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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ Should I buy it?

Posted by: Bucket Jun 26 2005, 12:36 AM

I have found a 914 for sale in the area. So I called the guy.

Rust. The car has a hole below the battery about the size of a golf ball, But the rust was repaird. The hole was not patched. The car has had an under coat sprayed on it. The paint is newer dont now how old yet.

Motor 2.0 . The motor has had the top end rebuilt. The head has been ported and polished. It has a set of webber 44s, but they need to be rejeted. What damage would be done to the motor besides runnig hot if I dont get the carbs rejeted? How much should I spend on getting it rejeted? How reliable is this set up?

Some pics. I hope they work. http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/toy4runner1989/album?.dir=5dcf

This is what it comes down to. To get the car I have to sell my reliable toyota 4runner. I have put a lot of money in to my truck. Right now I'm a student, but Im whith in bike distence from school ( I could loss a few pounds too). But it gets up to around 120 in the Phoenix area. I also live in an apartment so I don't have a place to work on it. I could do small things to the car. They have small garages at my apatments. How much do you spend on maintenance?

I now every car is diffrent. I now alot has to do with the previous owners. The guy wants $3,000 do you thinck its worth the risk?

Thanks

Posted by: nebreitling Jun 26 2005, 01:00 AM

howdy! welcome aboard!

since you'd have to sell your truck to buy the 914, i assume you don't have any money. no money + no place to work on your car = probably not the right time to sell your reliable truck and buy a 914. just my opinion, though...

wait till you can afford to buy a 914 and hang onto your truck. then you'll be rock'n

Posted by: jasons Jun 26 2005, 08:02 AM

QUOTE (nebreitling @ Jun 25 2005, 11:00 PM)
howdy! welcome aboard!

since you'd have to sell your truck to buy the 914, i assume you don't have any money. no money + no place to work on your car = probably not the right time to sell your reliable truck and buy a 914. just my opinion, though...

wait till you can afford to buy a 914 and hang onto your truck. then you'll be rock'n

I have to agree. I don't think you should trade the reliability of a 4runner for a 914. Does your 4runner have good AC? You're gonna want that. Also, what year is the 914? Emissions may be a concern on 75 and later cars.

On that note.... I have a 914 which I think I have sold for around $3k. I would have "considered" a trade for an 89 4runner. I have always had a soft spot for the early 4runners. I think you should hang on to the truck though.

Posted by: MW 914 Jun 26 2005, 08:08 AM

I sold my 1st two 914s because I used tham as daily drivers. I was in your situation....school, etc. They just proved to be too unreliable and required too much routine maintenance. I say wait until you can buy a nicer 914 or until you can have it as a second car.

Posted by: Gint Jun 26 2005, 08:50 AM

with everyone so far. No money, no place to work on the car (drop a motor, etc...) and a need for a totally reliable auto = no 914

Ask Britt (bd1308) that same question.

Posted by: bd1308 Jun 26 2005, 08:55 AM

yup...EXACTLY my situation. No money for 2nd car, no place to put 2nd car and no $$ for a nice 2.0 engine. I always liked the 80s toyota trucks with 5speed.

Posted by: rick 918-S Jun 26 2005, 09:08 AM

Bunch a little old ladies! It looks like a nice driver. Spend some money and bring it in for an estimate for the carb work. Then see if it's a car you want to drive everyday.

Here's what I would do, Sell the truck, Get the carbs done, drive the car, see my banker and purchase a new daily driver incase the teener leaves you on the freeway more than once a week. Listen, I can't believe these cars can't be made reliable. GO FOR IT Dude!

And you little old ladies.... Jus kiddin... Consider the source. My car is water cooled........

Posted by: bd1308 Jun 26 2005, 09:14 AM

it's true rick, these aircooled cars *CAN* be made reliable. Get some extra money together and get someone good to look at your heads and valve seats and stuff and get the carb stuff taken care of, then you'll have a nice 914 to drive around.

Hell my car lasted 2 years, and the engine didnt have anything done to it at all.

Posted by: MW 914 Jun 26 2005, 09:28 AM

QUOTE (rick 918-S @ Jun 26 2005, 07:08 AM)
Bunch a little old ladies! It looks like a nice driver. Spend some money and bring it in for an estimate for the carb work. Then see if it's a car you want to drive everyday.

Here's what I would do, Sell the truck, Get the carbs done, drive the car, see my banker and purchase a new daily driver incase the teener leaves you on the freeway more than once a week. Listen, I can't believe these cars can't be made reliable. GO FOR IT Dude!

And you little old ladies.... Jus kiddin... Consider the source. My car is water cooled........

The only problem with this idea is the whole"spend some money" part. When I was in college there was not a spare penny to be found. Well...unless I needed to buy beer.

Posted by: Bucket Jun 26 2005, 12:10 PM

The AC in my truck sucks!

I think I’ll listen to you all. I can just go down and buy a new car. I told my wife I would buy her a new mustang GT.

But I’m going to get my 914 or some other P-car first.

Thanks for all the help.

If any body in the area needs a hand turning a wrench in the area ( Phoenix area) drop me a line toy4runner1989@yahoo.com

Posted by: Dead Air Jun 26 2005, 01:29 PM

My daily driver is a toyota truck. No truck=no work. No work=no money. No money = no 914.

Posted by: SirAndy Jun 26 2005, 01:52 PM

QUOTE (Bucket @ Jun 25 2005, 11:36 PM)
Rust. The car has a hole below the battery about the size of a golf ball, But the rust was repaird. The hole was not patched. The car has had an under coat sprayed on it.

ok, this part really concerns me ...

how the hell did the rust get *repaired* if the hole wasn't patched up?
the rust on top of the long is caused by battery acid dripping down on it. eventually it'll eat a hole in the top of the long. then the acid dripps *inside* the long. eventually it'll eat a hole throught the bottom of the long ...

with the hole still open, you need to have a GOOD look inside the long to figure out how far the rust has destroyed the inside. if it's bad, the car is a parts-car or needs major surgery ...

Andy

Posted by: Bucket Jun 26 2005, 02:09 PM

The hole is covered by the motor so you can see it. The guy said that the rust was removed ( I’m thinking sanded off ) and then painted. All rust is bad, but if this car is still for sale when I go to buy one should I stay away from it because of this? I could then fix the hole.

Posted by: SirAndy Jun 26 2005, 02:16 PM

QUOTE (Bucket @ Jun 26 2005, 01:09 PM)
The hole is covered by the motor so you can see it.

huh? the top of the long is visible from within the engine compartement. it's even easier to see if the car has carbs ...

if there's a hole that is "covered" by the engine, that would be the side or underside of the long, which would mean it has already rusted through.

the long is kind of like the spine of your car. a rusted through long can make your car fold in half.
and trust me, that's not a good thing!
Andy

Attached image(s)

Posted by: gregrobbins Jun 26 2005, 02:53 PM

Welcome. Like SirAndy, I would want to know more about the rust repair. If you need a second look, Bill, Jason, Mike, Mike, Gerard, Travis or any of the other 914 owners in the area would b happy to take a look. You will find that we are willing and able (some more than others ) to help work, find parts or whatever.

Give me a call if I can be of help or if you have questions.

Greg
Glendale
623-297-4084

Posted by: MW 914 Jun 26 2005, 03:13 PM

QUOTE (gregrobbins @ Jun 26 2005, 12:53 PM)
You will find that we are willing and able (some more than others ) to help work, find parts or whatever.

Oh yeah....give me call anytime! I can turn a simple battery change into a weekend project.

Posted by: Travis Neff Jun 26 2005, 03:15 PM

You have a great PHX resource here for second looks at the car, let us know - we'd love to help!

Posted by: Bucket Jun 26 2005, 04:04 PM

I meant you can’t see the hole. Can the long be repaired?

Posted by: Travis Neff Jun 26 2005, 04:15 PM

You'll need to take a look at how bad it is before you commit to purchasing the car. Sometimes rust seems pretty minimal until you start really diggin into it. It all can be fixed, time, $$, tools an patience is what it takes. If you need repairs, I can help

Posted by: Dr. Roger Jun 26 2005, 04:30 PM

QUOTE (Dave Eddy @ Jun 26 2005, 11:29 AM)
My daily driver is a toyota truck. No truck=no work. No work=no money. No money = no 914.

Ditto.

I didn't have all the above for a while, but now I do. And everything is cool.

Better than robbing banks.

Of course that didn't stop me whenI was broke from picking up a '63 Ghia convertible. The car was free. Added one rebuilt engine, battery, on a solid body and I drove that thing for several trouble free years. In fact it never let me down. =-)

I'm starting to think more like Ollah the Alien. Look out!!! =-)

Go for it. It will make for great stories when you old. hehehhehee

Posted by: merrill Jun 26 2005, 04:34 PM

I agree with Rick Ollah! Maybe I have too much faith in these cars, but I think not. I flew to Salt Lake and drove my newest car 900 miles home. Not very reliable From what I don't know about carbs, I've been told you can change the jets on your own and carry different ones and change them out for AXing needs. What a bunch of hoo ha. Believe in your car and it will treat you right.

Posted by: TROJANMAN Jun 26 2005, 09:50 PM

QUOTE (MW 914 @ Jun 26 2005, 07:28 AM)
The only problem with this idea is the whole"spend some money" part. When I was in college there was not a spare penny to be found. Well...unless I needed to buy beer.

that's what mr. stafforf is for. he is very generous. he helped me buy my corrado in law school

keep the more reliable car and buy the 914 when your done with school.

Posted by: anthony Jun 27 2005, 09:33 AM

I'm in the 'don't buy a 914 until you can afford it' camp. The initial purchase price is the tip of the iceberg with classic cars. Can you afford an engine rebuild? A tranny rebuild? Concentrate on your studies. Drive your 4Runner with A/C.

Posted by: tat2dphreak Jun 27 2005, 09:44 AM

QUOTE (anthony @ Jun 27 2005, 10:33 AM)
I'm in the 'don't buy a 914 until you can afford it' camp. The initial purchase price is the tip of the iceberg with classic cars. Can you afford an engine rebuild? A tranny rebuild? Concentrate on your studies. Drive your 4Runner with A/C.

if you can afford it, it's a great, classic car...

if you cannot afford it, it's an old, PITA, that you have to work on...

when I was in college I ALMOST did something like this... I would have had to sell my pickup, to get a '70 chevelle... it was a sweet car but had a miss in the engine, and needed a tranny rebuild before long... college just wasn't the right time to have to tinker just to get where I was going...

it's much more fun to work on a car when you DON'T HAVE to(to get where you are going), but when you want to...

Posted by: nebreitling Jun 27 2005, 10:09 AM

QUOTE (merrill @ Jun 26 2005, 02:34 PM)
From what I don't know about carbs, I've been told you can change the jets on your own and carry different ones and change them out for AXing needs. What a bunch of hoo ha. Believe in your car and it will treat you right.

yeah. that sounds like good advice, and from a knowledgable source!

Believe in your car!

Posted by: Bucket Jun 27 2005, 08:25 PM

The hole Believe in your car thing is cool and all. But this is not my car and I don’t now if the things that have been done have been done right. So really I would be believing in someone else’s car.

I’m not going to buy a car right now. But I will in the future. I think the thing with this car is it has all the things I want to do to a 914. excepted that ugly front fiber glass bumper. The back looks cool.