914-6 Restoration, Bringing my Late fathers 6 back to life and need advice Options

[Rockshredder]

Good evening everyone,

My Late father gave me his 914-6 before he passed. Unfortunately the car has sat dormant for the past 25 years.
The Good ; it is a legit 6 bought new by my father in 1970. Everything is original. All numbers match
The Bad ; because it sat for 25 years the engine, tranny, calipers, brake lines, and pretty much everything will need to be rebuilt or replaced.
The Ugly ; there is a fair amount of rust in the hellhole area underneath the battery tray, including the battery tray. I see the rust also flowed down to the floor near where the drain from the engine compartment drains. There was also rust on the body, however I sanded it down to stop it from getting deeper.

The car has been in the family longer than I have, so my sole intent is to keep the car and restore it back to its showroom condition. Definitely not interested in selling, sentimental reasons.
I am looking for advice on where to take the engine for rebuild, where to get the tranny rebuilt, where to purchase calipers or caliper seals, where to purchase 914 parts to start the process.
Who would be a amazing sheet metal guy/girl that can tackle the hellhole and other areas needing attention? A good body shop with rotisserie for bodywork and paint after sheet metal is completed.
I am in the Las Vegas area, I can transport the car anywhere in the southwest area if there is an incredible shop that can complete the project. Or if there is an incr3dible shop in the Las Vegas area that can handle this project please let me know. I don’t think I want to send it to Atlanta to the Porsche Factory restoration shop, however if you tell me that’s the best bet, then I will consider it.
Thank you in advance for any advice and information.

[Cairo94507]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) Condolences on the passing of your father. Congratulations on having an all original '70 Six.

I can only speak from the experience of having been through a complete rotisserie restoration on my '71 Six.

Select a shop you are able to stop in and see the work as it progresses - monthly.
Expect the restoration to take about 2 years and be expensive.

I would recommend talking to Eric Shea at PMB Performance in Utah. They are doing great work on our cars and Eric is a terrific guy who loves these cars. He would be my first choice.

If Eric is unable to accept your car (I am sure they are busy), try Patrick Motorsports in AZ. James Patrick is also a great guy and they definitely wrote the book, (in my opinion) on building these cars to spec. They have done a lot of real Sixes as well as conversions- all done expertly with show winning results. They are expensive, but you get what you pay for. I have been to their facility and it is impressive indeed.

There is a lot to be said for the shops that have been building these cars for a while now and have seen it all when it comes to chassis/rust repair. This is not an area where you want someone learning on your dime at billable hours. Also, depending upon the car history, accidents, etc., a shop with or access to a Celette bench is a big plus. You want to be sure your chassis is laser straight or it will haunt you forever.

Lastly, you can sort of farm out parts of the build. A great metal/paint shop to handle the full body restoration, a mechanical shop to handle the engine/transaxle, etc. and then find a shop for the full assembly if you can't or don't want to do that yourself.

Also, find an excellent interior guy. You will get recommendations for all of the above from many members here who have walked this path. It is exciting and fun.

Most of all, take your timer and research the path you choose carefully. I hate to say it but some people will try to take advantage. We all know most of them by now.

Congratulations again and Cheers,
Michael (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)