912 to 911 conversion values??
 

I am thinking of building a 911R style hotrod and it looks like a good way to get a SWB car is to buy a 912 and use it as a starting point. The question I have is will I end up with a valueless bastard when I am done. I don't plan on selling it right away but it's worth considering the value of the finished product I suppose.

It seems like on a modified car originality is less important but would it be worth the extra money in the beginning to find a SWB 911 as opposed to a 912?

There's no way to break even on this. Building a great 911R out of a 912 will cost you more than finding a SWB 911 and modifying it. Plan on losing 75% of your investment. Then when you sell it and only lose 50%, you'll be happy. SmileWavy

I posed this question to myself many times,. In the end, you will have a car that has no collector value, but may be a great street car. Good clean 912's are going for north of $10k. Stuffing a good running 3.0 motor in the car would run another $6-10k. Then add cost of suspension and brake upgrades (you can't take a car that was set up for a 100hp motor and add another 80- 100hp to it without significant upgrades). Add a set of 6 minimum inch wheels, and you are in for around $20-23k. What's it worth? Probably low teens to mid teens if done well.
If you already have a 912 and are bored with the power, consider buying a higher performance VW motor and installing that.
One other option is to buy a 912 cheap, buy a rusted out 74-77 911S with good drivetrain and suspension for a few grand, and convert the 912 with the 911 donor. That should keep your costs down about as much as possible.
Of course, even fewer people will be interested in the car afterwards based upon the 2.7 motor bad rep.
In the final analysis, doing a conversion like this should only be done for fun, not for profit.

Great thread on this conversion.
 

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/porsche-911-technical-forum/345183-swb-911r-beginning.html

IMO, Should not impact an excellent conversion, since much of the car will be converted in a manner that would make its origin meaningless.

Required Picture
 

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1270912020.jpg

Speedo's amazing 912.......

I think the important word here is "excellent." A recent SWB R-inspired non-matching car was advertised here and the Early S board and sold close to a $50k asking price. I saw the car and it was outstanding in all the details and quality of finish. Probably couldn't be reproduced at the asking price. I think the seller might have had a longer marketing time and less demand for the car if it had been a 912 chassis. I understand that European buyers, who have played a large role in driving the market for early cars over the last few years, are less inclined to buy a car with an engine swap from 4 to 6 cylinder, due to importation hassles that result. I still think that the quality of the car would have sold it even if it had been a 912 conversion.

The basis for valuing a 912 to 911 conversion comes down to the value of the parts used for the conversion. As soon as the car has lost its intrinsic collectibility (i.e. original matching numbers car), the basis for value goes straight to the motor, tranny, suspension, brakes, wheels, seats, etc.. A 912 car which has not been widebodied, can be brought back to original 912 spec pretty easily. A good clean 912 body is worth between $5-10k. Everything else is parts.

Sadly, the origin is never meaningless with a Porsche, no matter how much you've put into it. I'd start with a 911 unless you already have a 912 you're tired of. -- Matt

+1

A good 912 is worth more to begin with than a 911 roller in the same shape.

Depends on the year and badging of the 911 roller. Good luck finding a rust free S roller from any year between 66-73 that is less than a 912. Perhaps a 68-69 911T roller. But that would be about it.

What is the impact of a salvage title car on an excellent build?

IMO, with regards to a "hot rod" the impact is directly proportional to the evidence left behind from the incident that caused the salvage title.

Yep. In the dark days of the 1980s when these were near worthless and disposable cars, $1000 worth of cosmetic body work with no frame damage could total a car. As they came back up in value, many of these cars got put back together and were issued S titles. Because of this very common dip in value and later rise with collector vintage cars, there will always be a good number of S title vehicles.

On many of them the title will have no impact on value. On others that were maybe repaired with a new front half cut or other extreme frame and metalwork they'll never be worth the same as a clean uncrashed car.

Or look at some of the old 550 Spyders and 356s and factory 911 racers. If those cars were crashed and repaired it's sometime no detirment to value and just part of the provenance because someone famous punted the car in a famous incident.