Repair or Roller?

SeaDweller · 09-13-2002, 01:22 PM

I had the gentleman who is going to do my strip and repaint go over the car with me, and he informed me of the following:

1. The front half-pan needs to be replaced (I knew this)
2. There are a couple of other small rust spots that need tending to (I knew this)
3. For some reason, there is some bondo on the inner well, inside the trunk. The passenger fender is a little crooked, so he's pretty sure it was hit, albeit not hard, on the passenger fender at some point in time.

Between me and the PO, nearly every electrical and mechanical item has been replaced, including a rebuilt engine.

Does it make sense to have the car stripped, repaired, and painted, or should I look for a perfectly straight, rust free roller that might only need an exterior paint job? I figure I could transfer my interior and mechanicals to the new roller, but it's a pretty big job. Of course if I could find a mint roller, I'd be all set, but I would imagine there's no such thing...

Any advice?

jimbo · 09-13-2002, 02:03 PM

It seems to me since you've done/had the extensive work done that you mention (to include engine), that attending to the other things shouldn't be a big deal. Front pan halves aren't that expensive - probably $1500 tops at a respectable shop with a full suspension jig - including the pan half. Plus re-tweaking the fender and doing a proper rust repair job (perhaps including sheet metal surgery) might add another $500.
Not a life-style altering monetary hit in my opinion.

hilandscott · hilandscott's Garage

Tried hunting for a primo roller?

My guess is that these exist on working, excellent condition cars. Of course if you looked for a while and found out a market existed and the price is right you might have enough $$ information to make a decision on.

I you feel you have the needed info on the existing chassis to do it right, that may be better than jumping ship.

09-13-2002, 08:23 PM

I think I'd keep it and see it the rest of the way. Nearly all older cars get some bumps and bruises. You know this one in and out and will have the satisfaction of seeing it put back right.
Mark

Bobboloo · Bobboloo's Garage

It sounds like you need to investigate your car just a little more. Find out what that bondo is about.

There are good rollers out there. Finding a good one in the same year as your car is the hard part.

scca ita just sold a nice 76' basically for the price of a good paint job. F2P's went for $5k.
There is a nice 74' on ebay. But I haven't seen any SC's lately. But they do come along once in a while. Just be prepared to spend a year looking. There was an SC Coupe with fresh paint that was on ebay about 8 months ago.

Bobby

SeaDweller · 09-14-2002, 07:10 AM

Thanks for the input.....The guy that's doing the work has been doing Porsche's for 25 years. Folks with very rare Porsche's trust their cars to him. Last time I was there, he showed me an early car that he commented could fetch well over $50K, and I thought it looked concours. He opened the doors and lids, and showed me the flaws in the restoration, things I never would have noticed in a million years! The owner had brought the car to him to make it right. It was a gorgeous lime-like green color!!

He told me that because Porsche knew many of their cars would make it to the track, that they "ingeniuosly seamed them together." I guess they were meant to be easily repaired in the event of a crash. He pointed out how the various panels can be replaced to bring the car to factory specs, if done properly.

I guess with a guy of this caliber doing the work, I'm better off dealing with what I know.