hello--
I have no pics (I suck at pics but ill get a camera soon) I have:

--late 1971 so I guess 1972 porsche 914 1.7 non running. floors are solid, there is hell hole rust moderate from the pics Ive seen but not horrible, holes in engine tray, rusty console but no holes. I just found rust on what I would call the transmission tunnel inside the car. looks like someone saw rust and por 15'd it. its runsty eaten away in parts, between floor and tunnel. rust por 15'd on drvr seat support all else ok.

---I have a 2.0 motor I just tore down,

---I have a side shifter transmission to put in.

---I have a 1977 911 front end complete and have just spent 2k on all new parts for it.

---I put 900 down to magro for some 16x6 fuchs semi polished

***I have an originally black car which is cool.

---before I spend my whole bank account on this thing I was curious on opinions on how I can hold/increase value---problem is I dont want a stock 1.7 with the ugly bumper over riders. thats prolly best for value huh?

--my plan: fix rust, do a scat forged 2.6 engine from my 2.0 I tore down. with webers (should I try FI?) I kinna want webers. repaint black, weld in the marker lights (I hate them), I have early bumpers I want to re-chrome with no bumper guards, I have two early mirrors I want to polish.

anyway so I want it sleek and black and polished chrome look. I pimped out a merc c43 with a 5.5 motor and trick suspension and its so awesome but its worth NOTHING bc everyone wants stock only. will this happen with my 914 plan above?????

Yes

Building a car the way a person wants will always cost more than its worth, especially if its done correctly. The best bang for your buck is to just buy one thats already been built similarly to how you want your car to be.

I wouldnt go as far as to call most custom 914 projects money pits, but thats largely what they are when you really modify them.

914 market values do seem to be slowly climbing for nice clean examples, but they are most certainly not "investment" cars like a 356 has become.


Build it to enjoy it.. not to resell it..

Don't think about it as an investment, or not spending what it cost to have what you want. Most who start a major project never really finish them, and yes a finished car sells for less they what it cost getting them finished.

Investments are not something cars seem good at these days, there are a lot of extremely nice cars of all types that you can buy these days for less then what most of us spent, or will spend, getting their 914's to where they we want them.

I'd say get your car mechanically sound and on the road so you can drive it and have some fun for a while first, then over time, work on it in short stages to morf it into what you want it to be.

that is some good advice. I got my first a few months ago. I'm getting all the little kinks worked out before I tear it down to repaint it and do any mods. This way I can have fun driving it and figuring out what I really want in the process. I love my 914.

If you're capable of doing a lot of the work yourself, you'll save a ton of money, but I agree, you probably won't turn a profit for a while.

Maybe in 20 ~ 30 years, 914s will escalate in value. As time goes by, accidents, tin worms and sawz-all parties will continue to reduce the availability of good cars.

I think you scared him....he has his car listed in the classifieds.

Reality...

its going to cost 3X its worth to build that car as described

As most of yall know: We don't consider our 914's as an investment. It is our hobby, our passion, not to mention: A lot of fun!

I think it would be a good idea to drive one first. Then you will know why there are so many people owning them to love them. Stock is really fun, and there is nothing wrong with more hp. Thing is, I have a 911 that is much faster, but I love my 914.

edit: Also don't drive it on a straight flat road.

Funny.. Years back I decided I had to have a 914-6. Well as I was looking for the right car to start a conversion with, a, we'll call him a friend, offered me a 72 911t. I jumped on it for 6500. It satiated my NEED for a 914-6. 11 years later my dad found a 6 that someone converted but it needed body work, so he bought it at $3800. Mom hated it! So I traded a 928 with roached interior and my kickass paint work for the 914-6. SCORE two of the cars I always wanted. IF, I had started the 914-6 back then I most likely would still be working on it, and it would be WAY over budget. I got something that was almost finished and saved a pile. And now I'm going to do my best to have a running, driving, painted car for less than 2k after my $700 2k 928 trade. Look around, do your best to keep costs down, trade, barter and have fun, but try to not personalize it too much. Just make it work, and work well, and kill the rust while your at it. If you can't do all of the work yourself, or are not well heeled don't do it. It's a never ending illness. I can't sleep at night because all I can think about is working on my 9's.-Guy