New Member Introduction - 901 wanted!

[Silver Fish]

Hello All.

I have been snooping around your forum for a while and recognise that there a lot of knowledgable types here so I thought I should sign up!

As a new member I should introduce myself. My name is Mark Branson and I have a great family with 2 young kids and I work in the architectural game in Adelaide planning & designing commercial office / education / health and civic spaces. We also have a pharmacy business, and I have a passion for great design, 4wding and camping so combined with the above we are kept busy and occupied.

As a kid I helped a family friend who is a mechanic, and did a lot of work on Porsches and unfortunately this is where my love must have started. Since then I have been married with 4 x 911 wedding cars but have not fulfilled the dream of Porsche ownership.

Anyway, we have finally arrived at the time when we can seriously look to buy into the dream! From my years of yearning I am looking for the following but would really appreciate your thoughts and comments and please don't be shy to tell it how it is or set me straight!

1: 901 Porsche!
2: prefer in order 1973, 1972, 1971, 1970
3: RHD
4: Prefer coupe (not targa)
5: Able to be driven say 3 times a week (once / twice to work, plus a weekend drive)
6: Does not need to be matching no's.
7: Good bodywork without rust
8: Does not have to be original colour
9: Does not have to be perfect - I like a bit of a (drivable) project.
10: Be on the road for under $60,000.

So what do you think? What have I forgotten? Am I being realistic?

Thanks in advance and I look forward to joining in the chat!
Mark.

[Terminator]

Welcome aboard

Think it will be a struggle to find anything half decent to suit the bill in 73 or 72

71 and 70 T cars will probably fit into your range maybe even and E.

You have missed one of the rarer cars in the 901 that being the 69 I guess maybe you don't want a 2 litre.

[Classic]

Welcome Mark......

[npvpositive]

Hi Mark, I think you should be able to find something good in that price range if you stay patient. My suggestion would be not to get too hung up on S,E or T . . . a rebuilt T engine can be faster and more fun than a sloppy S. Also-- and you will hear this from everyone-- try and find a car where much of the work has been done. Parts have become very expensive and people rarely recoup the money they put into a car (unless they hold it for a while).

[CamBiscuit]

Welcome aboard Mark

[klasikcis]

Hi and welcome Mark.
I too am a recent convert from Datsun roadsters, Corvettes, Mercedes 450SL and a myriad of other Australian Delivered , RHD conversion, and factory LHD vehicles. My thoughts for what they are worth are. Factory Australian RHD cars in this budget not affordable, LHD not 100% driver friendly for high miledge use. European RHD need to get a car that has been in Australia for most of its life or you may chase rust till the day you sell it. either bastardised or poorly maintained or Convereted to RHD is where most cars will be in your price range but they are worth significantly less and it all comes down to the conversion itself.
Next issue T, E or S and really an S worth owning is now in the mid 100K's to mid 200K's, and the E's bring seriously more money than T's. Next Coupe or Targa and I would argue for regular use you really want something summer friendly and if a Targa does not suit then a sunroof or airis a must but getting hard to find are well worth the extra. Originality and condition are then the key considerations and again some really nice modded cars are available but again they don't come cheaply if they are well set up and not totally canobolized.
As I said happy hunting and be quick when the right car surfaces.,
Neville

[9er]

Welcome Mark,
If you want to drop around and see a bare shell resto. in progress I am in Adelaide, and could show you some areas of the cars to pay particular attention to.

[JulianG]

Hi, and good luck with the search. As others say, they do turn up, and seem to in small batches. I understand there are a couple of excellent mechanics there and I found it's worth getting to know one well - they come across stuff before others a bit. Cheers Julian.

[Michel]

the brethren welcomes you mark.. Enjoy the hunt, for some I think can be more enjoyed than the ownership

Cheers michel

[DJ911]

Welcome Mark, great to see another Adelaide member. Good luck with your hunt.

[1st]

Greetings

Welcome to the (SA) fold.....

Could be time to organise an SA run so you can sample some of the local cars.

Anyone?

[Terminator]

Stewart

You have a PM

[Silver Fish]

Thank you all for your warm welcome,

Clyde - thanks for the comments. I understand 72/73 may be getting over my budget but an E from 70/71 would be perfect! There was no real reason for excluding 69, I guess I have always loved the 901 shape and 70-73 is the 'newest' of them plus they are 2.2 and 2.4. Not necessarily better than the 2.0?

Tony - thanks for the welcome.

Nick - Patience .....I hear you but it is so hard to to have to wait longer. I'm Not fussed between T, E or S but might need my numbers to come up for an S to park in my garage. Regarding not recouping money spent on a refurb - I understand that, and I am happy for others to pass the benefit of their labour on. However given my budget I suspect there will be some work required.

Cam - thanks for the welcome.

Neville - Like everyone, I would prefer Aust delivered but I will look at all options. While I don't want LHD for my first porsche it looks like you could do well based on some of the US prices.
Thanks for the thoughts on targa v coupe and the summer driving.

Chris - thanks for the kind offer, I would love to take you up on that. Will PM you later.

Julian - Thanks and you are correct I do intend to go and catch up with the Adelaide mechanics.

Michel- thanks for the welcome and I know what you mean about the search being half the fun.

Dirk- thanks for the welcome.

1st. - Thanks for your welcome.

Really appreciate your advice and if others read please keep sharing your thoughts.

[Gus Carfi]

Welcome aboard your going to enjoy this group, easy with advise and happy to help. All the best with search.

[TYP 901]

Welcome.
Meeting Chris Fryer (9er) will enlighten you on many aspects of a 901 plus connect you with one of the nicest fellas I know.
Enjoy the journey & congratulations on joining the forum, the advice you'll get is priceless
Cheers, Luke