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Posted by: Ace Le Count Feb 16 2020, 03:04 PM

Does anyone have some crazy 914 stories that they'd like to share? Maybe your son/daughter was born in one? Maybe you drag raced someone that was getting cocky because they thought their riced out civic was faster? Maybe you used a 914 as a getaway car after you robbed a bank? How has your 914 saved the day?

Posted by: Ansbacher Feb 16 2020, 06:35 PM

This occurred just a couple of weeks after getting my first 914 back in 1984, when I knew absolutely nothing about these cars or really mechanics in general. I was coming home from night classes at the University of South Florida Bayboro Campus in St. Pete, Florida when the car died on I- 275 in the dark, with no flash light and no tools to speak of. Feeling desperate and stupid, I managed to squeeze under the car where I smelled a lot of gas. Totally blind, I could feel a fuel hose leaking near a fitting of some sort. With a knife I quickly cut the hose, removed the bad section and jammed it back on. Leak fixed and made it home, but I was drenched in gasoline. Looking back, it was a very simple repair, but at that time it was a real triumph and adventure. I'm lucky I didn't cause something to spark under there and immolate myself.

Ansbacher

Posted by: gereed75 Feb 16 2020, 11:23 PM

I was at the Naval Academy, which basically equates to a “full ride”. My dad was happy that he escaped college tuition and offered to replace my 64 Chevy van width a new car for my graduation. I had been wanting a 914 and he obliged. I wrote him a letter telling him how thankful I was for such a wonderful gift and how much the car and he ment to me.

I found the letter in a box with his personal keepsakes 26 years later after his passing.

Sons, dads, cars

Posted by: oakdalecurtis Feb 16 2020, 11:33 PM

When I was in High School, I started dating my wife of 39 years. My car was a Ford Pinto, and even then we called it the "blow up car", knowing that if we were ever rear ended, the cars were known to become roman candles. I was mowing my neighbor's lawn one afternoon, and he approached me and asked if I was going to the school prom soon with my girlfriend. When I told him I was, he informed me that it just wasn't right to take her on this big date in a Pinto. He had just purchased a new silver 914 and he offered it to me to use to take her to the dance! I couldn't believe it, and neither could she when I pulled up in this little racy Porsche to take her out for the big night!.



My generous neighbor continued to let me use the 914 whenever I had a significant date night, and I will be forever grateful to him. After we were married, my wife and I always said that whenever we had a little extra coin someday, we would pick up a 914. We finally made it financially, and my wife and son went out and bought a nice yellow one and surprised me with it! When I told my friends that my wife bought my 914 for me, they asked where they could get one. I said "A car like this?". And they said "No, we can get the car anywhere, we want to know where to get a wife that will buy us a sports car!". Good luck, she's pretty special. I'm not so sure I would lend out my 914 today to some punk 16 year old kid like I was then! My neighbor was one of my heroes!

Posted by: oakdalecurtis Feb 16 2020, 11:34 PM

As a newly elected Councilman in a small rural central California city, I was asked by to bring my '76 teener to drive in the annual city Christmas parade through town. I pulled into the parade line and began slowly idling down the main street route with another Councilman in the passenger seat. We hadn't gone far when a man on the sidewalk approached the side of our little yellow ride and told us we were "leaking water under the car real bad". That's an interesting comment since there is no water onboard a 914 to leak! I opened my door and leaned out to look under the car, only to see gasoline spraying down mid tunnel and rapidly pooling under the car! I quickly told my Council colleague to get out of the car fast! Then I franticly waved to onlookers to create an opening among the sidewalk crowd of people, and drove the still running 914 into a dirt field and shut it off. I left a trail of gasoline on the ground behind the car at least a foot wide as I went toward the field.
After having my 914 towed to my mechanic, as you probably already guessed, the fuel line, under pressure from tank in front to the engine in the rear, decided to split after 30 years, at that opportune moment during the parade. I had the fuel line repaired and all was fine.
I was invited to the city Christmas parade again the following year. When I pulled up in my teener to get in the parade line this time, my Council colleagues were standing nearby on the curb with lighters, flicking them repeatedly and saying they were "ready for me this year!" That's how you know who your friends are in politics!!!!

Posted by: oakdalecurtis Feb 16 2020, 11:35 PM

Here's another "I can't believe it's true!" (but it is) 914 story. I was traveling out of Modesto on the the main drag, McHenry Boulevard, at about 11 pm on a Saturday night. My 16 year old son was also driving next to my yellow 914 in his new little black Toyota pickup. He was in the curbside lane, and I was in my topless teener in the center lane. As there was no other traffic, we were going side by side at about 60 mph, when a Modesto Police cruiser pulls up to McHenry from a side street on the right, about 200 feet ahead of us. My son braked fast enough to make the right turn next the the officer's cruiser and head away down the side street. Of course I sailed by right in front of the cop in the center lane, unable to do anything. I could see the officer's rooftop lights come on like a Christmas tree in my mirror. I could also see my son traveling away toward home on the side street, waving at me with a satisfied smile on his face. I pulled over under the illumination of the car dealerships on upper McHenry Boulevard. Then I shut off the 2 liter engine of my '76 teener, put my hands on the top the the yellow Momo steering wheel and waited patiently for my inevitable speeding ticket. The officer pulled up behind me, flashing lights ablaze, got out of his car, and slowly walked up beside my knee high 914. I waited for a moment to make eye contact with him, but I could tell out of the corner of my eye that he was eyeballing my street legal go cart with a grin. When we finally actually looked at each other, I'll never forget his EXACT and ONLY nine words: "Just looking for kids Sir, have a nice evening." THAT'S IT! He turned and walked slowly away as I tried to mumble "Thank you officer". He did not ask me for my license, papers, or any questions at all, just that nine word sentence, and then he was gone! When I got home and told my son what had happened, he was pissed, saying the cops would have given HIM a ticket. I said darn straight they would have. A few gray hairs and a cute car can go a long way to ease the path of life!

Posted by: oakdalecurtis Feb 16 2020, 11:36 PM

The Modesto Bee newspaper used to run a weekly half page article about local custom cars. Modesto is the town that was the basis for the movie "American Graffiti", so custom cars are a big thing here. In March of 2006, a Bee reporter did one of the weekly stories about my '76 914. The story related how long ago, when I was in high school, one of my neighbors that owned a then new silver 914 would lend it to me to drive whenever I was going to take my girlfriend, and now wife, out on a big date. Once each year, the Bee would post a single page of small pictures showing all fifty cars featured from that year. Readers were then invited to vote online as many times as they wanted to for their choice for the "Car of the Year" award. Somehow my teener won the contest easily, but I didn't really know why until years later. I was looking at old forum posts on this site and discovered that my fellow 914 owners here were instrumental in the victory! Here's a link to the old forum page where members are talking about voting as many as 22 times for my car! (Thanks grasshopper!).

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=50967

When the Bee called and told me that my 914 had won, they instructed me to show up on the next Saturday to be featured at the annual Modesto Jr. College Car Show. I had never participated in a car show before. My teener is a nice clean driver, but at that time I had never considered it a "show car". When I arrived at the MJC early that next Saturday, the car show operators guided me into the "front and center" space designated for the "Car of the Year" winner. Parked on one side of my 914 was the second place car, a mint trailer queen '71 Mustang Mach 1. Parked on the other side of my 914 was the third place car, a show prepped Austin FX that was so clean that you could have dined off of the engine. I still remember, like it was yesterday, the attitude of the two owners of those second and third place cars as they paced around my first place "street legal go cart". They both had their noses out of joint as they peered down at my knee high 914, and I could hear them mumbling something to the effect of "how the heck did THAT car beat our beautiful show cars?". It wasn't hard to discern the obvious disdain in their voices, but I just told them that "the people have made their choice, too bad!" Thank you to any of my fellow members here that voted for my 914 for the Car of the Year award and for giving me an unforgettable day at that car show! Teeners Rule!

Posted by: oakdalecurtis Feb 16 2020, 11:39 PM

I've owned my '76 teener for about twenty years. I recently installed a BlazeCut fire suppression system in the engine compartment to hopefully stop any potential engine fire.



I took the car out for a short test ride soon after completing the BlazeCut install. As I was headed back toward home, suddenly thick black smoke started pouring out from under the dash in front of my left leg! I quickly pulled over and shut the car down before a fire started. After the smoke stopped and my heart slowed down, I lowered the relay panel and here's what I found! After forty years, one of the of the relay bases somehow short circuited internally and melted the surrounding rubber.



I finally got the car home and repaired the melted relay base and all is good now. But I remember what I was thinking when I first saw all that black smoke coming from under the dash. "Great, I have a fire suppression system mounted right behind my back, and the car is going to burn up in front of me in the passenger compartment and there's nothing I can do about it!". I now carry a small fire extinguisher in my center console box, just in case!

Posted by: horizontally-opposed Feb 16 2020, 11:57 PM

This has all the markings of an epic thread…

Posted by: 914forme Feb 17 2020, 01:43 PM

I just got my 74 914 2.0L fired up and road worth enough to drive it on nice days. First day I drove it into work, and had a service call north about 20 miles. Jumped in the car, showed 1/2 tank of gas, went up the highway, and got about the mid way point, and cough sputter, sputter, dead. Clutch in, coast for another mile or so, and finally came to a stop.

Get out of my car to watch one of drivers go right past me. Starting to think about what I wanted to do, start walking or hope someone would stop a 928 pulls up behind my 914, says hope in he will give me a ride, and we go up the the gas station where I get a small can, pay like $20 bucks for a gallon can, and then pay like a buck for the gas.

Hope back in the 928, and he takes me back. I say thanks offer him some cash, and say he its nice that you stopped for a fellow Porsche enthusiast. Crickets, and that's a Porsche?

I fill it up, 914 fires up, and I drive all the way up to the same gas station, pull in, and hit the transition and the hood pops open. come to a stop, and the people behind the counter are laughing.

Found 2 things to repair that day. Fuel level float, and the hood catch. Drove on down to my service call, and going up the last hill to the facility, and all the sudden no forward momentum. Lost 4 CV joint bolts. I found 2 of them. Put them back on, drove up to the clients, and had to wash my hands in their really nice house. So embarrassed about that. Drove it home and repaired the trifecta of repairs for the car.

Posted by: poorsche914 Feb 17 2020, 02:18 PM

My second 914 was a '73 2.0 with Mahles. Headed home one day, I slowed a bit to take the exit ramp and BAM! rear driver side bumps and drops as I see my tire go rolling by
Unfortunately, the side of the road was covered in kudzu
After some searching, I found the tire, remounted it and headed home.
Still don't know what caused the lug bolts to work loose although there were some jealous types who worked nearby

Posted by: brcacti Feb 17 2020, 02:39 PM

My story (bad) with my first orange 1973 2.0 in the year 1983 or 84, was in great shape. Was taking my GF home at late afternoon and was on a ramp going only about a normal speed or slightly faster for that ramp, I was very tired, did not notice loose gravel on the ramp. Hit that and my car was spinning in circles one way and then back the other OVER the center lane twice, ended up in a ditch. LUCKY did not flip, had the car towed back then only cost about $1300 to fix with some used parts, must have had liability only.

Posted by: brcacti Feb 17 2020, 02:41 PM

QUOTE(oakdalecurtis @ Feb 16 2020, 10:34 PM)

Posted by: infraredcalvin Feb 17 2020, 10:40 PM

Junior year of college, 1999, commuted from Newport Beach to Cal Poly Pomona in my 75 914. I schedule my first hpde with the car, a day before I blew out one of the j exhaust pipes. In the epic all night repair With my roommate, we stripped out a spark plug, found and replaced broken rings, changed out clutch, put it all back together only to find the j pipe had different flange alignments from year to year... I had the wrong one. At 4am we called it quits - I guess the car didn’t want to go. Car ran like crap after all that work, decided to pull engine for rebuild shortly afterwards.

I borrowed a car from my roommates mom, this was the go to car for all our friends with car trouble, 85 Buick Electra estate wagon - pristine, but with miles. Took me close to a year to rebuild the motor with school and no money, finished it up the night before my last final exam (come to think if it, I can’t remember why I was working on my car vs studying for my exam). Decided I was too tired and wanted to rest for my exam before the official 1st fire - I actually didn’t want the bad news of it not firing before I took my exam.

Next day aced my exam, all done and feeling great! On my way home the loaner car overheated and cracked the block, I limped it home, filling with water every 10 min or so, it completely died about 20 feet from my garage. After calling a wrecking yard and watching the wagon get towed away, I walked over to the 914 turned the key and it fired right up! Tuned it up, drove it to my graduation ceremony the following week!

Posted by: infraredcalvin Feb 17 2020, 11:08 PM

Around same time in college, I was going on 3 days straight of no sleep working on a project, knew if I went to sleep I wouldn’t wake up.

Decided to clear my head by going for a drive down PCH at 3am. Somewhere near Dana Point I see the flashing lights in the mirror. I wasn’t speeding, and I wasn’t asleep so in my hazy state I assumed I was on fire.

I abruptly pulled over and quickly jumped out of the car. 2 officers with guns drawn (thankfully they weren’t pointed at me yet), yelled at me to freeze, they realized quickly that I wasn’t trying to run. I explained what had gone through my head, and my lack of sleep, they were cool, told me the only reason they pulled me over was because I had forgotten to put the new reg tags on my plates (they were attached to my reg in the glove box).

We all laughed it off, they wished me good luck in school and let me go with no ticket.

Posted by: RickS Feb 17 2020, 11:35 PM

Was driving through farm country on a sunny day, top off, with a half tank of gas. Just like above, power cuts out and sputter, sputter and it quit. Closest farm about 1/2 mile and next to no traffic on this back road. Just about to pull out my phone and call my wife about 5 miles away to bring me a gallon of gas when an old beat up farm truck pulls up behind me. I explain to an older gentleman that my fuel gauge lied. He told me to hold on for 5 mins as he drove to his farm down the road to get me a gallon of gas.

When he returned and put in the gallon, it fired right up and thanked him. He then insisted on following me to a gas station about 3 miles away and would not take no. He followed me to the station where I offered him $4 for his gas, and he flatly refused. No way would he take any money. Told me to stop by and say hi next time I was out and drove off. Freakin nice guy.

Posted by: DRPHIL914 Feb 18 2020, 09:05 AM

QUOTE(poorsche914 @ Feb 17 2020, 03:18 PM)

My second 914 was a '73 2.0 with Mahles. Headed home one day, I slowed a bit to take the exit ramp and BAM! rear driver side bumps and drops as I see my tire go rolling by
Unfortunately, the side of the road was covered in kudzu
After some searching, I found the tire, remounted it and headed home.
Still don't know what caused the lug bolts to work loose although there were some jealous types who worked nearby

Posted by: StarBear Feb 18 2020, 10:52 AM

LOVE these stories. Here's mine: In 1980 or so, driving at night along NJ 280 or Pulaski Skyway just above the State Prison with two girls, one sitting on the center console. The car sputters and dies, but I recognized the sound. Got the spare oil cap O-ring out of the glove compartment and replaced the old one. Started right up. The girls were both impressed and looked wide-eyed, asking how I knew that. Slyly and gentlemanly said, "Oh, I know things...". Eventually married one of them....

Posted by: Root_Werks Feb 18 2020, 11:01 AM

2011 I think, had a 1975 2.0 with FI. Did something to it (tune up) so my kid and I took it for a drive. Sun was out, top was off, nice day.

Couple miles from home the throttle cable broke.

Opened the engine lid, leaned over the back and operated the throttle while my kid drove us home.

I would yell "shift!" and close the throttle, then open it again while he changed gears. We didn't kill the 914 once and were amazingly smooth. His only complaint was "Dad, slow down a bit!"

Posted by: ctc911ctc Feb 18 2020, 11:07 AM

QUOTE(Root_Werks @ Feb 18 2020, 12:01 PM)

2011 I think, had a 1975 2.0 with FI. Did something to it (tune up) so my kid and I took it for a drive. Sun was out, top was off, nice day.

Couple miles from home the throttle cable broke.

Opened the engine lid, leaned over the back and operated the throttle while my kid drove us home.

I would yell "shift!" and close the throttle, then open it again while he changed gears. We didn't kill the 914 once and were amazingly smooth. His only complaint was "Dad, slow down a bit!"

Posted by: ClayPerrine Feb 18 2020, 12:24 PM

Years ago, my six conversion was just a /4 with fuchs, a 2.0 and Dellorttos. I was driving back home from Waco and the throttle cable broke. I didn't have a spare. So I took the speaker wires off the speakers, and cobbled together a "throttle cable". I took the top off, and stowed it, then I tied the wire to the crossbar linkage, ran it up through the engine grill, across the targa bar, and down to my right foot, where I tied it to the front lace on my shoe. I was able to put my foot down where the accellerator was laying on the floor and the engine would rev. I could use the brake and clutch, and the wire didn't interfere with shifting. So I jumped on the highway and headed home.

About 15 minutes into the 2 hour drive home, it starts to rain. Hard. Complete with lightning and thunder. By maintaining my speed around 70, I was not getting wet, only a little damp. A Texas Ranger pulls up next to me, and she sees me driving with the top off in the pouring rain. She shows down and pulls in behind me and hits the lights. I slow down and stop under the next bridge.

As she is walking up next to the car, I realize that I can't get out of the car because the wire is tied to my shoe. She walks up and asks for my license and insurance. I give her them, and she asks me to get out of the car.

I open the door and turn sideways. She watches as I untie the wire from my shoe. She asks why I am tied to the car. I explain the whole broken throttle cable thing, and she laughs and tells me that is ingenious. Then she says that I already had enough of a bad day and lets me go.

I got wetter getting back up to speed than I did the rest of the drive home. Took me weeks to get the water out of the car.

Posted by: Manny Alban Feb 18 2020, 12:59 PM

Glad I'm not the only one. Years ago, when I had my 1981 924, my throttle cable broke. I was 20 miles from home. I took off my shoe laces, tied them together and then to the throttle linkage. Ran the shoelaces from the hood and out to my wide window. Drove home with a hand throttle. Had to replaces the laces since I stretched them out pretty good on the ride home.

Posted by: mbseto Feb 18 2020, 01:28 PM

QUOTE(ClayPerrine @ Feb 18 2020, 01:24 PM)

Posted by: Sway Bar Feb 18 2020, 01:54 PM

QUOTE(Root_Werks @ Feb 18 2020, 09:01 AM)

2011 I think, had a 1975 2.0 with FI. Did something to it (tune up) so my kid and I took it for a drive. Sun was out, top was off, nice day.

Couple miles from home the throttle cable broke.

Opened the engine lid, leaned over the back and operated the throttle while my kid drove us home.

I would yell "shift!" and close the throttle, then open it again while he changed gears. We didn't kill the 914 once and were amazingly smooth. His only complaint was "Dad, slow down a bit!"

Posted by: poorsche914 Feb 18 2020, 07:23 PM

Winter of '83 I travelled back home to Illinois to visit my parents. A cold snap hit with below freezing temps for over a week. Finally, the sun came out and it was a balmy 30-ish degrees. My sister and I were going somewhere when I suggested we take the roof off since it felt so warm out. She looked at me like I was crazy.

As workers were leaving from the Caterpillar plant in East Peoria, we were stopped at a red light. A block down I spotted a 914 going through the intersection. As it passed, the driver waved with outstretched arm... straight up. He had his roof off

Posted by: 914forme Feb 18 2020, 07:50 PM

I was working on a customers car, he found a 76 that he liked the look of it with GT flares, and rubber bumpers. I got all the body work done, and take him to my paint supplier for the base and clear. He flips through the paint book at Porsche colors and finds a black he likes with gold metallic. But okay, tell the guy I need a gallon to shoot the car, and matching clear. He looks at us and says, that gallon costs over $1000. To which I say, what does it have real gold in it. And he looks at me and says yes, matter of fact it does. 24K gold flakes. The customer does not bat an eye and says okay.

I get it out and spray a test blank, and he comes over and looks at it. Says he does not like it, and wants it painted in black with silver metallic. So I had a gallon of paint worth $1K sitting on the shelf. After about a year, I finally had a trailer I needed to paint, and I thought hey I have a nice gallon of paint. And painted that livestock trailer with gold flake. Once fancy looking blinged out livestock trailer. You would have thought the cows would have noticed.

Posted by: Coondog Feb 18 2020, 08:10 PM

Cruising Balboa with my buddy in the late 70s. Picked up two girls that liked my car, one cute, one ugly. Took them back to my place, woke up with the cute one and my buddy never tried with the ugly one. We still laugh about that, wasn’t the first time a 914 got me laid......

Posted by: StarBear Feb 18 2020, 08:26 PM

My second story: New from VA to NJ in 1974 and driving on snow. Going downhill and lost traction. With the car's great middle Center of Momentum, spun slowly about 359 degrees; didn't even veer out of my lane. Took the next double jughandle U-turn, headed home and got a ride with my neighbor. A surreal "and what's happening to me?" for 10-15 seconds!

Posted by: bbrock Feb 18 2020, 08:35 PM

Oh my! So many stories, which one to tell? I'll go with this one. My first 914 was a real beater 70 bought when I was 19 that I had already wrecked once and had cobbled back together by a body shop. The following winter I was searching in vain for some HEET to pour in the tank so the damn car would start in the sub zero weather when I hit a patch of black ice on illegal bald tires and slid right into a fire hydrant. I had no money to pay a shop for another repair so picked up a front clip at the salvage yard and decided I would weld it in myself. Mind you, I had no welding experience but had my brother's ox-acetytene torch and a can-do attitude. I spent several weekends with the car occupying my parent's garage while my girlfriend, and now wife of 35 years shuttled me back and forth from college in her old Honda Civic.

Finally, I had the front end stitched back together and the somewhat wrinkled hood back on. I don't remember how the welds looked but they had to be horrendous. Anyway, late on a Sunday I hop in the car with my girlfriend following for the 60 mile trip back to college. About 3/4 of a mile after entering the Interstate, the front left corner dropped to the pavement with a shower of sparks rooster tailing behind. I immediately though my expert welding job had failed and the car had broken in half until I saw an EMPI mag go careening down the highway in front of me. Yep, in my excitement of finishing the project, I neglected to tighten the lug bolts. I managed to steer the car to the shoulder on the ball joint nut and Elizabeth pulled over behind. Surprisingly, a stranger in a van also pulled over. I assumed my wheel had hit the van. Then I learned he had run into Elizabeth's car and my next assumption was that he hit her trying to avoid my wheel or the spark fountain of my car. Nope, turns out it was total coincidence. He hadn't even noticed the fireworks in front of him and had simply changed lanes without looking at the exact moment Elizabeth thought she was witnessing the fiery death of her fiancee. The poor Trooper who worked the claim kept scratching his head and commenting that the forms weren't designed for such a scenario.

As for the car, I retrieved the wheel, bolted it back on with some spare lug bolts and we were on our way. Lesson learned. Tighten those bolts!

Posted by: thomasotten Feb 18 2020, 10:12 PM

I traded in my 74 VW Beetle when I was in high school for my 914. It had a "turbo tail" on it, like this example:



Whale tails were all the rage back then. Anyway, there were some really trashy neighbors living in the rent house next door to us. They used to drink all hours of the night. The neighbor's 15 year old son was sort of friendly with me when I owned the VW, but got jealous of me having a Porsche. Our relationship also soured because it got back to him that I said something not too flattering about their family. Anyway, one night, I awoke in the middle of the night to a fire engine putting out flames on my 914. The kid (at least I suspect it was him) doused my 914's turbo tail with gasoline and set it on fire. What the? Yeah, just the tail was set ablaze. I went outside in my underwear, and soon learned there were women firefighters.... yeah, it's not bad enough that your car gets set on fire, but you have to be embarrassed in front of women in your fruit of the loom underwear.

Was it a jealous neightbor, or did Wotan strike my car ablaze on account of bad taste? Either way, I tried running a duck tail, then a turbo tail again, but realized, they just don't look good with spoilers on their butts. So I learned a hard lesson that night. 1) Don't piss off your neighbors, and 2) Don't run ugly spoilers on your 914.

Posted by: Maltese Falcon Feb 19 2020, 12:29 AM

...always a good story on tap when wearing this Tee to a 914 get together

Posted by: Mikey914 Feb 20 2020, 12:13 PM

It was a dark and stormy night and some friends and I were going home from a party. I was alone in my car. They were speeding of course and so was I. The had left a few minutes before I did and I was quickly catching up.

We used to use a logging road that went across town with a bridge. We used to drive this as you could easily drive around the gate and it was in good condition.

It was railing and I was going a little fast. As I was catching up to my friends at a high rate of speed, I say the tail lights tun to the right. I quickly realized that I was further down the road than I realized. I tried to slow and make the turn but rain had created some puddles and I lost traction and went into a spin. I spun at least 6 times, but I was no longer in control.

I wound up in a ditch tat about a 45 degree angle with the nose pointed up. The motor has stopped. I know I had just wrecked my pristine black 73 2.0l. I was sick to my stomach. My friends came running back to the car as they had seen the "headlights, tail lights, headlights, tail lights action and was sure something bad had happened.

They took me home.

The next day we all went back to check out the scene of the accident. For some reason my car was on the inside of the corner not the outside as you would thing inertia would have taken it. It was then that we realized there was a big oak tree just past the apex of the corner. I Call it divine intervention but I was somehow spared from my own stupidity.

The icing on the cake- the 5 of us lifted the car out of the ditch and I only had a ding on the right rear quarter panel that a local body shop was able to able to pop out for $50.

Posted by: gandalf_025 Feb 20 2020, 01:27 PM

Quick one off the top of my head..
I worked in Boston in the 1970’s and
got to invited to a girls apartment after work.
It was a less than stellar neighborhood,
but I figured nobody would know what my car was
around there. I parked on the street in front of an
Apartment building and felt OK about it until I noticed
3 guys sitting on the front steps looking at my car.
But it wasn’t till one of them said.....”Nice 6” that I got
VERY concerned.. I cut my visit short and the car was
still there when I got back...
That ended my ( nobody will know what it is) innocence..

Posted by: Skid Feb 23 2020, 10:37 PM

Ok, I'll play. I was driving my 73 1.7 to my engineering internship early one morning before sunrise. I had just entered a construction area on the freeway where the barriers narrowed and there were no shoulders or pull out opportunities. At exactly this moment and without any warning, my engine sputtered and died. I coasted to a stop hoping there would be an emergency pullout or something but had no luck. I was stopped in my lane on the freeway with nowhere to go and rush hour was just starting to pick up. I tried turning on my hazards but realized that I hadn't gotten them working yet (bad time to figure that out). I watched in my rear view mirror as several cars swerved around my now dead and dark 914. I waited for a break in traffic and hopped out of my car to see if I could figure out what had happened. I popped the engine lid and ran to the side with the battery. In the darkness I fumbled around with the battery cables until I found an ignition wire that had somehow broken off the main battery terminal. I remember having to use my teeth to bite the old connector off the wire and then quickly reattach it to the main cable. Meanwhile more and more cars are flying by and swerving around me... Anyway, I was able to get back in the car and she fired up and got me the rest of the way to work. That was certainly a memorable morning.

Posted by: RARE 6 Feb 24 2020, 01:10 AM

In less enlightened times, Spring of 1972, walked up to the registration table at the old Phoenix International Raceway for our first PCA DE event. Told the folks behind the table I wanted to register both of us in the 914-6 we'd bought brand new on 9/14/71.
"Your going to let your wife drive your car?" an alarmed male registrar asked.
"Hard to keep her out of it, " I replied. "She's making half the payment and drives it to work everyday."
A few years later she became the first female instructor for Rocky Mountain PCA. A few years after that, everyone in the pits at Woody Creek was cheering as she pulled in after finally beating my time.
The three of us are growing old together. The -6 may be in the best shape of the group.

Posted by: Ace Le Count Sep 19 2020, 08:18 PM

BUMP maybe we'll get some more...

Posted by: Ace Le Count Jan 30 2021, 12:59 AM

Bump

Posted by: Ace Le Count Feb 1 2021, 02:58 PM

Whoever is reading this, we would love to hear your porsche stories!

Posted by: john77 Feb 1 2021, 06:21 PM

The most recent one happened in October. I had to drive my car out to my friends shop to fit GT flares, but I'd already sold my 16x7 fuchs to buy wider wheels and they wouldn't fit under the narrow fenders.

So I figure, screw it, I'll chop the arches, fit the wider wheels, drive out really early, and cross my fingers I don't cross paths with a stickler cop.

As I get on the 60 heading out of LA this kid in a slammed Infiniti G35 comes racing up behind me and, well, yeah, I may have been forced to floor it and leave him in my dust, which for some odd reason he sees as a challenge and floors it after me...

My exhaust is pretty loud, and he had a fart can, so it's like a really angry wasp screaming after a throaty chainsaw, at which point we pass a cop who'd pulled someone over. Only I guess he'd just finished, because about 2 mins later I see him appear in my rearview.

I must have seen him before the G35 because I let off first, the cop pulls alongside me and stares at my Mad Max style 914, and then promptly pulls over the kid in the slammed G35.

Posted by: Ace Le Count Feb 1 2021, 07:06 PM

QUOTE(john77 @ Feb 1 2021, 07:21 PM)

Posted by: Robarabian Feb 1 2021, 09:41 PM

First of all, the throttle cable stories are hilarious, I thought I was the only one.

1986, my 2.0 liter with dual carbs. Throttle cable broke while I was 30 miles from home. Like Clay and others, I found a way to cobble up a hand throttle by tying a string to the linkage. I put the top in the trunk and hand throttled it home. Hardest part was steering, throttling and shifting with 2 hands. I think I found a sweet spot on the road I was on a tried to keep it in third gear for most of the trip. I remember my had being raw from the string, because I had real strong throttle springs on the carbs.

Story two, same car. Worked on it more than I drove it. I broke a CV joint, and being a 16 year old, you get distracted easily. So I changed out the CV but forgot to tighten all the lug nuts on the Riverias with a "I'll get to that". After my mom called me inside, I went for a test drive... I made it down a really big hill and then heard a "thump." The car bucked and then I saw the Riveria pass me on the road and hit the curb flying 10 feet into the air before it landed in some soft bushes. It could have really hurt someone or broken something expensive, I was lucky. I digress....The car then realized it was off balance and the disc hit the ground before I sharply turned the wheel to the left making a hard turn whereby I was back up on 3 wheels till I stopped and it gently perched itself back onto the left rear disc. I walked up the road, found 4 lug nuts, didnt have a lug wrench but managed to put the wheel on "hand tight" and at 2 mph limped back home and parked it for the rest of the day. I only suffered a small fender crease, a slightly ground rotor and a blow to my mechanical ego.

Oh I can go on...

Posted by: ClayPerrine Feb 2 2021, 06:37 AM

I am going to add a story of bad judgement, alcohol, and black rattle can paint.

The statue of limitations has expired, so I feel safe to tell this one.


When Betty and I were dating, my best friend had a 68 Camaro. But he decided he liked Betty's 914, so he started looking for one. He found a 73 2.0L in a field near what was then Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth. It was being robbed of parts for the 71 1.7 that was running. He bought it cheap, and brought it back to his house. The Delphi Green metallic paint had suffered from the Texas sun, so it looked OD Green with mange.

I helped him get the 2.0L engine running, and we went everywhere in it One night we were out drinking in far north Dallas. When the bars finally closed, we jumped in the 914 and headed home. We were both too drunk to be driving, but we were also young and stupid.

We were running about 70 mph on Interstate 635 in North Dallas headed home. I was in the passenger seat, watching the front edge of the paint on the front trunk ripple in the wind.

Suddenly, the air got under the paint, and peeled it back in one big sheet. It stayed attached at the rear edge, covering the windshield. Picture two drunks doing 70 mph, screaming about not being able to see.

The rear edge of the paint finally let go, and the sheet of paint flew through the air, impacting the grill of a Kenworth that was following us, exploding on impact. Being drunk, that was the funniest thing we ever saw. So we both started to laugh hysterically. My friend had to pull over because he was laughing too hard to drive.

We finally got going again,and if you know the DFW airport area, Hwy 635 turns south and comes in the north end of DFW airport. We had to pass through there on the way home. We get north of the airport, and that same Kenworth is sitting on the side of the road with steam pouring out of the radiator. That brought on another fit of laughing from both of us.

We finally get back to his house. He lived in the converted garage at his parent's house, and you went up over a hump at the end of the driveway, then down to where the garage doors used to be. There was a brick post between the old door openings. He drove down the driveway and ran directly into the post between the doors.

We both fall out of the car, and he looks at it and says, in a very loud voice for 3AM, "THIS CAR LOOKS LIKE SHIT!". So he goes inside, and comes out with a box of rattle can paint cans. It was a mixed box of various shades of black. Some flat, some semi-gloss, and some gloss. He starts painting the car in the dark. And I start helping. We painted everything, mirrors, glass, lights, windows.... everything except the wheels. We left empty spray paint cans all over the driveway and lawn.

The next afternoon, we got out with razor blade scrapers and paint thinner, and cleaned off the glass, and lights. He continued to drive that car until it dropped a valve seat. That was beyond his ability to fix. So he sold me the car.

This is how it looked:



If you noticed in the video I made, this is the before picture of my car. So that is the pre-history of the 4.0L monster motor car.

Posted by: fixer34 Feb 2 2021, 08:20 AM

OK, I'll jump in. Part1.
First several cars were all VW's so I learned about air-cooled engines early on. Always wanted a Porsche, particularly a 911. After college, got a good job in Chicago suburbs and was single, so had some spending money. This was late 70's, went looking for for one around 1970 model (I had spending money, but not enough to buy something newer..). Test drove a few, then saw an ad for something called a 914 from a private seller. It was a -6 model. Went to see it, yea OK, and went back to looking at 911's. Stopped at a Porsche dealer out by the airport to look at a '69 911T. Chatting with the used car salesman, told him I had looked at a 914-6 that was about the same price. He flat out told me to go with the 914, it would hold it's value longer. So I went back and bought it. Probably the most honest salesman I ever came across.

Posted by: jhynesrockmtn Feb 2 2021, 03:01 PM

I "tripped over" a 1970 914 last summer on FB. The ad was in the wrong section of marketplace but I recognized the dash in a photo. A friend and I went to see it thinking it was probably going to be a rusty POS. It wasn't. I'm no expert but I've been around 914's for a bit and have two others. A very original 1972 1.7 with 80k original miles but needing a bit of "light" rust repair and paint and then refresh the mechanicals. It's been stored in my shop for a few years. I also have a vintage race GT Tribute I'm getting ready for this season. I didn't need another car but couldn't pass this one up. It was so dry. About 125k original miles. All original books/records. The type of original owner that took notes of each service and dealership visit. It ran but not particularly well, barely stopped and it was impossible to find a gear. Only 3k on a rebuild of the 1.7. FI intact. It had just been sitting forever. I dug into a mechanical sorting with brakes, fuel lines, tank coating, new fuel pump, all new shifter bushings, new tires on some Fuchs I had stored, etc. It now runs well, stops, etc. It's been a fun project. Not sure if I'll keep it long term but it has a certain charm.

I work at a small private school part time. The car was parked in front of the building yesterday. At one point I saw a group looking at it and taking pics. Later that afternoon I get the following email. This from the original owners step daughter. Coincidentally I had written him and we have talked about getting together post covid. He sold the car to the gentleman I bought it from about 10 years ago.

Hello Jerry,

This is Jane Doe, Cataldo parent of Suzy and former student Johnny.

I was the crazy person taking pictures of your car after school today!

I was so surprised to see a 914,
and thought it might be my family’s old car!
Turns out, it is my stepdad’s old car, his name is John Doe.

What a small world, I was so excited to see the car and had no idea who it belonged to! Super cool!
I love that you’re driving it and hope you’ve been enjoying it!

Jane Doe

Posted by: Ace Le Count Feb 3 2021, 12:40 PM

Love the stories! Let's get some more!

Posted by: Robarabian Feb 3 2021, 09:55 PM

Who's car is faster?

1974 2.0 with dual webers or the 1972 Triumph GT 6 rust bucket that I sold my friend since he didnt have a car.

Porsche: That ugly Monza quad tip exhaust, dual weber 40's and overinflated tires. Targa top left off to save weight, but sadly at 16, I didn't factor the extra drag. An angry Armenian at the wheel.

Triumph: Dual Strombergs; enough rust to lighten it by 40 pounds, overinflated 13 inch tires; a proud German pilot.

The Track: a somewhat measured 1/4 mile drag strip in a somewhat residential area of the San Fernando Valley, LA, CA.

The Stakes: A double whopper, fries and vanilla shake.

My cheating advantage: I knew the Triumph well. It was a dog off the line, the 2.0 liter in it needed to get way up in the RPM range. The 914 was torquey and the webers were actually tuned. If I got the jump, I could hold him off.

The Race: As predicted, he blew the start and I had a good car lead on him. I held it through the quarter mile (ish) and as we passed the trap, he was just passing me. I beatt him by a bumper. That crappy little triumph had some longer high gears and if we tried to go to 100 he would have beat me.

The gloating never ended as I refused his attempts to do a re-match...Oh to be 16 again...

Posted by: 90quattrocoupe Feb 4 2021, 12:42 AM

My Dad lived in Ridgecrest, CA and I would go up to visit him from Long Beach. Going up hwy 395 there is a deep valley between Johannesburg and Ridgecrest. Down one side and up the other. In those days, it was just 2 lanes.
Going home after the weekend, I reached the bottom of the valley, to find a motorhome with 4 guys on Harleys. behind the motorhome, starting up the other side. When we got to the broken double line for passing, the Harleys pulled out to pass and I followed them.
They are going about 1mph more than the motorhome. I figured they were messing with me. They were separate, with 2 on the left side of the lane and 2 on the right. After about an 1/8 of a mile, they had not even gotten up to along side the motorhome.
I took a look at how far they were spread apart, and said I can make that. I dropped a gear and passed them up by going between them.
These were not the Harleys of today. The bikes were more like the ones in Easy Rider. They came after me, but they had to back off, after we hit 90. They had what we used to call Harley high speed wobble. Never saw those guys again.

Posted by: fixer34 Feb 4 2021, 07:17 AM

Part 2.
The first few years I owned mine, I used it as my daily driver and also for any long trips. Out to visit family in Eastern NY (16 hrs) and work related training in Dallas (16hrs) and later, Atlanta (13hrs). I would leave late afternoon, drive all night, and arrive the next morning. Sometime during the night, I would just pull into a rest area and catch a couple hour cat-nap sitting in the driver seat. My record was 8hrs straight, non-stop.

Posted by: Ace Le Count Feb 6 2021, 12:57 PM

Love it

Posted by: KELTY360 Feb 6 2021, 04:41 PM

This is a long story, so settle in with a comfortable chair and a warm beverage.

It's early January 1982 and I'm driving my '74 2.0 from SoCal home to Seattle after a couple weeks of partying around the Rose Bowl game. In those days I did this every year, but this one was special because my favorite team, the UW Huskies were playing (they won btw, 28-0!). It's smooth sailing through California til I near the foot of the Siskyous and see a sign saying the road is closed ahead due to a snowstorm. Rather than ignoring the sign and pressing ahead through the snow flurries, I get about 10 miles down the road and stop in Yreka for the night. I was going to get a motel room but they were all booked by Husky fans heading home. So, I sleep in the 914, across the seats, wrapped around the shifter...long, cold, lumpy night. It actually seemed even longer because the foot of snow covering the windows kept all light from penentrating the cabin. I finally push the door open, clear off the windows and head off in search of the chains I'll need to get over the pass. That means backtracking 50 miles to Weed, where I discover that my Pirelli P6s are too close to the fender lip to allow any chains to fit.

Luckily, an old friend lived in Weed and offered a place on his couch til the pass reopened. A week goes by and I'm way overdue at work so I figured I'd give it a try. 80 miles later I'm at the last exit in CA and the Highway Patrol has the road blocked and won't let me proceed without chains. Now I backtrack about 120 miles down I-5, past Weed, to Redding. I decide to head to the Coast, even though I'm told the road is closed in Weaverville. No sweat, I evade the CHP roadblock by slippping and sliding on the side streets of Weavererville til I can make my break for the last snowy pass before the ocean. Porsche may have promoted the 'Ski 914' but the steep, icy climb wasn't nearly as fun as the ads made it seem. Creeping down the other side got progressively easier and the thought that I might get blocked by a rockslide never crossed my mind....but it should have. After an hour or so watching bulldozers and loaders clearing rubble, I was on my way again.

Finally free of obstacles, I blasted through Eureka and Crescent City and then angled back towards I-5 along the Russian River. I finally collapsed on a motel bed in Grant's Pass at about 1:00 am after 17 hours and 350 miles for what should have been about a hundred mile drive. Through it all, the 914 handled adversity right at the edge of potential disaster with grit and tenacity...made me proud.

Posted by: FlacaProductions Feb 6 2021, 06:06 PM

Great story except I’m an Iowa fan....

Posted by: KELTY360 Feb 6 2021, 06:46 PM

QUOTE(FlacaProductions @ Feb 6 2021, 04:06 PM)

Posted by: fixer34 Feb 6 2021, 07:38 PM

Part 3 (last one)
Had the -6 a couple years and started dating this young lady in the spring. Summer came and I asked her if she wanted to go with me to visit my family on one of the afore mentioned trips to Eastern NY. Same plan, leave late afternoon, drive all night stopping only for an hour or so, and arrive next morning. We stayed a week, and during that time also drove over to Boston and up the East coast. Lots of seat time in the 914 and no complaints from her. I was thinking she might be 'the one' and this pretty much sealed the deal. The day we were planning to head back, I proposed. (we had been dating all of 10 weeks...). She said Yes, (maybe wondering how she would get home otherwise..) and we drove all night talking about our future. We got married the following year on the anniversary of our first date.
She knew how to drive a stick and is the only one who has ever driven the car alone since I've owned it.
In a couple months, it will be 40 years ago; I still have both the lady and the car.

Posted by: 90quattrocoupe Feb 7 2021, 11:00 AM

QUOTE(fixer34 @ Feb 6 2021, 05:38 PM)

Posted by: Jmkorfha Feb 7 2021, 02:02 PM

May 14, 1983. My wife and I got married in Austin, Mn.
After the reception my dad took us to my 1973 orange 914. We had cleverly hidden the car a couple miles from the church in an old ladies garage so no-one would mess with it.
Around 11:00 pm we take off for the Ambassador motel at the corner of 12 and 100 in the twin cities, about 100 miles away.
My wife was in her wedding dress and I was in my white tux. So I put the pedal to the floor, thinking I could talk myself out of a ticket.
We went around the curving onramp from 218 to I-35 at 95 mph.
Reached the hotel in about 1 hour and 20 minutes.
We spent the next couple days with my wife push starting the car everywhere we went (stupid ground strap).
I was 20, my wife 18.
Married for 37 + years and have 15 grandchildren.

Posted by: crtupper Feb 7 2021, 07:45 PM

50 years ago this month I bought my first 914 with appearance group. Tangerine with tan interior (VIN 4702913275). I drove it for 10 years and sold it in 1981. It was a "left-over" and built towards the end of the 70 model year. I had worked at the dealership all through high school and was in the Air Force as an E-2. I was home on a long weekend for my birthday and saw the car on the showroom floor on a Sunday. I called the dealership owner at home and said, "I want the tangerine 914 that's on the floor" and Mr Kaye said, "consider it sold". I came home again the following weekend (stationed 6 hrs from home) and picked it up. It had its quirks, but it got me through 4 years of enlisted USAF, 18 months back at the VW-Porsche-Audi dealership, to college and back to the USAF again where it finally became too "brittle" to trust and I got a Jetta Mk1 2 door sedan. I've checked around ... the VIN seems to be "gone" I think the metal moths got it (rust from salt on New Hampshire winter roads).

Posted by: Ace Le Count Feb 9 2021, 01:38 PM

These are awesome!

Posted by: AZBanks Feb 9 2021, 09:02 PM

Another long one.

In 1986 I bought my first 1971 914 two weeks after I turned 18. I don't know the exact color. Looked like Guards Red to me, 916 front bumper, lowered, 205/60 Fulda tires, VW bus engine( )good for 45-50 around this cloverleaf marked for 15.
The perfect car for an 18 year old kid with no tools, no mechanical knowledge, no mechanic friends, and almost no money.

A couple months later I start dating this young lady.
One afternoon, her friend drops her off at my house. It was the first time she was there and the first time she met my mom. My mom swears to this day that the young lady was wearing black that day(she wasn't).
We hang out until it starts to get late and I need to take her home. She lives way out in the boonies. I am doing 45-50mph down this two lane road when I see the sign showing a left curve marked 15 MPH. I no sooner see the sign when the road changes from pavement to dirt and the curve is RIGHT THERE!!!!

There is a 2 -3 foot dirt embankment on the outside of the curve and We slide sideways over that and down a 15 foot embankment on the other side. We slide to a stop still right side up and the engine dies. I get out and look around and check out the car as much as I can with no lights on a dark night in the middle of the desert. The young lady tells me that we are about 4 miles from her house. I think we will be walking when she asks, "Will it start". That is a damn fine question and one I hadn't even considered. I get in and it fires right up. We are on flat ground with just some small bushes in front of us so I start driving forward. The road is on my left and it slopes down toward the level we are on and very soon we are level with the road...

Except there is still that 2-3 foot dirt berm which is now the last barrier between me and the road. A little bit of speed and I should be able to get back over it easy-peasy...

right???

WRONG!

I high centered the 914 on the berm like a champ.

On the bright side we were now just 3.9ish miles to her house not 4.

The young lady and I take a nice stroll along this dirt road in the middle of the desert with the coyotes howling all around us. We get to her house A LOT later than her father would have liked. After avoiding getting eaten by wild animals and killed by an angry father, he lets us take his truck, her brother, some rope and a shovel to get the car off the berm. It is possible her brother disobeyed orders to strangle me with the rope and bury my body but after a lot of shoveling intermixed with the rope breaking multiple times, we got the car free. She went home with her brother and I got the heck out of the boonies before the banjos could start.

The young lady and I were together for a couple more weeks but every time we did something it turned into a disaster. She was a nice enough girl but it was like she was walking around under a black cloud. I guess my mom was right after all.

The car was a little scraped up along the passenger side door but still ran until an aftermarket pulley in front of the fan decided to part ways with the rest of the engine in spectacular fashion. I decided to pull the engine to fix some things and that is how it sat until I sold it a few years later. I wish I still had it.

Posted by: Ace Le Count Feb 18 2021, 04:22 PM

I Love it! Let's get some more stories!

Posted by: Ace Le Count Mar 1 2021, 08:51 PM

Does anyone else have a Porsche story to share?

Posted by: VaccaRabite Mar 2 2021, 08:37 AM

Back in April of 2010.

It was time for the big Hershey PA swap meet. I don't think we had started calling it the MidEngine Invasion yet. But I also had to fly out to Kansas City on Sunday early for work so I could not party much Saturday night.

So Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I'm driving my 914 fairly hard. Sat night I drive home to pack and sleep before my flight Sunday morning.

My daily at the time was a Subaru Outback Sport. Great car, but not nearly as nimble as the 914. I'm racing down to BWI at a speed that felt similar to what I had been doing in the 914 all weekend. Then I hit the cloverleaf where 95S/195 and the Park and Ride is, and I realized I was going WAY to fast to make that turn in my Subaru. Car started sliding off the road and I'm having visions of how I'm going to explain that I missed my flight because I was driving my 914 all weekend and then tried to drive a normal car that way.

I'm not at all sure how I kept the car on the road. That exit ramp is a tight ramp and at the end of it the Subaru was well onto the shoulder with tires squealing. I finished the drive to BWI airport at a much more pedestrian pace.

Made my flight and ended up having a surprisingly great time in Kansas City even though it was a work trip.

Zach

Posted by: rgalla9146 Mar 2 2021, 09:55 AM

The day I bought my orange 6 it was parked between two other Porsches. December of 1984
On one side there was a 904 with a 911 engine...possibly one of two made.
On the other side was a very early 911 with some unusual features.
As I recall the 904 was $17,000
The 911 $6,500
My car was $2,500...with no engine.
Today, ANY 904 today is worth ????
Today, ANY PROTOTYPE 911 (the only one in private hands !) is worth ????
Both of the others were too much money.
I still have the one I could afford. And love it. They're all priceless.

Posted by: EvilOlderBrother Mar 2 2021, 11:38 AM

Let's go back to 1973. Our Mother asks me to take my little brother (Panel Billy) out for a long weekend so she can get some quiet time. We grab some sleeping bags and hop in my '70 Adriatic Blue 914 to head to Soap Lakes in Eastern Washington. Those knowing eastern Washington recognize that there is no way we can stay at or even close to the posted speed limit. Top down and flying along, we come around a bend only to be met with a Washington State Patrol coming the other way. Looking in my mirror I see him hit his brakes but know there are only a few places for him to turn around. Look at Billy and say, we need soda and gas and passed a station a few miles back. So, with our wheelbase, jump a quick U-turn and head back.
Just get the car up to a good speed only to see the same State Patrol guy come by as he had also made a U-turn. Pulled into the gas station, sent Billy in to pick up cold sodas and he comes out to just in time to see the white Dodge pull up behind me. Billy's eyes were as big as saucers (probably thinking of jail) but the cop just looked at both of us and told me to slow it down. He tailed us for a few miles before taking off after someone else. We had a nice weekend except for both getting thoroughly sunburned.

Posted by: KSCarrera Mar 2 2021, 12:18 PM

Mid-90s I was looking to buy a Porsche to go with my VWs. Looked at various that I could afford (944s, a 914 1.7, etc) but nothing appealed. Then one morning I get a call from an old Porsche guy over here, a real 356 guru, whose first words were 'You still looking for a Porsche?' He went on to tell me about a friend in Paris who was looking to sell his 914/6. He'd owned it for close on 20 years but hadn't used it for several years. He gave me his number, with the note that 'Valentin doesn't speak much English'. My French was passable face to face but not great over the phone, but I had no option but to call.

Eventually I managed to get the info I needed, and a price – the equivalent of about $8000 US. He told me the best thing would be to fly to Paris to check the car to make sure, which I did a week later. Turns out Valentin was the service manager at Sonauto, the French Porsche importers, and the car (an original Sonauto-supplied car) was stored in an underground garage in a residential area nearby. I checked the car, which had been buried under blankets and other household junk, and agreed to buy it.

In the meantime, I had done a deal to sell a VW of mine to a friend in France, so I trailered the Bug out to France, and then headed into Paris to collect the 914/6. Now the car didn't run (it hadn't been started for nearly 10 years) and I had no option but to park the tow car and trailer in the middle of a narrow Parisian street while we manhandled the Porsche up a sloping ramp from its underground resting place. A line of cars started to form, the owners becoming increasingly impatient, horns blaring, fists waving. I looked at Valentin and his reaction was a shrug of the shoulders and the words 'It's Paris, they wait...'.

I drove home with a huge smile on my face, and enjoyed a few years of 914/6 ownership until a divorce and property sale meant I had to say farewell to my Metallic Blue 'six' vin #9140431172. I sold it for the equivalent of $16,000, close to the price I paid for my 914/4 15 years later. Happy days.

Posted by: akp2002 Mar 2 2021, 12:22 PM

In 1977 I bought my 1970 914 from the original owner when I was 22 years old. Loved it and put it away every winter and drove some old shitbox VW bug. Put a 2.0 engine in and all kinds of other work. In 1986 after our son was born I sold the car so my wife wouldn't have to go back to work. I sold it to a guy I some what became friends with and stayed in touch with. 2006 when I turned 50 my wife tracked down the car, my friend had sold it to his dentist on the other side of the state. The dentist was in the midst of restoring it, new crate motor, all new brakes, suspension and steering. She convinced him to sell it to her, she arranged to have it shipped to our house so one day I come home and there is my 914 that I haven't seen in 20 years sitting in the driveway with a big bow on it. They are both keepers!

Posted by: RARE 6 Mar 2 2021, 01:29 PM

QUOTE(rgalla9146 @ Mar 2 2021, 07:55 AM)

Posted by: jat914 Mar 2 2021, 01:41 PM

On May,2003, I did an HPDE (high performance driving education) event with the Chicago Region of PCA at Road America with my 914. The morning sessions were plagued with minor problems so I was VERY anxious to get back on the track after lunch. I lined up in my run group and everything seemed to be great on the warm-up lap. As I made it around for the first lap at speed, my steering wheel came off at the apex of the turn known as the "kink". It is the fastest turn on the 4 mile course that I could usually take with my foot flat to the floor. In my hurry to get on the track, I had only put the steering wheel on the splines but forgot to lock it!!! In the split second that it happened I tried to get it back on once and then closed my eyes for the impact with the concrete barrier. They always talk about your life passing before you at this time but there really wasn't that much time!! I should also mention that I have a full welded padded roll cage (tied into the shock towers), racing seat, a six point harness, fire suit, and helmet. Also the 914 crumple zone worked perfectly and I came out of it with only bruises from the shoulder harness. My 914 is another story but to sum it up I got another solid 914 front clip from my good friend Brad Mayer and my car was back on track September,2003. If you are ever at Road America you must go to Siebkens bar (the place where all the famous racers hung out after the track) and see the plaque that was placed there by the Chicago Region to remember my crash and also to give a yearly award to the person who does the same bonehead move!!

Posted by: Nogoodwithusernames Mar 3 2021, 12:25 PM

I don't think I've ever shared the story of how I got my 914-4 on here, so here goes.

It all started about 5 years ago, I would have just turned 21 earlier in the year, and I had a MG-TD kit car and a VW Squareback that took turns as my daily drivers. Embarrassingly I was still living at home but I did buy my own house a year or so later so cut me some slack.

Anyways around the corner from my parents, this funky orange car with "PORSCHE" big and bold on the 911 reflector had been sitting out in a driveway for years, as long as I could remember.

Got up the courage to walk over there and ring the doorbell one day and an older gentleman opens the door and I proceed to awkwardly stumble my way through an introduction, but it turned out well. He figured out, despite my bungling it, that I was the kid down the street always wrenching on the old cars. Turns out he and his brother used to actually race real MG-TDs back in the day, so we hit it off pretty well and we soon transitioned to the Porsche in the driveway. Turns out he'd had it for quite a while and had gotten it re-painted and engine re-built but ended up parking it shortly after that and it got kicked out of the garage by the fastback Mustang and the boat.

He'd had quite a few people over the years try to buy it off him, likely to flip and make a quick buck he thought. However he said he was willing to sell it to me since he figured I'd work on it and drive it and enjoy it. So I ran home and grabbed a battery and can of gas and we tried starting it up, lo and behold after priming the fuel lines a few times it fired right up. Went home and did some research online, had my dad come sit in the passenger seat and closed the door, door closed just fine. Checked over the body and such and all seemed well. Interior was in great shape, still had the stock D-jet. The only real flaw came from sitting under a car cover and then under the California sun, as the trunk and hood were not in amazing shape and there was a little bit of paint damage on the tops of the fenders as well.

We came to an agreement of $3000 though, which was well under the KBB value and I raced home and put the kit car up on craigslist to try and raise some of that money. Listed it at $3000. By some miracle it sold within a couple of days for the list price, so cash in hand I walked over and bought my first Porsche. Straight across from a poorly built kit car (I still have no idea how the PO managed to build it 1/2" off from side to side??? I guess they didn't believe in measuring things.) to a stock, running and driving '74 2.0l. Drove it home that afternoon after airing up the tires.

Of course as with any car sitting for a while I quickly changed out the old fuel lines and oil, shortly followed by going through the brake system and new tires.

A few short years later that car drove me and my new bride up the California coast for our honeymoon. She even let me have some fun in the twisties. (See user photo for our stop at one of the lighthouses along the north coast.) I still try to stop by there every once in a while and say hello so he can see the old car still running around.

Posted by: jaredmcginness Mar 3 2021, 01:04 PM

QUOTE(VaccaRabite @ Mar 2 2021, 09:37 AM)

Posted by: VaccaRabite Mar 4 2021, 09:54 AM

QUOTE(jaredmcginness @ Mar 3 2021, 02:04 PM)

Posted by: Ace Le Count Mar 28 2021, 09:00 PM

Bump! Lets get some more!

Posted by: Ace Le Count Apr 12 2021, 10:18 PM

Come on, I know there are more stories to share!

Posted by: Ace Le Count Apr 27 2021, 01:50 PM

Anyone, anyone?

Posted by: Ace Le Count Sep 14 2022, 03:04 PM

Happy 914 Day everyone!

Posted by: Shivers Sep 14 2022, 03:42 PM

It was a really nice morning, maybe 2:00 am. Top was off and I'd been driving for about 1.5 hrs from San Diego to LA. Coming up 605 fwy N. to the 210 E to visit my parents. When in my rear view mirror I see someone coming up fast, real fast. The off ramp for the 210 E. is a long sweeping ramp, and this guy behind me is flying. Challange accepted! I poured on the coal and was doing 90 half way through the turn, the other guys head lights right in my passenger side view mirror...I gave it the last little bit as he came into view through my passenger side window. The driver is wagging his finger at me and walked away from me on a call...Must of had a call or that California Highway Patrolman would have ruined the end of a great drive.

Posted by: mbr Aug 18 2023, 10:09 PM

I turned 16 in 1989 and had bought a 1970 VW Beetle about 2 years prior to that so I had time to work on it, fix some minor rust and do some mods to make it cool for a 16 year old to drive. 6 months after I turned 16, I found a 73 914 2.0 and sold the Bug and bought the 914. I did not realize how much rust the 914 had until after I bought it. I was driving it one day and took a hard corner and the seat broke loose from the floor. Luckily I was able to maintain control of the car and used some metal plates to reattach the seat track to a less rusty part of the floor. I drove it for a few more months until winter came and due to the rusty rockers there was no heat or defrost. As a new driver, it seemed unsafe to have to scrape the frost off the inside of my windshield while driving and I realized it wasn't the right car to drive daily in the winter and I sold it. It was so much fun to drive but unfortunately it had seen too many salty winter days. According to DMV records, it is still registered and alive so I guess I sold it to the right person!

Posted by: ClayPerrine Aug 19 2023, 06:59 AM

How I got into 914s.....

In 1985 I had a 1969 Firebird, and a friend started telling me about SCCA and road racing. He then started talking about autocross. I was a drag racer, but this road racing stuff sounds fun. So I start looking for a car to take road racing. Looked at Datsun/Nissan Z cars, old Bugeyes, MGs, etc. I didn't think I could even remotely afford a Porsche.

In the parking lot of the apartments where my friend lived, there was a 1979 924. One day a for sale sign appeared on the windshield. So I asked, and the price was actually affordable. So I bought it.

About a month later, in late October of 1985, I decided to take it to an Autocross. Two of my friends were supposed to go with me. One was the guy who later bought my 914 out of the field, the other was the one that talked about SCCA. Well, Sunday morning, both of them were so hung over they didn't want to go. I almost didn't go either. But figured I was already up and dressed, so I went alone to Dallas' Fair Park where SCCA was having an autocross. I didn't know anybody there. I signed up, and took all the stuff out of my car, taped numbers on it, and then started walking around the pits.

This little orange car was sitting there and I was intrigued. The owner was a girl who was taping numbers on the side of the car. So I started talking to her. Turns out we were in the same class. I was, at the time, a somewhat successful NHRA licensed racer, and I was winning on a regular basis. Well, to put it bluntly, I got my clock cleaned. While she didn't finish first, the girl in the 914 beat me by about 2 seconds. I put my bruised ego aside and asked her out. To my surprise, she accepted. We exchanged phone numbers.

Our first date was November 17, 1985. I drove 26 miles from Bedford, Texas to Plano, Texas. Considering I didn't know my way around Plano, she agreed to drive. I spent the whole date looking at a fogged over windshield because the heater box was disconnected on that side. She spent the whole time apologizing for it. That was the first 914 I ever rode in.

If you haven't figured it out by now, the girl in the car was @http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=3255 . We have been together ever since. Later, while we were dating, I started working on her car. I found that the screen in one of the injectors was completely clogged up, and the car was only running on 3 cylinders. I cleaned it and it made way more power. And then the realization hit me. At that autocross, she beat me with only 3 cylinders. My ego is still bruised.

But going to that autocross was the best decision I ever made, and the bruised ego was a small price to pay for finding the two loves of my life. @http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=3255 and 914s.

Posted by: Maltese Falcon Aug 19 2023, 09:39 AM

The previous owner of #40 trailered the car to a PCA Parade event some years ago to Colorado.The car was well accepted and Mike spent lots of time speaking with members, answering questions etc. One morning a Mom pushing her baby in a stroller rolled up and looked the 914 over and said to Mike, "Well done this is the Best Sonauto tribute that I have ever seen" ! He politely thank her

Posted by: technicalninja Aug 19 2023, 10:41 AM

I have many 914 stories...

One I'll share here involves my wife of 38 years.

I married my first girlfriend!
She was not my only girlfriend, just the best one I ever had.

My best friend and I were in my first 70 and I was complaining about not finding a girl like Paula. He'd never met her.
He turned to me and said "I'm tired of you bitching about girlfriends who are not like Paula. Why don't you try to find her?"

D'uh...

2 months later, after finding her (engaged none the less!) she called me.
She was having an allergic reaction and wanted to go to the emergency room.
Her, less than admirable, fiancé wouldn't take her; he was too busy...
Climbed into my 70 914 from Euless, in traffic, above 100 mph average, I picked her up in Lake Worth and took her to the emergency room.
That's when she decided I loved her far more than Gary did and broke it off with him.

So, my 914 helped me win my wife over.

Posted by: Fahren Cars Aug 20 2023, 08:16 AM

QUOTE(ClayPerrine @ Aug 19 2023, 07:59 AM)

How I got into 914s.....

In 1985 I had a 1969 Firebird, and a friend started telling me about SCCA and road racing. He then started talking about autocross. I was a drag racer, but this road racing stuff sounds fun. So I start looking for a car to take road racing. Looked at Datsun/Nissan Z cars, old Bugeyes, MGs, etc. I didn't think I could even remotely afford a Porsche.

In the parking lot of the apartments where my friend lived, there was a 1979 924. One day a for sale sign appeared on the windshield. So I asked, and the price was actually affordable. So I bought it.

About a month later, in late October of 1985, I decided to take it to an Autocross. Two of my friends were supposed to go with me. One was the guy who later bought my 914 out of the field, the other was the one that talked about SCCA. Well, Sunday morning, both of them were so hung over they didn't want to go. I almost didn't go either. But figured I was already up and dressed, so I went alone to Dallas' Fair Park where SCCA was having an autocross. I didn't know anybody there. I signed up, and took all the stuff out of my car, taped numbers on it, and then started walking around the pits.

This little orange car was sitting there and I was intrigued. The owner was a girl who was taping numbers on the side of the car. So I started talking to her. Turns out we were in the same class. I was, at the time, a somewhat successful NHRA licensed racer, and I was winning on a regular basis. Well, to put it bluntly, I got my clock cleaned. While she didn't finish first, the girl in the 914 beat me by about 2 seconds. I put my bruised ego aside and asked her out. To my surprise, she accepted. We exchanged phone numbers.

Our first date was November 17, 1985. I drove 26 miles from Bedford, Texas to Plano, Texas. Considering I didn't know my way around Plano, she agreed to drive. I spent the whole date looking at a fogged over windshield because the heater box was disconnected on that side. She spent the whole time apologizing for it. That was the first 914 I ever rode in.

If you haven't figured it out by now, the girl in the car was @http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=3255 . We have been together ever since. Later, while we were dating, I started working on her car. I found that the screen in one of the injectors was completely clogged up, and the car was only running on 3 cylinders. I cleaned it and it made way more power. And then the realization hit me. At that autocross, she beat me with only 3 cylinders. My ego is still bruised.

But going to that autocross was the best decision I ever made, and the bruised ego was a small price to pay for finding the two loves of my life. @http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=3255 and 914s.

Posted by: slivel Aug 20 2023, 10:35 AM

Lots of 914 stories are about the connection to meeting a wife or girlfriend, but my story is about a 914 lost and found.

I got my 914 in 1995 when I partnered with a friend to build a 914/6 conversion for the track. We raced the 3.0l six jointly for about two seasons when my partner wanted to try another Porsche so I bought out his interest in the car and continued racing the car solo for the next 20 years. With the engine freshened and pumped to a 3.4l twin-plug, I had lots of fun racing with PCA, POC, VARA, and HSR West.

Then in 2016 I lost the car. After racing for so many years I know that you get the occasional flat while towing and I felt prepared by carrying two mounted plus two unmounted trailer tires in my enclosed trailer. On the way to Willow Springs, I had a flat, but changed the tire along the freeway and proceeded to the track for a fun weekend. Leaving the track on Sunday afternoon, I had another flat near Phelan where there was a lot of road construction happening, so I installed my remaining mounted spare leaving me with just two unmounted spares.

As I was passing by the city of Norco on the interstate, I felt the trailer lurch and knew exactly what had happened. I must have run over a piece of debris in the slow lane, and it took out both right side tires on the trailer. I removed the two destroyed tires, placed the trailer on jack stands, double locked it, loaded wheels and unmounted spares in my van, unhooked and went in search of a place to have tires mounted. The only place that I could find late on a Sunday night was a 24-hour truck stop. and they said they could do the job in about three hours. I decided not to wait and returned to the trailer, checked it over, removed my toolboxes, and drove the remaining 80 miles home. First thing in the morning, I had the tires mounted and wife and I headed back north to pick up the trailer. When we got to the place where I left the trailer I could see from our north-bound lanes that it was gone. It was a very sick feeling.

We exited at the next ramp and turned south bound, stopping at the site where I left the trailer. I saw pieces of my hitch lock on the ground. I then called the CHP who arrived within a few minutes. He confirmed that the trailer was not towed by the authorities.

When we got home I put notice of the theft on various car and racing web sites. Then, 10 days later I got a call from a service advisor of the shop that I use saying that my trailer had been found in a rural/residential neighborhood of Riverside.

The thieves had been moving the trailer late on a Friday night. The trailer was on three wheels, one of which was tiny like you would see on a jet ski trailer and one of the axles was chained up so it would not drag on the ground. This rig failed and the shackle broke disabling the trailer. They then abandoned the trailer along the curb. This was noticed by a neighbor who left at 4 am for his shift in law-enforcement.
At about six in the morning the guy whose house the trailer was parked in front of, came out to get his paper and saw my trailer crashed and in his front yard. I believe that the trailer was hit hard by a drunk driver after it had been abandoned. With the back loading door sprung, the guy could see inside the trailer and could read the banner on the car. He did an internet search and found the shop where I service the car and called. Fortunately, the shop is open Saturday morning for drop-offs and pick-ups and my service adviser knew exactly whose car it was.

The police were called, and the trailer was transported to an impound lot.

The trailer was damaged beyond repair and the car sustained about 8k damage.

So I had my car repaired, replaced the trailer and continued to race for a couple more years. I retired from racing in 2018 and have converted my 914 track car into a street toy. It goes to cars and coffee events and the occasional show with a little canyon carving mixed in.

Posted by: racer914 Aug 20 2023, 12:31 PM

I've had a number of 914's over the years starting with a '73 2.0 that I bought off of the used car lot at the Pontiac dealer near Washington DC. in 1979. I had a '69 911S at the time and this 914 would be my wife's commuter car since we had no kids at the time. We kept that car 7-8 years and sold it to a friend in Atlanta after we had moved to Florida.
I almost immediately regretted it but had bought a newer 911 and with 2 kids we needed to keep a family car. In a few years, I bought a 74 2.0 that had been sitting and vandalized with the intention of building a race car. After 6 years of toiling over the project and writing lots of checks, we went racing! I had converted the car to a 2.8 liter six and raced it for more than 10 years. I later bought a '73 2.0 track car which my son and I also both raced. In the time between the two race cars, I also bought a '73 2.0 which my son and I restored for him as his 1st car. He drove it all thru high school and still owns it today some 27 years after I bought it. We've kept the tradition in the family, the last pic is my grandson on the hood of his dad's car shortly after he was born.
I got out of the 914's in about 2015 and threw away much of my parts stash when I moved in 2017. I should have known better. I love these cars having owned 10 or more over the years and wound up with a '74 2.0 that I bought site unseen in 2018. It took me a couple of years to get started on it as we had a bunch of building & remodeling projects to do. That car is my current project and it is being converted to a six for use primarily on the street. It may see a few track days after I retire from racing but for now I have other stuff to race. The metal work is finished and I am awaiting an opening at the shop for bodywork and paint.

This forum has been helpful to me and I've gotten some really good information and parts from it. Thank You for that!

Dave

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