The paperwork isn't worth anything. It's 17 years old, so, just because something is listed in the paperwork doesn't mean it's still there. If you're going to pay matching numbers prices, you better lay hands on everything that has a number on it and confirm that the seller still has it, and the numbers actually match.
If the engine was rebuilt 17 years ago and it's been sitting like shown in the picture the whole time, you'd better assume it will need another full rebuild unless you can prove otherwise.
You can't assume you have all the parts. If it's not on the car and it's hard to find or worth a lot, you'd better lay hands on it. And assume anything not on the car currently isn't there for a reason- ie, it's broken, doesn't work, or at the very least needs to be restored still. And that assumes it's going to come in the pile of boxes you get, which is a big assumption. You will be missing parts getting the car in that condition. Probably missing a lot of parts. And just because you get the parts doesn't mean they won't still need a lot of work.
Cars like the one you show are very difficult to put a price on and very risky if you're trying to stay in a budget for whatever reason. Some of the work has been done, so you have to confirm if that work was done right and that it doesn't need to be done again (like rebuilding the engine). You are absolutely missing parts, and even just small parts can nickel and dime you to death on a full restoration. The cost to finish that car, even though work has already been done, could actually be HIGHER than if you were starting from scratch if you have to redo work that's already been done or are missing important parts. Or, it could be a steal. You get it for a good price and the work already done is good, you get most of the hard to find parts, and voila, you start ahead.
But it can be hard to tell one from the other. You have to really inspect the hell out of the car, make sure the work has been done well. The doors are on that car so that's good, but if the gaps aren't set (and they probably aren't) you may find out later that the quarters aren't aligned right, and that's a nightmare. Full notchback quarters aren't available and haven't been for awhile, so unless they had a donor it was just a skin replacement. Even if you sort through EVERYTHING very thoroughly, you will still be missing stuff. So make a list of hard to find Formula S parts and make sure those are all there. You won't be able to lay hands on every part, so make sure the expensive and hard to find stuff is there.
Cars in the condition of the one you show are very risky. There is a lot of potential to save money, but there are a lot of ways to lose a ton too.
