spence88mph

I have no idea, do you calculate how much money you think you need to spend on it to get it going and subtract that from the current value of the car? But then how do you value your time? Is there a general rule? cheers guys!

I'm looking at a 71 911E, striped back to bare metal, primed and ready for paint, completely in pieces, owner says the engine is ready to go... seems liek a very genuine guy, anyway... All input is appreciated and yes I can do most of the work myself incuding a rebuild but not paint.

Cheers!

ked

the general rule is "stay away from basket cases". that is over-ruled by emotion, at which point further analysis is irrelevant... further... "very genuine guys" can be completely ignorant of the truth of the project they are trying to unload... or sociopaths... so I try to avoid allowing the human dimension to interfere with analysis of what is right for me.

however, I can only tell you how I've approached situations such as yours...
- is it a core contributor to my plan (which I have clear in my mind, or better yet, on paper)?
- do I know everything important about the hardware in question, independent of the seller's word?
- do I have an expert "second set of eyes" to act as a sounding board / advisor?
- if all goes down the tubes, can I extract value from this particular basket? how and how much?

as to price; I offer what I am confident I can get for it if I must sell it in a coupla months. good luck!

spence88mph

excellent advice!

I think your pricing advice is spot on too, thanks Ked

Spence

theiceman

How does that saying go ? "There's nothing more expensive than a cheap Porsche "

LaughaC

A seemingly level-headed friend once asked me to come over and see his Shelby Mustang. When I got to his garage he showed me a hull and hundreds of zip lock bags full of parts.

This would have seemed like good planning until I found out the car had been apart for nearly 20 years... The reality of his Mustang would never live up the dreams he was perpetuating.

rentadate

Friend had a basket case "project" for many years. A 240Z. It sat in the previous owner's garage for about 5 years in pieces. by some miracle my idiot friend bought it for $50. After about a year of him in the garage every night it became apparent that this was a bad decision. In that time, his girlfriend started sleeping with someone else, and got knocked up because he spent so much time in the garage. He was constantly behind on his bills because he was working too hard. he even missed family and friend's birthdays. (i laughed when he realized that he missed mine.) But the car was finished after about 10 months of his grinding away. Turned out nice, but was losing a girl like that even worth that $50 and a ****ty car? I don't know. He just recently sold the car and got practically next to nothing for his labor. sad really.

theiceman

yeah but was she good lookin' ?

Peter Zimmermann

I've bought and completed a couple of "basket cases," and my policy is that if the gaps are good, and the chassis/body has no rust, then the car can be fixed. Something to be aware of, 2.2 E cars are among the long hood cars that are beginning to skyrocket up in price, but, and this is a big but, only the truly, technically correct cars are going to bring the big bucks. The car will have to have a 5-speed , not a Sporto, it will have to have MFI, not Webers, and you will not be able to evaluate the MFI pump or the throttle bodies without expert help. You will have to verify that you're getting genuine 2.2 E pistons/cylinders. 2.2 E cams, and that all of the internal parts are within wear tolerance and correct. If the car started life with Hydropneumatic suspension it should come with replacement struts (with "S" caliper saddles, in addition to front lower control arms that have internal capability to accept torsion bars). This is a huge project, even for someone like myself who serviced 2.2 Es when they were new, and you should consider hiring a consultant to look at what's being represented to you. You should factor in about $7500 for paint and brightwork, and another $2K to put the body together after paint, unless you choose to do that yourself. The quality of the end product will impact the value of the end product, no one but you knows how thoroughly you're willing to do this job. In a way, I'm envious, I would love to find a car like this, but believe me, even with a perfect chassis and MFI I wouldn't pay more than $5K.

IslandmanPA

I would set the value based on the motor! If it runs, thats where your value lies!

spence88mph

Thanks so much for the advice guys! It has been a dream of mine to bring a car back to life, my dad has restored a lot of MGs (yawn), he restored an MGA from a burnt out shell but I do remember him hating the car once it was finished! So I guess it's in the blood. I realise it's a huge undertaking but if it's at the right price I will probably go for it cause I think my girlfriend is sleeping with someone else anyway. I do have a feeling he's going to ask for about half or more the price of what a mint example is going for over here which is about 80K. Pretty much everyone I ask with restoration experience says they wouldn't pay anymore than 20K for it.

LaughaC

I agree, as long as the frame and motor are in sound condition you can restore it. After that it's just a matter of adding up the cost of labor, parts, blood, sweat, and tears.

Graufuchs

She woulda left him sooner or later anyways.....good ridence, now shes someone elses problem. Basket cases are good if you get them at a GREAT price.

Speaking of blood.....I was taking apart the interior of the car (its a track/weekend car) and was wondering why my rubber gloves felt slimy, and why they were pink on one hand...so I take the glove off and what do you know busted knuckle syndrome....walk into house and my wife says whats that on your head....yep busted head syndrome as well. 2 weeks in and Im knee deep into his car...and loving it.

Condor Man

Spence,

I think that you need to make sure that absolutely everything is available to be put back on the car.

Don't forget when you strip a car you should make careful notes as to where all the parts came from and how to put them back together.

By starting at the half way mark you might find it difficult to rebuild??

For the 20K what does the car come with? And is it Australian delivered??

If you restore a car that isn't Aust delivered and doesn't have matching numbers it won't be worth as much.

spence88mph

Love all the feedback guys, thanks a lot.

You're right condor man, he says it's 'tourist delivered' ordered here, picked up in germany then shipped back, I've never heard of that have you? Not sure if it was the done thing then??

I'm setting up a workshop with a hoist etc for my friends and I to muck around in and thought something like this could be a nice project to have going. He still hasn't given me a price but I think he will want much more than 20, we'll see. But yeah, having not disassembled the car myself it will make it much harder.

Condor Man

Wow tourist Delivered?? I'm not sure if one could do that back then??

All you have to do is phone Jason at Porsche Cars Australia 03 9473 0917 and give him the Vin and Engine number and he will advise you with when and where the car was delivered, even if it was LHD or RHD, also he can advise as to the options on the car and the colour it was delivered in.

Good luck with your project!!