Thanks Matt. I really appreciate the advise. I agree that while there are a lot of honest people out there, there are far too many scam artists to make me feel comfortable. The more I think about it, the more I'm leaning towards restoration. I need to go to the restoration forum to find out whose reputable in southern florida, or even if I have to ship elsewhere to get trustworthy work. The problem is that in my experience, the pricing is absolutely all over the place, and these guys can make up any numbers they want, tell you that they had to buy extra parts, etc, etc. I guess it's all about documentation and due diligence up front.

Cheers,
Jason

Glad you are leaning towards restoring it.

I hope you're able to find a trustworthy shop locally to work on it - that car seems like it will be worth it. I'm sure fellow Pelicans will be able to steer you right on that.

Cheers

d.

Not truly southern, and more eastern Florida, but I would talk to Kevin Wheeler at KMW in Boca and Brady Refinning at the 901 Shop in Stuart. Both very well regarded and experienced air cooled shops. The 901 Shop owns/owned a Yellow Bird. A real one.

Hi Matt.

Thanks again for the really helpful advice. I totally forgot about the 901 Shop. I remember drooling over the CTR conversion car when it was posted for sale. That's actually a great idea because they've worked on RUF engines. I will definitely look into both. Again, I really appreciate your feedback. I hope you and your family have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Cheers,
JD

You're welcome. Both of them know what they are doing. If you want to ship the car, I would talk to Pat Williams in Memphis. IMO, he's the top air cooled turbo guy in the SE 1/4 of the country. He has 3.3l turbos making 700whp.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfWjXzvVoL0