Even though I’m very familiar with it I still find it somewhat jarring to look at the market for a 1974 Porsche 911S versus a 1973 911S. The reasons are all fairly clear: the new design with impact bumpers remains less appealing to many collectors and the engine suffers from too many restrictions necessary to meet the more stringent emissions requirements of the day. With time I can’t help but wonder how much that gap will close. A recent article on the 911 market has suggested that as collectors become increasingly likely to have been born after the introduction of the impact bumpers then the first issue will become less of a hurdle for these cars to overcome and we could then see those values rise. Obviously, that may never be borne out and the engine will always be what it is. But we do frequently hear from owners of the mid-year 911 that when maintained properly they can make for excellent machines just as any 911 does. And at the moment some of them can come at quite a discount. The example we see here is a Bitter Chocolate 1974 Porsche 911S Targa, located in Sacramento, with 146,604 miles on it and on offer with no reserve.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1974 Porsche 911S Targa on eBay
Year: 1974
Model: 911S Targa
Engine: 2.7 liter flat-6
Transmission: 5-speed manual
Mileage: 146,604 mi
Price: Auction
NO RESERVE, starting bid @ $911.
This is a very special California blue plate 74 S.
1 owner for over 3 decades. Bought new at Neillo Porsche of Sacramento and then purchased by it’s second owner in ’77 at Lasher Porsche also of Sacramento (as acquired by trade-in), until DRD acquired it recently this year.
Numbers matching ( motor # 6341416 ) real 911S with COA included.
Original Bitter Chocolate (paint code #408) with one repaint by Sacramento’s nostalgic, Fabrication Specialties in 1979. At that time, period correct OEM 73/early 74 Carrera rear flares were added, along with a turbo tail and aftermarket lower front valance, both tail & valance have been returned to original by DRD). Also included in sale is a pair of stock OEM rear 74 flares if returning the car to completely concourse/stock is your desire.
Car was serviced and cared for by many of Sacramento’s finest including Dwight Mitchel (when he was still the owner of Eurosport Technologies on Broadway in Sacramento) who rebuilt the motor at 100K Among many other things. IPB Motorsport does the service these days and car has just been through an $8000+ service to bring it back up to touring condition after a long, garaged hibernation.
Car was set up back in the day by Dwight Mitchel and includes Dwight’s line of Neatrix Suspension bushings, lowered and corner balanced with Koni shocks.
Original Blue CA Vanity Plate from 77 included and still current through 2016.
Original owners manual stamped by Neillo with a sale date showing Nov. 19, 1974.
Original complete tool kit.
Original spare, jack, and air pump.
Early period CB (a PCA touring must have before cell phones).
Real, OEM Al Reed polished/painted 7&8X15 Fuchs with new 205/60 & 195/65 tires.
Many original service records (rebuild record is missing but can be confirmed by Ron Kane @ IPB, who took over Eurosport in the late 90’s and remembers the record).
Excellent mostly original interior with custom period rare Recaro seats. Original dash with separate speaker grill has a few cracks in some of the usual places. Everything works as it should including the manual throttle, all lights, heater, horn, dome lights blinkers etc.
Exterior is still extremely presentable. Misc. nicks, chips, door dings etc exist but car shines with a rich high gloss, is extremely straight, has no glazing or hazing and is rust free.
Britework, chrome and trim are almost as-new…truly remarkable condition that only comes from a dry climate and pampered Stewardship. Excellent original green tint glass. Very nice original rubber.
Underside is very clean with no rust. Excellent battery tray and trunk.
Motor runs fantastic. No issues. Updates include oil fed chain tensioners, pop off valve, Turbo valve covers, SSI’s, case savers etc.
Transmission shifts smooth and seamlessly without issue. No fussy downshifts or grinding upshifts. New shift rod bushing, and rear coupler.
This one is just too much fun. A rare, numbers matching, early S hotrod in an amazing period color with excellent ownership/service history from sunny, dry Sacramento CA since it arrived in this county from it’s homeland.
Don’t miss out, 74 S cars are more scarce on the market place these days than 74 Carreras.
DRD is a licensed bonded CA dealer proudly presenting this car from it’s own inventory (as are all my offerings). No other fees are associated with this sale other than sales tax if buyer takes delivery in CA. Registration current at time of this listing.
PPI and fly in visits accommodated and encouraged.
Full cover and front bra also included.
Link to all 174 pictures here: http://s761.photobucket.com/user/car-reras/library/bitterS
Below are just some highlights…enjoy.
We’ve featured a few Bitter Chocolate 911s of late and it is most definitely a period-correct color. As a non-metallic shade it is one of the better shades of brown that Porsche has offered, though I tend to prefer a metallic brown in most applications. Still this is a nice looking 911S that has lead a pretty full life to this point, even if, given its age, nearly 150K miles is pretty reasonable. There are a few non-original items on board, but they appear to enhance this 911’s appearance rather than detract from it. With a few days remaining bidding sits currently at $25,100. With the mileage and modifications that seems about right though with these 911s slowly beginning to come up in value it wouldn’t surprise me to see this auction rise a little bit more. It’s not a bad value for something that should still be capable of providing that vintage 911 experience.
-Rob
