[Grady Clay]

Jerry,

Dumb ol’ me doesn’t study the whole thread before I post.

Best $100 you will ever spend.

On to important issues.

Before you do anything else, now is the time to take stock of the overall condition of the car. There are many situations where even if you got the car for free, it would not be prudent to attempt a restoration. It is not impossible to get 20X the value ‘invested’ in some projects. Now is the time to evaluate – not some time later after spending too much money.

These are expensive cars. They are even more expensive and difficult to restore than most realize. Parts availability and cost are the big issues. This is probably the reason for the VW engine – the cost to repair the 616 engine (standard 912) far exceeded the value of the car.

The critical issue is the current condition. How extensive is the rust? There usually is 10X more rust than you can see and it takes someone very familiar with the chassis to see what they are looking at. Find some local expertise.

Being expensive when new, many had crash damage repaired when lesser value cars were thrown away and sent to the crusher. You need to carefully inspect for prior crash damage and quality of the repair. Again, consult some volunteer experts.

Before spending another dime, gather information and make a plan. A good place to start are all the free parts catalogs (I think even the PET Factory catalog CD is now free). The exploded diagrams will help you see the car with ‘X-ray vision’. The prices will give you some idea of the costs involved.

Next might be using all the on-line resources. Start yourself a file system to copy pertinent information into. Saving links, images and just specific posts or threads can be invaluable. A loose-leaf binder works well for print-outs.

Thus far you haven’t spent a dime (other than the $100 and the cost of the 912). Now might be the time to start buying all the commercial books and manuals. There are a lot. It is money well spent, even if you don’t pursue your initial restoration vision.

Your greatest resource is to use the expertise available here on Pelican. Post images here and ask for advice.


As I said, this is an expensive proposition. You will find many half-finished project cars for sale. The owners didn’t realize the costs until they had already spent way too much.



Now that I have scared you to death, these projects can be GREAT FUN. Take your time. Spend your money wisely. Enjoy the process as it will take a long time. Please proceed carefully and with good knowledge.


Best,
Grady