Full Version: COMPANY RESTORATION RECOMMENDATION
I have a 914, drives but needs restoring. Please send me a list of good companies. Rodneyj512@yahoo.com
Hello and 
You have come to the right place regarding your 914. Spend some time reading through all of the build threads to get a good idea of what is involved in restoring these cars. Good luck in your search.
You have come to the right place regarding your 914. Spend some time reading through all of the build threads to get a good idea of what is involved in restoring these cars. Good luck in your search.
My car is also at Kahiko Customs getting the professional make over by 914 expert Scott Burnett. Just doesn't get any better for paint and body work on your 914 than the incredible magic Scott will perform on your car.
http://www.kahikocustoms.com/
However, many people like more than one option to choose from, therefore I will also throw out a reccomendation for Chris Foley at Tangerine Racing. He is a full service 914 expert also and located on the east coast.
http://tangerineracing.com/
Move inland a ways and there is the great Brad Mayeur at 914 Limited. One of the nicest and most knowledgeable 914 experts in the country. They just don't come much better than Brad, he is an awesome guy!
http://www.914ltd.com/
Willing to travel to the opposite coast, then I would have to throw out the name of 914 expert Mark DeBernardi at Original Customs in Sonoma, Ca. A long way to go but worth the trip.
http://www.originalcustoms.com/
Bottom line is there are many places across the country that you can go to, but there are a handful of places that know and love these little cars as much as the owner does. Comes down to how much you want to do, how far you want to travel and how big your budget is.
There are others still and I don't mean to offend anyone by leaving them off my list like Rick at Area 51 and Eric at PMB and Joe down in sunny Florida at Series 9 but based on your location and my personal knowledge of the people who own the shops, as I would be proud to let any one of these guys restore one of my cars. You choose a shop from one of the members here on 914World, you can't go wrong. It would be really awesome if they all worked under one roof, then that would truly be magical.
Good luck with your restoration and know that if you use any of the shops mentioned above, you will receive a quality restoration and make many friends for life.
Just my .02 cents worth,
Shoe
http://www.kahikocustoms.com/
However, many people like more than one option to choose from, therefore I will also throw out a reccomendation for Chris Foley at Tangerine Racing. He is a full service 914 expert also and located on the east coast.
http://tangerineracing.com/
Move inland a ways and there is the great Brad Mayeur at 914 Limited. One of the nicest and most knowledgeable 914 experts in the country. They just don't come much better than Brad, he is an awesome guy!
http://www.914ltd.com/
Willing to travel to the opposite coast, then I would have to throw out the name of 914 expert Mark DeBernardi at Original Customs in Sonoma, Ca. A long way to go but worth the trip.
http://www.originalcustoms.com/
Bottom line is there are many places across the country that you can go to, but there are a handful of places that know and love these little cars as much as the owner does. Comes down to how much you want to do, how far you want to travel and how big your budget is.
There are others still and I don't mean to offend anyone by leaving them off my list like Rick at Area 51 and Eric at PMB and Joe down in sunny Florida at Series 9 but based on your location and my personal knowledge of the people who own the shops, as I would be proud to let any one of these guys restore one of my cars. You choose a shop from one of the members here on 914World, you can't go wrong. It would be really awesome if they all worked under one roof, then that would truly be magical.
Good luck with your restoration and know that if you use any of the shops mentioned above, you will receive a quality restoration and make many friends for life.
Just my .02 cents worth,
Shoe
You might want to research the cost of having a professional quality restoration done for you before you choose your exact plan of attack. . . you will easily spend more than what the car will be worth when paying 'the going shop rates' to get everything done. . .
That's why we are all here. . we trade information and we do it ourselves. . lot's of members here parting out old hulks with lots of parts left over. . .
That's why we are all here. . we trade information and we do it ourselves. . lot's of members here parting out old hulks with lots of parts left over. . .
Chris Foley and Scottyb on the east coast. Don't forget about Joe O'Brien in Florida.
Double what you think it will cost and you'll be pretty close.
Triple how long you think it will take, and you'll be pretty close.
Restorations start out with high levels of enthusiasm, they often end with drained bank accounts, pissed off wives, bad experiences with those providing services and some people just give up.
I deal with lots of folks that start out with great enthusiasm on the front end of a project. They are loose with their money and they have fun… Until the rarity hits and it ends up costing much more and taking much longer, then they get all pissy, hate everyone involved and sometimes there's even lawsuits.
Just the realities I see as we provide engines for projects. Often times we are the only people in the chain that maintain a schedule and a solid cost from start to finish, but the stories I could tell you.
The key is to be realistic about the cost and the time and that its only fun if you keep it that way and like to spend money. Don't go to the cheapest resource for the work to be done and don't expect there to be any "estimates" for the work that will be done, because restorers have no idea what they will find under the old paint, bondo and crud.
I only restore my own cars, my hat is off to those who make a living out of doing this work, because I tried it about 18 years ago for others and it was a losing proposition.
Triple how long you think it will take, and you'll be pretty close.
Restorations start out with high levels of enthusiasm, they often end with drained bank accounts, pissed off wives, bad experiences with those providing services and some people just give up.
I deal with lots of folks that start out with great enthusiasm on the front end of a project. They are loose with their money and they have fun… Until the rarity hits and it ends up costing much more and taking much longer, then they get all pissy, hate everyone involved and sometimes there's even lawsuits.
Just the realities I see as we provide engines for projects. Often times we are the only people in the chain that maintain a schedule and a solid cost from start to finish, but the stories I could tell you.
The key is to be realistic about the cost and the time and that its only fun if you keep it that way and like to spend money. Don't go to the cheapest resource for the work to be done and don't expect there to be any "estimates" for the work that will be done, because restorers have no idea what they will find under the old paint, bondo and crud.
I only restore my own cars, my hat is off to those who make a living out of doing this work, because I tried it about 18 years ago for others and it was a losing proposition.
If you have some mechanical aptitude and a place to work on it, I would seriously consider restoring it yourself. You will get to know your car inside & out.
Things break when you are bombing around in a 40 year old car...it just happens. The knowledge you gain during restoration will be invaluable to keeping it on the road in the future and save you some big $$$.
There is a wealth of knowledge and helpful people on this forum.
I have seen the work of some restoration shops and it is impressive without a doubt...but how big is your budget?
I have a stack of receipts that I have yet to add up for my home restoration. Including the car purchase, I am probably in for around $7-8K or so. Insurance company valued the car at $12,500.
Oh and:
Things break when you are bombing around in a 40 year old car...it just happens. The knowledge you gain during restoration will be invaluable to keeping it on the road in the future and save you some big $$$.
There is a wealth of knowledge and helpful people on this forum.
I have seen the work of some restoration shops and it is impressive without a doubt...but how big is your budget?
I have a stack of receipts that I have yet to add up for my home restoration. Including the car purchase, I am probably in for around $7-8K or so. Insurance company valued the car at $12,500.
Oh and:
QUOTE(Jake Raby @ Jan 5 2014, 11:20 AM) 
Double what you think it will cost and you'll be pretty close.
Triple how long you think it will take, and you'll be pretty close.
Restorations start out with high levels of enthusiasm, they often end with drained bank accounts, pissed off wives, bad experiences with those providing services and some people just give up.
I deal with lots of folks that start out with great enthusiasm on the front end of a project. They are loose with their money and they have fun… Until the rarity hits and it ends up costing much more and taking much longer, then they get all pissy, hate everyone involved and sometimes there's even lawsuits.
Just the realities I see as we provide engines for projects. Often times we are the only people in the chain that maintain a schedule and a solid cost from start to finish, but the stories I could tell you.
The key is to be realistic about the cost and the time and that its only fun if you keep it that way and like to spend money. Don't go to the cheapest resource for the work to be done and don't expect there to be any "estimates" for the work that will be done, because restorers have no idea what they will find under the old paint, bondo and crud.
I only restore my own cars, my hat is off to those who make a living out of doing this work, because I tried it about 18 years ago for others and it was a losing proposition.
Jake:
Just read your post.
The guy who bailed me out on my paint job is giving up on his restoration shop for these reasons. He got too frustrated with people getting pissed off with the bills mid-project and trying to beat him up on the labor. He has a pole building of half-finished cars that people stopped paying on.
Instead, he is going to start flipping cars so he doesn't have to deal with the hassle of squeezing money out of folks along the way.
Yep.. Its the way it happens 90% of the time with restorations. I have had engines that we have built sit for 10 years and never get installed because the person bailed on the project. It happens A LOT!
Its all unicorns and rainbows until the bills start piling up, the wife turns into a bitch and its not fun anymore.
Its all unicorns and rainbows until the bills start piling up, the wife turns into a bitch and its not fun anymore.
QUOTE(hot_shoe914 @ Jan 5 2014, 07:44 AM)
My car is also at Kahiko Customs getting the professional make over by 914 expert Scott Burnett. Just doesn't get any better for paint and body work on your 914 than the incredible magic Scott will perform on your car.
http://www.kahikocustoms.com/
However, many people like more than one option to choose from, therefore I will also throw out a reccomendation for Chris Foley at Tangerine Racing. He is a full service 914 expert also and located on the east coast.
http://tangerineracing.com/
Move inland a ways and there is the great Brad Mayeur at 914 Limited. One of the nicest and most knowledgeable 914 experts in the country. They just don't come much better than Brad, he is an awesome guy!
http://www.914ltd.com/
Willing to travel to the opposite coast, then I would have to throw out the name of 914 expert Mark DeBernardi at Original Customs in Sonoma, Ca. A long way to go but worth the trip.
http://www.originalcustoms.com/
Bottom line is there are many places across the country that you can go to, but there are a handful of places that know and love these little cars as much as the owner does. Comes down to how much you want to do, how far you want to travel and how big your budget is.
There are others still and I don't mean to offend anyone by leaving them off my list like Rick at Area 51 and Eric at PMB and Joe down in sunny Florida at Series 9 but based on your location and my personal knowledge of the people who own the shops, as I would be proud to let any one of these guys restore one of my cars. You choose a shop from one of the members here on 914World, you can't go wrong. It would be really awesome if they all worked under one roof, then that would truly be magical.
Good luck with your restoration and know that if you use any of the shops mentioned above, you will receive a quality restoration and make many friends for life.
Just my .02 cents worth,
Shoe
Great list of the 914 shops Shoe!
It was fun meeting you at the Ramble:
"You cheap bastard, can't you buy your wife her own bowl of soup????!!!!!"
John
All good info above. Make sure your bank account is up to the task.
You can save a lot doing it yourself.
You will also understand your car and how to fix it when it breaks later, as someone else has said.
Buy your parts from 914 World vendors in the classified. This is hands down
cheaper than any other way to get them.
Figure out what you need specialists to do: I have McMark build my engine from a
Raby kit because I did not want to have to learn all that. I did paint my own car
which was good enough for my street/track theme.
If you work and buy parts little by little you can spread out the expense over
several years. It took me three years to do the rockin 914 and I am 4 years
into doing my IMSA car. When you spend this way it is not so painful or
noticeable to your partner.
You also need to enjoy the process all the way along. If you just want a car to
drive right now then buy one right off or you will give up in frustration.
John
QUOTE
"You cheap bastard, can't you buy your wife her own bowl of soup????!!!!!"
Delicate subject. I had a big collision shop/resto shop for 18 years. I got tired of chasing the carrot and baby sitting employees.
I am doing limited work these days by myself as a hobby and I am training my oldest. He has the car bug but never paid much attention when he was growing up. I have him learning how to properly teardown a car and photo document condition of all the parts that are coming off. I've always tried to price things up front with a 10-15% margin. Sometimes that's not possible. I just discovered more rust on one project I'm working on. Not too much more but some. I hate to bump prices but I am up front in the first place. This I hope avoids bad feelings.
The other thing shops get blamed for is rust that wasn't detectable during repairs and pops out after the car leaves the shop. Rust never sleeps.
I have a 911 Targa in for a repaint. Aric is working on the teardown. I'm not even giving the guy a baseline until we have most of the paint on the floor. Really. Once the paint is off it's either a go or no go. I can always put a coat of primer on the car and pat it on the trunk.
Anyone thinking about a full tilt resto needs to have a good relationship with your spouse. I have a friend that has over 40k in his car with no drive line or paint yet. He said I happen to like this car. Not just this type of car, this one. To me it's worth it. He told me" This is my hobby. If I can't afford my hobby I shouldn't do it. More importantly I shouldn't expect someone else to fund my hobby with discounts and favors." It's one thing to help a guy out with his daily driver. Maybe you had an accident and have an unexpected expense that is outside of your monthly budget. Helping a guy with that is a worthy favor. But asking a guy to sign on and partner with you and your hobby is out of line.
So with that in mind on the other side of the fence when someone spends money with you they should get what they pay for. You won't always meet everyone's idea of what they expect for the money they spend. That's a completely different subject but fair is fair.
How did I go off the rails here.
sorry... 
I am doing limited work these days by myself as a hobby and I am training my oldest. He has the car bug but never paid much attention when he was growing up. I have him learning how to properly teardown a car and photo document condition of all the parts that are coming off. I've always tried to price things up front with a 10-15% margin. Sometimes that's not possible. I just discovered more rust on one project I'm working on. Not too much more but some. I hate to bump prices but I am up front in the first place. This I hope avoids bad feelings.
The other thing shops get blamed for is rust that wasn't detectable during repairs and pops out after the car leaves the shop. Rust never sleeps.
I have a 911 Targa in for a repaint. Aric is working on the teardown. I'm not even giving the guy a baseline until we have most of the paint on the floor. Really. Once the paint is off it's either a go or no go. I can always put a coat of primer on the car and pat it on the trunk.
Anyone thinking about a full tilt resto needs to have a good relationship with your spouse. I have a friend that has over 40k in his car with no drive line or paint yet. He said I happen to like this car. Not just this type of car, this one. To me it's worth it. He told me" This is my hobby. If I can't afford my hobby I shouldn't do it. More importantly I shouldn't expect someone else to fund my hobby with discounts and favors." It's one thing to help a guy out with his daily driver. Maybe you had an accident and have an unexpected expense that is outside of your monthly budget. Helping a guy with that is a worthy favor. But asking a guy to sign on and partner with you and your hobby is out of line.
So with that in mind on the other side of the fence when someone spends money with you they should get what they pay for. You won't always meet everyone's idea of what they expect for the money they spend. That's a completely different subject but fair is fair.
How did I go off the rails here.
sorry...
Here I am enjoying a cup of coffee and getting a laugh out of some of these honest and pointed replies. Especially the enthusiasm from the start and pissed off wife part.
To the OP, take these advice to heart and decide on your journey.
Good luck with your quest!
To the OP, take these advice to heart and decide on your journey.
Good luck with your quest!
So since some people don't complete their projects, I suppose this means we should just stop restoring our 914's and let'em rot. 
That's the problem with customers....they are such a pain the arse. Welcome to Salingerworld.com
That's the problem with customers....they are such a pain the arse. Welcome to Salingerworld.com
Unless you truly have an unlimited budget and know exactly what you want, ask a shop to build the MINIMUM number of modifications. That way you'll have room for cost overruns. I've also had my share of customers who drop in with a 5 page list of cool modifications. And I'm usually the bad guy for talking them out of most of it. Unfortunately the budget never goes as far as we would like - even on my car which is still on the rotisserie waiting...
Wow, what a response! Our local region of PCA (Chesapeake) is hosting a tech session on Porsche restoration at CPR Classic East Coast on Jan 25th. This is a recently set up east coast extension of CPR Classic (California Porsche Restoration) in CA.
http://cprclassic.com/
If you interested here is the info on what is all about and how to register. I have not had any work done at CPR Easton but the west coast shop comes highly recommended but probably expensive,
Education on Porsche Restoration
CPR, Easton, MD
January 25, 2014
10am
Bruce Wakefield and his staff plan on going over all of the major elements of restoring a Porsche to near new condition. Topics and demonstrations will include of rust repair and panel replacement techniques and procedures used by CPR and why. CPR master metal technicians will make short presentations and thereafter be available to discuss all phases of Porsche metal repair. In conjunction with metal repair, there will be short presentations on CPR final paint procedures, Glasurit Paint Systems, and Wurth undercoatings. Porsche restoration projects that are in progress will be used as the visual aids. The CPR shop foreman and master painter Brian Hibbs, Jr, along with Glasurit representative will be available for individual topic discussions. In addition, Mr. Geri Corder with Color-Tech Powder Coating will have a short
presentation on new powder coating techniques and how they are applicable to the "hands on" Porsche owner. There will be a ton of information presented at this session for Porsche
owners of both new and older Porsche's. This session should provide excellent opportunities for individual topic discussions experts in the field of Porsche restoration.
Register at: clubregistration.net
send me an email if you have any questions
Location - CPR Classic East, 9329 Ocean Gateway Easton, MD 21601
http://cprclassic.com/
If you interested here is the info on what is all about and how to register. I have not had any work done at CPR Easton but the west coast shop comes highly recommended but probably expensive,
Education on Porsche Restoration
CPR, Easton, MD
January 25, 2014
10am
Bruce Wakefield and his staff plan on going over all of the major elements of restoring a Porsche to near new condition. Topics and demonstrations will include of rust repair and panel replacement techniques and procedures used by CPR and why. CPR master metal technicians will make short presentations and thereafter be available to discuss all phases of Porsche metal repair. In conjunction with metal repair, there will be short presentations on CPR final paint procedures, Glasurit Paint Systems, and Wurth undercoatings. Porsche restoration projects that are in progress will be used as the visual aids. The CPR shop foreman and master painter Brian Hibbs, Jr, along with Glasurit representative will be available for individual topic discussions. In addition, Mr. Geri Corder with Color-Tech Powder Coating will have a short
presentation on new powder coating techniques and how they are applicable to the "hands on" Porsche owner. There will be a ton of information presented at this session for Porsche
owners of both new and older Porsche's. This session should provide excellent opportunities for individual topic discussions experts in the field of Porsche restoration.
Register at: clubregistration.net
send me an email if you have any questions
Location - CPR Classic East, 9329 Ocean Gateway Easton, MD 21601
Jake, I'm going to steal your post and have it printed on some t-shirts
Double what you think it will cost and you'll be pretty close.
Triple how long you think it will take, and you'll be pretty close.
Restorations start out with high levels of enthusiasm, they often end with drained bank accounts, pissed off wives, bad experiences with those providing services and some people just give up.
Double what you think it will cost and you'll be pretty close.
Triple how long you think it will take, and you'll be pretty close.
Restorations start out with high levels of enthusiasm, they often end with drained bank accounts, pissed off wives, bad experiences with those providing services and some people just give up.
QUOTE(scotty b @ Jan 5 2014, 11:10 AM)
Jake, I'm going to steal your post and have it printed on some t-shirts
Double what you think it will cost and you'll be pretty close.
Triple how long you think it will take, and you'll be pretty close.
Restorations start out with high levels of enthusiasm, they often end with drained bank accounts, pissed off wives, bad experiences with those providing services and some people just give up.
Or at least frame it & put it on your shop wall
. True statement for sure
All the obstacles, trials, and tribulations just make your first drive in your restored
car all the more sweet.
Truly one of the cool experiences in life is to drive a car you just rebuilt yourself
or that you had restored to the way you wanted it.
Every time you drive it or show it to people it keeps paying off.
John
car all the more sweet.
Truly one of the cool experiences in life is to drive a car you just rebuilt yourself
or that you had restored to the way you wanted it.
Every time you drive it or show it to people it keeps paying off.
John
QUOTE(rodneyj512 @ Jan 4 2014, 11:28 PM)
I have a 914, drives but needs restoring. Please send me a list of good companies. Rodneyj512@yahoo.com
Rodney, suggest you Post some Pictures of what you have and what you think you need done so we can help you know if it's a good idea to proceed with restortion.
If it's too involved I have to suggest you bail out on it and buy one that's already done. In the long run you can buy a rust free Calif., Arizon, maybe Texas car that wouldn't need a lot done to it for less that $10K and drive it home tomorrow.......if it's not snowing.
Doug
Glad you guys who have been there agree with my statements. I tell my engine customers this same thing over and over again about the entirety of the project.
I don't want people starting a project with me, then when a year passes by and they have to pay me for the last 50% of the engine and they have to bail. Because I am so forward about this I have only had one person bail in the past 7 years, and yes, he was a 914 owner and he bailed last year.
From building my own cars I have learned to not even add up the costs. Just build the damn thing and enjoy it, it cost what it cost and takes as long as it takes. You can't rush success, but you can rush failure.
I have started buying cars that are almost done, or that people have finished.. Let someone else lose all their time and money, make a few changes to make it my way and save a ton of time and cash.
I don't want people starting a project with me, then when a year passes by and they have to pay me for the last 50% of the engine and they have to bail. Because I am so forward about this I have only had one person bail in the past 7 years, and yes, he was a 914 owner and he bailed last year.
From building my own cars I have learned to not even add up the costs. Just build the damn thing and enjoy it, it cost what it cost and takes as long as it takes. You can't rush success, but you can rush failure.
I have started buying cars that are almost done, or that people have finished.. Let someone else lose all their time and money, make a few changes to make it my way and save a ton of time and cash.
If you are not a high earner and can't pay for everything to be done, you need to get some training and some decent tools.
I have a qualification in motor vehicle restoration which was a two year coarse. We learnt oxy, mig, electric stick welding, panel shaping, file finish and lead wiping. That was 25 years ago and the best thing I ever did.
I feel sick in the stomach when I see a can of bog, filler or as you Americans call it bondo. The problem with training is you are taught to have standards. This can also cause problems if you have a compulsive obsessive disorder, because nothing is ever good enough.
I did the coarse initially because I was sick of poor workmanship at the places who worked on my cars so I just thought, "gotta do it myself".
I eventually got over having to have everything perfect and just wanted the cars to drive, brake and handle beautifully. Paint and body work always gets its scratched and bumped so a few scratches and bumps is OK. It's apparently all the rage to have some patina.
I also learned that you just have to get into the habit of doing a little bit on your project regularly. That way you move through the sets of tasks and the jobs get done.
good luck
I have a qualification in motor vehicle restoration which was a two year coarse. We learnt oxy, mig, electric stick welding, panel shaping, file finish and lead wiping. That was 25 years ago and the best thing I ever did.
I feel sick in the stomach when I see a can of bog, filler or as you Americans call it bondo. The problem with training is you are taught to have standards. This can also cause problems if you have a compulsive obsessive disorder, because nothing is ever good enough.
I did the coarse initially because I was sick of poor workmanship at the places who worked on my cars so I just thought, "gotta do it myself".
I eventually got over having to have everything perfect and just wanted the cars to drive, brake and handle beautifully. Paint and body work always gets its scratched and bumped so a few scratches and bumps is OK. It's apparently all the rage to have some patina.
I also learned that you just have to get into the habit of doing a little bit on your project regularly. That way you move through the sets of tasks and the jobs get done.
good luck
QUOTE(rick 918-S @ Jan 5 2014, 10:12 AM)
Chris Foley and Scottyb on the east coast. Don't forget about Joe O'Brien in Florida.
Where in Florida is Joe O'Brien? What's his company?
Does anyone know any good shops in the region around Pensacola, FL? I don't need a full restoration, but just help knowing what should be done to get a very clean '73 15K mile car that was stored for 35 years going correctly.
Thanks for your help!
I suggest anyone looking to have a complete car done do their homework and check the shops current level of work quality. Apparently this skill is perishable and what once may have been considered 5 star quality now may not even earn 1 star. Don't rush and ask around for recommendations.
My car is over with Joe right now. He came highly recommended and I was impressed with what I saw at his shop when I dropped off my car.
My car is a low mileage 76 that needed some minor welding and refresh.
My car is a low mileage 76 that needed some minor welding and refresh.
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