Value of a 912/911 convert (track style)

hotdogwater · hotdogwater's Garage

I am looking at a 912 that has been converted to a 911. The owner is selling due to amount of work/$ needed to rebuild engine. This is what I know.

The car:

Body has had some rust repairs, looks clean but not original , owner has been sorting out and when they found a loose stud they pulled motor and found more issues. so car has had chassis sorted out but now motor is in need of help and in need of makeover/identity.
Motor is 78 3.0 but torn down (case not spit but issues - needs rebuild; mix-matched cams, scuffing on pistons, wear on bearings, binding on rods, oiling issues, but has good compression 175-180 all around) all included, but in parts
External oil system in rear seat area (has cooler with fan and lines running to engine compartment) - I would remove and add 911 oil system to engine
Fuel cell installed in front
Lexan/plastic rear and side glass (no modifications tho, original glass could be re installed if purchased)
915 trans, seems strong but needs shift bushings
Brakes are original but rebuilt and seem strong
Fuchs 16x7, look straight, need refurb/polish/paint
Floor is repaired with flat metal - I would probably replace if looks bad, owner said not original but "period" looking metal work.
Dash and gauges are good/original but top is carbon fiber, and no interior or original seats
Has welded in cage in rear and some bolt in part for front cage attachment
Racing seats (not original/ think corbeau un-certified) and 5 point harnesses

What I wanted to do:

Make a long nose hotrod
Modern engine (or updated period engine)
Stripped interior and maybe a roll bar/back seat delete
Maybe a center fill tank
RS style tail and bumpers
Not sure if wide or narrow rear end
Would probably bring car to bare metal for repair and paint

What I am wondering:
Market for older track cars seems smaller and priced lower, the hot rods are in the $45s-$60s for a nice one. This car seems well on it's way to more track than street but It could be brought back with some carpet, dynamat/sound insulation, and some handy work to make it a track car that is still street legal and can be driven without a helmet or headphones.

asking is $16K,

I'm sorta new to this, sorta been around. I am looking to get a long nose and turn it into a hotrod/outlaw/track capable car to eventually sell. I quit my job working in a cube and am looking to start in a new direction. I convinced my wife to let me rebuild/build a car, drive it and sell it and see if I can make a living at it. I know it's probably 1 in a million chance but you miss 100% of those shots you don't take.

Any advice on this car (or on undertaking this in general) would be much appreciated. This price seems a little high to me but looking to hear from the peanut gallery.

Flynt · 07-22-2014, 10:55 AM

A lot going on in your post, and that car. Or those parts of cars.

A longhood 912 bastard turned into some sort of racecar with a mashup of parts motor in pieces is not worth anywhere near $16k. Especially if you're trying to build a streetable car. And a flat sheetmetal floor does not equal "sorted chassis"

Sorry to be so harsh, but it sounds like you're considering doing this for a living, or trying your hand at it, and a $16k parts bin missing a ton of parts you'll need with unknown usability on major parts you have is no place to start. As a labor of love and a keeper (read: something you build for yourself and you're underwater on for the next 10 years), maybe. Maybe. Even then, not a smart place to start.

For what you want to do, I'd look at a 74-77 or an SC which runs and drives in need of cosmetic help and backdate. And read tons of build threads while you're looking. Learn the pitfalls, figure out exactly what you want to build before you buy anything.

hotdogwater · hotdogwater's Garage

I hear ya Flynt, I am not jumping in head first so trying to get an idea if there is something different I could do with this car or just move on and keep looking. I was thinking if I got it in the $10-$11 range, and adding in an engine or do the rebuild myself (I have a little experience here but would farm out some work) for say $4-$6K is there still room to make a buck?

Thanks for the suggestion, backdating was what I was originally looking to do or find a early 11 with issues like missing engine and rust in the floor since that is something I think I can handle easier than engine mounts and updating a 12. But if I were to replace the floor in this, it has the engine mounts done, a working 11 transaxle and most of the other bits and bobs to make it work? So put in an engine, fix the floor and rust, paint the inside and out and have a invested ~$20K in a track car worth 18k?

hotdogwater · hotdogwater's Garage

Somehow my reply didn't post. Let me try again.

I hear what you are saying Flynt, that's why I'm here. It's not my first rodeo but I am learning much and wanted to see if there was potential I wasn't seeing in this car. The car has been worked on to get right recently and the owner has spend some money to get here but is done now that the motor is in need of lots of $. I stated what I wanted to do but if there is still some room to make a few $ in this car by taking it in a different way. Drop in a donor motor clean it up with new floors and turn it around for $30K?

So ~$20K for for a clean 77s and do a nose job on it would probably give me less grief in the end and be worth more $ in the market? Seems logical, more of the newer stuff you have to update on the older car (brake, electrical, suspension) and sheet-metal and body work to get the look you want.