I have a decision to make but unsure of the way forward. Would you guys rather start with a nearly complete car with hidden rust that may have to be tore down and fixed or a car that is ONLY a shell with little rust to repair? Help me make the best decision and thanks in advance.

I would rather start with a shell that has little to no rust and I would also buy a parts car that has everything but is rusty. Well, I actually did just that.
You need to buy the parts car because if you try to buy everything piece by piece, it will cost a fortune. There will still be plenty to buy, restore and replace but you have to start with something. Also, a parts car will give you a suspension to make the shell into a roller.

The fastest and most economical thing to do is to buy a good running low or no rust car. It's always cheaper to buy the best car you can.

,rust costs money ,my so called "rust free" car has developed a few area's of concern

Thanks. I feared it would be expensive. But that thought of instant gratification from a rurubbing rusty was hard to head off.

Doing that now. A shell swap. Its a lot of work. What also happens, is that you get a component off, then you are compelled to clean and paint it. which adds a lot of time. You also look at some rusty items and replace them. Off to work on it.

What are your goals for the car? I think, while the above advice is excellent as usual, you need to determine that.

Hard to drive and enjoy a car that is apart for 3-6-9-12-18-24 etc months.

It's simple buy both, drive the complete car for inspiration and work on the shell until it's ready for the 6

Beware of "Little Rust", a few pin holes or cheese cake could mean whole section cut off, if you want to do it right.

If you are new to 914 and need to choose one, I would go for the complete one.

Save you time and money on parts.

Think about why the car become a roller. If you strip the paint down, you might find a lot more rust.

get a complete car, finding parts to complete a stripped chassis is nearly impossible.

I'm a contrarian by nature, that's how I ended up with a 914 despite growing up around Camaro's, Monte Carlo's, Chevelle's and other V8 machinery!

I on my 2nd 914 I started with a car that was largely complete but in need of complete underbody restoration and lot's of new sheet metal. My first 914 was "rust free" 14 years old (1973 1.7L purchased in 1987) and it looked perfectly sound but I still found rust when prepping it for new paint. Now event the newest 914's (1976) are at least 43 years old.

Rust never sleeps.

When I'm done with this 2nd car, I know exactly what I have and it will last the rest of my life before the rust becomes a problem again.

If I lived closer to CA and had easy access to a population of "rust free" cars I might feel differently but I also believe there is no such thing as rust free. These cars come from an era prior to the invention of Galvanneal, e-coat, and modern rust preventative measures. They all have rust somewhere and to some degree.

Just because you don't see it doesn't mean it's not there. It often starts inside the longitudinals and other structural members and then works it's way out.

Standard Porsche advice stand as a guide.

Buy the best car you can afford, buy as rust free as you can find. Be prepared to still have to do work on the car!

That is called Dirk Wright's Disease. You get it from being bitten by the tinworm.

I didn't realize tin worms bite.

Now you have me worried.

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