texas_maverick

Dear Community,

I'll be in the market for Porsche ST tribute car in the upcoming months (or years depending on what's available). Over the past two years, I've been looking at a few cars and noticed that there is substantial variability in the pricing. I've seen a number of great examples but am unclear as to how to even assess if the price is on target. I realize that the builder has influence but is there a blueprint to determine an approximate cost based on key metrics?

Thank you in advance.

Amber Gramps

Fortunately our cars allow us to pull parts from a variety of sources and bolt them on in wildly different ways. Every single car built is different and hopefully to the owners liking. Mine is incredibly personally satisfying, yet others here are offended to the core when I post about it.

Try to pick this one up for a quarter mill.

http://topclassiccarsforsale.com/por...5l-300-hp.html


EDIT: Price is $249,000 .....that's a smokin' deal for that build sheet

pu911rsr

The top cars are built by the very best builder's go for $200k +. The best ones start with a bare chassis build and use very expensive parts. No two are the same so it really depends on what you want.
Phil

tcsracing1

Any hotrod or clone/tribute varies so much it hard to actually put a price on it. Each car is different.
Builder comes into play. Some are professionally built, others can be back yard hack jobs.

Correct parts are at a premium so look for what it has for interior and exterior trim as well as seats and lighting. Sometimes good parts could indicate good body.
Look at engine and transmission numbers to see what it came from and check out what wheels are on the car and date codes if possible.

Paint and body is also important and varies. Documented bodywork is nice to have, otherwise a paint meter to see what you have will suffice if anything.
Last thing you want is a rusty body blocked with bad welding and filler.

T models would be the cheapest car to start with (unless you want to back date a SC)
complete long hood T projects are 25-35k plus parts and labour
driver quality long hood T are $50k-$75k
restored long hood T are $80k-120k

Take that into account and then figure what it would cost to convert either of them into a ST tribute to get an idea.

Amber Gramps

I remember someone local saying that the best way to have a great $80,000 longhood is to buy an $80,000 car that is in great shape, deliver it to CPR in Fallbrook with a check for $80,000 and then go back and pick up your car in two years and then spend the rest of your life listening to your wife bitch about that toy car taking up her parking space in the garage that you swear you are only into for $20,000.

texas_maverick

Thanks all for the sage advice.

pu911rsr

Here is a really nice one that just hit the market-http://autokennel.com/1971-porsche-911-st-coupe/

73911

Tribute cars are generally a lot cheaper than Clones.

A tribute car is not an exact reproduction. It's a car built as a tribute to some other car. You can do anything you want. The new 911R is basically a Tribute the 1967 911R. I doubt if a single part will interchange between the two cars.

Clones are exact duplicates of another car. That's the definition of cloning.

Richard Newton
Should This Car Be Restored?

Amber Gramps

^^^The current 911R is a spin off of "Urban Outlaw".

tcsracing1

wow!

now that is my kind of car!!

sccchiii

And already sold...well over the $160k mark

tcsracing1

good hot rods can fetch the money.
More then what a restored T would fetch in this case!

Well built!

sccchiii

Agreed...specifically, Scott Longballa's tribute projects are in another league on finish and overall execution. They are spectacular builds, I have missed buying the last 2 by just minutes including this narrow body example. Oh well I hope he is working on his next one that will be completed soon lol?

r911

wait until the fad shifts away from S/T cars to IROC cars, then pick one up for less $$

NickyP

Tex-
When I read your post a few days ago I wanted to jump right with some thoughts, but the question is so open ended and as discussed, there are just too many variables to take into account to arrive any definitive conclusion on ST pricing guidance. Like you, I wanted an ST tribute, but I did not want to buy an existing car, I wanted to participate in a build as I really enjoy the entire process from concept to finish.
Economically, a ground up bare metal, spare no expense restoration/build makes no sense. You will most likely be underwater, but who really cares if the journey and experience of the build are part of your car ownership enjoyment. I was fortunate to have Scott Longballa do all the metalwork, paint, suspension and brake work on my ST build. It took Scott and his guys about 14 months for their work and I am very pleased with the results. Scott’s knowledge of early 911’s and his attention to detail is extremely thorough. The net result is perfect panel fits and gaps, welding that replicates the factory way and the proper prep and steps for undercoating and paint. I also think that having Longballa do my car and the photo documentation that he provided will help should I ever decide to sell.
Obviously, the advantage of buying a finished project is the instant gratification of not waiting the 2-4 years it takes to complete a project and avoiding the uncertainty of what these things really cost to build. Suffice to say, it always takes longer and costs way more than you expect. Buying a car built by someone like Longballa comes with the comfort of knowing that things were done correctly. This also applies to your engine/transmission builder etc. In general, you get what you pay for and the price of admission isn’t cheap these days. I think you would be pretty lucky to find an ST that appeals to you aesthetically and mechanically built by some of the respected pros in our community. If you do, I’d pull the trigger. Here are a few photos of my ST.