Thanks for sharing - that's the sort of input that I'm looking for.
I'm currently noodling on whether there is any hope of breaking this project down so that I can eat the elephant one bite at a time. I am keen on the idea of having an older Porsche, plus being miserly and motivated by having something to work on means that this is likely the best path to actually having one. If I can get this one to the point that it is worth anything and not be deeply underwater, I could see myself selling it and being a much better informed buyer next time around.
I'm ~$16k into it now and can stomach about another ~$40k so it seems possible, assuming the value of my time is offset by the enjoyment of working on it and I can find some sort of local support network to cover some of the things that I won't be able to tackle.
The current plan is to much more thoroughly check out the car and then re-do my budget, plus get an idea of what I could sell it for as-is right now. To that end:
The silver lining of this morning's work was that the driver's side torsion tube support does seem solid (I'll scape more undercoating off later), and even though the tube itself is rotten on this side, I've already written the whole thing off in my mind.
The unpleasant surprise came when I took off the driver's side trim and it looks like the trim may have been a structural element. The smudges are from my instinctive reaction to try and wipe the crack away.
Peeking in the rocker, I found what I have come to expect. It looks like there will be a few pieces added to the restorations design shopping cart
I would love to hear more success and horror stories as I mull over what to do, as well as any tips on where else to look for trouble.