Affect of mods on resale value Options

[bbrock]

I have a couple decisions to make soon on my restoration that could affect resale value of the car. So I'd be interested to hear opinions.

The car is a numbers matching (I'm pretty sure - need COA) '73 2.0L so on paper, very desirable. But it is currently a rust basket case, but becoming less so every day. I'm trying to restore it to a very high standard but it seems silly to think such a Frankencar would ever be a concours contender. I certainly have no interest showing it. But I am kind of a fanatic about originality with a few exceptions. I'm keeping the car very near original with a few "bolt-on" mods that are easily reversible like euro signal lights, reproduction parts for budget (no thousand dollar OEM interior light going in here), etc. The biggest mod is that the engine has been converted to carbs, including cam. But I still have the original FI and may start working on restoring that down the road. I'm contemplating a couple of mods that won't be so easy to roll back but I don't want to sacrifice potential resale value of the car. Below are the mods and my twisted rationale for doing them:

Delete Fender Warts - this is the biggie. I hate them and the warts I have are in bad shape. I hate to think of spending money to replace something I think is ugly and Porsche didn't really intended to be on the car. My rationale is that no warts and euro lenses ARE original in European markets. But if I sold the car, would that kill the originality premium?

Late style fuel pump location A PO relocated the fuel pump to inside the steering rack and did a crap job of it. I recently picked up a 75-76 fuel pump blister with the intention of cutting the firewall to relocate the pump the way the factory did. Makes sense to me. It's a factory improvement, right? But what would a buyer looking for an original car think?

Black anodized trim My car is performance group, but not appearance group so it has black bumpers which I like. Decades ago, I lightly sanded the scratched up window and targa trim and painted it satin black. I really like the look and am thinking of having them black anodized as part of the restoration. Or would it be smarter to go back to bright anodized to preserve resale value? Seems like this would be an easy one to reverse if someone wanted to.

I have no plans to sell this car but never rule it out. Just curious how far a person can deviate from dealer delivered original before the car loses that "all original premium"... And realizing that such things are impossible to predict.

[bbrock]

Great info guys. I'm not too worried about the trim since that's easy to roll back. I think I've decided not to do the pump relocate. I still think the FSB reloc to steering rack was a quickie solution to a problem, whereas the trunk reloc is the more polished solution. But it isn't worth sacrificing originality.

I think it is clear the majority of people prefer these cars without warts. So I can't imagine deleting them reduces the number of potential buyers. But it sounds like it will turn off the relatively few buyers who are willing to pay that extra premium for originality. But will they be willing to pay that premium anyway if there are a lot of easily reversible things like replacing repro lenses and domestic carpet to make it factory fresh? In other words, is the premium only for cars that are just a good detailing away from a concours competition, or does it include cars that need a fair amount of parts swapping to get to pure original? I am trying to restore this car to a very high level - restoring factory plating and finishes, stickers, etc. I just won't be including expensive OEM parts if there are 914rubber quality and priced items available.

Tom mentioned the engine. One other mod from original I've made was to install Mahle OEM euro spec pistons and cylinders. I would not think that would affect the originality value of the car at all, but maybe I'm wrong? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Rick, my car is also metallic silver and I'm digging your clear side marker treatment. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif) I'd still prefer those markers be gone completely, but they do blend much better with the car. Might be a tolerable compromise. Did you ever have any luck shaving them to lower profile? And do you have amber bulbs inside them?

I think Ricks car is interesting. It seems to me that the market rewards for cars taht are original, and as one deviates from that originality, the value decreases. But at some point, the level of modification takes the car into a different market where value has little to do with originality and is driven by the quality and nature of the mods. I would think the value of the best of those cars could surpass the value if they were restored to original. Just my guess.