Ok,

So here's the chicken/egg question...

My current car, dressed in primer, is a really solid car. I've got most of the interior worked out. The car has a Ford V6 conversion from the EARLY conversion days. Car needs some minor bodywork and new shocks/struts, seals, windshield, etc. It has 2 or 3 hoods/trunks, complete 4lug front and rear parts as extras, 4-5 lug adapters, extra tail shift trans, etc... It's running and drivable with the ford v6, though needs some gaskets for the valve covers at a minimum.

I've been told that I am on the most recent list for an all expense paid trip to Kuwait. A trip over there is a great source of a bulging savings account. So here's the question.

Do I store my primer buggy and throw money at it when I get home? Or do I sell it before I leave and then pick up a nice turnkey car when I get back. Guessing when I get home, I could spend about $5k on a car, possibly $6, depending on how much I want the car.

So? Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thanks!

Keep your car and finish it up when you get back. I think you could ensure more reliability with the final product if you see this through. $6K will by a turn-key car, but not 100% newness . I think you end up with more overall new parts and knowledge about strong and weak points than if you just put down money and assumed everything was good -as-new.

How much do you love your current car?
You will probably be money ahead to buy a car that's already done.
A good paint job is at least $5K or $6K.

+1 on the previous 2 posts This is actually why I bought my latest 914 last weekend. VGC orignial paint roller with 0 rust for 1500. I figured WOW it would cost me at least 5 or 6 to paint my 72 so why not.

I have to learn how to paint cars! I can remember when 1k paint job was show quality (only about 22 or 23 years ago). What happened???? Granted not all painters are created equal but 75% of the end effect is based on prep ....

What do you want? Will you be happy with someone else's idea of what a 914 should be, or do you have your own vision? You have to decide for yourself what you want, but if it was me, I'd rather build my own vision... even though I'll spend twice as much doing it. I'll have a better car for it, and I'll have fun along the way.

With the focus on paint in the previous posts... I plan on doing it myself. I'll save a ton of $$$, and I 'll be damn proud to say I did it (I hope). I plan on doing everything myself. If I don't know how, I'll learn.

My rationalization is that I will still come out far cheaper than a new Boxster, Elise, Miata, S2000, M3... even a friggen' Hyundai.

I think you should store it until you get back. That way, if you decide you want it and miss it ,you have it. If you get back and decide you didn't miss it, you can still sell it. I wouldn't put any more money into it until I got back , since you are uncertain.

Sell it if ya want something new (to you) to drive around. Keep it if you enjoy a project at hand... Then again, selling your current 914 and getting another will still leave you with a project at hand

Teener prices are on the rise. 5k-6k may only get you another project in the future. If your present car is solid body wise , keep it. Make up your mind while you are away.

Steve

Unless you need the cash or you really want to get rid of your current 914, keep your car and let it appreciate in value in your garage. It will undoubtedly be worth more when you return.

Depends too if you like to work on your car or you just want to drive it.

Good luck on your journey and thank you for defending us.

I would say it really depends upon what you need for money on your project car, what it would cost to store it.
Say you get 1-3k for the project, you save 100 per month in storage...another 1200 for a year...
Now you have 2-4k in cash plus what you save while in Kuwait (good luck and thank you for serving BTW)
You still need to invest another 1-2k to get the project done, plus paint...
You could come home and buy a car that day and drive it the next...might be a nice way to go IMHO...

Rich

Yeah, I'm torn about this one. I like having a project, to some extent. Though I'm horrible at bodywork and paint and those are the two things that will make the biggest difference on this car. I have a 2.0L for it (Thanks Joe) that I can finish building when I get home. In a perfect world, I'd store this one AND buy a nice DD when I get back. Storing it won't cost me anything. I'll just park is sideways in the garage so we can still get the other two cars inside for winter.

Thanks for the input. I won't make a decision until I at least get orders in my hand saying that I'm going for sure! lol

Turn Key.

ya know, i think computers4kids has his car for sale on the Ventura Craigslist.
nice car for around 10K

Sell your car. Buy a turn-key car when you get back and throw money at it.

P S Come home safe.

I once bought a nice car, and then had to immediately travel abroad for a just a month. It killed me knowing I had a really cool car across the world that I had to wait to drive. I couldn't wait to get home. That being said....

I'm recently thinking like you are, wondering if I can trade up to springboard myself closer to what I want my finished product to be for less than it would take to buy all the extras to make mine like I want it and I'm finding both paths relatively close in cost.

The big difference to me is that if you buy someone else's "completed" car, it's likely that you have no idea what went into it. Did they "fix" it the way that you would, or did they take shortcuts?

Not saying that it isn't a reasonable option to buy a nice runner, but you might not get what you thought you were getting if you don't know the history of the car. My car was a project when I got it... looked like a pretty easy fix ("drop in an engine and go!") until I started tearing it apart. Now, I'm glad that I tore it down as far as I did. Burned wiring, cracked suspension console...

...this is just me...I would let it sit at home...waiting...

(Udauri ? Doha?)
I would take with a laptop with me, or purchase one there...keep it touch with us here at 914world...discuss prospects and ideas...create a wish list...Take digital pictures of every inch of your car with you and study them on your off time taking notes and working things into a list...(this will take up some of your time) and by the time you return, you'll know exactly what to do, because you would have built it about 10 times in your mind.

For me the research, costing and purchasing has been just as much fun as cleaning, plating, sandblasting, painting, and building from scratch components.
I can wait for the body prep and paint, then final assembly.
Like a couple of people before me have said, you will "know" every inch of the car and when it motivates down the road, it was every bit your accomplishment.

Keep in touch with the website...and return safe and sane.
Dave

Yeah- actually my intent way back there was to say that he should keep his current car.