Pretend for a moment that everything else about the cars was equivalent, body condition under the paint etc. etc.

1.7 L single carb on the '71 versus 1.8 L single carb on the '75 (yes the single car thing would have to be addressed on both)

Are the earlier cars considered, broadly, more desirable than a later one? Obviously the bumpers or the big difference but are there other considerations that drive desirability between those model years?

Thanks again for all of the help and education that you've provided, very much appreciate it.

Go for the 75. 1.8 easy engine upgrade. It has the better windows, door latches, plug and play center console wiring. Bumper change out is a easy swap but they grow on you. Lots of other little things that are a plus.

70 & 71 have some unique parts NLA. 75 has big ass bumpers. Typically 73 & 74 are most desirable.

The ‘75 is a better driver but I’ll always take an early car. Lighter and looks better to me. It’s going to get a six and a different trans so I don’t care about the stock parts.

I usually side with the earlier car too. It would probably depend too on the color(s) of said cars.

with 1s comments
1.7 vs 1.8L, Tail vs side shifter alone make the later car more desirable.

EDIT - side shifter can be applied to the early car, right? Just time and money. Grin.

Yes, $500-1k

Living in so cal, it’s easy and cheap to find early chrome bumpers to swap out,
Updating windows, side shift trans, vents, etc. are way more expensive and a major hastle.
However body work is always the biggest expense. I will always side with the nicest body, with the least amount of rust.

Thanks Steve.

Nice build BTW, heck of a car.

Depends. Building another autox car or track car I'd go early. In my world a trans swap is no biggie. I personally favor the chrome bumpers. A 1.7 won't be fast, but a 1.8 will be slow. (Sorry 1.8 owners). Fun street run about- the 1.8. The better latches, trans are nice to have, and with the top off on a sunny day either motor will get you to the Dairy Queen or beach equally well.

Good morning. Thanks for the note.

To put in a side shift I don't need to swap out the whole gearbox, do I? It's needing as complete linkage and mounts etc?

Buy both 2 is better than one

I also forgot with a 71 the passenger seat is not adjustable. The windshield wiper switch is on the dash versus the steering column. Another pain to update or change.
A plus for the 71 is it’s easier to install the left 914-6 ignition key, since the 914-6’s were based off of the 70 and 71 year Cars.

To convert to side shift you basically need to change out everything from the shifter on back, including all the linkage, engine bar, warm air guides, etc. That includes either acquiring a later gearbox or modifying the tail-shift gearbox with all the bits to convert it to a side-shifter. It's not that hard to convert the tail-shifter gearbox to side-shifter functionality, but most people just swap out the entire gearbox (at least I think) as they seem to be plentifully available.

But again - in addition to the gearbox, you'll have a fairly lengthy shopping list of other parts you'll need. It's all documented here in many threads.

All things being equal, I generally prefer the early cars. But again, so many other factors in play, mostly to do with the shape of the tub.

Thanks Steve

Thanks for the response, all spend some time digging and come up with a list to present back to make sure I'm thinking about it the right way and have a realistic parts/budget/labor list.

I will be doing all my own work, so that will help manage the costs a bit.

Thanks!

To quote a 356 guy: when asked which 356 was the best, he told me "the last one, because it took that long for them to get it right!"

If it wasn’t for Califs smog law I would have bought a 1976, only because it was the last model year.

Its funny how the newer cars are all the rage when they are new, and how the older cars are worth more as they age. With one of my kid's in the car, I'd take a later door than an early one.