Does a swap make sense, or should I mod what I have?

[vonsmog]

I have this 73' T that is a matching # original car. Half the paint is original, as is the interior, which is in excellent condition for its age. As is the motor and trans. Car has 92k miles and zero rust. I would like something that I can take to the track and thrash around, but I would feel bad hacking this one up, because it is so nice and original. To be perfect it would just need new paint and carpets. Runs real strong, handles like it should for a T. There are so many back dated and hacked up long hoods out there already, do you think I could make a trade for one already done? I would like a RS or RSR clone that would be both street and track ready. Does not have to be perfect, in fact a few flaws would be better. As I would not feel bad it a bang it up any. Just don't want a rot box, that I have to redo. Some thing with more power under the tail, with some better handling to control it. I have attached some photos of what I got, let me know if I am way off base, or this would make sense to pursue.
Thanks, Von

[vonsmog]

more photos.

[LWJ]

In short: yes. I think you could easily trade your car for a hotrod. I see that it is almost impossible to recoup expenses on mods. People pay for originality - you can't replicate that.

As this is very much a buyer's market currently, I am not certain how to best execute your trade. I was thinking of selling your car first but you might just put an ad on pelican and see what happens?

Good luck. Love the car. The mini-lites are a great look.
Larry

[racer]

Why the repaint to the front 1/2? Why such a bad paint match? Just saying, if the front was repainted do to replaced panels/accident damage, that type of thing, then go ahead and mod what you have! Looks like the front is white and the back is "light ivory".

I agree that originality is worth much more now for longhoods.. and someday it will be for Shorthoods too.

If you like the car you have, and enjoy a project, then turn yours into a clone. I think it would be worth considering what your car is actually worth before hand as well. To me its mid-teens at best.. depending on how it looks closer up. A nice RS clone or RSR clone is a mid-twenties car if done the way you would want it.. ie which motor/suspension/wheels etc you are looking for.

[geshaghi]

Seems a shame to tear up what looks like a relatively unmolested and original car. If the car has no rust and doesn't need body work, a good shop should be able to execute a quality glass out repaint back to light ivory at a decent price, or better match the front half of the car to the rear for even less. I think that an original 2.4T with the MFI that has been well cared for will appreciate over time much more than a clone or hot rod. 72 and 73 longhoods are at the top of the lwb early car food chain. Plenty of hacked up, modified examples are out there. Good original cars, even T's are becoming harder and harder to find. From the few photos you posted, it looks like you have a well-preserved example, but for the color issue. If this is the case, I would be inclined to keep the car as is, ride out the current market storm (which seems to vary from week to week) and if you still have an itch for something more performance oriented after the market has stabilized, sell the car and find something that has already been done more to your liking. The other reality to consider here is that it is real easy to spend $20k or more to build your own hot rod (RS clone or otherwise), especially if you're after real performance and handling, and not just the "look."

[Zeke]

If it was in an accident, it doesn't show inside the trunk that I can see. So, I can't go along with the comment to go ahead and make this car over to a track whore just because it isn't 100% original. Hard to find that these days anyway.

Von, I would see what the market will bear first. At least that way you'll know what value you have against any trades. Track cars sell a lot more slowly that what you have there, so I think you have a "buyers advantage." IOW, if I had a track car I needed to sell, I'd jump at the chance to trade you and then sell your old car. Might even dress it up a bit before marketing.

In the end, I think you will get more car if you buy someone else's hot rod and let this one go for the best deal you can make.

There is one catch: you need to know a lot about how track cars are properly set up. You don't want to buy a car that has been set up wrong and you have to go thru it again changing bars, shocks, sways, brakes and braking systems, plus more.

Build your virtual car and then go looking for the best match. There is a ton on info on the Internet about setting up a track car. You want as close to a turn key as you can get.

You also want a nice car. They get doggy enough pretty quickly used at the track.

[Christien]

I've got the kind of car you want, and had it up for sale recently, and I'll tell you right now, your car is worth significantly more than mine. You could sell yours, buy something like mine and stuff a 3.6 in there, and still have money left over for a season's worth of track fees, easily. The single biggest barrier to me selling mine was people looking for originality. Even with the #s matching engine coming with the car (transplant in there now to rebuild the original motor) it was still too far from original for most people. Really, all it would take to return my car to original is a few grand in body work. But the market is definitely in originality these days.

I wouldn't chop it up if I were you. If you're not happy with it, sell it and buy what you want.

[vonsmog]

Thanks guy, There is no accident damage, other than the drivers door. A PO was backing out of the garage with the door open and caught the side of the garage! In person the color matches up much better. I guess the light was just right to show the difference when I took those photos. This really is an unmolested car, so I would hate to hack this one up. I think I will put some feelers out there and see if I can sell it. I have my 76 unmolested targa to drive and cherish. So now I want something to beat on! What do you think I can get for this one? Here are some more photos of it.

[vonsmog]

more photos of the bottom. There has been no rust repair ever needed and the brown in the bottom photos is what is left over of the cosmoline when new. I have updated the chain tensioners and lower valve covers, since these photos were taken.

[racer]

One thing possibly being overlooked is you dont NEED to modify your "T" much (if at all) for track duty. First thing to address are suspension/tires/wheels/brakes. Nothing like having a "sleeper" compared to all those RS clones out there anyway. These cars ran wonderfully for YEARS on the track with little or no issues.. why? because they are fairly bulletproof.

[Zeke]

I would hold out for as much as you can get. That's a nice car.

15K in a heartbeat, 20K on a good day and 25K in a stretch. I would be proud to own a car like that and not touch it.

Disclaimer: I'm not an appraiser, just an observer.

[Macroni]

Yours: Great car..... value $20k. +/-

Hot rods expensive to build; cheap to buy....... 50 to 60 cents on a dollar.

[Fishman7]

I agree 20+..... looks like a nice original car and I think it would sell fairly fast for that.

[Gogar]

+1 you could probably break even on someone else's used track toy, and you would likely have a better experience sooner and wouldn't get upset if it got dirty or if you banged it up a little.

Oh and PS rotate that sump plate 90 degrees!!

[Matt Monson]

You guys sure are giving me some food for thought. I've been having second thoughts about hot rodding my 42k mi very original 68 911t. I may need to put up a WTT thread to see if there's someone who wants to trade their hot rod for something more original and unmolested. I was going to build another engine and gearbox for the car and pull the original stuff out. Maybe the right solution is just to find something else that's already been tweaked.

[blueboxster]

FWIW, I see cars like this in the upper teens quite a bit.

[Fishman7]

You don't see rust free clean cars in the upper teens.

[blueboxster]

Sure you do, Ive seen two 73,5 cars go in that range in the last month. Both were good deals but not smoking.

[Matt Monson]

Links to the cars in question would go a long way to backing up that claim.

[Christien]

If it weren't such a buyer's market, I'd say you could get 30k for it. As things are now, 20k would move pretty quickly, 25k and you might sit on it for a bit but you'd probably get it. If it were me, I wouldn't let it go for less than 25 - I'd rather wait on it and collect top dollar when the market improves.