AGC

Not sure if anyone here has done a restoration on an oler car, but long story short I have heard from many people that it is better to find a car already restored (the way you like it) rather than trying to restore one yourself.

From speaking to people who have done this, they all seem to agree that the what ever you allocate to the restore you will definitely go over.

I have been looking at an older car (late 60 to early 70) and it would be cool to have a car to keep my 993TT company

Thanks

993inNC

Those comments are very true, but.....

Its not always about how "much you have in it", for some its about the satisfaction of accomplishment. Its about the final product, and saying you did it or if one is really ****....about saying it was done their way and to perfection.
I have a 914 that I bought, wanting a driver to restore, ending up with a resto candidate that couldn't be driven. So I'll let you know if I agree with the theory in a year or two

arjag

ACG,
As someone who has done both all I can say is that they are very different philosophies. Not many of us would go into a restoration to make money - cars are money pits! You will spend more than you had planned and more than the car will be worth, in most cases. It's the feeling of accomplishment that is why we restore cars.
Alex

1967 Jaguar E-Type (bought restored and worth more than I paid for it)
1980 MGB (restored it and it is worth about 25% of what I have into it)
1998 993 Carrera S (in perfect condition - bought it that way)

chaoscreature

I used to restore muscle cars and resell them for a living.
If you want a project car that you plan on driving in a few months then you might be better off purchasing an "almost finished" project, or a car with a blown motor that just needs mechanical work.
It's the body and paint that take the most time and cost the most money.
I agree with the previous posts, it's the feeling of accomplishment and pride that you will feel in the end that will make your "hand restored" car worthwhile.
Good Luck!

laurinap

ACG - i am restoring a 1965 sunbeam tiger. I disassembled and had hoped to farm out all refurb work, then reassemble. Then got real busy at work, and as life progresses, you seem to only get busier (so ultimately had to convince the guy doing the body work to do the assembly also). For the pure body work and paint of the unibody, i had basically one of the 4 or 5 gurus for tigers doing the work, and actually my car was one of the last he is doing, as he is retiring. I was quoted 15-20k for the body, but actually i will spend 30k, though that latter figure includes also the hard top which should run around 5k and wasnt in the original estimate, so call it coming in at 25k vs high end estimate up front of 20k, not too bad, though 25% over budget, i think i would call myself lucky there. I always had a hard time getting folks to quote me what i should expect to pay for a restoration, everyone always says "depends" and though that is true, it is nice to have an idea of what you are looking at. Here is how mine will shake out:

15k rough car with very little rust
25 body work and paint, including dipping to strip old paint
7 hard top labor (incl 2 grand for stainless trim resto)
1 instruments rebuilding
3 wheels and tires
5 interior
7 engine rebuild (yes pricey but a high end shelby shop)
5 assembly
2 tranny (new used tranny and gear ratio conversion/rebuild)
5 misc other, incl bumper chrome, etc
75k TOTAL

If i started out thinking i would be spending 75k for a tiger, id probably go out and buy a real nice version of someone else's restoration for 50-60k. And arguably i am able to pick out exactly how i want the car restored, i at this point want to just get it done, its been like 2-3 years of a process. From now on i will just buy other folk's restorations. But that is just me, and in part driven by the fact that i am a busy professional that is 38 years old, live in manhattan, etc. Another time or place and maybe i would be more into it. That said, i do like the expertise and experience i am getting for what it takes to restore a car, and in the future as i look at other folk's restorations, ill be able to better understand what they did, did they do it right, etc. When i look at well restored vintage cars selling at auction from 50k-75k etc, thinks like jaguars, maybe coupe versions of 356's, etc, you realize that those cars are basically selling at the cost it would take to restore them (and getting the base car essentially free), so in my book those are good buys. Also, if i know i was going to spend 75k for a sunbeam tiger at the onset, i may well have just bought a mint 993 turbo. Anyway, rambling stream of conciousness here, hope it gives you some food for thought.

Peter

chris walrod

Done many restorations on late 60's muscle cars -- enjoyed them all, but most went way over budget mostly due to the time factor, being the took double the time originally thought. The more time you spend, the more money one tends to spend on any given project, that is.

I prefer to find the cars complete, but in need of restoration, this way I know for sure what needs to be done and not wonder what a PO is covering up, or had covered up, bodywork-wise. Never buy a car in primer

AGC

Appreciate everyones feedback.

I would LOVE to do a restoration myself but hve realize that it will cost too much money and time. I think I am going to take the route of finding a car tat is almost completed, this way it's not too much work for me.

The other reason I think I am going this route is I cannot and will not be able to do much of the body/painting/mechanical work as I have no experience doing it. I wold love to learn someday but with two small kids I think I am better off fnding a car that is almost completed.

My plan for this car/truck is to have something that I can tinker with and not be afraid of messing something up, I can also customize it a bit and not worry about resale cost and lastly something to drive on nice days when not driving the TT

Keep the suggestions coming

porschemikeandnancy

You can also try to do what I did. I found an "unloved" '95 993 cabriolet. It had been sitting on a used car lot for 6 months. So much water had accumulated in the footwells (someone had left the passenger window open all this time) that all the electronics were not working properly. No body work was required - and a clean CarFax.

In spite of the PPI inspection: "don't buy it there are "better" cars out there", I bought it at a "steal" price (under $21k 3 years ago - a C2 cab) with 50 k miles on it - a full service history.

I had the restoration work (to get everything working correctly - mostly electrical almost nothing mechanical) I had it done in Winter when most cars are not being driven. I think I spent a total of $4k (including a new set of tires) to get it near 100%. No body work was required.

The car runs flawlessly - including a 2500 mile round trip to the Pebble Beach Concours. I plan on keeping it a long time. If I get bored, I'm going to just buy another daily driver.

At approx. $25k, I suggest this is the way to go about what you want to do.