[thetedderbear]

So I'm tossing around the idea of buying an old beat up 911 and doing a little restoration/having something to tinker around with and be able to truly work on more than my modern, wire/electronics filled BMW. What years should I be looking for? I'm talking 60's to 80's, but which models, theres so many from that era that aren't clearly distinguished and I'm kinda lost. I really like the look of Singer's retromod 911 and old RSR's, what years are those based off of? Ideally I'd like the initial car itself to be less than $10k, but that may be a little bit of wishful thinking. Thanks for any help!

[MisterSkiMask]

A dangerous project for your bank account.

I believe singer starts with a 964 and then does a major back date/conversion to an earlier (long hood) look.

I tossed a similar idea around some time ago (I was interested in an air cooled street legal track day car). My advice would be to find a car that someone else has already started on but is headed in a direction that you like. There are plenty of 911s out there that guys have started to play with and work on.

Your budget won't get you a decent older car, you will most likely end up with a short hood 911 late 70's through 80's SC, they have a good reputation for running forever.

If you start doing research you will quickly learn what you want and don't want. If your budget allows it get a car with a G50 trans.

Good luck.

[epbrown]

Originally Posted by thetedderbear

So I'm tossing around the idea of buying an old beat up 911 and doing a little restoration/having something to tinker around with and be able to truly work on more than my modern, wire/electronics filled BMW. What years should I be looking for? I'm talking 60's to 80's, but which models, theres so many from that era that aren't clearly distinguished and I'm kinda lost.

Conventional wisdom is that the best "first 911" models are from 1978-1989. These had fully galvanzied bodies, so they aren't rust-buckets like the early cars; they're reasonably reliable and easy to maintain for a competent shadetree mechanic; they had enough performance for modern roads.

Few, if any, go for $10k. The 911SC was made from 1978-1983, has a 3.0L engine with CIS injection, and you can find decent ones in the low teens, especially the less-desirable targas.

The 1984-1989 Carrera with 3.2L engine and DME fuel injection is peppier, and more expensive - mid-teens up. The cream of the crop from this era is the 1987-1989 cars with the G50 transmission, which is much better than the 915 trans Porsche used until 1985. A G50 Carrera is high-teens to low-20s.

A possible bargain would be a 1974-1977 911. The 2.7L models look similar to the SC and Carrera (they lack fender flares) and were partially rust-proofed. They're lighter than the later cars, so performance is similar. They tend to be cheaper because the 2.7L had all sorts of issues in the US due to emissions equipment. Most have had those problems solved, many with engine swaps to later 911s, but the stigma keeps prices down so they're often good deals.