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Needs A Good Home:
Joel’s 1973 Porsche 911T

September 3, 2012 by Matt

1973 Porsche 911 911T Classic Red

My experience behind the wheel of this beauty is, to date, my only time in a Porsche. As a long-time car guy, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit ashamed of that fact. But it doesn’t take anything away from the transcendence of the event.

Joel and I had been friends for a little over a year, and I was on the verge of a significant move. As a kind of going away present, he let me tool around for a little while at the helm of the car pictured in this post, his 1973 Porsche 911 911T, now for sale.

1973 Porsche 911T Classic Red

It was everything I thought it’d be and more. The steering’s communicative nature was evident even at low speed, and there was a pleasing mechanical directness to the gearchange and the bottom-hinged pedals. I loved the overabundance of gauges spanning the dash, and the 911’s racing pedigree was evident in every response; the classic air-cooled thrum from behind me eager for more gas, more speed.

1973 Porsche 911 911T Interior Inside Cockpit Console Dash Dashboard

For those who don’t know, the “T” submodel of the 911 was the new entry level replacement for the outgoing, 4-cyl 912. Featured a slightly detuned, 140-hp variant of Porsche’s signature 2.4l flat-6, the 911T slotted in nicely below the contemporary 165-hp 911E and 190-hp 911S. The 911T’s lack of power compared to its brethren may initially seem like a turnoff, but the classic lines and handling and still present in spades, the engine still has six cylinders, and even the range-topping 911S isn’t going to win any stoplight drag races nowadays. Any Porsche is partially about the speed, sure, but the classics are more about the experience, and that the 911T delivers just as well as its stablemates.

I’d love to see it go to a good home. From Joel’s description, it’s in excellent, original condition (read: pre-restored), with only hints of surface rust in a couple of places. It deserves to be well looked after.

Filed under: Car Stories, Porsche

3 Comments

  1. I am a bit surprised to see those rubber bumper protectors on such an early car. Were they NHTSA-mandated or added voluntarily by the owner (either current or previous) as a precautionary measure?

    • Joel S. says:

      The bumper protectors are OEM. Porsche didn’t go with the full bar until ’74, a significant facelift to the look of the car. Many aftermarket kits delete the bumper protectors on these early 911’s.

    • Matt says:

      FWIW, ’73 was the year things started to go off the rails a bit bumper-wise with the 240Z as well, with the addition of dampers underneath the lovely pre-’73 chrome bars. And then 1975 happened.

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