RS Rear Flares - Affect on Value

[nckzck]

Hello all. Would appreciate your opinions. I have a 1970 911T sunroof car that is rust free but in need of a total restoration, as the car has not ran since 1988. I have had this car for 10 year, and am finally in a position to begin working on it. My intent is to build it as a hot street car, with a 3.0 or larger engine, and a swap to a 915 transmission. My question is....what is the impact in regards to value when installing real RS (from Porsche) rear flares on a 911T? I have a body man that is exceptional (he has worked on a few Pebble Beach Concours level cars), so the quality of the install will be top notch. I plan to keep the car, and leave it to my son in the future, and don't want to kill the value of the car due to changing to a quality hot rod. I plan to keep the original 2.2 and 901, and any original parts I remove. Your input is greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

[pu911rsr]

On an original car I would have them removed but for a hot rod they will ad to appeal of car.
Phil

[csbush]

Mine had flares when I bought it, I made the decision to keep the flares- because I like them and they look really good with a ducktail. However, I doubt I would have ever added them on my own. They are fun little hot rods without the flares, and you could focus on other areas that need work. Unless you are racing it, you are not likely to notice that much difference in how it handles. If anything, having the slightly narrower tires on the back will make it feel lighter and more responsive.

[Fishcop]

Same as Chuck ^^

My car came with SC flares when I got it 15 years ago. Car has undergone a complete restoration with a hotrod bent and I left the flares alone, I like the look and I like the wider 8" fuchs on the rear.

[nckzck]

So far....it sounds like adding flares properly is not detrimental to value. I did not know if any T's or E's have sold recently that had RS flares installed? Any hot rods or RGruppe cars? As I said, my intent is not to sell the car, but to leave it to my son eventually, and I simply want it to hold value. If it was an S, I would not be considering this idea, but I am looking at a 300+ HP engine for the car, and adding wider rear tires seems like a logical necessity.

[Gearby]

It could be detrimental on value depending on what it is you're starting with. If you have a highly original rust free car then it will be detrimental on value to hot rod it. If your car has a lot of miles, missing a lot of original parts, or damage history or anything like that working against it then it probably won't matter.

[911kiwi]

So, my first question is how old is your son? You've had the 911 for 10 yrs already. If you still have another 10 yrs of driving and having fun in it, then be less concerned about any possible devaluation and build it for your own enjoyment. Keep the original engine and tranny and let your son decide what to do with it when it's his. Enjoy it the way you want it. You Only Live Once! And remember, you're living the dream ... you own an early 911.

[NorthernThrux]

I spent a year looking at a number of extraordinarily well done long hood hot rods, many of which had rear flares. The best of these cars were in the $150-$220k range and are still unsold. The majority were at 100k and below and most are also unsold a year later. So you build a hot rod for yourself, with what turns your crank. Not for others. And you don't worry about the future value, because you rarely get back what you put into a good hot rod build and they rarely appreciate. The only exception to this was a Singer, which was listed for what I think was $150k more than it cost. I also have no idea if it sold or what it finally went for.

In the end, I bought a 2011 Boxster Spyder. It is the modern Porsche hot rod and while it is my three season DD, it also has some appreciation potential seeing as good ones with the right options are now selling for what they cost new.

A hot rod is for those who go with their heart. A decision to restore it to original would be ruled by your head. Original would have more potential upside, but there is more to life than upside.

Ravi

[PMNorris]

Go for the flares. My 1970T has original RS flares, ducktail and lots of other bits. Now with a 3.0SC engine and 915 gearbox. 300hp out of a 3.0 engine sounds optimistic. I think you should be looking for a bigger engine as a start. Be aware though, that the bigger engines are heavier and make the car more tail happy. I think the SC engine is 30Kg heavier than the original 2.2

[Richardnew]

Your son may not went the car when the time comes. Of my 4 cars my son only wants one of them. He's too busy collecting Ducati bikes to get into cars.

The old rule of thumb used to be that whatever it costs to install the flares you can deduct that amount from the value of the car. Take a look at what sold best at the Monterey auctions. That should give you an indiction.

On the other hand a 911T will never be a collector car. I say that because I own one. They're a great car for the hobbyist. Plus, they're fun to drive. I was all set to do flares about ten years ago and never pulled the trigger. I'm sort of glad I didn't.



btw - Have you checked out the prices for the appropriate sized Fuchs? Then add in thr price of 4 new tires. Start adding all of it up on your spreadsheet, It's not just the price of having flares installed.

Richard Newton
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