Looking at buying a 914, how bad is this rust? Options

[sperry]

Hi everyone, I'm a new member, and I'm looking at buying a 914.

I found a great looking '74 914 2.0 that's still mostly original (even has the original FI). However, the car seems to have a rust problem on the inside. I'm wondering what this car's worth and how bad the rust really is. I don't have the tools or experience to cut out and repair massive rust damage, so I'd have to take it to a shop for a rust-ectomy... I wonder how much that's gonna cost.

There's good news and bad news about the car:

The good:
- Exterior looks AWESOME. Can't hardly believe it's 30 years old. Car's been painted (but it was originally white)... hopefully not to cover up body damage... but the lines are real straight! Turn signal lenses are cracked, no biggie. Both headlight motors work, both headlights work. Fogs are busted.

- The interior is in pretty good condition, the carpet's dirty but not destroyed, the seats have some tears, but they're not ruined. Tach, speedo, and fuel gauges work. It's got the cool center console which adds a clock, temp gauge, and voltmeter, and they all work.

- Motor runs real nice. Starts right up, revs smoothly all the way to the red-line.

- Tranny seems good. Clutch is at most 5 years old. There's a little grindage into 1st if you don't give it some time to spin down after pushing the clutch in, but if you shift it smoothly it doesn't complain.

- No major oil leaks... at least nothing was smoking, or dripping when I was running the engine.

- Tires... gotta be less than 1000 miles on 'em!

The bad:
- Rust. It doesn't really look too bad, but I'm not sure I'm qualified to make an educated call. Is this surface rust, or is the structural integrity compromised? There's rust on the battery pan, and under it in the engine compartment. There's also a spot of rust in the rear trunk where it looks like some water collected.

- The tranny cables are hanging down. Nothing a zip-tie won't fix for the time being, but perhaps it's an indication of the car's mantence history?

- Brakes. They need to be bled worse than any brakes ever... I swear they're filled with 50% air. For a car as light as a 914, this thing took forever to slow down from the top of 2nd gear.

- Suspension. Totally shot. I don't think there's a saftey issue, but it sorely needs new suspension bits. I might be willing to say it's on original or it's second set of struts. The body roll is REDICULOUS. It also needs swaybars.... BAD.

So here's a summary: The motor, tranny, interior and exterior seem cool. The brakes, suspension, and rust could be the big issues.

Please, thumb through this gallery and tell me what you guys think: http://www.seccs.org/gallery/index.php?gal...s/Porsche%20914

Specifically, I need help on the rust issue. How much is too much? I don't know how to judge it. Here's the best picture of the notorious "hell hole" battery area:

(IMG:http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/Porsche%20914/DSCF0129.JPG)

And another view between the motor and the battery:
(IMG:http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/Porsche%20914/DSCF0127.JPG)

Here's the rust in the left rear corner of the rear trunk:
(IMG:http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/Porsche%20914/DSCF0126.JPG)

Check out the passenger foot well:
(IMG:http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/Porsche%20914/DSCF0120.JPG)

Now, some pictures of good stuff:

(IMG:http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/Porsche%20914/DSCF0121.JPG)

(IMG:http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/Porsche%20914/DSCF0117.JPG)

(IMG:http://www.seccs.org/gallery/Car%20Pictures/Porsche%20914/DSCF0119.JPG)

Sorry for the giant pictures, but I'm on a borrowed computer right now, and I can't resize them smaller.

I'm thinking I should pass on this one for now, and save my money for a car in better condition, but I figured I'd ask for some expert advice from people that have personally delt with one of these cars.

Thanks in advance for any info you can lend!

[sperry]

(1) Do you havee the facilities to do your own body repiar (garage with enough room, tools, access to welder)?

I have enough room to drop the motor/tranny and get pretty hands on, but I don't have the skill or tools if it comes to welding. I figure if anything needs to be cut and welded, then I'll have to have a shop do the entire rust removal.

(2) Do you want a 'fun' car - or will this be your regular driver during it's 'rust'toration?

This car will be a fun/autocross car (I've got an '02 WRX as my daily driver already). I'd like to be able to race in C-Stock next season, which means the car needs to be safe and put together well enough that I don't have to worry about something like the rear suspension tearing loose on course. Depending on how well the car can be restored, I may or may not opt to convert it to a pure track car.... i.e. If the car's pretty complete and the rust can be managed, I'd probably opt to attempt a restoration instead of cutting it into a widebody racer... but if it's going to need to be cut up just to remove rust, then I might as well swap the fenders and install a cage while I'm at it.

(3) Does the vehicle sag in the middle when both door are open?

I did the test where you roll down the window, get in the car, close the door, roll up the window and see if it sticks at all, and the car seemed fine. On my test drive, I slalomed the car about a little bit and didn't hear any creaks or groans... not that that's a terribly great way to test it, especially considering how shot the suspension is.

(4) How much is the current owner asking for this vehicle?

Current owner is asking $2200. I'm sure I could get it for $2000, but even then I'm thinking that's $1000 too much, if the rust is as bad as I think it'll be. How much would a shop generally charge to fix a rusted body, such as the car I'm looking at? I figure I can remove the motor/tranny, interior, etc myself, and borrow a trailer to bring it to a shop for repairs. I guess I should get in contact with my local porsche house and see what they'd charge.