PPI in Chattanooga, TN please :) Options

[Dr Evil]

Howdy all,
I am wondering if any of you lives close to Chattanooga, TN and can do a PPI for me.

Let me know (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Rusty]

It's two hours from me. How soon do you need the PPI done?

Can we wait for Jeff's coolio form? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Al Meredith]

I live in Atlanta, but my Brother lives in Chattanooga. I go up there from time to time . Can't go this weekend; going to PCA in Charlotte. How soon do you want it PPIed. Al

[r_towle]

Perry Keihl
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=439
Rich

[Pnambic]

I'll be heading through Chattanooga on July 3rd afternoon.

[carr914]

If it's about the 914-6, the guy told me it's sold.

T.C.

[VaccaRabite]

Its a /4 not a /6.

Zach

[Dr Evil]

Ya, I dont want that /6. Wayyyyy too much work.
I am getting more pics this weekend. I'll let everyone know of the time frame I am looking at then.

Thanks!

[Dr Evil]

Well, Rusty wanted to take a trip so he is making the 4hr round trip to check out the car.

Of course, this AM my local 914 car dealer/pimp called me saying he has a perfect car arriving on Mon that will suit my needs for a lot less.......we shall see. I am in no hurry, either way, to get into an expensive bad deal.

[VaccaRabite]

Guessing that you passed on the York car?

Zach

[Dr Evil]

Ya, it was bid up to $8800 and the reserve STILL wasnt met (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) That guy seemed like a dousch to me anyway. Thanks for looking at it for me.

[VaccaRabite]

Ya, it was bid up to $8800 and the reserve STILL wasnt met (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) That guy seemed like a dousch to me anyway. Thanks for looking at it for me.

HOLY CRAP! That was at most a 7K car, even with the east coat premium.

Zach

[Gint]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif) when Rusty gets back. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Good luck Mike.

[Dr Evil]

I have excellent pics of the blue ar, I am sitting on them so no one swoops in on it.....I guess I can share, though (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

When I get home from the hospital (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

[Rusty]

Okay... I'm back. Two hours each way and about two hours with the car itself.

I started by using Jeff's new inspection sheet. That became a little awkward (I'll comment on the inspection sheet on that thread), so most of my notes are scribbled everywhere over several pages.

I need to caviat my comments: I really looked hard at this car to ensure that there would be no surprises if Mike flew out to buy it. It's an objective look that captured every chip, bubble or scratch. I have nothing against the seller or the car. Also, I did NOT take an ice-pick to this car. I poked, prodded, tapped and knocked... but I did nothing invasive to this vehicle as I'm not the prospective buyer.

The car is a repainted '74 2.0. Engine replaced. Seller does not own car (allegedly previously owned car, sold to a friend who gave it to her son. Son (owner) is in NC. Car is titled in NC. Seller has possession of clean NC title, but title is signed right now.

74 914-4, VIN: 4742906288.

Chassis number: ~~~967? (Karmann tag in doorjam was oversprayed in blue)
Original color code: ??? (told it was originally olympic blue)
Odometer: 90835. Inop.
Engine SN: GA004770

Car is currently (and allegedly always been) stored indoors. The car had not been cleaned or detailed to be shown. Overall, the condition of the car demonstrates years of deferred maintenance or quick fixes.

Chassis has at least two repaints over the original olympic blue. A cobalt blue metallic base-clear paint over a sea-blue metallic over the Olympic Blue. Paint is glossy, with some flaws and patina of rock chips. L rear wheelwell lip has some sags that should have been trimmed and sanded when the car was clear-coated.

Structurally, the car has some *potential* concerns. Please note the use of the word potential, as I can't be sure. The front and rear trunk floors are sealed with a thin layer of fiberglass (matting and resin). Rear trunk carpet was glued into place. Without removing the fiberglass, it's impossible to know what the panels look like. However, in fairness, the opposite side of the panels looked pretty good. Front trunk floor has some dents (poor choice of lift point?).

The headlight areas appeared solid. I put my hand into the open area below the headlights and it had light, minor surface rust only. The bumper mounting points appeared solid (front and back).

Car has a "wet" battery in place without an acid-proof mat. Battery tray was replaced once and welded in place. There is some of the same fiberglass matting at the base of the battery tray support and on the right side engine shelf. Knocking in the hell-hole did not reveal any holes, but it was difficult to tell how far down the fiberglass extended. The L side hell-hole was clean.

Interior carpet was glued down, but I pulled some of it back. The floorpans seem very solid. Original soundproofing tar was intact. Area around pedal cluster seemed clean and solid. Accel pedal loose (tightened). Pedal board missing mounting hardware.

The right side jack receiver moved very slightly when I used my hand to check if it was solid. Additionally, the area around the right side lift point has had some previous rust repair done. Based on the patch piece and welds, the repair is probably a scab-type repair. I've seen worse, but this area should be investigated more. The R mounting point for the motor mount bar appears solid.

There is a GT-type stiffening kit installed in the rear wheel wells, painted over with satin black paint. The underside of the floorboards and front wheel wells are also painted with the same satin black paint. The R side wheel well has two scab-type rust repairs. The left side wheel well has a small (1/4") rust hole and the beginning of a second hole in the normal spot.

I did not remove the right side rocker panel, but told the seller that anyone wanting to buy the car would insist on pictures of that area. There was one broken bolt/screw that should have been securing that side of the rocker panel. The exposed metal of the M6 screw was rusted, indicating that it was broken off some time previously.

The R side trunk lid hinge has been replaced. The replacement piece is not the Restoration Designs unit. It was bolted into place. This should be repaired. The L side engine lid mounting point has been repaired at some point in the past.

The exterior had some flaws as to be expected with a 35 year old car. There is a small ding in the cowl in front of the passenger seat. It appears as if the cowl seal was glued into place on the L side, possibly the R side as well. There is a small bubble on the L/F quarter panel. Chips on the hood, covered with touch-up paint. the front bumper top is weathered, wavy and crunchy with a few small cuts in the surface. The front bumper chrome is shines well. This car has foglights and the grills are intact.

Both doors are drilled for aftermarket mirrors which are not on the car. The last paint job oversprayed the mirror mounting hardware which were left on the car. The underside of the doors appear solid. Door seals are relatively new. The targa top seal is in excellent condition.

R side door handle mounting tab is broken. Also, door handle opens about 1 out of 3 times. Worn/misadjusted? The door gaps seemed pretty good. Could not do the "big butt test" since the door handle was unreliable. There are bubbles in the paint (contamination? rust?) in the forward part of the R door jam. there is evidence of rust damage at the top corner of the rear of the R door jam.

The R rear quarter panel has spots where paint is spider-cracking. Feeling the back of the panel revealed that there were dings in those spots that were filled. My guess is body filler and an indication of a possible paint adhesion problem. Near the taillight on the R rear quarter there is evidence of chips, possible body filler and a crack at the lower corner of the tailight. Rust is visible.

The curved roll-bar trim is anodized aluminum, but scratched and dull. A few small dents. The long top piece of roll-bar trim is blacked out.

Rear bumper is bright chrome. Owner claims there is a ding behind the license plate. Rear bumper pad is wavy, crunchy and has some cracks. The car is equipped with euro tail lights. Left tail light lense has a small (1") crack.

More to follow... I need a beer.

[Rusty]

Part II.

When opening the engine lid, the first thing I note is the AA vacuum line kit. The second thing I note is cloth covered fuel lines. Also, the backpad has been removed. Unfortunately, the painter did not remove all of the glue before he sprayed the metallic blue in the engine compartment. I couldn't tell if the engine compartment paint was base-coat clear, but I suspect not.

Owner claims engine was rebuilt over 10 years ago that included new sodium filled exhaust valves, tuna-can oil sump and hi-performance oil pump.

There is a small leak on the right side valve cover. Also, there appears to be some translucent red sealant (gaskacinch?) sprayed on the underside of the engine covering the pushrod tubes. The heat exchangers are stock and showing pin hole rust on the heater boxes at the muffler end. Underside of car is dirty.

The car is shod with four-bolt Fuch wheels that are dull in appearance and 205/55/15 Bridgestone tires. Less than 3/16 tread remaining on tires. Tires appear to be wearing uniformly. The wheel bolts have been replaced with wheel studs and lug nuts. Wheels studs are not long enough to completely engage the lug nuts, indicating that the studs were too short or the wheels were possibly originally steel wheels. Also, I did not check to see if the lug nuts were conical or ball faced. The car is equipped with green bilsteins and sway bars. All four shocks rebound correctly. The car sits level from the front and rear. Ride height appears correct from the side.

The interior of the car has been refurbished. Aftermarket plush black carpet and mats. A radio was installed, but has been since removed and the hole covered with black basketweave vinyl. Gauges that work are tach, speedo and the aftermarket fuel gauge mounted to the left of the headlight switch (yes, read that again.) Car has a gauge (inop) for fuel pressure and temp replacing original combo gauge. The center console gauges do not work. The center console has been recovered, but the vinyl on the sides does not match the rest of the interior. L side door panel forward lower corner is secured to the door with two chrome headed screws. There is a plastic dash cap in place. Seats do not have any splits, cracks or tears. Roll bar pad has three cracks and two gouges and is missing all the small plastic caps.

Vent below shift column covered in duct tape (indicates a possible leak?). Under dash, there is a red rocker switch wired into the harness. Switch is not mounted to any surface. Purpose unknown. The lower targa seal is missing.

The car starts with the turn of the key. No playing the gas pedal. It idles high. Once it warms up, the idle is about 1400 rpm. When driving the car on twisty roads, handling is very neutral - it does exactly what is expected of it, no surprises. The engine pulls how a 2.0 engine should, but there is slight noise from the valves - perhaps an adjustment is in order.

The car should only be shifted by a Jedi... because the Force is needed to find some gears, especially for downshifts. Expect to replace bushings up and down the linkage.

Conclusions to follow.

[Rusty]

Conclusion:

Any 2.0 car, even one with a replaced engine, is worth something. This car is in better than average condition for a car that didn't spend it's life out West.

As the seller was quite clear that he has personal history with the car, I suspect that the fiberglass work was done under his watch.

To me, this might be a 4500 car, if the right side long was clean and the seller was willing to warrant (in writing) that there would be no rust surprises under the fiberglass. There are obvious problems in enforcing that type of warrantee, but perhaps an escrow service would work.

Even if the fiberglass came up clean, there are several other places that need work, culminating in repainting the car. This is a project that someone could drive while they were working on many of the little things.

Pictures to follow.

[Dr Evil]

Here is the original ad on the club site:
http://www.914club.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=98784

Damn Rusty, that is the most detailed PPI I have ever seen. I swear it felt like I was reading a new history and physical on a new patient. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

You rock man!

[Rusty]

Front trunk 1.

[Dr Evil]

Front trunk 1.

Now that is some rust! You cant even see the trunk (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

Nevermind, the pic showed up (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)