Thinking about joining your cult, but I want to do it right. Options

[Nickanator8]

Hello cultists, I've been a lifelong Porsche fan but I've never actually owned one. I've eyed boxsters and 944s on occasion but I've never pulled the trigger on either. Like many of you I spend my free time browsing the internet for cheap cars that would be poor financial decisions and recently a 914 has come into view.

Craigslist Post

Here's the thing that concerns me most about buying any vintage car as a project car, let alone a Porsche: parts availability and price.

My plans for this particular Porsche would be broken up into two phases. Phase 1 would be a basic restoration to being street drivable. I want a fun weekend car that I can bring to the occasional autocross and thrash about. Ideally something unique, fun to drive, and inexpensive to keep running. Phase 2 would be after a few years of keeping the car relatively stock and would be a slow evolution into a barely streetable race car that makes it unrecognizable to its original form.

The catch is that my automotive wrenching capabilities are limited to regular oil changes in my garage, and I'm a bit of a tight-fisted scrooge which is a contributing factor to why I have never purchased a fun car before. I'm concerned that diving into a 50+ year old non-running Porsche is probably not the best way to dive into project car life or Porsche ownership.

So with all that in mind, I ask you this: should I throw caution to the wind and add this pile of German metal to my garage, diving head first into the pool of Porsche, or should I play it safe and wait for a better example to begin my lifelong addiction?

[Van B]

That car will need to be stripped down and put on a rotisserie with weeks of cutting and welding to fix all the rust. The seller IMO is trying to avoid showing you what's really going on there by taking that underside pic from the front of the car looking back. That said I can still see the signs. Also, the wiring has been hacked on so, you would get to do lots of problem solving there.
Since you're not equipped for full resto work, do you have a shop that you would want to hand it off too? Also, are you considering other 914's or just this one?

Van

[eeyore]

That car will need to be stripped down and put on a rotisserie with weeks of cutting and welding to fix all the rust. The seller IMO is trying to avoid showing you what's really going on there by taking that underside pic from the front of the car looking back. That said I can still see the signs. Also, the wiring has been hacked on so, you would get to do lots of problem solving there.
Since you're not equipped for full resto work, do you have a shop that you would want to hand it off too? Also, are you considering other 914's or just this one?

Van

Get the seller to throw in some jackstands and that will be the most right (Dirk Wright?) start...

[Nickanator8]

That car will need to be stripped down and put on a rotisserie with weeks of cutting and welding to fix all the rust. The seller IMO is trying to avoid showing you what's really going on there by taking that underside pic from the front of the car looking back. That said I can still see the signs. Also, the wiring has been hacked on so, you would get to do lots of problem solving there.
Since you're not equipped for full resto work, do you have a shop that you would want to hand it off too? Also, are you considering other 914's or just this one?

Van

Get the seller to throw in some jackstands and that will be the most right (Dirk Wright?) start...

I've heard of the hell hole so that is absolutely a concern. Considering the drive would be about 100 miles for me I'd be asking for a lot more photos before driving out there, let alone making an offer.