[ROWSC]

Two years ago I was offered a similar car. PO had purchased it from the woman who inported it from Germany. I have every receipt for the day of the second purchase. It had the Euro spec engine, full leather, and relatively good paint. Excellence magazine gave me a price of $13,200. The woman was a friend of mine fighting breast cancer and she gave me the car under the condition that I restore it for my daughter.

Can you beat a free 911? If you say "no," you have not been around long. My car had 148k miles but it was driven hard 365 days a year.

Lessons I learned: Take the front fenders off. The rust where the fender mounts to the shell directly above the tire is a gold mine for rust. While you have the fender off, look at the area where the bumper shocks bolt on. There is a ledge there for stuff to collect and rust through. You won't even see it until you pull back the carpet one day and there is a big hole. Also look for chipped paint on corners that can be the start of a cancer.

$5,500 later, I have a rust free car in the color of my choice. The entire car was media blasted and sealed in catalyzed primer, sealer, and paint. Now the money starts gushing out. My goal is to have a new 1979 RoW SC for my daughter for under $50k.

My message to the uniformed; If you are a perfectionist about the quality and car of your car, it is cheaper to buy a new one. If you can live with incorrect parts and your paint concern is only that they are the same shades, buy cheap and drive them like they were meant to be driven.