GT Clone/Look 914 - which model to start with - 914 or /6? Options

[mharmon]

The collection knowledge on this board is pretty impressive - so here's the question - I know that I want to build a GT clone car. It doesn't need to be a dead on replica of a real GT (I simply don't have the budget for it), but I want it to be reasonably close. The car will almost certainly have a 2.5L twin plug motor, but past that I am still putting together the list of things that I definetly want and the nice to have's (if I can find them at a reasonable price).

The first big question that I need to answer though is what base car to start with - a 914 or a 914/6? Granted, modifying a 6 is not something that one would do lightly - the car is just too cool and too rare to simply start hacking away. But if I were to find a non-operable car, would all of the 6 parts that would come with it justify the incremental cost? Just looking at the cost of real 6 heat exchangers, oil systems, brakes, suspension, etc, it almost seems to me that buying a 6 and starting the project from there is the way to go.

What do you guys think?

Thanks for your advice.

Mike

[jgara962]

But he stated from the beginning that he's not looking to do an exact replica - just something that looks close.

I would start with a 4. If your going to sink a bunch of money into a 6, your better off returning it to stock to retain any value.

[SirAndy]

If your going to sink a bunch of money into a 6, your better off returning it to stock to retain any value.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

First off, why would you "lose" money if you turned a /6 into a /6 GT?
The only time people pay top $$$ for a /6 is if it is a all original, low mileage, exceptionally preserved car. How many of those are still out there?

I venture to guess that if i rebuild my original /6 into a GT clone i could sell it for just as much $$$ as if i did a stock rebuild.

Secondly, a lot of real /6 were build into GTs, m471s and GT inspired race cars in the '70s. Some by the factory, many more by individuals.
I don't believe that you need any sort of racing pedigree to build a nice GT. Why does it matter if you converted your /6 to a GT in 1970 or in 2010? The process is still pretty much the same and some of the parts used today are probably better than the parts that were used 40 years ago.

Case in point, there's a nice replica of the Jagermeister GT here in the bay area. Despite a few nagging "mistakes" made by the builder, it's a very nice car.
Build on a '74 /4 chassis.
Now if that one was build on a real /6 chassis, i'd be all over it.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) Andy

[jgara962]

If your going to sink a bunch of money into a 6, your better off returning it to stock to retain any value.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

First off, why would you "lose" money if you turned a /6 into a /6 GT?
The only time people pay top $$$ for a /6 is if it is a all original, low mileage, exceptionally preserved car. How many of those are still out there?

I venture to guess that if i rebuild my original /6 into a GT clone i could sell it for just as much $$$ as if i did a stock rebuild.

Secondly, a lot of real /6 were build into GTs, m471s and GT inspired race cars in the '70s. Some by the factory, many more by individuals.
I don't believe that you need any sort of racing pedigree to build a nice GT. Why does it matter if you converted your /6 to a GT in 1970 or in 2010? The process is still pretty much the same and some of the parts used today are probably better than the parts that were used 40 years ago.

Case in point, there's a nice replica of the Jagermeister GT here in the bay area. Despite a few nagging "mistakes" made by the builder, it's a very nice car.
Build on a '74 /4 chassis.
Now if that one was build on a real /6 chassis, i'd be all over it.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) Andy

I guess it all depends on what you start with. If your project car is a disaster, then your going to spend a lot of money no matter if you bring it back to show condition or make it a GT replica. If you start with something halfway decent, why spend the extra money to put flares on, get new wheels, interior, etc. You see it all the time at auctione like BJ where a bone stock car commands more as it was originally built than ones that are turned into tribute cars or clones.

[SirAndy]

You see it all the time at auctione like BJ where a bone stock car commands more as it was originally built than ones that are turned into tribute cars or clones.

I didn't think his intention was to flip his car for a profit.

But even then, if you need to restore the 914/6, it'll never command top dollars.
All the ones i have seen that went for over $30k were low mileage, original cars.
I don't think any restored /6 will sell in that range for quite a few years to come.

Given the choice between a nicely restored stock /6 and a nicely restored GT replica /6 i just don't think the stock car would fetch significantly more.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/stirthepot.gif) Andy

[jgara962]

You see it all the time at auctione like BJ where a bone stock car commands more as it was originally built than ones that are turned into tribute cars or clones.

I didn't think his intention was to flip his car for a profit.

But even then, if you need to restore the 914/6, it'll never command top dollars.
All the ones i have seen that went for over $30k were low mileage, original cars.
I don't think any restored /6 will sell in that range for quite a few years to come.

Given the choice between a nicely restored stock /6 and a nicely restored GT replica /6 i just don't think the stock car would fetch significantly more.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/stirthepot.gif) Andy

If you took a /4 and a /6 and built them to into a GT clone of the exact same level, would the /6 command significantly more money if sold? Would the difference even cover the initial outlay of the car? I don't know the answer. I do know that a /4 and /6 chassis built to the same level would both drive the same on the road and what it's VIN is wouldn't make a difference. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[RiqueMar]

I think we can all agree that the true question here is, "How important are those first three numbers to you?"