Welcome to Project Car Hell, where you choose your eternity by selecting the project that's the coolest... and the most hellish! Since I've become the Weekend Editor, I've had to cut back on PCH posts.
That means that we need truly hellish contestants in Project Car Hell now, the concentrated essence of Garage Nightmare. Thanks to our ever-vigilant readers, I think that's what we're getting today. What kind of jerk wouldn't want a Lotus or a Porsche 911, especially when either project can be had for next to nothing? Exactly.
Even those who can't stand 911 owners will usually admit- reluctantly- that the car earned its iconic status for some pretty good reasons. Most of us would have a damn good time with an early 911 to hoon around, but those damn Porsche fanatics have pushed the prices well beyond reason. Sometimes, though, someone wimps out up on a totally easy project 911 and puts it up for sale at the kind of price you might pay for a 15-year-old Corolla. Such is the case with this 1972 911 Targa, which sports an asking price of just $2,500. What's the catch, you ask? No catch! All you need to do is provide your own engine, transaxle, glass, fenders, bumpers, wheels, and probably a thousand few other bits and you'll have a fine daily driver you can take to the track on weekends. As PCH tipsterMurph says: "Everybody wants a long nose, prices are through the roof, even in today's market. Take this puppy to California, clean it up a little ( a sawzall will help), pick up some of those pesky mechanical parts and join the vaulted ranks of the R Gruppe!"
That project would be a one-way ticket to Crazy Town lots of fun, granted, but how could you take on a German Hell Project and still hold your head high while other masochists ambitious restorers wake up each morning knowing they've got De Tomaso Longchamp and Simca Chambord hair shirts projects to tackle? That's right, you'd better get yourself a vehicle from one of the three Project Car Hell Überpowers: France, Italy, or Britain! With that in mind, you're sure to appreciate the prospect of not one but two Malaise Era Lotus projects, available in a staggeringly frightening appealing 2-fer-1 deal for the same price as the 911! Yessiree, this combo deal of 1976 and 1980 Lotus Eclats will enable you to look those Longchamp owners right in the eye and dare them to match your taste for self-inflicted pain ambition! The '76 has just 12,000 miles on it, so how bad could it be? Thanks to Dale for the tip!