Thinking about a 912, how about this one?

[CHICKS]

I've always wanted a 912, and check Craigslist, The Samba, and here daily looking for the right one. Most cars are way to nice for me to afford, or just horribly rusty and still asking a premium. The other day I happened to be in the neighborhood of my local p-car mechanic and I dropped in to say hi, and see how he was doing. On his lot he has a 912 that has been there for awhile, and never really bothered asking about it till now. The car is a 1966 (?) 912, clear title, and from New Mexico. It's missing bumpers, lights, glass, interior, trans, and engine. It does have its suspension with rims and tires, brakes, some of the dash, doors, hood, deck lid, gas tank, and wiring. The car does have surface rust, but is really solid. I only saw a few places needing attention, but otherwise the car is really clean. He offered me the car for $500, and I guess what I want to know is if thats a fair price for it? I have done projects like this in the past, just never on a Porsche. I have no intentions of making it a concourse car, just a fun weekend 'hot rod', maybe even with a vw motor for now, as I would like a running project.

Will trying to replace the glass kill me? Is it easy to find, and decently priced? How about bumpers, and other random bits?

Thanks for the help!

[JT912]

You will be seriously upside-down on that car. It needs everything. You will need to buy another parts car simply for all the parts it is missing. If you have a budget under $15,000 I would keep looking. If you are looking for a stripped-out racer, then it might be a good starting point or if money is not a concern.

[Unobtanium-inc]

With an initial investment of only $500, you could make it a long term project, collecting parts and such as you need them, and paying as little as possible. That said, everything for an early Porsche will be somewhat expensive. A decent dash will run you $500-700, for example. If you look around, you can probably find somebody who will sell you a more complete car for $2000-3000, and have lots less ground to make up in terms of buying parts. I disagree with the above estimate of $15,000 unless you plan to buy only the nicest parts. If you go with a VW engine for now, and are ok buying marginal parts that need some attention or are cosmetically challenged, you could easily keep it under $10,000, IF you do all your work.

[JT912]

So the challenge to put this together in a safe driver for under $10K was met and it is possible. Here is my rundown. Keep in mind this is you doing all of your own work. Basic price for parts NOT including shipping costs. Putting in a Porsche powerplant that was purchased with some believable background, a 901 tranny that will probably need syncos but is cheap, and pretty much everything else in used- highly used condition. If you want things nice start adding. Or you can buy a rusty parts car that has all of these parts (minus the engine/trans) for around $3k.
The tally came in at $9270 and did nothing to address the exterior condition of the car. If you are fine driving around a true rat-rod then this is a good plan for you. If you were expecting a nice driver I would ad $5000 for paint and upgrading the condition of things like the seats, quality of the chrome, non-cracked turn signals and such. Also keep in mind the longer it takes to accumulate the parts, the more costly they will be since they certainly are not becoming any less expensive as time goes on.
Adam, input as to where my numbers are wonky?

wipers- $25
wiper motor- $50
headlights (buckets, trim, glass)- $250
horn grills- $35
turn signals front- $125
turn signals rear- $125
front bumper- $200
front bumperettes- $50
rear bumper halves- $125
rear bumper center panel- $35
rear bumperettes- $50
exterior door handles- $75
rear glass- $50
door glass- $50
front windscreen- $100
rubber kit for glass, headlights, turn signals, horn grills, deco strips, misc fuzzy for windows- $400
deco strips- $100
fresh air vent cover- $25
rear view mirror- $50
seats- $300
door panels- $150
interior door pulls- $50
window winders- $50
window regulators- $50
rear seats- $50
carpet kit- $150
gauges- $300
dash- $150
headliner- $75
kick pad- $25
steering wheel w/ bat wing- $150
engine w/tin- $3000
axles- $50
transmission- $500
door window frames- $50
rear pop out chrome w/ glass- $150
rear pop out window latches- $150
chrome on door- $50
cleaning supplies- $100
spare tire- $25
shift lever- $50
new tires- $300
fuel lines- $25
brake rebuilds/hoses- $100
master cylinder- $100
rust repair- $250
paint-
hub caps- $100
random bits- $200
Hood crest- $50
Car- $500

Total: $9270

Paint?

[Unobtanium-inc]

Hi John,
Matt here, Adam's better looking older brother -- well, I can at least prove that I'm older...

Those numbers are as spot on as any I could imagine. Putting something together from scratch is a costly endeavor no matter how you slice it. I think your suggestion for finding a rusty parts car and transferring anything usable from it is probably the best bet in terms of affordability. On the other side of the OP's decision, you can buy a ratty 912 driver for a lot less than $10,000. So we've probably come to the conclusion that he should just let that chassis sit another 10 years at the neighborhood shop.

- Matt

[johnvan8]

My opinion is that for a project that may end up costing you 10k-15k, $500 is really an irrelevant figure in the "big picture". Let's say you end up putting in $12k. If you got the car free, you're out 12k; if you paid full price, you're out 12.5k. Not a big deal in my opinion. I think a more important question would be, for example, what's the original color? Is it a color that you like? If you're a silver kind of guy and the car was beige, are you willing to repaint it beige to maintain maximum resale?

If I would have the time to spend - obviously CHICKS has - I would buy the project, dismantle it, sell the parts and invest it in a bit better project car, repeat the procedure until I could afford a drivable 912 ...

Otto

[seanlonghi]

I'm going to chime in here
Adam at Unobtanium-inc has known me for years from the 356 days, and a he and every other parts getter will agree a 912 for $500 is basically free and worth it for body panels alone. No one should ever walk from a car like this if they love Porsches.

You cant find anything in this condition- missing parts or not- for this price. Case in point, I just bought one that needs a lot of rust work for not much more than CHICKS car, but I only lucked out to find one in my backyard and found one from a friend, and only after being in the market for a project and having Adam send me a tonne of options for 356 coupe project-which I was seriously considering.

I have told very few people about my recent 912 purchase and they are lining up to pay me 4 times what I paid.

356s are now a fortune
early 911s have been climbing fast
912s, are starting too and will soon be too expensive to buy.

Buy it and push it into the corner of your garage, someone will pay you $5000 for it next year.
Or...slowly start to purchase cool parts here and there for a good price and gather items toward your end goal.

If your plan, like mine, is to have a little café racer/hot rod, maybe set you budget a little higher to more so-$20,000-25,000. This is a real number that anyone can afford to set aside and do a little- here and there over the next 5-10 years if they have interest.

From what I've been seeing with the outlaw 912, 74-77 and SC market, a $20-25,000 invested coupe is easily recouped and well sought after by many people.


Its really a win-win. The car will go up. As will the parts.
Don't be scared to lose money. You will only lose money if you start to want to take this to a concours level 912. For what you are wanting to built, paint it flat black and it will be worth $15-20 grand all day long.

If not, let Adam or I know where it is.....

[C. Clark]

offered it for $500.00.....I bet he did.....keep looking

[Jaems]

Sorry, this original thread is over a year old. If he purchased the shell or passed is really moot at this time.

[CHICKS]

Originally Posted by C. Clark

offered it for $500.00.....I bet he did.....keep looking

Yep, true story.

Jack, the owner, said he wanted to keep this one and turn it into another 'vintage racer'.

I'm having a baby now, so it kind of worked out. I also spun a rod bearing in my 944 after posting, so again, it worked out. I'll keep looking. Might try for this car again in the future...