Hello 914 World members,

I have had my car listed since March on the for sale section and I've had no interest whatsoever. I'm a long time member and think I have provided detailed information on a well sorted, fast 4 cylinder track car. I realize the market has softened over the last 2 years and I recently lowered the price and still no inquiries. Should I be listing it elsewhere? What do you all think the car is worth?

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=369487

more photos and video on the google photo album link


It's tough to finally list your baby which has been in the family for 35 years.

Thanks for the help.

T.G.

I’m only replying because you’ve asked for input. You’ve got a great looking, well sorted track car and you’ve obviously spent a lot to create the car you want. That said, it doesn’t present well as a street car, especially at your asking price. Most of the time a car finds its market based on price. Unfortunately you’re offering a track car you could drive to the track but not one you’d want to spend hours on the road traveling to a 914 event. Not trying to demean your car, just offering my opinion as a longtime 914 owner. GLWTS.

With above. Limited market for a track car. You can try eBay, RacingJunk.com and/or BAT. That said, the right price sells everything. You may be too close to the car to look at it objectively. GLWTS.

Have to agree with the above.
Its a cool car, to be sure. But track cars are a niche market.

I think you might have more luck on a site or marketplace that caters to the vintage race crowd.

I think you can probably get your asking price, but you have to get the car into the buying pool for people what want vintage race cars, and this probably isn't it.

GLWTS!!

Zach

hard to sell a racing car these days

with all posted above.

I’ll also add that the hell hole repair is not appealing at all at that price point. The lack of additional clear photos of the typical areas of rust concern isn’t helping.

Raby built engine is a big plus and that is where the bulk of the value is at.

Take the roll cage out put the interior back together?

The biggest issue as a race car is there are very limited venues (read none really) where you can run a flared car with 4 cylinder engine. Maybe pca but that's it that I can think of. That means this is a track day DE car so even less of a buying pool at that price point. I see conversion cars with 6 cylinder flared and all the rest starting at your price. Your car looks pretty purposeful and clean so definitely a plus. Just limited applications. I think the suggestion of adding interior back is a good one. Will broaden the appeal and may be relatively easy for you depending on what you have and how easy to.remove cage.

If you want honest feedback, here you go.

It’s all about the details. A 914 enthusiast who is going to pony up for your price is going to want to see the good bad and ugly in full color hi res detail. Like on a lift, exposing all the known problem areas. For a track car in the $40’s I would expect little to no ugly. I’m not going to pick it apart, but from a quick scan of the photos I can see some things that a savy buyer would question.

With purpose built cars it’s very easy to end up with way more into the car than the fair market value. Unless someone wants a car built just like that, and has a realistic idea of what it takes to build it, it’ll be a hard sell.

A agree. A good looking car with sensible choices for serious track fun. But others have said, the appeal is VERY niche. Not for buyers looking for a street car. Not for any sanctioned racing, at least with competitive potential. Really only for what you built it for: somebody who wants to play hard on a track in a 914-4. And lots of those people with money to spend also want to enjoy what you did, design and build a car according to their vision.

If you are looking for maximum cash return, you might consider parting it out.

As a BAT addict, I think you’d have way more luck there. I find myself looking at and occasionally bidding on non P cars there quite frequently. They also list a variety of race cars and people talk of converting them to street cars as a hobby. I really like your car but I just couldn’t justify it.

Best
Wil

One of our customers buys track cars and has us convert them into street cars. He usually does well with the sale. Granted, they are all 911’s, so a much bigger market for them vs 914’s.

Ok I will add that the hell hole/engine shelf repair is less then professional with very proud welds that show lack of welding skill( I teach and inspect welding/welds for living)

It needs to be repaired and if that were to be done the sale would be much easier for the average person that wants to get into a 914. I also vote for having the cage removed and now the market becomes wide open. For me a street car with a cage is a no go.

I was able to buy a caged car very cheap because nobody wanted a cage for a street car. A couple hours with a saws all ( Diablo blades) and an angle grinder and the cage was gone.

So here’s a serious question. New Raby built base engine is $24k and only goes up as you add his options. Cryo on this engine was $1500 option.

What would be the going price on a RAT motor with 40 hours of track time on it?

I could see pulling the engine and offering that up as ready to roll and someone Jones’ing to swap that into their street car sweet and simple. And avoids the Raby build time / backlog I hear of?

That leaves a rolling track chassis which then could be converted to street mod? Or, maybe just dump a “cheap” driver quality 1.8L into it, make it drivable, remove cage, and sell it as a nice wide body runner?

I know this would make OP but may maximize his return on that engine?

Yes a great option

My opinion -

$15k for the engine and trans - that’s being very generous.
$10k for the roller.

I wouldn’t split them up. I would find additional places to sell like eBay and bat and I would lower the price. Price sells everything. Plus, it’s a lot easier to drive the car onto a trailer of truck than to ship the pieces individually.

For a data point:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...397&hl=raby

This is a car I recommended that my friend purchase - and he did; $13.5K in the end.

I've driven the car and been all over it and its very nice - Chris Foley did a lot of the work. I don't think it ever saw a track and their was only 1500 miles on the Raby.

Thanks everyone for the great feedback. I've considered breaking the car up into the drivetrain and rolling chassis but I just can't bring myself to do it.

I'll push back a little that this isn't a race car but a track prepped car with stripped interior and a roll cage. The unique nature of this car is the stiff chassis coupled with compliant spring rates and no sway bars. Several instructors have marvelled at the neutral handling and suggested to not change anything.

I've modified the listing somewhat and also removed track photos and video from the google album. I'll change over to the quiet muffler and do some videos of street driving to hopefully broaden the market. I'm not in a big hurry so I'll gradually bring down the price until the right buyer comes along.

With all kindness and due respect, that’s the way you see the car. You are too tied up in it. You’re splitting hairs within a niche market.
I love race cars, track day cars, track days, etc. I would have loved that car when I was 20, even into my early 30s.

On the street, the cage is totally impractical and arguably deadly. Who in their right mind is going to take their wife, date, or mistress in a mini-skirt out for dinner or even a drive and ask / expect her to climb over a roll cage?

Don’t get me wrong, I think there is a buyer out there for it. It’s just going to take a lot of diligent marketing and appropriate pricing to find that buyer.

It really begs the question; if you are so attached to it, why not just keep it? It is a nice track prepared car or what ever you want to call it.

Thanks for the guesstimate. I honestly wasn’t sure what would be realistic.

I’d like to think a RAT motor would do better than that but I get the risk factor that discounts value. Maybe leak down numbers and a current chassis dyno run would bring more?

I tend to agree, I’d hate to separate the powertrain, especially at that pricing.

That is one cool machine, GLWS. I read all the comments, this is about the most helpful, polite forum out there! I love this place!!

Paul