Hi to everyone.

A local PCA member decided to sell his track dedicated 914. It's kind of tempting because it's a sweet combo but I have no experience on how to value a dedicated track car.

It's a 76 AZ tub with fibreglass flares, windshield is still there. It has a pre variorum 993 engine with a G-50 tranny and cable shifter. Most conversion parts are from Patrick Motorsports. Engine oil tank is up front.

The car has no racing pedigree.

Full roll cage, no more dash or any interior. No idea on the brakes, probably big reds.

I'm not into racing, but I see the car as a good starting point for a GT Clone.

Anyone can give me some pointers on how to value the car? Sum of parts, penny on the dollar invested? From what I've seen, track cars usually sell in parts or without the engine and tranny.

Thanks for the help.

Well here is the deal. The 993 engine is probably worth 20k itself. I also am not into racing so could not value the rest of the car as most would have to be changed for street use.

Pictures?

It's a crap shoot.

First, does it have "provenance"? For example, was it raced by Hans Stuck at Daytona?

Second, absent historical significance, it's pretty much a stack of parts. Race cars are generally worth significantly less than comparable street cars, and a bit less than their part-out value.

Third, what's the market? What is it prepped for? Will it be a fun track day car or will it be a PCA car that's highly competitive in its class? The former is worth even less, the latter maybe even more.

Race cars have such a tiny niche market that unless it's historically significant and/or is highly competitive in a popular class, it becomes one of a buyer passion for that particular make/model that wants to be able to drive it somewhere and not worry about competitiveness. Said differently, it's worth about what it's worth as a part-out.

And changing one back to a street car is usually a fool's errand, unless you're willing to accept a lot of compromises.

I have two 1974, both with 2056, one really nice street driver and one race car. The race car was built in the 90s for an amateur category that's no longer popular (SCCA's Improved Touring) and today it's a fun toy that I use to go toodle around in historics/vintage races (I have an MR2 for my "serious" amateur racing).

My guess is that my race car, if I were to find a buyer, is worth about 1/3 what I think I could get for the street car. But neither is for sale, so...

My recommendation is mentally take it apart, sell off all the good bits, and total it up. That's a fair value.

Having raced SCCA Pro and club for 15 years, on racing cars:
1. The sum price of the parts is almost always worth more than the car.
2. Never build your own racecar.
3. If you decide to build one, your labor rate is usually negative.
4. If a racecar does not have a logbook, you have little confidence that the build is to specs, especially safety specs like the rollcage.
5. Everything wears out like crazy!

On the car you mention, the complete 993 package is $20k. G50 is at least $5k.

If it were me, I'd take everything useful off that tub and start from scratch with another chassis. With no racing pedigree, I would not pay more than $30k.

I agree with the above. Value of the engine and trans plus $5-15k for the roller depending on how nice a build it is.

I agree with the above as well - you're essentially buying a drivetrain that happens to have a car wrapped around it. A well built race trans definitely can be big $ as well as the engine.

Also many track/race cars would have a lot of take-offs and spare parts including wheels, which can add significant value. For example I have multiple sets of wheels, multiple exhausts, a spare 7R engine case and so on. So I'd check into that situation.

Thanks to all who took the time to respond and giving me some great input.

I don't have pictures unfortunately and the car has no historical value.

I'm not into racing and am more into a flared 6 conversion which this car may be a good starting point if I keep things simple.

He's asking $ 28K (US not CAD) for it and says he's got over 70 K in it over time which I believe since most wrenching was done by shops.

Time to do some math, convince myself and then convince the wife

...which brings up another point.

Racers - and I include myself in that description - have distorted senses of reality when it comes to "investment" in our projects. Mostly, that comes from buying/starting a project by pre-convincing yourself "it won't take much" to get it on the track.

We are always wrong. Trust me, there is nothing more expensive than a cheap car project. Double that if "race car" is an adjective in that sentence.

What’s the rust situation on the tub?

That might be a fair price if you are sure the engine and trans are perfectly fine.

The car came from Arizona and is pretty clean from what I've been able to see. If I go forward, I'm definitely going to have a good look on a lift.