Hi everyone! I've posted a couple times but I'm looking for some thoughts on my car, mainly some opinions on "what would you do?"

A bit of back ground... I bought the car in Sept 2015 at a storage locker auction. I had NO CLUE there was a car in the unit!









There is some front end body damage and a few dents.




Some typical hell hole rust and some rust / bad weld on the passenger side long (as detailed in one of my other posts.

To my surprise, the key was in it and after replacing the fuel lines... It runs! Felt so good feeling and hearing that engine behind me (even though it is only a 1.7l but it came from Texas and I do not believe it has the emissions control that the California version had so a few more hp.



Fast forward 5 months and I cannot stop thinking about this car. I've had no time or money to put into it (Wasn't expecting it) but I am addicted to it!

I think it is time to get started on it. I'm thinking of stripping it completely down, welding (not me lol), body work, paint, and put back together. May take me years (hope not, I want to drive it!).

However, with the front fender the way it is and a few other things, I'm considering buying a roller for parts that is not too far from me. It's $1700 (Canadian so around $1200 USD) but not sure if I should go that route or piece-purchase the parts I need separately (may add up quickly)!

Still also undecided if I want to get it close to original or just do my own thing with it when it comes to the paint.

Any body have any thoughts or opinions on this dilemma? Any idea what my car may be worth as-is? I know future value would depend on the restore. What about the roller (which also comes with extra parts... I need the front bumper and passenger fender at least)?

Roller:





Thanks in advance!

Also, my car does have most of its parts and stripping. Looks like the previous owner was in the process of restoring it...

More pics of my car:

Front fender is easily fixable. The rust you show is NOT bad for canada. Its obvious that someone tried to repair it at some point snd did a bad job. What does the roller look like? Can you or are you interesting in welding and bodywork?

Entertain fixing it. People here have and are in the middle of fixing much, much worse.

The roller is the blue car in the pics of the first post. My car was imported into canada a few years ago, came out of texas.

I'm thinking the roller would make life much better but the price is a bit much? Price does include transporting it to me from 4 hours away...

How would you fix the fender? Replace?

I know a guy in Michigan......

If you look closely the rear wheels on the part car has 5 lug wheels. while you might get some needed body parts I would look close at what running gear/mechanical parts were used for that conversion to 5 lugs.

What was your original intention for the storage locker contents? Did you bid on it to make money? If so, then parting out the car you got for "free", would be a wise financial decision, instead of sinking money into the roller plus your original acquisition. If you don't want to part it, since it runs, sell it as-is and buy more storage lockers to flip. You'll end up with a lot more cash. Then take all that cash and get a much nicer 914 in the end that does not require that level of work and will be good to go.

Having gone through a few cars in my life I tend to put $10k into a car worth $5k. And that's the parts while figuring my labor is free. I'm not in it to flip them for money but more for the tinkering, cussing, throwing wrenches, etc. The joy of cars.

Careful, i know a guy who went to jail over a storage locker 914 ...

Hey, Take a real close look at the roller. From the photos you posted it looks like it's a better car than the storage locker car. You really should take a closer look.

I haven't bought one in a while, but the parts car seems overpriced at 1700CAD. It might be worth it depending on condition at Rick noted.

How's the interior of your car? It looks pretty nice from the pictures. You car has some shoddy patches on the lower longitudinals, how is the hell hole?

I was thinking 1700CAD might be a bit high, he want's 1500 for the car (plus a bunch of parts) and $200 to transport it to me. I do need some of its parts for sure.

Besides the shoddy weld, the passenger side damage, the long, and the hell hole is a bit rough (will take a pic today), the car is in in pretty good shape.

I bought the locker to have a few more items for a garage sale when I was in-between employers. So was looking to make a couple bucks. But I don't think I want to sell the car as-is. I'm addicted to it (and this great community). I'm working again so I can afford to start putting some time and money into it.

I think the pro's on the roller are: Body parts and odds and ends that I need.

Cons: I don't really have space for it for too long and the price of the roller (unless I can recoup some of the cost by selling what I don't need.)

My interior is in pretty good shape. The roller isn't. My car does have a bunch of parts with it that were removed by the previous owner in preparation to do body work. The roller he claims has very little rust.

My car does have a TON of paperwork with it, including documentation for importing it into Canada, previous titles and registration (the last owner inherited it).

In Canada, if a vehicle is found in a storage locker, as long as there are no leins, the buyer of the locker becomes the owner so I'm pretty sure I am safe from jail

Thanks for the replies so far! Still looking for more opinions on "what would you do?" though a 914 forum membership may be biased as I think we are all addicted/obsessed with these cars! Also wondering opinions on my cars current value...

Oh, and I usually do keep a few things here and there that I find in lockers Not everything is for sale

Unless you're dealing with a stolen vehicle ...


But enough of the scare talk, enjoy your car!