Help! Car I am thinking about getting..., My first 914 acquisition Options

[trscott]

I have an opportunity to pick up a 1973 Porsche 914 for a very good deal, swapping another vehicle I want to get rid of plus a very little cash. This would be my first 914, but I've owned and built several bugs in the past. A K. Ghia would be less of a stretch for me, but this 914 is very interesting. I would really appreciate some experienced advice...

Here are some pictures:
http://trscott.smugmug.com/photos/sspopup....;AlbumKey=Csbko

The rear trunk lid seems to have been flattened. When the middle of the trunk lid bottoms out on the latch, the left and right rear corners are about 1/4" high and the whole lid will rock left to right. There is a subtle lateral crease line, left to right for about 18", centered about three inches forward of the rear edge of the lid. It is hard to see, but at night if you hold the light at just the right angle it is very clear.

One consequence of this ill fitting lid is that the rear floor panel of the rear trunk is badly rusted and will need to be replaced. For now it has been treated with rust encapsulant and hasn't spread to adjacent panels. The front half of the rear trunk is fine.

My primary question:
Has anyone ever re-shaped one of these trunk lids? Or am I looking at a new one? I was thinking maybe I could carefully cut a wood beam to have the correct trunk curve, or just a bit of over-curve, and then clamp the trunk lid carefully with padding to see if I can return it to the right shape. Or would I be better off to take it to a body shop and ask them to do it? Maybe that sort of thing is pretty routine for them?

Rest of the car just for the curious:
The front trunk is near perfect. No rust, all parts intact except maybe the toolkit.

The floor of the pan is near perfect, original undercoating still 97% intact, and where the undercoating is chipped away, it reveals clean original body paint, no rust at all there.

The jack points are absolutely solid. No evidence of rust there at all.

The battery tray and metal immediately under it need to be replaced due to rust, but for the time being the battery is in no risk of falling out. It is certainly drivable as is, but it needs to be rebuilt

There is some surface rust under the paint at the seam between the right front quarter panel and the windshield strut. Not a structural problem yet, but ought to be cleaned out, treated and repainted.

I own a Hypertherm PMX600 plasma cutter, and a stick welder, and have been wanting to get a Miller MIG welder. I don't mind doing some MIG welding to replace the trunk and battery sheet metal problems.

The rubber around the targa top ought to be replaced, front strip is real bad, sides are poor. Probably most of the door rubber could profit from replacement.

Interior is pretty fair to good, the original dash pad has cracks but has a plastic dash cap over it. The carpets are worn but intact. The seats are good. A few small problems, like the rear view mirror came unglued, etc.

Door sills are rust free. large 1.25" rock ding in one fender well and the front body skirt. Taillight lens rock cracked, one fog light broken, bumpers fair.

Basically the body seems to me certainly worth saving.

It runs, but kind of just barely starts, runs rough, coughs a little at rpms all the way from idle to 2500 rpm. I drove it and once it warms up it is driveable, but not what you would call powerful of course.

1.7L with dual weber IDF 40s (I didn't confirm the numbers but that's what they look like). Carbs look pretty stained with fuel. I am sure a re-build is in order.

Unknown mechanical advance distributor (did these use the 009?). I don't expect it is a Mallory.

A lot of oil on the bottom of the crankcase as is common on these, some oil film on top of the block too. The engine pan gasket on the right side has fallen out of the channel and hangs down. The whole engine has some litter, leaves and stuff to be cleaned out.

I am told that it has the stock exhaust from a 2.0 liter.

I would like to turn this into a driver for now with just a good tuneup, with the possibility of a Jake Raby kit rebuild down the road a bit.

What do you think? Worth resrtoring? I would really value some experienced advice. I am having a hard time deciding whether this is worth the work!