.

About the car:

The first owner of the car was an executive of Ste. Michelle Winery in Washington state. I was told that the first owner ordered the car in Ice Green Metallic paint, and picked it up in Germany, and drove around Europe, then had it shipped home, where he drove it until 1979, when the second owner bought the car. 

The second owner drove it until the accident happened in 1988. He and his wife were on their way home, and they were in their neighborhood. The roads were wet with rain, and they were coming to a curve. He hit the gas pedal a little hard, and spun out, sliding off the road sideways. He told me during our phone conversation that he hit a small 3" cherry tree centered on the passenger side door. 

After the accident, he drove the car home and put it in his garage, where it sat for 23 years. The second owner explained that during that time he was house poor, and had no extra money to repair the car, although he always wanted to.

In 2011, he took the car to his mechanic to get it running again (not a Porsche specialist). The mechanic did a few things like clean out the fuel tank, etc. from old fuel and rust, etc. The car sat with this mechanic for two years. This mechanic really didn't do a lot to get the car running, so he had the car towed to Aker's VW & Porsche Repair in Seattle, WA. in June of 2012; he picked up the car in October of 2012, where the work on the invoice was completed - pretty extensive (see photo of invoice).  

The second owner spent $6357.12 to get the car running again. The tires were so bad on the car that second owner did not dare drive it home. He had it towed to the tire store and spent $655.71 on four new tires. He then drove the car home from and put it in his garage, then went on a trip to Palm Springs. In the spring, he decided to part with the car, and he sold it to the person I bought it from here on eBay.

Repairs already made to the car included: replacing the fuel distributor for the fuel injection system, warm up regulator, thero time switch, battery, all brake hoses, brake pads, all brake rotors, wheel seals, front struts, rear shocks, hand throttle, compression check, flush and bleed brake system. The Porsche shop did everything necessary for the car to run and drive. 

The title never transferred to the eBay seller, so I am the third owner of the car. I have a clear North Dakota title in hand. I've driven the car about 100 miles now, and here's what I know after spending some time with the car. 

Condition:

It drives nicely, it doesn't wander or pull in any direction. German engineering at it's best! At freeway speeds, you can take your hands off the wheel and it just cruises along. It shifts smoothly, and all gears work properly. It does not pop out of any gear. Since the car has less than 88k miles, it drives as I would expect - it's nice and tight. Also, if you check out the invoice for the repair work completed, you'll notice that everything from the hubs out has been replaced - all brakes, rotors, shocks/struts, tires... so that's all new.

I noticed a slight vibration over 70 mph, and after checking the receipt for the tires, I noticed that they mentioned that both right wheels were bent in the hub area from the accident in 1988. This must be a very slight bend, as there's not a lot of vibration noticeable when driving it. (Good used rims of this "cookie cutter" style run $50-100 each). The Porsche shop had all of the wheels, brakes, etc. off the car and checked the running gear, and they didn't note any damage

The bushing in the steering wheel bearing needs to be replaced, so there is a little movement in the steering wheel where it mounts (not a lot) - thankfully, they make a $15 metal bushing that slips into the bearing - it is easy to replace and takes about 45 minutes. The fuel and oil gauge itself works, but needs a new sending unit in the gas tank and oil tank. The car shifts nicely and has a five speed transmission. All lights, wipers, etc. seem to work correctly. 

The driver's side window needs some work - it does roll up and down, but with some difficulty and fiddling. It has pop-out rear windows on the back, which is a great option for ventilation - they work really well at helping to move air through the car. 

The interior is in really nice shape, as are the various rubber bits on the car around the windows, etc. Since the car was stored in a garage for nearly 25 years, it helped to keep the upholstery, dash, carpet and such in nice condition. The headliner is amazing! The two window shades are a little puffy from age (they all seem to get this way in the old Porsches). The front trunk's in nice shape - when you lift the carpet and check out the backs of the gauges, etc. they're clean and new looking.

The damage to the passenger door is the biggest detriment to the car - it appears that most of the damage is confined to the door the inner and outer rocker. (The passenger side door does not open.) The passenger side rear quarter panel has some damage as well (that doesn't appear to be too serious). The rear bumper valance metal strip below the bumper (a screw on part) needs to be replaced. It seems that damage to the pan is minimal, if any (see photos). 

I have a good used passenger side door, and the inner / outer rocker repair panels, used rocker trim, one rubber rocker strip, rocker end metal trim. These parts are available to the buyer of the car for $700 additional.

The engine is a 2.7 6 cylinder Porsche engine. It runs nicely, but does drips oil (and could probably use a tune-up... but once warmed up performs nicely). I talked with a specialist about this, and he said that typically many of these leaks can be corrected (valve cover gaskets, etc.), but that is the nature of these engines - they tend to leak.

The car still has the emissions control air pump in place, but there has not been a belt attached to it for years, and it has seized. Most states have an exemption for cars 1975 and prior, so it should not be a big problem. I was going to remove it altogether. 

My original plan was to just repair the accident damage, paint the passenger side and drive the car. The seller I purchased it from told me that the paint on the rest of the car was in great shape. It's not - it is worn, scratched and dinged here and there and as you'd expect you might find on a 38 year old car that was driven and stored in a garage. The front fender on the driver's side seems to be a little darker than the rest of that side, but I have looked inside the car and not found any signs of accident damage there. Must have been some reason they repainted it, but I don't know what that is. Any rust is very minimal - surface rust near paint chips, etc. The car needs TLC - body work and paint, and some engine leak repairs, but a LOT of work is already completed - with receipts to prove it. 

If you don't have the funds in place to purchase the car, please don't waste my time. This is a running, driving project car.

The car is available for sale locally as well, and I reserve the right to end the auction at any time I choose.