Sell as a project or part it out?

[Matt Monson]

The time has come to either shyte or get off the pot. I have no time or energy to wrench for fun these days. My health just isn't good enough to spend time out in the cold with bloody knuckles and an achy neck. I'm going to let the 74 go in some form.

A lot of you know this car. It was a 935 look when first presented to me. It was taken back to it's original gulf blue and had SC flares installed. It was bare metal and welded at the base of the rear windows. I have process pictures here somewhere. Took a year to get the car. When I went to SoCal to pick it up, I discovered a handful of things that hadn't been disclosed, including having the seller literally patch the fuel lines while I was at my hotel getting ready to catch an uber over to pick it up.

I drove it to Vegas. I got it on a lift. I flew home and shipped it to myself. In addition to the bad fuel lines, it had terminal rust in the front pan and A-arm area. You'd think when you buy a car from a body man, he would fix that? He fixed some other minor rust elsewhere. He charged me for a seal kit he never bought. when I tried to start it the starter stayed on for 5 minutes. Other times it wouldn't crank at all. Anyway, that's history. I never drove the car again.

I started taking it apart to send it to the body shop. I also started stripping the interior for my planned "lightweight" treatment. As you can see, the original gulf blue is still there under the adhesive. I was going to hand strip it all, leave it with "patina" and throw in a set of 1968 floor rubbers. I kept all the carpet I took out. I kept the door cards. I also have Applebiz RS cards. Factory sport seats. Stock steering wheel (i'm attached to that crappy old Racemark. I've had it on 5 different cars in 15 years.) I have new H4s and painted trim rings for it, as well as sugar scoops in chrome.

All the underpinnings are 1985, even though it's a 1974 car. Struts, brakes, engine, gearbox, all came from a 3.2. The engine is oddball. It's supposed to be 3.0SC heads on a 3.2 bottom end. It's still on the original small box 74 CIS. That was a NOS muffler I found, mated to the original 74 HEs.

I have either 6/7 16 Fuchs or date correct 6x15 cookies. Struts are Boges, no idea if they have upgraded inserts. It has an S title from CA. It was a theft recovery. I never titled it, but I did sign it. I need to get a vin inspection to get it in my name, and with covid I haven't wanted to deal with it. I can get the title if it were a deal breaker to someone. Or bill of sale.

I'm sure there will be plenty of questions. Please, itemize what you think the major stuff is worth and where it puts me. And what you think the car is worth. Feel free to make me genuine offers via PM for big parts. I'm ready to move on this and get it out of my driveway for good...

[911heaven]

Matt, though you may be tempted to part it, you may be best to keep it all as one and sell it that way. You are smarter than me, more knowledgeable too. I just think someone would take it that way. Its a lovely color, a good year, and though you are done with it, someone else may just love the project opportunity. Parting it out will just take more time than you need or want. Keep the vision, the dream of Oregon High life if you will move in the near term, but stay the course on this project car. There will be someone come along and take up the mantle as you left it (dream takers no, maybe a different dream for the next guy/girl who will love it and make it his or her own). Just a thought i had.

[mepstein]

Parting takes lots of time and 3x the space of the roller. You also have to do ~ 100 sales vs just one and package ~100 parts vs sending the one rolling car out the door. BTDT

[pnut_lee]

I vote for let someone save it. That car is worth the effort of a DIYer or someone with a big pocketbook to pay someone else to restore. As to value, I have no real idea. There’s a lot going on there. Gotta be $30k+ in parts including stripped tub. All together as a lot maybe $20k-$25k.........but that’s a wild guess.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by mepstein

Parting takes lots of time and 3x the space of the roller. You also have to do ~ 100 sales vs just one and package ~100 parts vs sending the one rolling car out the door. BTDT

Only a fool would part this car out completely.
Engine
Gearbox
Sport seats
Spare wheels
Various easy to sell new parts
Roller

It’s not a rust bucket for breaking.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by pnut_lee

I vote for let someone save it. That car is worth the effort of a DIYer or someone with a big pocketbook to pay someone else to restore. As to value, I have no real idea. There’s a lot going on there. Gotta be $30k+ in parts including stripped tub. All together as a lot maybe $20k-$25k.........but that’s a wild guess.

I try to be a pretty honest and transparent person. I’ve previously posted that I’m in about $28k. I spent $10k on making it back to a G body and paint.

[911heaven]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

I try to be a pretty honest and transparent person. I’ve previously posted that I’m in about $28k. I spent $10k on making it back to a G body and paint.

There it is, list it for 29 K, you make a grand and you have nearly 30k in your pocket in a heartbeat, only one exercise! Try it!

[pnut_lee]

Originally Posted by 911heaven

There it is, list it for 29 K, you make a grand and you have nearly 30k in your pocket in a heartbeat, only one exercise! Try it!

My thought exactly. Start at $29,800 as it is with the parts you’ve purchased for it. Anyone with skills and some vision can see this being a really sweet build when complete.

$30k purchase plus a $25k restomod budget for a DIYer would yield a pretty nice driver.

[racerboyrt]

“s title” as you discreetly wrote, is Salvage?

[Unobtanium-inc]

Rust, non-matching motor, stripped interior, and possibly salvage title, it's going to be a hard sell at the numbers being thrown around. Not to say it wouldn't be a cool car, but a rusty post 74 911 is hard to move. My advice would be to finish the car, if not be prepared to take a hit.

---Adam

[Matt Monson]

I'm not going to finish it. Not even going to consider that. I do agree anything close to 30 is silly. I'm expecting to lose money, otherwise I wouldn't tell people what I'm into it for. It is not a rusty car. I've shown you the rust. It is a salvage title, if you title it. That's not a maybe.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Here is a recent comp. Picked up a 74 back in November, matching numbers, Factory Silver over black, paid $12,000, hope to clear $20,000 once I re-asssemble. It's a complete car. Clean title.

---Adam

[Matt Monson]

That's a lot of assembly.

If you're going to make that a running driving car I think you are selling yourself short.

[nathanbs]

Originally Posted by pnut_lee

My thought exactly. Start at $29,800 as it is with the parts you’ve purchased for it. Anyone with skills and some vision can see this being a really sweet build when complete.

$30k purchase plus a $25k restomod budget for a DIYer would yield a pretty nice driver.

What the heck are you going to accomplish with $25k?

[Unobtanium-inc]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

That's a lot of assembly.

If you're going to make that a running driving car I think you are selling yourself short.

Loosely, re-assemble, make it look like a car again. Like this.

---Adam

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by nathanbs

What the heck are you going to accomplish with $25k?

$5k and you've got the front pan and fuel lines done, and a running driving car. What exactly do you want to do with it that is more than another $20k?

[nathanbs]

Originally Posted by Matt Monson

$5k and you've got the front pan and fuel lines done, and a running driving car. What exactly do you want to do with it that is more than another $20k?

I can think of tons of things. Everything with 911s is in increments of $5-10k. We’ve discussed this on here before that $5000 doesn’t cut it for a suspension pan if done properly. Engine is a strong runner? I think what got me was the $25k and resto-mod in the same sentence

[Macroni]

Matt

I would clean it up a bit and sell as is.....

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by Macroni

Matt

I would clean it up a bit and sell as is.....

I will definitely clean it up even though I view it with disdain. It had been under a cover for the last two years. I took it off back in August to photograph it and to make a listing. Then the wildfire broke out and burned for 100 days. Now there’s ash in all the door sills and other panels. You can see a line of dust in the bumper photos. I was very careful not to scratch the paint on removal, but never washed the parts (as one would prior to reassembly).

I may even put thebumper and headlights back on. Even though they have to come off for the repairs many people lack vision. It’s like staging a house. Someone can’t see themselves living there without furniture.

I’m having a couple pm conversations due to this thread, about the whole project. I’m a little surprised nobody has asked (or commented here) about the value of early leather sport seats or a 3.2 “core” builder. I’m not going to dump the car to some $15k dreamer, but if I got $10k out of a bunch of the big stuff, I’d put the car under a cover for another few years as a roller.

[Matt Monson]

Originally Posted by nathanbs

I can think of tons of things. Everything with 911s is in increments of $5-10k. We’ve discussed this on here before that $5000 doesn’t cut it for a suspension pan if done properly. Engine is a strong runner? I think what got me was the $25k and resto-mod in the same sentence

You always look at these things through a body man’s eyes. Pelican is a DIY forum. The buyer of this car isn’t going to tow this car to you and open their checkbook. They are going to take it further apart, do the pan, and start fiddling with it.