She was the first car I restored when I got back into Porsches a number of years ago.

And “restored” isn’t the right word. Because I haven’t finished the project. I found the 1972 914 for sale online. After speaking to the owner, it was clear that the car was a nice deal. He had worked through many of the challenges in getting the little silver two-seater back on the road, including having rebuilt the engine. But, over the years, the project stalled when, for some reason which he couldn’t figure out, he couldn’t get the engine running.

Within a couple days of speaking to the owner, I jumped in the family minivan and made the 700 mile trip to Miami where the car was located. I didn’t want to lose the deal. When I got there I found what would become known in my family as “Roxanne.”

The car had been repainted in the original silver color, and had a newly built 1911cc engine, complete with a cam and carbs. The previous owner had also converted the car to a side-shift transmission, a welcome upgrade for this era of 914. I bought the car on the spot paying $6,000, rented a car dolly, and towed it back to Charlotte with minivan.

At the time I was planning to put fuel injection back in the car, and thought that the cam might be too much for that system. So I decided to sell the engine. Before taking it out the car, however, I really wanted to get it running. Not really knowing where to start, the first thing I checked was the distributer. What I found astounded my untrained eye. The rotor in the distributor was not in correctly. I immediately twisted it, and it snapped into place. The engine fired right up. I was amazed. After driving the little 914 around the block, I dropped it out of the car and placed it for sale, regaining over half what I paid for the whole car.

While the previous owner had the car, after the engine rebuild, a motorcycle had been dropped on the door denting it. There were also other minor scrapes and dents, as well. I decided to repaint the 914. I spent a few months disassembling the car and sanding the paint to bare metal. I also wire-wheeled the floor pans and trunks, and repainted those. What started as a 3 month “fast clean up,” ended up taking two years. And by that point I began to loose interest in it. I know it sounds odd, but, I just could never get excited about a silver 914.

Over the course of those years, the car served as the project car for Fourteener Motoring Magazine, and was rebuilt with only the best parts. The seats were redone in original tartan cloth. All of the chrome was replaced with factory pieces. Although an amateur, my restoration was nice. I was proud of the car, even though I never really finished it.

About a year ago I decided to register the 914 for the Werks Reunion event. Once it was accepted, the show, which was about 3 month s away, served as a “deadline” to finish putting it together. All that had to be done was install new rubber, work through the brakes, and button up some loose ends. Certainly I could accomplish that in three months, right? Wrong.

The show came, and the car wasn’t finished. The show went.

The car once again got pushed to the side of the garage and sat. Until last month. I casually came across someone looking for a clean, rust-free 914 about an hour away from where I am. Maybe it was time to pass the car onto a new owner, I thought. I called the gentlemen, and after a brief conversation, it was clear that the car was exactly what he was looking for. I gave him a price that was fair, but included a nice profit for my efforts. Most of that profit was a result of having sold the engine that came in the car when I bought it. The deal was done.

It is a bittersweet circumstance. I am sure what my next Porsche adventure will be. But, I know it is time to move past the 5-year project known as “Roxanne.” Her new owner comes to pick her up Saturday.