What is the tipping point in modifying a car? It seems a delicate line which is easily crossed; one that once tripped over pushes the car in question into a free fall from object of desire to ridicule. Obviously, if someone opens up a J.C. Whitney catalog and orders all of the accessories available for their Monte Carlo, it’ll be a bit of a laugh. But what about when the ingredients are all top-dollar, high quality units? Let’s take this 911 for an example and break down the components: at it’s base, this is a 1977 911S Targa, or was. Now, by itself that’s an increasingly valuable commodity – so, it’s a good basis, right? Now it wears an updated 993 wardrobe; they’re a hot commodity, too. And who doesn’t love a cabriolet? Okay, so that’s a lot of people. But some people like them, right? How about the motor, a Ruf modified twin-plug turbo? Wow, put those names together today and you’ve got yourself a retirement plan. And while not the purview of these pages, if you haven’t been following auctions anything with the name Boyd Coddington attached to it has some serious value as well since his death. There has even been a spike in value of classic Recaro seats, and right now brown tones are still totally in vogue. So, with all of these individual bits added together, this car should be worth millions, right?
If you need a reminder that 1970s Porsches weren’t always worth a lot of money, look no further.
CLICK FOR DETAILS: 1977 Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet…ish on eBay
Year: 1977
Model: 911 Turbo Cabriolet
Engine: 3.0 liter turbocharged flat-6
Transmission: 4-speed manual
Mileage: 39,000 mi
Price: Reserve Auction
1977 993 Style Turbo Carrera Cabriolet-1977 930 Turbo 3.0 Twin Plug engine and 4 speed Trans.- Ruf Pistons Etc.-450hp-4-speed- Car is a 1977 911S Targa Converted in California in 2000 at a cost of over $100,000.39,000 miles-Special Boyd Alloy Wheels-Full Supple Custom Leather-Dash-Door Panels-Rear Compartment-Recaro Power Heated Lumbar Seats-Wood Package-3.0 Liter Twin Plug Motor with Ruf Pistons,etc-450 HP-Fast and Cool-A 1977 Porsche Single Plug Stock Turbo Motor just sold on Ebay that needed to be rebuilt for $31,600. My Complete Running and Driving Twin Plug fresh Motor and Complete Car That is Awesome- Porsche Turbo Cabriolet for a small sum.
What a complete train wreck. I have no doubt that the conversion of this car cost all of the claimed $100,000 if handed to a shop to do. Can it be saved? I doubt it; the penultimate sentence of the listing hints towards the future for this car; part out. The value of late 70s Targas isn’t so great that it would be returned to that configuration, and the execution on the updates – while pricey at the time – ends up cheapening all of the parts rather than being a symphony of design. Unlike what the seats would have you believe, this is just not a marvelous example. The car has gathered no bids at the $30,000 opening price point, and I doubt it will sell. But if you could get it for the right price, the motor, seats and some other bits could be redeemed in other packages. This car could be more valuable as an organ donor than as a complete package.
-Carter
Have the seats really been embroidered with the word “Marvelous” or am I suffering from sort of pixilation?
There’s snow on the ground in the pictures
I’m worried because I just don’t hate it.
JC – I agree, it actually looks quite nice, aside from the wheels. It’s unique, and if done right, it would be a nice little driver. But don’t ever count on resale value…
But would you keep the marvelous seats?
Fuck yes, I would keep the marvelous seats.
Hahahaha great stuff. The real complaint I have about the updated 993 bodywork is that it never quite fits right on the early cars, making them look a bit bent to me. Couple that with the side scoops, and it starts to look like a Rinspeed car rather than a Ruf car. I don’t know, I guess I like the steering wheel – and that the interior isn’t black.
I am with JC on this one. I am a big fan of these cars, own 2 presently. I know the market, and have seen a lot of “custom” cars. Frankly this one is not as bad as it gets. Everyone has different taste, it looks to me like the owner just had no sense of direction in regards to what he was building. Those wheels are indeed terrible however.
Without the embroidery and wheels it could almost pass for period-correct bad taste, with them it is a travesty.
Let me put this in perspective: I am married 42 year old father with infant twins who just paid $350.00 to replace a lost key for a 12 year old C-class MB that I dislike.
If you told me I could drive a GOLD 911 convertible with a RUF motor and leather seats embroidered with “Marvelous” in italic script, I would do so everyday grinning my ass off.
Meet Captain Asshole, how do you do? *points at self*
Those wheels are the worst – make it look like a dune buggy.
Maybe the sum of the parts is worth more than the whole car. I have to believe a true 19773 liter turbo motor is worth $25,000 for a true rebuild Ruf engine. It would cost almost that much to rebuild one and who knows what a core engine would cost before rebuilding. Someone with an early Turbo and no motor may want to look at this travesty.
It’s not a RUF motor, it’s not a RUF modified motor, the claim is RUF pistons and Cylinders, yea maybe it has them, did RUF ever make 3.0 liter P&C’s for turbo applications? I don’t see anything in that bay that tells me RUF ever saw this motor. 450 bhp from that 3.0 turbo, really? How long would you expect that motor to hold together at the boost you’d have to run to put down 450hp out of a 3.0? I would love to see the dyno numbers and the data. This was a pre galvanized steel car so who knows what the rust situation is. Are the body panels fiberglass or steel? Don’t get me started on the panel fit either. Which 4 speed is in the car? Don’t forget this was a targa and now it’s a cab so the structural integrity of the car is shot and then you add lots more hp that thing is going to flex all over the road. Boyd wheels, are you sure that’s Boyd Coddington? I don’t think Coddington sells or sold wheels under the name of just Boyd.
IMO the seller is purposely walking fine line between what might be true and what is not really possible to prove isn’t true to push this car. This car is a sloppy mess if you asked me.
I can’t believe how much I actually like this.
The wheels would need to go though.
Thank you all for making my day! I truly enjoyed seeing this and reading all of your comments over a beer!