Project Car Possibility (learn me 914)

Yesterday, one of my co-workers approached me and mentioned that an acquaintance from church had an old project 914 that he was looking to unload. I have been kinda-sorta wanting a project car to play with. I have the Miata, which is great for driving and light wrenching. It's in good shape and I'm not planning any major projects on it. Having a serious project would be fun for me and teach me about undertaking a long-term restoration. The 914 has never really been on my radar, but the number that was bandied about was $500 for the whole thing.

The car is a 1971 with a 4-cyl (1.7L if original). The owner stripped and primed the car back in 1980, then stored the thing. He never got around to finishing the restoration, and I guess he is thinking it needs to move on. He has numerous spares (allegedly "almost a second car except for the engine"). I haven't seen it yet, but he reports surface rust in "the normal places" and the engine turns freely.

I'm thinking that even if the thing turns out to be a complete disaster, I could at least get out of it and break even. The engine seems pretty straightforward, it's basically a VW Beetle engine, right? What should I look for? What questions should I ask? The main problem on these seems to be rust, anything alarming in the pics below? I have no illusions that this is going to be some "investment," the best 914-4 in the world seems to be worth about $10k. And most decent examples are $4-6k.

The wife has bought in, as long as the spending doesn't get out of control. Looking around on Pelican, it seems like stuff like window seals aren't absurdly expensive. Some items have limited availability, so that might be an impediment.

So, should I do this??

Heck Yeah ! (Disclaimer: I know NOTHING about Pcars, but I've always wanted a 914.)

for $500.00 that is a no brainer i think...ypu could recover your money selling the parts

Well, it can't get much worse at least. I'd get a look at the spares though as there is a LOT of little things missing that are going to nickel & dime you to death.

The second most expensive thing one earth...is a cheap Porsche. The most expensive thing on Earth is a free Europa...

slefain wrote: Well, it can't get much worse at least. I'd get a look at the spares though as there is a LOT of little things missing that are going to nickel & dime you to death. The second most expensive thing one earth...is a cheap Porsche. The most expensive thing on Earth is a free Europa...

I get the impression he's got all those stored in boxes, but who knows.

I sure do love cheap stuff, but I realize the truth of your comment!

I'm beginning to see more expensive 914-4s - I think really good ones are now creeping over $10k...

Anyway, the biggest problem with these, as you mentioned, is rust, and not necessarily the rust you see at first glance. If it's this rust already on the outside I'm beginning to wonder what the really endangered areas like the area around the battery tray look like.

I think the other important question is - how good are your bodywork skills? Can you weld? If you have to pay someone to fix the bodywork on this car, run away, that's going to cost a ton of money. I'm also not sure that it's a good car to start learning bodywork on as the body is pretty complex but you gotta start with something.

BoxheadTim wrote: I'm beginning to see more expensive 914-4s - I think really good ones are now creeping over $10k... Anyway, the biggest problem with these, as you mentioned, is rust, and not necessarily the rust you see at first glance. If it's this rust already on the outside I'm beginning to wonder what the really endangered areas like the area around the battery tray look like. I think the other important question is - how good are your bodywork skills? Can you weld? If you have to pay someone to fix the bodywork on this car, run away, that's going to cost a ton of money. I'm also not sure that it's a good car to start learning bodywork on as the body is pretty complex but you gotta start with something.

Yeah. I would take a hard look at the battery tray area and think about how much you like welding.

maybe i am going blind but the door sills look solid the floor pan looks solid, the dash is amazing and the seats look good plus the wheel lips look perfect like no work has ever been done to them....it looks like surface rust to me like he started to sand and walked away....these cars will do nothing but go uo in value. people are saving a lot worse

No welding skills at the moment. We have some serious pros at work, and I'd love to learn. Nothing teaches like need

Flares make everything better. You can bolt dang near any engine made in the last 50 years in with a Kennedy adapter. Renegade motorsports makes kits to put sbc ls or subie engines in them.

Between the dash, seats and windshield you could recoup $500 if not more. The worry spots are the longitudinal rails and the hell hole below the battery tray.

I'd spy how much in the spares collection. You might be able to sell the spares to get down to a $0 investment.

I had a '71 1.7. Mine was a REAL early car, those had the passenger 'seat back' made into the big closeout panel. The one in the pics appears to have a separate passenger seat making it a little bit later car.

The cars are absurdly simple, as mentioned the motor is basically a VW but a Type IV, not a Bug. Still a LOT of aftermarket available dirt cheap. The electrics are primitive even by 1970's standards, they border on caveman.

The big problems on a 914 are: rust below the battery box due to battery leaks. This is where Porsche chose to mount the ECU for the fuel injection also which should tell you just how bright Germans really are. If there's rust there, the right rear control arm mount can break loose, leading to all kinds of excitement.

The same thing will lead to rust of the right side rocker. If you look just below the rear of the door and see a crack, the rocker's weak and probably rusted. Another way to tell: bring a big buddy (200 lbs or better), put him in the passenger seat then try to open the door. If it works OK before he gets in then sticks when he's in the seat, the rocker on that side is weak. There's 'clamshells' available to reinforce that area.

If the rear glass leaks the rear of the floorpan will rust right where the 'kick up' starts. You need to remove the trim panel to check this.

There are two different 914 transaxles (called 901's in Porsche-speak), the 'rear shift' and 'side shift'. The 'rear shift' has a rod which runs all the way down the transmission to a funky looking fork arrangement at the very rear of the transmission, the 'side shift' rod ends in a plastic cover about 2/3 of the way down the left (driver) side of the transaxle. The rear shift mechanism is trouble prone, a lot have been converted to the side shift version. The side shift version still sucks to shift though. (ducks rain of bottles and bricks from Porschephiles)

Still, $500 sounds like a pretty damn good deal based on the pics.

Curmudgeon wrote: I had a '71 1.7. Mine was a REAL early car, those had the passenger 'seat back' made into the big closeout panel. The one in the pics appears to have a separate passenger seat making it a little bit later car. The cars are absurdly simple, as mentioned the motor is basically a VW but a Type IV, not a Bug. Still a LOT of aftermarket available dirt cheap. The electrics are primitive even by 1970's standards, they border on caveman. The big problems on a 914 are: rust below the battery box due to battery leaks. This is where Porsche chose to mount the ECU for the fuel injection also which should tell you just how bright Germans really are. If there's rust there, the right rear control arm mount can break loose, leading to all kinds of excitement. The same thing will lead to rust of the right side rocker. If you look just below the rear of the door and see a crack, the rocker's weak and probably rusted. Another way to tell: bring a big buddy (200 lbs or better), put him in the passenger seat then try to open the door. If it works OK before he gets in then sticks when he's in the seat, the rocker on that side is weak. There's 'clamshells' available to reinforce that area. If the rear glass leaks the rear of the floorpan will rust right where the 'kick up' starts. You need to remove the trim panel to check this. There are two different 914 transaxles (called 901's in Porsche-speak), the 'rear shift' and 'side shift'. The 'rear shift' has a rod which runs all the way down the transmission to a funky looking fork arrangement at the very rear of the transmission, the 'side shift' rod ends in a plastic cover about 2/3 of the way down the left (driver) side of the transaxle. The rear shift mechanism is trouble prone, a lot have been converted to the side shift version. The side shift version still sucks to shift though. (ducks rain of bottles and bricks from Porschephiles) Still, $500 sounds like a pretty damn good deal based on the pics.

And here is why I love the GRM forum. Thanks for all the detailed info!

Which trim panel would I need to remove to check for rust? I think any rust under the battery would be somewhat obvious, given how far disassembled the car is.

The Miata has spoiled me: are there any ways to make the shifter a bit better in the 914? My level of spoiled-ness is such that I routinely get into other peoples' cars and stall after starting because the shifter slop in gear is about as much as the Miata has in neutral.

I'm the eternal pessimist. I think the guy should pay you $500 to take it off his hands.

I'd pay $500 for that in a heartbeat.

Recover your purchase price with the engine/trans.....and I'll sell you a SHO drivetrain to put in the back for cheap. yes it will fit, and be one hell of a challenge car.

If you can get back to 0 with sell offs Kennedy adapter + new clutch + jdm Subaru turbo + microsquirt could be a hell of a challenge car

icaneat50eggs wrote: If you can get back to 0 with sell offs Kennedy adapter + new clutch + jdm Subaru turbo + microsquirt could be a hell of a challenge car

Mmmm, Porschearu! 250hp in a 950kg car would be max fun.

yamaha wrote: Recover your purchase price with the engine/trans.....and I'll sell you a SHO drivetrain to put in the back for cheap. yes it will fit, and be one hell of a challenge car.

Do this! geez, thats like 2-3 times the power!

You have a complete 914 you should just try to get it running and keep it stock...these cars are getting hard to find and they are fun to drive if you keep in mind that it was built in 1971

cutter67 wrote: You have a complete 914 you should just try to get it running and keep it stock...these cars are getting hard to find and they are fun to drive if you keep in mind that it was built in 1971

BLASPHEMY

icaneat50eggs wrote:

cutter67 wrote: You have a complete 914 you should just try to get it running and keep it stock...these cars are getting hard to find and they are fun to drive if you keep in mind that it was built in 1971

BLASPHEMY

What he said.

Put a rotary in it.

I'm with cutter ... leave it Porsche, find a 3.2 and put it back there

Pretty sure the engine alone is worth $500 to somebody wanting to shove it in the back of a bug.