New Guy With a Project Options

[sixnotfour]

I will buy the front spoiler when decide to part it out.

[charliew]

I don't know you or know your skill level but my recommendation would be to find a much better tub that has way less rust. Cut the stamped vin numbers out of the car you have and move them and the tags to the tub. take pictures of both cars and show them to whoever is thinking of buying the car in the future. That will be a much cleaner redo and it won't be original but neither will the car you have. There is no way I would buy a car with that much metal gone and replaced. If it was done by a professional maybe but noone could justify the new parts or labor. The repair panels done by a learner will be obvious and the intergrity of the car questionable 10 years after it is done in my opinion. Unibody cars are hard to repair with longterm good results. I'm not saying you won't become a expert by the time you finish, you might, but my bet is you will never finish a project this daunting, it is a extremely hard job for a beginner to the 914. Do you have a place to store all the parts and still have room for the tub and will you ever need this room for other everyday repairs on other things? Storing stuff outside in New Orleans isn't a good idea as I'm sure you know.

[rick 918-S]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) vin swapping is illegal.

[rotten914]

I've been looking for a roller or even a a decent body for parts but there aren't any to be had anywhere near me or at least I cant find them. I may really need one if I'm going to do this car right. With my skill and budget I may be in over my head with this car. I have considered that I may not be able to do this car the way it should be done. I even considered that this car may be better off in someone elses hands who is more capable of giving this car the treatment it deserves. However I don't feel I can let this car go. I considered trading it for one in better condition but I don't feel I can imagine this car in someone elses hands. I am determined to try my hardest to do what I can to restore this car unless I can come up with something better, which I just can't see happening, so I am counting on all of you to help me through this and get this car to the condition it should be in.

[rotten914]

I will get this car done by any means. If I feel I'm not up to the task with the welding then will recruit my friend who is a professional. It may take longer to get it done if I have to rely on him but I know that he can make it look like the car is original. I also have my dad for help. He has rebuilt and even built cars from almost nothing. I have resources available to me to get it done right but I was really hoping to tackle this one on my own. I have helped rebuild a few cars before but not at this level. I'm not a complete novice. I have rebuilt my Malibu a couple of times but never to completion because it was my daily driver and I could never leave it laid up long enough. The only reason I am doubting how this car will turn out is because I'm not sure I can get to work on it fast enough and get enough parts together to save it before it gets too bad. I'm just going to start with what I can do and see how much I can get done on my own I really want this to be MY project to prove to everyone that I can do it no matter what anyone else says.

[Spoke]

I've been looking for a roller or even a a decent body for parts but there aren't any to be had anywhere near me or at least I cant find them. I may really need one if I'm going to do this car right. With my skill and budget I may be in over my head with this car. I have considered that I may not be able to do this car the way it should be done. I even considered that this car may be better off in someone elses hands who is more capable of giving this car the treatment it deserves. However I don't feel I can let this car go. I considered trading it for one in better condition but I don't feel I can imagine this car in someone elses hands. I am determined to try my hardest to do what I can to restore this car unless I can come up with something better, which I just can't see happening, so I am counting on all of you to help me through this and get this car to the condition it should be in.

You just like us here in the Northeast finding a good roller usually means it came from the West coast or Texas and the southwest.

One last place to look for condition is under the rocker panels to see what the longitudinals look like. Also check under the seats under the mats for condition of the floors.

It is tempting to jump into a car you can feel and touch but yours shows a lot of work to be done. If you are with limited budget, it might be worth looking for a better car somewhere.

The other thing to ask yourself is "Do you want to drive a 914 or work on a 914?". I personally would rather drive a 914.

Just the simple work I'm doing on my 914 (swap engine; not rebuilding, some mild to significant rust repair around the longitudinals and rear floor) is now going on 2 years without the car moving. Your car is in a lot worse shape than mine.

Don't mean to pee on your parade but just be careful of what you get yourself into.

[rotten914]

I do want to drive one but I don't see that happening in the near future, unless I can find another car in better condition. Even if I found one I don't think I could get it, the only thing I have that I can let go of is this car. So for now i have no choice , so we'll see how everything goes.

[1968Cayman]

Do you have access to such equipment as a sheet metal brake? It'll make it a lot easier. Five years ago I bought a 911 that was in part-out (or take out and shoot) shape but decided to virtually cut it in half and replace everything that it needed. I have increased my skill set tremendously during the build and encourage you to do the same.

I love New Orleans . . . but would definitely get that thing into the shade before turning a wrench on it. I'll bet it's getting warm down there.

[rotten914]

Warm does't come close yesterday it crossed the 100 mark for the second day in a row and today promises the same. I plan to put it in my garage as soon as I get them both cleaned up some.

[rotten914]

I have a question for all of you. If you had this car would you modify it in any way or just put it back to its original condition? I friend suggested that I put some flares on it with some wider tires and some nice paint, maybe silver or green. My concern is that it is an LE and I'm not sure that I want to stray from its origin. I have thought about his suggestion a couple of times but I just cant decide if that is something I should do with this car. I have begun to work on it but I'm still just taking it apart so no pictures yet but when I start putting it back together I will show you my progress.

[SirAndy]

I have a question for all of you. If you had this car would you modify it in any way or just put it back to its original condition? I friend suggested that I put some flares on it with some wider tires and some nice paint, maybe silver or green. My concern is that it is an LE and I'm not sure that I want to stray from its origin. I have thought about his suggestion a couple of times but I just cant decide if that is something I should do with this car. I have begun to work on it but I'm still just taking it apart so no pictures yet but when I start putting it back together I will show you my progress.

Why go through all the trouble to save a LE and then not restore it back to original?

If you want to drive a GT clone, buy one already done for less money it'll cost you to restore this one ...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif) Andy

[Eric_Shea]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Sell it. It will be money saved in the long run. Put that money down on a base car that has more of what you want done to it.

Make no mistake; this car can cost you over $20,000 to restore properly... if you do it yourself. There's a lot of nice 914's out there for well under $20k

[VaccaRabite]

I know that I am going to be giving you advice that is contrary to nearly everyone else here.

The car you have is a parts car at best. It is not a viable restoration candidate unless you have serious skills, tools, or money (pick two). Unless sales for these cars shoot up quick - and I don't predict the future very well - the cost to restore this car back to decent stock condition will be more then you will be able to sell it for, probably by 2X. A stock car is usually worth more then a modified car, so converting it to a GT clone and selling it would probably be a 4X loss.

If you have restored other cars before, and know what is required, then you are probably able to do this. But that does not sound like it is the case.

Using myself as an example. I bought a car that needed relatively little, in the grand scheme of things. It needed a little rust removal, paint, and I wanted to do a hopped up T4 engine and cockpit. I had helped restore 4 other cars before I bought one of my own so I had some skills, but not the full suite. It took me 3 years before I drove the car, and 4 years before I could confidently drive the car.

Your hull is an LE. But the condition is such that I would pull the still good LE bits and sell them to raise money to buy a much stronger candidate car.

I wish you the best, which ever way you go. Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the car saved. But I'd also like to see an owner happy and not frustrated from blowing holes in rusty metal for a few years and then scrapping the project.

Zach

[rotten914]

I do understand te work required to restore this car. I'm not looking to build a gt clone. I was trying to get a feeling of what other people thought about the worth of an LE. If i was going to build a custom car it would only be for my enjoyment i don't really care what its monetary value is just its value to me as something I built to enjoy. I'm prepared for a long term project that I may have to call some favors in to complete properly but I don't give up on cars. I just can't let them go. I have read many of the serious rebuilds on this forum and i'm confident that this car is in much better shape than many others that have been fixed. The only way I will let it go is if someone trades me for one in better shape. I don't see that happening so I wil work on this car till I am satisfied with it.

[Eric_Shea]

A stock car is usually worth more then a modified car, so converting it to a GT clone and selling it would probably be a 4X loss.

Well prepared six conversions are still selling for much more than a well prepared stock 4 in equal condition. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

That said, it sounds like you've made your decision. I'd strip it to bare metal via soda blasting and start cutting all the bad metal out. It's all uphill from there! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net-1110-1281401419.1.jpg)

You're support group stands ready. Maybe we can form a metal bank and start saving pieces for you.

[carr914]

Well, I finally jumped on here and have a few thoughts (don't I always).

1st the questions.

You say that you don't give up on cars. That said you are in for a long haul. I would say 5 years minimum. I'm the Poster Child for ADD and it's killing me that my GT is now 2 1/2 years in without and end in sight. Can you stomach the wait & work involved?

Do you have indoor storage & workshop? Without it in the Big Easy area, you will kill yourself and the car will re-rust before you are done.

How deep are your pockets? While I'm not a Fan of the LE's ( they are nice cars, but I just don't the enthusiam for them - at least yours is a Bumblebee), but if it gets restored, I think it should be done right, not patched. That said, you will have to buy about $2,500 of parts from Restoration Design & AA. In the end I would suspect that you will spend $25,000 for a $10,000 car.

Now the suggestions

It is an LE, so don't try to make it anything else. While I said I'm not a Fan of the LE's, there are plenty of people that are.

In the end it's your car and you can do anything you want, but the money spent will not come back to you.

I'd sell and buy another in much better condition.

Good Luck,
T.C.