I'm at a stage where I am making some big decisions about some things on my car and having to decide whether I want to go back to how Porsche built it or if I want a mild custom.

The car in question is a 73 2.0 appearance group car. (The one in my icon) It has some banged up corners, but is basically rust free and has been garaged consistently for over 20 years. Absolutely needs body work and paint but is a structurally sound car.

So far I have only done a few things to it mostly as they needed to happen. I just turned repairs into upgrades. Here is how it sits now.

The engine is a balanced and blueprinted 2.0l with a mild cam and hydraulic lifters. It has an exhaust on it, but I am not sure which one but not the factory. 100% functional fuel injection with new vacuum lines. Hot start relay, and fuel pump moved to the front. Petronix ignition and blue coil.

slotted rotors, SS lines, 911 master cylinder, BMW front calipers.


Bilstine shocks and 100# rear springs (eventually turbo tie rods) I'd like to get into the suspension and replace the bushings and maybe do coilovers and upgrade the front swaybar.

I have a modern digital tuner and speakers installed. I'd like to add to the sound system.

I plan to update to LED lights in the dash and all exterior lights and update headlights also LED fog lights.

I'd like to add a roll bar, modify or swap seats, stiffen the body, and paint either Saturn Yellow (original) vs Victory Red (Hugely popular color I just like)

As I have been tearing things apart I have been cleaning things, repainting, lubing, and refinishing wherever I can.

I may update the interior with some billet aluminum pedals, carbon dash, etc...

Yellow or red I was looking to build a retro modern car that drives and handles well that I can take out on date nights with the wife and also autocross and track days with my two boys. It's not a serious "race car" but I do like to drive the hell out of it and I enjoy doing the work. The goal here is street performance that does well enough on the track. the 914 is a good car for most people it doesn't need much to really feel alive. I don't mind some road feel but I don't want to beat the wife to death.

Because its a fairly desirable year and model though I have some concerns about whether I should maintain the original color or not. I guess at the stage of modification I'm going to nothing is really irreversible if someone wanted a bone stock 73 2.0 but that victory red would be difficult to change.

What I'm considering is value... I don't plan to, but If I were to sell the car is a non-factory color going to negatively impact its value or with the other changes I'm making is it even going to matter. Honestly I only care if its a big difference. My gut says people interested in a 914 with that setup are not worried about factory color so long as it looks good.

Thoughts on setup, color, origional vs non etc all welcome.


-Brad

I honestly never think about value and building for the next person but everyone is different. At our shop we build highly modified 911’s and they sell for multiples of their stock price.

Sounds like a its a hobby car/resto-mod from the way its sitting now. The ultimate decision is whether you would sell it. That's the bottom line. If you have the space and the means to store it safely, this is also a factor. Living in the suburbs, you may not necessarily have the space to accommodate multiple vehicles. If you don't think you would ever need to sell if for cash, then modify it in the vision you like it.

Life gets in the way, but after the kids are gone from the nest, and the house is paid off, you may still need a tinker toy. This is another reason I really don't want to acquire a 718. I mean if I got a 718, I would keep it stock, but then there's nothing I really do to it in the way of repairs it or a project. Besides, you can only drive one car at time.

I mean I have a non-numbers matching car that has a salvage title, but would never part with it, because of the sentimental and emotional attachment of working on it for the past 12 years. I actually owned my present teener with a '83 cabriolet at the same time and sold the Cabriolet, just because I wasn't driving it enough. the teener won out because of the go-cart handling.

From the number of mods you have listed, going back to "original" would be a long step backwards in your enjoyment of the car. With the investment you've made, I suggest that you keep the car as you like it, and forget about additional value as an
"original."

Kinda what I am thinking. it's already not original... more of a mild street custom. its fun to drive and if I make it look good I think as long as the job is done well its going to hold value.

Really I'm building for me. the person who would want the car even in . its current condition isn't looking for a stock car.

Ask yourself whats going to make you happy, and do that.

For me, not doing what I want with a car (or anything really) because it will affect resale is akin to not sexing up my GF, so that she is pristine for the next guy.

For you? If the resale is very important, bring it back to stock and put it up on an auction block. If not, modify it the way you see fit.

Zach

Echoing previous posts, I agree that you should do what makes you happy. My car has modifications from stock that are subtle but may offend a purist. Meh! At my age the idea of selling it has never entered my mind. Do it the way you want and enjoy the experience.

I think you nailed it with the girlfriend comment!

So in short I should and enjoy my car... simple advice... What I wanted to do anyways I guess. I was just curious what people thought. I figured there would be someone on the value of the restored car side of the fence and I was curious to hear those arguments.

Here is where it generally hurts value when you do mods on a car. If it is a valuable and original car to begin with. So it depends on things like is your car original paint, matching numbers engine and gearbox, and things like that. If you took a very stock and original car and modded it yes you would be hurting the value. But if you take a run of the mill car and mod it the value won't change much. But it might take you longer to sell it because you will have to find someone who shares your vision of the car.
In the end it's your car, do what you want and enjoy it, don't worry about the end game. I'm in the process of changing the color of my 356, people say, "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" I'll let my kids have that talk with someone after they've scattered my ashes, my car, my color, and I hate red, so silver it is. Am I hurting the value? Not much, it's not a matching numbers car and it has flat floors so it's not going to win a concour, ever.

Brad,

Great question! Personally, I chose the path of "How Porsche Built It" for my Resto, but went to an extreme using all NOS parts including the engine & transmission rebuild.

The motivation is that I love the car for what it is and not what it could be. If I ever have the means and desire, I will get a modified/conversion car for what that has to offer.

As for keeping a car original and its corresponding value, look no further than the current Hagerty Guide to see the values for an Excellent to Concours quality 914. The value has gone up for a Concours example from approximately $35K to $67K since December 2017 and are worth more than many of the same era 911s!


https://www.hagerty.com/apps/valuationtools...Porsche-914-2.0

Here is a link to my build thread if you are interested.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=308753

Paint it in the factory color. That is hard to redo for next buyer. The Engen has FI and that is important to a lot of people. The rest can be changed back by a person buying if it bugs them. What we see now is the biggest money is for an original clean car or special LE or 6s.

If our cars go to big numbers like early 911 have, original will bring the most money.

Having the car in the color you want is very important. A good paint job with all the car painted is very important to get the most. Do A great job on a repaint. Make it look like it came from the factory in that color. I bugs me when I see a color change with BK in the engine compartment and under the hoods. Much easier to paint the same color and leave those areas not repainted. You will not need to mess with the gas tank under the hoods etc.

Bob B

I agree with Adam, above. If the car needs help and isn't original anymore anyway, why not get it exactly the way you want it? My car was originally a '73 1.7 in sepia brown. When I got it, it was a 1.9 in spray-can white. It's now Ravenna green with 5-lug Fuchs and I love it. Is it worth less than before? Maybe. Maybe not. I don't care.

I think I'm going for the red. It will be a lot of work, but I will take the time to get under the hood, inside the trunk etc... I hate seeing a red car with yellow on the interior of the doors. Its had a few boo-boos in its life and isn't original now. I'm more concerned with enjoying it and just making it look nice. Just having a straight body will make it worth more than it is now. I do enjoy hearing others experience on the topic though. on my other classic I am on the other side of the fence. I have a 31 ford deluxe 4 door slant windshield that is more or less exactly how they looked in 31 other than a few minor changes for modern driveability like 12-volt lights, overdrive, and turn signals. That car like this one is a driver though and I'd run 200 miles in it without much thought. That's what I want here. A fun car I can get away in, autocross, and drive to work on a nice day.

It's really about what makes you smile when you open up the garage door.

I always threw it to the wind and did what I wanted. But now that these things are becoming more and more classic, it's more and more important to rethink. Some of the stuff I used to want to do, I would not do anymore because of the value that's growing with the originality.

I personally would never paint a yellow 914 red. Once you change the original color, (unless you are doing a full rotisserie strip and re-paint,) the car is never the same.

Some of the other mods you mentioned I wouldn't do either, but it's your car and whatever you do in this respect could be restored to original.

Just re-paint it the factory color. IMHO.

The car I built my /6 conversion on was a nice, original black highly optioned '73 2.0. I wanted to do a six using a nice solid tub. I've done a lot of modification, so each of us has his (or her) own tastes.

Most people don't even notice that my car isn't stock, yet I have done so many small modifications that help me drive it easier or enjoy it more. Here's the complete list...
Engine, Original 2.0 Liter, Fuel Injected
- K&N air filter
- Monza exhaust system
- Crane electronic ignition system
- Nology HotWires sparkplug wires

Exterior
- Empi rims
- Hella dual horns
- Porsche door stripes
- Cloth lined front trunk
- Engine lid restraint cable
- Black Widow security alarm
- LED front signal and running lights
- Front fender parking lights removed
- Optima battery external charger port
- Targa bar mounted strobe LED third brake light
- Porsche front bumper plate with LED illumination
- BlazeCut automatic engine fire suppression system
- Porsche rear reflector lens with LED running and brake illumination

Interior
- HD Mirror Camera
- Porsche dash light
- Rennline short shift kit
- LED dash gauge lighting
- “Heater On” dash indicator light
- Solenoid activated rear trunk release
- Momo steering wheel with eccentric lift spacer
- Tartan cloth seats with driver’s side cushion thigh lift
- Fog lights rewired for use as Daytime Running Lights
- Blaupunkt six speaker stereo system with electric antenna
- Brake pedal repositioned leftward to increase gas pedal foot room
- Raised center console armrest with cupholder and fire extinquisher

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My car was very original and low mileage when I got it. It was in pretty excellent preservation condition.

I have flared it, six converted it. Put just about everything has been off and at the very least polished. Even the front bumper is custom and rechromed. I’ve been offered pretty impressive money for it and turned it down. If I consider the 6+ figures original low mileage cars are getting at auction, it was probably all a mistake. But honestly, it is exactly what I wanted. Totally worth it...

Ditto to many others about the color. I restored a '76-911 years ago and my wife choose a non-stock blue. (Yea, I love my wife.) The color was gorgeous, but not what I wanted, which was Porsche yellow for that year.

I recently painted my '74 2.0 Sunflower Yellow. It brings a smile to my face every time I look at it.

Put a smile on your face no matter what you do. Forget the future buyer unless it's an investment.

I never think about the"future owner". I already know who he is. But he's gotta wait another 20 years (i hope).

Don’t put in a rollbar, it is just a head banging device

I was in my hot tub one evening this summer with my 10 and 13 year old grandsons. I try to teach them about all kinds of esoteric things during these times. Having lost a friend recently, I somehow got to explaining how a Will works after someone dies. “You write down things you might want to give to certain people after you die so you know who gets what” kind of an explanation. They listened intently. After I finished, my 10 year old said “Poppa”? I said “Yes Grif”? Without missing a beat he said “Can I have the Porsche?” I about fell out of the hot tub laughing!!!!

Why did you want to do this mod ??

Like 10% of me feels this way which is why I ask the question. My Model A is more or less how ford built it... this is a different kind of toy for me though. I want to play with it but I get that it is actually much more rare and worth more.

I want to do a lot of those same things. I’d also like turn signals in the mirrors. Weird I know but it’s a subtle modern touch and letting people know I’m coming over is important in Texas where it’s a truly tiny car in a sea of trucks and SUVs.

For me it would depend on how original car the was when I got it. Mine wasnt at all and had crash and rust damage so it would never be as good as a 100% unmolested car so I had zero issues modifying it.

But then as a personal taste dont think I could live with a stock 100% original 914. I would need being lowered and with none stock wheels at least. But that would all be reversable.

I don't worry about it at all....because I am the future owner.
Mine was a rust bucket and completely worn out when I bought it.
Anything I've done to the car has only brought more value to it in one way or the other.
Everything I've done are "tasteful" upgrades that appear factory anyway.

Doug - Your car is amazing. I just started re-reading the build thread last night for inspiration and ideas.

I modded Dad's car with a Tarrett front sway bar, Eibach coil over springs, a 2056, LSD, SSIs, Bilstein shocks, and that was the way I liked it 10 years ago. Now days, I remember what it was like bone stock, and will be heading back in that direction. All I ever do is drive it around town and there is a joy in a stock 914 2.0. As far as value, my 914 is my Dad's who was a truly great man, and it will never be for sale as long as I'm alive. If one of both of my kids sell it, I hope the new owner enjoys it as much as I have over the past 42 years.

That is hilarious. The kid has good sense. Hope he has to wait a long time to get your Porsche.

I watch my back around my 11 year old, he may just decide to take me out in order to drive the ABM.

You have a very desirable car '73 2.0 in a great factory color. I would get it back to as close to original as possible and sell it $20k-$25k is not out of the question. Then I would by a non matching car in a non original color for less than half the money and modify the Sh*t out of it.

====================
Thanks BD, I hope he does too. I told Grif that the 914 was already in my Will to my son, so Grif would have to talk (or take out!) his uncle to get in the line for it....

My daughters both want mine too... neither are too excited about the 31 Ford. they think its cool but it's not fast lol.

I believe you should make it the car you want regardless. I have made some decisions on my Six that I know frustrate the purists out there but it is being built for me, not them. Additionally, I really do not see the changes I have made as life-altering for the car. The biggest is the color change from Gold to Irish Green- but it has been done absolutely correctly and the color is a factory '71 Six color. Then the other biggest change is the 3.2 motor. Again, that is easily changed back to original configuration if I ever wanted to do that. I have an original '71 Six case.

I like that my Six is being made to my taste not the future owner's taste when I die. So I say mod away with taste.

Kids LOVE 914's!!!