I'm speechless.

$125K. That should keep this car where it belongs, but no guarantees. It's special.

Mike - Those are 911 Fuchs (5 bolt).  The 914 2L Fuchs are only 4 bolt.

I followed your restoration - exceptional car.

@WOLFGANG posted:

Mike - Those are 911 Fuchs (5 bolt).  The 914 2L Fuchs are only 4 bolt.

I followed your restoration - exceptional car.

You're aware, of course, that 914s also came in a 6-cyl variety that had 5 lug wheels, right?

I certainly can understand where you're coming from, Michael, but I hope you hang on a bit longer.  I won't claim to understand the replica market, but I would think somewhere in the (broad) range of $50k-$75k.  It really is an exceptional car.

$65k

@Stan Galat posted:

You're aware, of course, that 914s also came in a 6-cyl variety that had 5 lug wheels, rich?

@WOLFGANG

I have no idea if it was a factory option, nor how many, but I'm quite sure there had to have been at least one 5 lug Fuchs-equipped 912 sold. Most had steel wheels but you know any option could end up in any car.

HOW IN THE HELL, COULD YOU POSSIBLY, ACCRUE 12,000 MILES, IN TWO YEARS, ON A FRIGGIN ISLAND, 48 MILES LONG AND HALF AS MANY WIDE???????

ARE YOU FROM CRANSTON, OR WHAT?????  😉

Yeah, I know.....   It's the Journey, not the destination.....  For me, too, I suppose.  

I hope it stays on the islands.  Not necessarily on YOUR island, but in the chain, for sure.  Hate to see that Fuel Injection and Air Conditioning go to waste here in un-needed New England or sumthin'.  YOU can find sumthin else to take up your time.

I once had Susan Cowsill, over in Middletown, offer me an extravagant amount for Pearl, which I turned down.  She turned around and bought a new Vintage through her manager and she loved it (still does) but Whadda-she know?  She's from Middletown! (but lives in New Orleans).

Gút Luck Wit Da sale, Mike!

OH.....   And I heard that 912s shipped with 4-lug Fuchs.  All of 'em.

914-6 shipped with 5-lug Fuchs.   The 4-cylinder 914 had 4 lug hubs, AFAIK, because it was a Volkswagen, after all.

912s had 4-lug wheels?

That I never saw...or never noticed. The ones I've seen all had 10-hole and/or 5-lug wheels.

@Gordon Nichols wrote- "HOW IN THE HELL, COULD YOU POSSIBLY, ACCRUE 12,000 MILES, IN TWO YEARS, ON A FRIGGIN ISLAND, 48 MILES LONG AND HALF AS MANY WIDE???????"

You know, Gordon, when I read Mike's post I was thinking the same thing but you've put it so much more eloquently...

@Gordon Nichols posted:

HOW IN THE HELL, COULD YOU POSSIBLY, ACCRUE 12,000 MILES, IN TWO YEARS, ON A FRIGGIN ISLAND, 48 MILES LONG AND HALF AS MANY WIDE???????

ARE YOU FROM CRANSTON, OR WHAT?????  😉

Nope, not from Craaaaanstin. We just cruised a lot and it was my daily driver even during the cold (82F), dark (rains 5-6 time/year), days of winter. It gave me plenty of opportunities to tune it for morning temperatures as low as 62F

So price data points so far: $125k (throw out as an outlier), $50k-$75k (avg $62.5K), $65K (from a guy who can't let his perfect Spyder go). I'ma guessing those estimates are pretty optimistic for the real world. People out here need to have money left over to buy coconuts (although one of the guys looking at the speedster at Cars and Coffee this morning had a McLaren AND a Porsche RS3).

.

Oh, Mike.

Just, oh.

I had a 2002 that I kept for 23 years until it made absolutely no sense to keep any longer. I sold it, rust-free, in 1999, for $1500.

I had a first gen Miata that I kept for 15 years and sold in like-new, all original shape, still factory shiny, with 50,000 miles, for $5700.

As time passes, I regret more each day letting either go.

Those dollars are like pennies now.

And those were store-bought cars that I had no hand in building.

Mike, put the car up on blocks for a year. Don't be tempted to drive it. Don't even make vroom-vroom sounds when you walk past it. Don't peek under the plastic tarp.

If you can still bring yourself to sell it then, take that as a sign that it was meant to be.

Life don't come with no rewind button.

.

^^^^ THAT!!!! ^^^^

Marianne says she'd still like to have her Audi A4 cabriolet and her Porsche 993 cab, but life goes on. I do admit that it's hard to let something go that has been such a personal quest for so long, but, I gave up the supercharged miata, the Porsche 911 turbo, the Ford Exploder, the '58 DKW, and the Renault Caravelle. I'll still be able to walk to the beach, watch whales, go to summit of the the largest DORMANT volcano in the world, make my grandkids laugh and find mischief into which to get.

I may even have time to hang out with you reprobates...

14" 5 bolt Fuchs were used on the rare 914-6, early 912s (optional), and the 1 year 1976 912E.  All were 5 bolt though.  Guess distinction should be made 914-6 vs 914-4 even though so few 914-6 were made.

@WOLFGANG posted:

14" 5 bolt Fuchs were used on the rare 914-6, early 912s (optional), and the 1 year 1976 912E.  All were 5 bolt though.  Guess distinction should be made 914-6 vs 914-4 even though so few 914-6 were made.

I think the odds are better that my Fuchs were just regular 911 Fuchs rather than the rare 914-6 variety.

Having the IM pedigree and having resto'd it, considering the few minor faults you mentioned and location I'll questimate' in the $50's and if it doesn't sell well, drive and it will appreciate over time.

Mike: what Stan said.  He always says it so well.

@El Frazoo posted:

Mike: what Stan said.  He always says it so well.

As Steve Martin so eloquently said "Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way."

Calvin and Hobbes RULES!!!

I think this entire thread should be erased just so I can pretend I didn't read what I read.

The car is not sold yet, nor even REALLY for sale, which means there is time to reconsider. Once sold, the damage is done. A bell cannot be unrung.

I've never met somebody who truly loved their car and poured themselves into it, who sometime after selling did not deeply regret the decision. This isn't "some" or even "most" people -- this is ALL of them.

I've composed no less than 3 lengthy replies to try to convince Mike to take a deep breath and count to 100, or 100,000. But I'm afraid he's not going to listen to any of us. The man has his own mind and the blind will to see it through. I'm familiar with that -- it's a great aid in accomplishing things, and a huge disadvantage when I'm headed in the wrong direction.

I'll never understand how trading the best thing any of us will ever own for money none of us will ever spend on something better is wise to anybody but an accountant. I've made the choice to continue working so I can continue playing, so maybe I'm the odd guy out.

I just hope it's not too late to stop before the bell is rung.

Here, here, Stan. I cannot agree more.

.

I keep thinking of the guys who come running up to the car at gas stations and in parking lots.

They're genuinely excited, but they all have that same sad look in their eyes.

They're never the ones who ask what year it is. They already know.

They're always over fifty. They all have a story. They remember when.

And when we've had a little chat, when I've told them my story and they've told me theirs, they always say the same thing as they walk away.

"This must be so much fun."

.

I've thought often about selling our Speedster over the last few years. A bad back, some other health stuff, limited driving season ( too hot, too cold, too wet, unpredictable weather here in the Florida Panhandle for our increasing desire for comfort) have contributed to the idea.

However, I haven't been able to pull the trigger. I continue to tweak the car here and there, and personalize it without regard to anyone else's taste, just creating my own outlaw.

Perhaps the infrequency of driving it, coupled with the fun when I do, keeps the "For Sale" sign off the windshield.

I enjoy our other vehicles, each being different, and for their own sake. I could easily sell at least three of them and not miss them, but the Speedster, and to a lesser degree the Cayman, would be really difficult.

Must be the result of some genetic defect.

@Panhandle Bob posted:

Must be the result of some genetic defect.

That's for 100% SURE!

@ALB posted:

@Gordon Nichols wrote- "HOW IN THE HELL, COULD YOU POSSIBLY, ACCRUE 12,000 MILES, IN TWO YEARS, ON A FRIGGIN ISLAND, 48 MILES LONG AND HALF AS MANY WIDE???????"

You know, Gordon, when I read Mike's post I was thinking the same thing but you've put it so much more eloquently...

Daddy go round in circles.... all the time... but he goes around, that is how

Mike I posted the CANADIAN car to show just how the market is crazy ...I am fully stunned at what they go for and they sill need repairs.

You have a fully restored car that has been driven but most of the cars sold are in need of a full restoration but no one acknowledges it.  35 year old seats need restoration etc etc.

So my advice is start a spreadsheet of all the costs and mods and the cost to get a car to Island across the ocean.  Look at what they are selling for and add a proportion for upgrades that those cars need.  Then start high ish... coming down is easy.

P.S> Canvas rip, get someone to Darn it easy fix,

P.P>S.  THe other I thought....  my car might sell for $150K C... low mileage mint...

I wonder what Carey thinks it would cost toda to build a ConvD or a cabriolet ???

I too, once in a while, think of selling my IM6.  I'm not sure why, really, as it's a blast to drive, and there aren't many around like it.  Maybe I'm projecting too far into the future, and figure I should sell it while the going is good, as they say.

I have a buyer waiting who would give it the personal care it needs, but so far, I haven't been able to part with it.  And, with winter here, it's not the time of year to be pondering whether or not it's a car I should keep.

We northerners do more thinking than driving in winter, and that can be dangerous.

@Bob: IM S6 posted:

I too, once in a while, think of selling my IM6.  I'm not sure why, really, as it's a blast to drive, and there aren't many around like it.  Maybe I'm projecting too far into the future, and figure I should sell it while the going is good, as they say.

I have a buyer waiting who would give it the personal care it needs, but so far, I haven't been able to part with it.  And, with winter here, it's not the time of year to be pondering whether or not it's a car I should keep.

We northerners do more thinking than driving in winter, and that can be dangerous.

I hear you Bob, it would be extremely hard to find something else that you or I would enjoy to drive, not to mention that the cost of ownership is low at this point especially for me with a subie engine.  Just saying.

@Bob: IM S6 posted:

We northerners do more thinking than driving in winter, and that can be dangerous.

Don’t overthink it. You give every appearance of being a vibrant man. I wish everybody would stop looking at these things as piles of money sitting in the garage. None of us should have gotten into the game looking for a ROA. Besides, unless you’re experiencing a hardship I don’t know about, I’d ask you what could you possibly do with the money that would equal what you already have?

I’m pretty sure the executor of my will can handle liquidating my assets.

I agree, Stan. Once you start thinking about these cars as piles of money it removes one of the main reason for having them. Most of us didn't get into this hobby because we wanted to worry about driving our cars.

Just like I would never want to own a real 356, I wouldn't want a replica that was too precious to drive every day. Fortunately, mine has never fallen into that category, although the estimates thrown around above might make me a little more careful.

I’ve reconsidered my price, Mike.

$250,000.

@Stan Galat posted:

I’ve reconsidered my price, Mike.

$250,000.

Curses, now I'll never drive it!

@Stan Galat posted:

Don’t overthink it. You give every appearance of being a vibrant man. I wish everybody would stop looking at these things as piles of money sitting in the garage. None of us should have gotten into the game looking for a ROA. Besides, unless you’re experiencing a hardship I don’t know about, I’d ask you what could you possibly do with the money that would equal what you already have?

I’m pretty sure the executor of my will can handle liquidating my assets.

As always Stan you bring some sanity to discussions for us to unlock our brain from our fixation.   Thanks for being on this list. … you get a free membership for being an influencer.

All I can do is follow is in his shadow; what @Stan Galat said.

Really it ain't (or at least shouldn't be) all about the money.  Unless you are Carey Hines, in which case you will be given some leeway to think about all of this for the money.

I don’t know you, except through our interactions here, but…

From seeing your enthusiasm, and attention to detail on your custom project, I think it would be a huge loss for you to give up your hobby. Unless you realllllly need the money, don’t sell. Selling would leave a hole in your life — to not to have it to think about and toy with. Even if you use it only rarely, it’s a part of you now.

The a/c installation is great. Who did the installation, and do you have engine pics w/ a/c please?