What's a proper budget for a 914 in decent shape, keep looking or move on? Options

[914lover17]

Really struggling with my 914 search, the 4 available in Canada aren't cutting it - either hunks of junk or way overpriced according to enthusiasts on here.

I've posted a couple I was interested in long distance/US but they we're shot down pretty quick (for valid reasons).

What's a realistic budget for a good condition 914? Something with little rust and fairly original that can easily be kept up and restored as I go.

I'm starting to think I missed the boat, and being in Canada is making it even tougher. Is this a realistic search or should I move on?

I was hoping to pay 25-35k CDN total (over time), but looks like 40k is the going rate to get into something decent here nowadays. or spend around 2-5k USD extra to get something back home across the border.

Anyone have experience shopping for a 914 in Canada (recently)? 2000 911's are cheaper and readily available. Not like I want one, just feels weird.

Are rolling projects suitable for someone with little experience? I have some help, time, and money alloted and am more than willing to learn but it's pretty scary given I can barely recognize a good car that's complete let alone try and judge a car in boxes.

[mepstein]

We had a customer buy a “perfect” 914 from a dealer. His usual mechanic raved about how nice it was. I put it on the lift and showed him $25k of metal work repairs (shop rates). He said I was crazy. Our really amazing metal guy took a look and pointed out some stuff I missed but said 25k to start - shop paint isn’t cheap once the metal work is done. He left disgusted at me and had a transport company pick up the car. Dealers are there to make the deal. They really don’t care what happens after.