Most barn finds emerge from long-term storage with severe rust and mechanical issues. Some, however, return into the light as unmolested survivors that are only a few repairs away from becoming road-worthy again. The 1978 Porsche 911 SC you see here is one of the lucky ones.
In the same family since 1986, the German sports car was passed on from father to son sometime in the early 2000s. Unfortunately, the son struggled with health issues for a very long time, and the 911 ended up sitting for about 20 years. With the owner having passed away in 2021, his wife decided it was time to give it a makeover and get it running again. And he called in the folks over at "The Late Brake Show" for assistance.
After a short inspection and freeing the brakes, Jonny Smith drags the 911 SC out of the garage. And once in the sunlight, it becomes apparent that the Porsche is in surprisingly good condition for a classic that's been sitting for two decades. The metallic blue paint hasn't faded, and there are no rust issues beyond a bit of bubbling. Likewise, the brown interior shows little wear, and the dashboard is crack-free.
And things become even better once Mr. Smith removes all that barn dust. The exterior cleans out nicely and reveals an unmolested survivor that could soldier on for many years without a repaint. And I bet it would look even better with professional cleaning, a bit of buffing, and paint correction (where needed).
But is the flat-six willing to run after so many years without a sip of gasoline? Not surprisingly, it did not fire up, but it did turn over after an oil change. A bypass of the fuel system didn't help either, but the 3.0-liter sounded like it wanted to rumble again. And it will probably come back to life with new fuel lines because the fuel pump and tank seem to be in good condition.
But even though it's not running, this blue coupe is a fantastic barn find, especially since first-gen Porsche 911s have become significantly valuable in recent years, regardless of specs and model year.
Speaking of which, Porsche introduced the 911 SC in 1978, reviving the "SC" badge for the first time since the 356 SC. Essentially a detuned Carrera 3, it acted as a base model until 1984. And it was pretty popular too. Powered by a then-new 3.0-liter flat-six, it came with 180 horsepower and 188 pound-feet (255 Nm) of torque on tap.
How much is a 1978 SC worth nowadays? Well, pristine examples can go for as much as $55,000, so this example is definitely worth reviving. Until that happens, see it coming back into the sunlight after 20 years in the video below.
Ask Ciprian about cars and he'll reveal an obsession with classics and an annoyance with modern design cues. Read his articles and you'll understand why his ideal SUV is the 1969 Chevrolet K5 Blazer. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News