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Posted by: Creamsicle New Zealand Aug 7 2016, 04:31 PM

Hi all, well this project has finally finished (well 98% finished) after approx. 3 years from go to woe. I became aware of 4742914360 approx. 18 months ago when I joined the 914World forum and put up a WTB for a LE. I was approached by a number of LE owners (thank you to all those people) but the one that got me was from Brian and Kate from the UK who had this car being fully restored by Original Customs. Brian and Kate had decided to change tack during this resto so offered it to me. I received the car in Dec. last year without the interior being completed as I wanted to have some input myself into the resto here in New Zealand. I must say it is not cheap restoring a car from NZ but in the end it has been a great and rewarding journey.
One of the great rewards in all this were the people who I put my trust in and who came thru with honesty and integrity. I purchased the car unseen other than photos and from a PPI done by a highly respected person on this forum. Some times I was nervous and wondered if I should fly up to the states to personally view the car but as mentioned above I decided to trust certain people and they rewarded me with that trust.
A resto like this can only be achieved by a number of people, I would like to thank them here -
Brian and Kate
Michael Nagy (previous owner before Brian and Kate)
Mark DeBernardi from Original Customs
Jeff Bowlsby
Rob Sime
Craig from Camp914 who went out of his way many times for me
The car is not perfect, no car is, but it is in excellent condition. Please feel free to critique I will not be offended or take it personally.
The motor is non original but is period correct.
I have enclosed photos when Michael sold it to Brian and Kate, at that stage Michael had saved the car from the crushers.
I hope this gives other people inspiration to tackle those big restorations and to keep these magnificent cars from the crushers.
Steve

Posted by: altitude411 Aug 7 2016, 04:42 PM

She's a sweetie... Thanks for posting the pics. Very clever balancing act on the trailer.

Posted by: Jeff Bowlsby Aug 7 2016, 04:42 PM

Excellent Steve, what a great adventure with beautiful results you can be very proud of.

Posted by: Shadowfax Aug 7 2016, 04:47 PM

I don't know. Looks pretty perfect to me
Enjoy!

Posted by: Gmanscott55 Aug 7 2016, 05:08 PM

Gorgeous car Steve!! Well done and you should be very proud of that beauty.

Posted by: Cal Aug 7 2016, 05:49 PM

Wow, great looking LE......more photos please.

Posted by: KELTY360 Aug 7 2016, 05:59 PM

Yeah!! I remember the post when that car was found. Always great when they get rescued and restored to greatness. Congrats!

Posted by: Beach914 Aug 7 2016, 06:01 PM

Well done ! What else needs to be said .....

Posted by: Reverend Troublemaker Aug 7 2016, 06:08 PM

Looks too good to drive...

T

Posted by: Krieger Aug 7 2016, 06:09 PM

Looks fantastic! Get it on the road and enjoy it ASAP!

Posted by: mark04usa Aug 7 2016, 08:38 PM

Great job on this car, Steve. Let us know how much fun it is to drive

Posted by: Cairo94507 Aug 7 2016, 09:35 PM

Great job and outcome. Enjoy it.

Posted by: ConeDodger Aug 7 2016, 09:52 PM

Great job with the seats! This is an excellent car!

Posted by: porbmw Aug 7 2016, 10:55 PM

NICE!

18 months is a very short turnaround in my books (well, my books are gathering dust)!
Congrats!
Have a blast with it!
Are you aware of any other teeners in NZ?
Yours will, most assuredly, turn heads.
Paul

Posted by: Elliot Cannon Aug 7 2016, 11:04 PM

Fantastic car. How many 914's in New Zealand?

Posted by: Cuda911 Aug 7 2016, 11:25 PM

Excellent!! Great to see this car saved from the crusher and brought back to its glory.

Posted by: taby98 Aug 8 2016, 12:04 AM

Nice work Steve !

Ralph

Posted by: porschetub Aug 8 2016, 02:22 AM

Not many Elliot ,don't know the real numbers,my car was imported new but many have been imported from the US as far as I know.
It is really rather expensive to do much on our cars here,in my case 98% of my parts have to be imported from the USA so shipping is an issue being this far away.

Posted by: rick 918-S Aug 8 2016, 04:52 AM

Nice!

Posted by: billh1963 Aug 8 2016, 08:30 AM

Beautiful! Well done

Posted by: mepstein Aug 8 2016, 08:38 AM

Fantastic!

Congrats!

Posted by: Tom_T Aug 8 2016, 12:34 PM

Great job Steve!

It's also nice to see your fellow Kiwis chime in here too. One other I know hasn't yet, but I know he's touring Europe/UK/USA now, so he'll chime in soon too, I'm sure.

I have the greatest respect for you Kiwi & OZ folks downunder taking on 914 projects & importing the cars & parts, being so far away! .... aside from the usual difficulties of just doing a resto & keeping them running thereafter!

Cheers Mate!
Tom
///////

Posted by: MDG Aug 8 2016, 12:58 PM

Beautiful job! Congratulations on this. Enjoy.

Posted by: 76-914 Aug 8 2016, 01:11 PM

Sharp as a tack! Very, very nice work. Kent

Posted by: Ferg Aug 8 2016, 01:14 PM

Posted by: Creamsicle New Zealand Aug 8 2016, 02:25 PM

Thanks every one for your responses, very encouraging. To answer Elliot's question about how many 914 are in New Zealand, we don't know but I have recently meet two fellow 914 owners in Auckland one of whom is recovering from major surgery. Once this chap is better it is his intention to start up a 914 registry here in NZ so hopefully in a few months we can let our 914World brothers and sisters know.

Posted by: JRust Aug 8 2016, 02:27 PM

Congrats on your LE. It is a beauty

Posted by: JawjaPorsche Aug 8 2016, 03:07 PM

Wow!

Posted by: returf Aug 8 2016, 03:19 PM

What a nice looking car Steve, and to think that someone was going to crush an LE!!!! Mind you, I suppose when you think about all the cars that we grew up with that aren't around any more, they must have fallen victim to the same fate that awaited "914 LE".I think that at one stage John G. thought there was around 19 x 914's in New Zealand. Great to see another one.

Mike

Posted by: porschetub Aug 8 2016, 04:09 PM

SO true Tom,it works the other way also,the respect I have is for helpful people on here and others who have gone out of their way to feed me with a constant supply of the parts I need ,some great folk out there.
IMO the interest and goodwill shown by 914 owners far outweighs anything I have seen on the many other forums I have been on.
People ask me when is your car going to be ready?,I have a standard answer..."waiting on parts from oversea's".
Steve mentioned that he would welcome critics and helpful hints alike,very hard to fault this car,great work really.

Posted by: wndsnd Aug 8 2016, 06:13 PM

Nice project, car looks great. Enjoy the drive.

Posted by: SteveL Aug 8 2016, 06:30 PM

Beautiful. Would love to see some pics showing the progress along the way.

Posted by: porschetub Aug 8 2016, 06:46 PM

What part of NZ you from Mike ?,think I have your contact thru Ralph,ok if we hook up ?.
I have the ex Steve Wilks car out of Taupo now and have done for a couple of years,a wee gem.
Funny a car mad country like ours and only 19 914's not many really.
and thanks for the info.

Posted by: My 914 Aug 8 2016, 07:26 PM

Not that the whole car isn't great, but I think the interior is particularly well done and very sharp looking!

Posted by: Daiberl Aug 8 2016, 08:22 PM

Beautiful car, fantastic work!

Posted by: malcolm2 Aug 8 2016, 08:43 PM

I can't believe that it looked that nice coming out of the factory....

Awesome!

Posted by: tumamilhem Aug 8 2016, 09:27 PM

Congrats! She's a beat! Your're going to love it! Now you'll know why I didn't want to sell mine! Welcome to "Le Club"

Posted by: McMark Sep 19 2017, 07:25 AM

I can't believe I missed this thread.

Anyway, wanted to add a link to the pictures of the restoration process. It was a really amazing project to be part of.
http://www.originalcustoms.com/invoice/images.php?p=186

Seeing it again (even in pictures) reminds me of how great of a car it was. I wish I had a car that nice.

Posted by: mbseto Sep 19 2017, 07:48 AM

That's a gorgeous car, it's going to attract some attention! Congrats on finishing!

Posted by: RickS Sep 19 2017, 11:17 PM

Congratulations on a positively splendid job. You have set the bar high, very high.

Posted by: SirAndy Sep 20 2017, 10:58 AM

I've touched that car!

Posted by: McMark Sep 20 2017, 12:43 PM

Pervert.

Posted by: Dion Sep 20 2017, 12:57 PM

A beautiful car. Congratulations. Get out and drive!
Hope you find more fellow kiwi 914 brethren to travel with.
Very very cool Steve.

Posted by: Front yard mechanic Sep 20 2017, 01:47 PM

Very nice car! where would a wannabe find the Porsche side decal in that color?

Posted by: Creamsicle New Zealand Sep 20 2017, 02:33 PM

If you contact Jeff Bowlsby here in 914world he will be able to help you out.

Posted by: burton73 Sep 20 2017, 03:13 PM

Sweet car. Great job on bringing her back.

Bob B

Posted by: McMark Sep 20 2017, 04:10 PM

Yup.