My idiot/sad story: a rare 1972 + 3/4 - long story

[kenikh]

Chocolate Brown all the way. Why someone would paint a car that color after stitching two cars together is beyond me.

[tfiv]

At least he didn't title it of the S number and charge you $10K more!

[Cornpanzer]

Yikes! That pretty much sums up Brother-In-Laws doesnt it?

Time to make yourself a stiff drink, put your feet up and forget about the money. Go for a drive - its still a fun car!

[gruen911]

Greg,
Making lemonade out of lemons with an old Porsche is a noble cause, but since the car is not matching numbers nor does it have any real value based upon its originality, I would suggest that you try to focus all of your future efforts on restoring/repairing the car as a track or rally car. That would mean selling off whatever good or valuable original parts are on the car and try to buy performance upgrades on the cheap, such as bigger displacement engine, better suspension etc. Eventually the worth of the car will find its own level based upon components rather than its originality (or lack thereof). In the meantime, drive the **** out of it and enjoy it. There are probably more than a few guys on this board who have cars that are so nice and original that they are scared of driving their cars hard for fear of damaging their investments. Clearly, that is not your problem.

Good Luck.


P.S. As to your brother in law, let's just say that revenge is a dish best served cold......

[RandyWebb]

Only you know if the bro'n law deserves revenge or is just clueless about old 911s.

I have to agree with modding it to a hotrod. Yo need to be sure the frame is nice & stiff too.

But the effects of the cost on your mind will decrease with thousands of happy miles...

Definitely the worst old 911 story I've heard (tho I know a worse old 356 story and may unfortunately be watching another happen right now...). It will be fun to tell your grandkids some day...

[badbilly]

Thanks for sharing that story. It has helped convince me to give up my dream of owning an early S (or E). I just love these clowns that say, "Make sure you get a professional PPE." Yeah, right. For over two years that I have been looking, I haven't even been able to go see one of these, they are ALWAYS sold before I can get there. And I live in N. CA. How in the hell can I get a PPE when they go so fast? And the prices! Forget about it. Most here reading this will say, tough chit, I got mine and I love it that the prices are going up. Fine. Have a great time with your car. I wish you all well. But I will tell you this...BadBilly is not gonna get ripped off on one of these cars. I really like the early cars but this is just a ridiculous situation and I want no part of it. I'm now thinking a new 911 or Cayman. I'm just too picky on condition, color, options, etc. With a new car I can get EXACTLY what I want. Just ranting a little bit, forgive me.
BB

[RickS]

You are a courageous soul for posting such a horror story. Certainly a cautionary tale if I have ever read one - one far worse than I could have ever imagined, or even had myself.

I made similar 'lazy' mistakes without the horrible outcome when purchasing an Audi. 1/2 the price of similar cars in this area (owner was supposedly desperate to sell becasue he just took delivery on a new one and didn't want to put the old one on the street. Uh huh.) Yes he too lived in SFO. It too had a prior PPI from a 'reliable' shop, which I called up and confirmed. I had my dad take a look at it and drive it. His comment was it was a very nice solid car, but second gear felt a bit notchy.

I flew down to pick up the car from dad's place in the Bay Area. The first thing I noticed was a 4" gouge in the front plastic bumper and the hood had been keyed across the nose. Neither reported by the owner when I questioned him - he said normal wear and tear. The second gear synchro was virtually shot, the shocks were bad, cruise control didn't work, two windows didn't work, and the driver's inside door pull was broken, and the great air conditioning barely put out cool air, the killer Bose stereo, kept cutting out with a loud popping sound, and the 10 disc CD changer didn't work - all with a 1200 mile trip in it back home. The special order interior turned out to be a light blue velure and on and on.

I got lazy and trusted a garage I didn't pick, I trusted my father to really look the car over, which was done at night on a dark street. I trusted the PO who I exchanged 10 e-mails with and talked to on the phone 3 times - positively grilling him. I got lazy and it cost me another $7K to get the car almost up to the conditon of the local ones I have driven and admired. Everything has been repaired and more (new heater core, cooling issues, etc) but the key mark on the hood remains since I just can't bear spending more money on it, but it did turn out to be a fantasic car after all - good bones.

Don't be a monkey like I was - don't cut corners because the owner sounds concerned, passionate, honest, enthusiastic, etc.

[Greg D.]

Thanks for the support and good ideas, guys...

On the brother in law, I cannot blame him (except on the VIN checking), he is clueless about 911s and was doing me a favor (some favor). It's my fault for not flying there myself, and not hiring my own wrench. And truly, I am not sure a mechanic would have spotted the welds, they are really well hidden !!! How many PPIs rip out the carpet to look at the floors ?

As for making it a track car, the thoguht crossed my mind several times, but I have issues there.... One, the stock engine and tranny are actually the best part of that car ! The 2.4 is sweet and the tranny is the best shifting 915 I've ever driven. So replacing the motor out for a race car seems like taking away the best part of the car... Two, how much would you trust a 2-parts car as a race car ? I admit I have been tempted to bite the bullet and ask a shop to weld a cage in it that joins the suspension points, and that way I will be sure that it is SOLID ! But that is more $$$ and I am short of preparation H right now after the recent expenses... But it's a thought. If the motor dies someday, I will probably make it a track car and pour even more $$ into a worthless car ;-)

As for telling the story, I just wanted to put it out there as a cautionary tale, and also poke fun at my own silliness. I know 911s but I broke all the rules on this purchase. Like others said, early cars are hot and by the time you call to schedule a PPI, someone else has bought it sight unseen from under your nose. At that price I thought I was the smart one ;-) Lesson learned !

The way it is now, it's a fun driver and should it dissappear or burn to the ground, I might get 75% of my money thru agreed value on the classic insurance ;-) It is a T with S options on the Vin by the way.. Who knows, S are so stratospherically expensive nowadays, maybe someone will need to purchase my "nose" someday, it's a real S nose and real S calipers ;-)

Can anybody comment on the level of confidence in "the weld" ? The shop guys told me it was not a problem at all, the welds having been staggered (long on the longitudinals, short on the pans, long on the tunnel, etc..) and being pretty strong and rust free... It keep imagining the car breaking in 2 titanic style ona pothole, but truth be told it's probably a lot stronger than my 356 !!!

[Aircool]

Greg- All I can do is offer my condolences and suggest you try to enjoy the car. I had a similar bad experience. My father spotted a beat up 911 across the street from where he worked in 1983. He decided that it would be a good car for us to restore. The owner offered to sell it at a "generous" price. I was 18, just out of high school and was in love after driving it. Your first 911 driving experience. I still remember the sensations and sounds. Hooked? Yes!! The project wrapped up six years and $12,000 later. Worse yet is that it was only a "T". (Yes, I can say that because I own one now.) What kind if "S" could you get for that price in 1989? We got in to it and found rust on top of rust covered with more rust including the inner body. It got to the point of no return and we continued the project despite the cost. We had no idea what we were getting into and should have ran but didn't know any better at the time. I have my own 911 now and look at this only as a learning experience. I still love the cars despite the rocky start.

I understand the desire to beat the next guy to it, but now vow never to buy a car sight unseen. A few years back, I flew to Minnesota on a one way ticket to look at a car that had original paint per the owner. I questioned him three separate times between the phone and email regarding the paint being all original. The answer was consistently, yes the paint is original. When I got there I found that the right front fender had been replaced and the paint on the left rear quarter was in very poor condition. I guess I should have asked if the ENTIRE car was original paint. Also, a little dark spot on one of the rockers I saw in one of the photos turned out to be rust despite the owner swearing the car was rust free. I almost cancelled because of that spot but didn't after talking to him. The deal fell through and I decided to rent a car and drove home 12 hours. Luckily my wife decided to accompany me on the trip at the last minute and we actually had a good time. I am sure my $1,000 spent on the trip would have gone a long way towards a nice cruise but what can you do. After all of that, I found my car in a local paper not 20 minutes from home. Go figure. I applaud you for disclosing your trials to the 911 community and not trying to unload the car on some unsuspecting, uninformed individual. Keep the faith and enjoy.

-Steve

[Aircool]

Oh yea, the brother in law thing. Mine just rammed his plow into my garage door while plowing my driveway. Never said a word to me. Nice! Also, he borrowed my 911 once and broke the interior door handle. Granted it is pretty cheap plastic not worthy of these cars.