What is this 911 worth?

[ProjectM96]

1979 911 Coupe with whale tail spoiler and sunroof.
Manual trans
Red and in average condition.
157,000 miles on body. 3.2 motor put in to replace the old engine. No mileage info on new engine. Drives well no noticeable problems mechanically.

Some rust spots on body and frame inside door jam. But rust is under the paint. You can see the bubbling of the paint. I know someone who will fix the minor rust for $500.

So how much do you think this car is worth? Is $12,000 a steal or too much or just right?
I have seen many rollers with no paint for $9000.

[KNS]

As the SCs slowly rise in value the engine swap might hurt its worth to potential buyers when you go to sell it in the future. However, If you're going to keep it "forever" then the 3.2 swap I would think is a good thing.

The rust could be the tip of an iceberg, look closely for more.

Given its condtion, worth a little less than a like condtion SC with its original engine.

[Dublinoh]

If you don't know the internal condition of the engine, you can't know how much the car is worth. To be on the safe side have the engine and car evaluated (PPI or pre purchase inspection) Minimum I would want the compression and leak down numbers. If it checks out in my opinion it would be worth 12K

[Rot 911]

There shouldn't be "minor rust" in the places you indicated. the "79 SC is a fully galvanized body. I suspect that rust problem is going to be a lot worse than "minor."

[vracer]

The bigger question is: What do you want to do with it? What do you want it to become? It sounds like rust will continue to appear like pimples on a 16 year old. And that's just one issue.

[curb]

I agree, pay more attention on the rust and have an expert take a look on the engine, dont pay above 10k w. these issues.
How good is the interior by the way?

[J L Cavazos]

Engine swap is what would keep me away from it. Not so much the fact that it is a 3.2L engine, which to some is considered an upgrade, but the fact that it is not the correct engine. If my intentions were to build a hotrod or backdate project, then it would be a good candidate for me. If you want a solid driver, then it might fit the bill, provided the engine showed good leakdown/compression numbers, it has good interior, and working AC. It might be hard to sell sell in the long run due to its lack of identity.

This is a $10k car.

[sm70911]

Was the car always red ? Sounds like a bad paint job. Check the paint code, if its a rare color SC it might be worth re painting to original.

[techweenie]

Rust is always going to be 'under the paint' on a car like this.

As others have said: there are 1000 other places the rust will blossom from after you spend $500 patching what's come through so far. You need a serious program to attack and stop the rust.

So, for a car like this, I always recommend buying for no more than "parts value" which in this case is probably $10-11K, max. The theory being: if your "unknown unknowns" are overwhelming, you can recover your investment by selling it in parts.

[brisboats]

I would think 10K max if not a RoW car if it is 8K max. 12K would not be a steal.

B