1973 Porsche question

The Carrera RS 2.7 was the first use of the Carrera name with the 911. About 1600 cars were built from October '72 to July '73. A real Carrera RS in good condition is worth a lot more than other cars from the period ($75-100K??). Most that you see have after-market mods by owners wanting the RS look.

The engine should be 2.7 liters and have a 7300 RPM redline, if it's real.

The body should have the script on the sides, the rear "duck" spoiler, the wider wings and the front air dam. There should be serious "lightening" of the car, including non insulation, rubber mats, plain door panels, no rear seats, fiberglass engine lid, etc.

I don't recall the Carrera RS ever appearing in the targa body, as they were meant to be racers, so would have been coupes - so that may be the tipoff right there.

Basically if it's a real one, you won't be getting a deal. I can't think of a real one being passed off as after-market. In fact there are a lot of good fakes and you have to go to an expert, double-check VIN's etc to keep from getting ripped off.

Edit: on the 6-speed, that's wrong. Carrera RS's (and regular Porsche 911's of that vintage) were 5-speeds.

 

If it's a '73 Targa, it'll just be a standard T, E, or S with the 2.4 Liter flat 6. They didn't have spoilers from new but many have had them retrofitted. Also, I believe that all 911's by '73 had mechanical fuel injection. If there is one that didn't, it was the 911 T. The Turbo wasn't until the '76 MY for the US and the early ones were badged Turbo Carrera. There were no production Turbo targas until the late 80's, at least for the US market.

 

If it's carburetted, then I think stock was dual carbs with triple chokes, and that would be the T-model. Porsche used a mechanical fuel injection system on the higher-performance cars (E- & S-models) at that point. There was also a capacity bump from 2.4 to 2.7 liters right around that time, so you'll want to check that. The first Turbo was 3.0 liters and had a run from 74 to 76, but I don't recall when they were first US-legal.

 

You're right! I just edited my post. The T, E, and S models had the 2.4 engine in '73 and the Carrera RS had the 2.7 engine. Then, when the impact-bumper cars were introduced for '74 they all had the 2.7 engine in various states of tune, depending on what part of the world you were in.

 

Get the vin and punch it into the decoder on this site...
http://www.early911s.com/

Like all old cars, look for rust. In addition to the obvious areas, these cars like to rust in the front suspension pan and behind the rear seats. Good luck!

 

Real 73 Carreras have a VIN starting with 91136xxxxx.
M471 package is exceedingly rare.

The first Carrera RS (or Rennsport : sports racing) appeared at the October 1972 Paris Salon, it was produced for motorsport homologation purposes to allow a modified 911 to compete in the international group 4 category. A production run of 500 was required, but these sold out almost immediately, production was then extended to 1000, but demand didnt dwindle and a total of around 1580 were produced.

Three versions of the RS were available, a very basic homologation model intended purely for racing and two versions for the road. The RS sport lightweight M471 and the RS Touring M472.

The heart of the Carrera RS was the 2.4S engine with an increased bore to 90mm equating to 2687cc, using the same valves timing and compression, resulting in 210bhp at 6300rpm and 188lb/ft of torque at 5100rpm.

The gearbox of the 2.4S was retained but modified for taller 4th and 5th gears giving 152mph top speed.

In the handling department the koni dampers of the 2.4S were ditched in favour of Gas-filled Blistein dampers, in combination with new thicker front and rear anti roll bars.

The RS was based upon a much lightened 2.4S bodyshell. Most of the RS's produced featured thinner gauge steel on the roof, doors and bonnet. Thinner side and rear glass was fitted to the lightweight models.All had glass fibre bumpers and engine lids featuring the first duckail spoiler. The rear arches were also 50mm wider than the 2.4S to accomodate the 7x15" fuchs alloy wheels. The Carrera RS was the first porsche production model whose rear wheels were wider at the rear than the front. To maximise weight saving even the underseal was limited to the wheel arches on lightweight models.

The RS touring M472 was fitted with a full 2.4S interior and all its luxuries like electric windows and sunroof costing it 100kg in weight over its Lightweight 970kg M471 brother. The lightweight model had fixed positon Recaro bucket seats and no rear seats fitted, The door panels were very basic with no detailing, pull tog handles and mechanical window winders. No clock or passenger sun visor were fitted. It is also rumoured that the last of the touring models were produced without the thinner gauge steel, but details of this are unconfirmed and even the specialists cannot confirm detail of numbers.

 

Hard to say if $6K is a good price or not without an experienced mechanic looking at it as Porsche value is very dependent on condition. Ditto on running away from more than cosmetic/surface rust. Early 911's (pre SC/Carrera) seem to run $6-15K depending. $15K is a really, really nice car. No extra value for a targa. At $6K, if it's a good driver and a cosmetic project, it may be OK. You don't want to think that you can buy a "cheap" project that needs engine/drivetrain/chassis work and then turn around and sell it later for a profit or even break-even. Most Porsche projects like that leave you upside-down, the parts costs will eat you up even if you do the labor yourself.

 

Personally, the targa tops are a PIA. Yes, for $750 or so, you can get a great one from the guy in Denver or where ever. Me, I go for the coupes.

Bang for the buck, though, an old 911 is almost as much fun as my spec miata.

Dale

 

Watch for rust, Porsche's older than 1976 did not have zinced body's and rust was very common.

 

Hi! I'm Leaky! And I'm Squeaky! Welcome to the Leaky & Squeaky Show!

 

Yeah, but on a nice, clear summer night there's nothing like it! I had two of them, and yes, they leaked like bastards!

 

I think you can genericize that to "forget about ratty <fill in any car marque here>". It is almost always better to spend a little more in order to get a better example of a used car.

 

spoken like a man that had a targa!

and btw...you will only own 1 targa because it is all you need to know better thus never setting foot near one in the future!!

my first 911 was a targa...so i am fortunate enough to say i'm done.

and add one more name...hi i'm rusty!!!

in any pre galv car...you must stay away. you sould see a targa on a lift...you cannot open or close the doors.

 

This is what a 73 Carrera RS should look like.
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I had an RS replica and I sold it for cheap. Now Its worth a fortune. I still have withdrawal...

Its hard to see but I also had a custom steering wheel and Autopower Rollbar. 2.4 with cis injection. Stainless steel heat exhangers and the short ratio gearbox. The car was fast to 60 but It woudnt go much past 130. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh if anyone see this car I want to buy it back. Sold it to a chinese guy in San Fransisco in spring of 98. JJ
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Love the old 911's!

Does anyone know any really good porsche forums, I have gone to german auto forums and flat 6, but they are not that good...

 

Here's a few.

http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/
http://www.rennlist.com
http://www.early911sregistry.org/
http://early911s.com/

 

Thank you kindly sir.

 

I have spent alot of time on 6speedonline now, it is the best Porsche forum I have seen so far. Thanks again

 

I like the Porsche Tiki Rat Club. Its private you need an invite...

 

this car is the one I miss.. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=200123297923&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:us