73 2.0 Part out or not?

[bryanf]

So I've dragged this poor wrecked 73 2.0 home and started looking at it and realizing that it was/is a really nice car and I'm having second thoughts about stripping it and sending it off to the junk yard. In some ways it is nicer than my 75 that is going to be the recipient of all the best parts. The body has no rust, dash is not cracked, rear pad is in good shape (seats need upholstery) it looks like it spent most of its life in a garage because all the little plastic bits are in good shape. It has original front and rear sway bars, a mildly built up 2.0 w 40 webers, new sticky tires (bridgestone potenza RE71) on aluminum centerline type wheels. It's bright green with black Porsche decals running down the sides. All the door and hood seams are straight and it doesn't look like it was ever in an accident other than the one that caused its demise. The suspension is really stiff and the owner said that he put "racing" struts and shocks on it. It looks like it was a hell of a go-cart. I haven't looked at the brakes, but the owner said they are all original except for the flexible lines which are new.

In the accident the front end was pushed in 6-8 inches and of course the front bumper, headlights , foglights and hood are smushed. The windshield is cracked but I don't know if that happened in the accident or not. The car rolls fine and the front suspension looks undamaged (although I haven't looked that closely). The doors operate normally and the top fits fine. Steering feels normal turning lock to lock just fine. The engine starts and runs fine. Nothing else looks seriously out of place.

I bet I could slap a new rear cover on the tranny (mounting "ears" snapped in the accident) and drive it...

I really don't have the time or tools to resurect this car, but I keep thinking about these poor midwestern 914 owners welding huge sections of new metal into their cars and here I am about to strip a slightly smashed rust-free 73 2.0.

Any thoughts on what it would take to repair this versus what it would be worth when it is done? Should I just proceed with the plan and take the best stuff off this car and put it in my "solid" but certainly not perfect '75?

Ease my conscience, please.

[h16]

I suggest you not rush to parting it out. I had a mint 71 that was heavily damaged; I bought another, inferior car, swapped in the good parts from the wreck, and it was never the same.

Can you supply a photo or two of your wreck? Was it a direct hit in the nose? Was the front sway bar bent/damaged, or is everything rearward of that intact? If it's just the nose shell that's damaged, and it didn't change your front wheel geometry, I bet you could salvage it. Maybe you need to consider some exotic RUF-like nose?!

On the other hand, if you want to dump it, let me know.

[bryanf]

My digital camera is on the fritz, so it may take a bit to get a picture of it posted. It was a low-speed crash that hit pretty high on the front end. I haven't measured anything, but I don't think that anything on the front suspension was damaged or is out of place....

[bryanf]

I guess since no one seems terribly upset with my plan...I'll go forward and strip out the '73 in order to keep my 75 running nicely as my daily driver...

[blitzer]

I think everyone is waiting for pictures.

[bryanf]

okay, I'll try to borrow a camera and post a few.