YOUR FIRST PORSCHE RESTORATION
As attractive as a boxfresh older Porsche is, not everyone wants to pay for a car restored or recommissioned by someone else’s hand. Indeed, there are many marque enthusiasts who relish the opportunity to take on a Porsche that’s a little (or a lot) rough around the edges and restore it to former glory, whether the doer upper in question takes the form of a rolling restoration or bare metal rebuild. These are the Porsche fans who enjoy the restoration process, buying downat-heel cars and spending every spare moment (and, usually, far more money than initially anticipated) bringing them up to a show-worthy standard. As rewarding as all of this sounds, there are serious considerations you need to be aware of if you’re tempted to join this happy clan of Porsche-obsessed worker bees.
It’s important for us to state there’s no reason why even an inexperienced first timer can’t consider taking on a full-scale restoration project, although it’s easy to lose sight of reality and get carried away with the romance of it all. Picture the scene: winter evenings spent tinkering with spanners as a rusted hulk of Porsche gradually gets transformed into a gleaming winner of silverware, all in the comfort of a centrally heated garage stocked with the finest tools and all the spare parts you could wish for. Bliss.
Sadly, life isn’t like that. You’re far more likely to spend evenings lying flat on your back on a freezing slab of concrete, your fingers numb, your toolkit inadequate and your language foul enough to shock a shipbuilder as you curse the day you ever bought the rotten box of bits causing you grief.
Whether you’re a restoration virgin or an old hand at rebuilds, it’s vital you choose a project within your capabilities. Porsche owners who either can’t afford or prefer notthe idea of restoration through rosetinted spectacles.
