Hello fellow aficionados:

I’ve spent a lot of time (too much!) on car forums and realize that “what should I do with this car” threads usually result in a lot of “it depends” answers. I’ll try to keep this from running too long but here are some pro-forma answers:

Budget?: not really a problem (however I hate to be stupid and lose money when I sell)
Experience?: I’ve been restoring sports cars as a hobby for more than 50 years! Several nut & bolt, ground up cars that showed and sold very well. I do almost everything except paint and body work.
Why did I buy the car?: Good question. It popped up locally and I was ready for a new project. I’ve owned several 911s over the years and always had an interest in 914s. I think my initial thoughts were split between: A. If I fall in love with it, it could be my next (last?) full-on resto job, and, B. Get it running again (3-years in storage) do some easy fixes and then sell and trade up for a better 914.

The car: (see photos)
Late ’72 build 1973 MY - 1.7. Marathon Blue (L96M). COMPLETELY original/untouched - except for Sebring muffler, (5) American/Gurney wheels and non-factory (but period-looking push button cassette radio.) Original engine, tins, vacuum lines, jack, etc. Straight chrome bumpers. Factory rear window defogger. Missing sun visors, passenger door “pocket”, frunk carpeted floor and front rubber bumper-etts. ODO is broken at 70K miles. Original exhaust pipes missing the HE shells. Interior is 7ish with one dash crack and a few split seams in the seat webbing.

Paint and body work:
Really cheap exterior respray at some point. Earl Scheib? But then how much were these cars worth 20 years ago? Some dents and overspray. However, as seen in the photos, it looks pretty nice from 30 feet. And the recent “fad” of matte finishes may actually work in its favor!

Rust:
Of course!. Hell hole is hellish and the rear 1/3 of both longs are seriously perforated. All of which I knew going in. However, the doors open and shut smoothly without the top on and there is no intrusion into any of the floors. Rear suspension mounts are very solid. Door sill corners are perfect.

History:
Apparently a southern Ohio car for the past several owners. (If anyone from that area recognizes it please let me know.) The most recent PO was not mechanically inclined and paid $3,990 in 2018 for full brake rebuild, new rear springs & shocks and all new ignition parts. He also put in new, very nice, door cards and about $1,000 worth of radio, amp and speakers (soon to be on eBay:) Then for reasons he could not quite explain clearly, he put it in his warehouse until I bought it in June of this year. Of course he said “ran well when parked”! I offered him half of his asking price and darned if he didn’t accept! Possibly below parts value, so above all else, I’m not underwater --- yet.

What I’ve done so far:
I love fixing electrical & mechanical issues and everything now works, (except ODO) - lights, horn, rear trunk hinge, and most importantly, it now runs pretty well. After much, much work and learning about D-jet. See some of my other threads. Starts right up from cold, no smoke and no obvious oil leaks. (All new pushrod tube seals.)

My Catch 22 dilemmas:
Now that it’s running, I’m a lot more fond of it (just in time for winter:( ) and have been thinking of three different options:

1. The original idea of flipping it and hopefully upgrading to a better example. Catch 22: Prices have gone up and I may never find another project car in my price range. And it also likely will be less rare/original and will also need rust repair. So in reality this would probably be a “take some profit and move on” sale.

2. Going all in, brushing up on welding skills and aiming for a full resto. Catch 22: I could probably do it as a retirement project but I no longer have the space (or the patience) for a 2-3+ year project. And I’d be spending $20K+ and hoping it will be worth more than that.

3. Leave the full resto for the next owner who is looking for an original starting point and just have fun driving it around, as is, for a while. “patina queen?” Catch 22: In order to be happy with this scenario I will want to put in a couple more thousand dollars (at least) for front suspension rebuild, muffler, restore fresh air blower, fuel tank, lines and pump. etc. Which likely means dropping the engine and then who knows where it could lead with a 49-year old, untouched engine. Not to mention the shot synchros!!

I suppose there’s another option which is to store it and start a collection but I’m leaning toward number 3 as I’m still a project junkie. And I really like being part of this community. But my main wrestling point is whether it makes much sense to try to “perfect” the mechanicals of a car that will eventually need paint and rust repair.

I think this car as a lot going for it for a future restorer/owner, but will the rust issue, even though fixable, always overshadow any good news as to the rest of the car? I guess one analogy is remodeling a kitchen to try to improve the value of a house with foundation issues. If I invest in getting it more to my liking, will that investment be ignored when I finally sell?

Sorry for the long tome – thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Ron

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Regardless of what you ultimately decide to do with it, IMHO you should repair the longs to ensure it's structurally sounds. The door gaps might be all well and good but you don't want the car to fold like a cheap tent in an accident. That and it's just going to keep rusting away further unless you fix it right. Repairing the longs will also bring the value up if/when you decide to sell it (if you do a decent job on the repair).

I’m in the midst of a full restoration for a So Cal driven car that ended up being stored in Oregon for 20 years in a barn. Granted it’s my wife’s family car, her uncle bought it brand new in 1972 and passed it to her. Mine had the hell hole rusted a little but the longs were solid and perfect even from the inside. Your car is still about a trillion times better than mine was when I started tearing it apart. It’s a passion project for my wife not for resale mind you but with how prices are the roughly $15-$20k cost for a fully gone through car hasn’t turned out too bad with how prices have skyrocketed. I have no plans on selling being a 1 family owned car but it’s nice knowing if ever needed to I can recoup the money invested. Cars are my hobby, my wife has a piece of her uncle always with her, and of course I get to dictate things like a 2258 instead of the 1.7 and making it a car I want to drive daily. My 2 cents is make it up to your likening, enjoy it and if life gets in the way the value will continue to rise moving forward not down.

It really depends what your definition of "restoration" is. If you want it to be a nice running car, 20k might get you there if you do a maaco paint job and minimal work to the engine and trans. If you want closer to factory fresh, then it's more like 50-70k.

I'd say it really all depends on the answer to this->


If love is in the air (cooled 1.7) then do her up better than you've ever worked on a car before. If after you've got to know her and if it just ain't happening, then flip for whatever the market is giving and re-evaluate what you think you're really looking for, if even a 914.

Dan