Hi all -
I'm the previous owner of Dave's '70 /6 conversion. I just talked to him tonight, and am sorry to hear that some subsequent owner of the old original /6 tub has been misrepresented it as a GT.
Here are the facts that I know:
I bought the /6 (914 043 0116) as an insurance salvage sometime in the mid-late 80s (don't remember the exact date). It was obviously totalled, but the engine ran, so I paid (I think) $3000 for it from a garage in Boston. It seemed to be an original 6 (correct VIN for a 6, key in dash, front motor mount attached to firewall). However it was trashed: wrecked with a frontal impact; passenger compartment was collapsed about 6" (side frame rails bent); badly rusted floorpan; filled with trash (old papers, cassette tapes, empty beer cans, some home-rolled substance in the ashtray, etc.). Big head impact in the windshield, and the steering wheel had collapsed from the driver hitting it, but no blood apparent so hopefully the driver wasn't too badly off. The firewall had been pushed forward a few inches from mass of the engine pushing forward during impact. From the firewall back, it wasn't in bad shape. The VIN was visible on the front wheelwell; I recall seeing it in one other place but couldn't recall where it was until reading this thread. There *was* a service receipt in it from a garage on Long Island where the previous owner had had it serviced. The car had regular 914 fenders (no flares), steel hood and trunk, etc. BTW the wreck was green when I bought it, and was obviously green from the factory.
I took some black&white photos of it when I bought the wreck. I've only found three that I'd scanned. I suppose I could look for more. I don't recall if I took any of the VIN, but it is possible. I don't know where I might have put them, but I'm pretty sure I didn't throw them away.
Here are the three I have readily available:
Wreck 1Wreck 2Floorpan RustI toyed with the idea of repairing the 6 chassis, but it was too much for me so I decided to buy a clean 4 chassis and do the transplant. I found one up in Maine, of all places; it was a 1970, 4-cyl. Ran fine, but the clutch slipped. Most importantly, the body was in good shape. I did the transplant (engine/trans, suspension/brakes, dash, hand throttle, washer pump, the works). All *except* the front motor mount and the VIN... Sorry Dave, but at least it saved you some money!
I sold the 4cyl engine+tranny to someone building a Bradley GT, of all things.
I gave away all the rest of the 4-cyl parts (suspension, etc.) since I'm sure nobody would have paid money for them. All that was left of the /6 was just the bent body. Everything, and I mean *EVERYTHING* that could be removed or unbolted, was.
I ended up selling the /6 hulk for $500 (as Dave mentioned). The person who bought it ended up selling it to another person who talked about building it into a 916 replica. After that, I lost touch of that chassis (until now!).
I had tried to sell the conversion through the Pano ad when I moved to a small apartment and lost my garage. I ended up getting other garage space, so I kept the car until 2000 when I sold it (as a converted 4-cyl) to Dave. Funny, I don't recall offering the /6 chassis for sale with the converted car, but now I do have some small recollection of contacting the person who bought the /6 chassis from me to see if he'd be willing to sell it with my converted car. Apparently he was willing, and that's why I offered both for sale in the ad.
I'm taken aback by the claim in the "914/6 GT" ad saying 9140430116 had been "raced all its life". It had clearly been driven (and trashed) as a regular street car before it was totalled and sold to me.
Sorry, this post has turned into a small novel.
I'll try to look for more photos and documentation.
Cheers,
- Bob Tillman