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Posted by: fiacra Jul 26 2021, 05:16 PM

Sold and gone to it's new home as of 9/17/21. The plan from the buyer is a full restoration as well as some upgrades. A local buyer who lives only a few miles from me.


09/11/2021 - Sale Pending

UPDATE 8/11/2021: I now have a key for the ignition. At the request of another member I have added more photos of the floor pan. See the dropbox link below.
8/17/21 - Pictures of the passenger side outer long added.

09/01/2021 - A good project for the right person. Maybe my price is aspirational? I'm willing to lose money on this for the right buyer...the highest priority is to put it in the right hands to put it back on the road. It's a worthy base for a restoration of an early car.


I bought this car nearly two years ago with the intent of restoring it. However, circumstances have changed (you may have heard of this virus going around...) and I'm hoping to find someone who has the time, money and skills to take on the full restoration it needs. If you are looking for an early 914 for restoration (production date August 1970) this would in my assessment be a good candidate, depending upon your skill level and resources. The car is currently located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Specifically, it is in Richmond in the East Bay.

The back story on this car is not fully known because it's owner passed away several decades ago, but this is what was relayed to me: The car has lived in California since new. It was parked sometime in the early to mid 1990's and has not been driven since then. It was stored in a shed for that whole time, so at the time I acquired it the car had been protected from the weather since it had been parked. Apparently the owner passed away shortly after it was parked at a relative's house in Crockett California and there it sat until they passed away and the family decided to sell the property. It was purchased from the estate, without any title, but since then I have acquired the title through a lien sale and it does have a clean California title in my name. It was then moved to a storage yard, where it sat under a tree for almost a year, part of that time without a cover. Once it was in my name I put a cover on it, and it stayed in the storage yard until it was moved to my house where it has been under a good quality all weather cover in my driveway for over a year now. I have no records and no way to confirm the accuracy of what I was told. However, the condition of the car does seem to confirm the above.

Fortunately despite the fact that it was stored in a shed it does not show any signs of having hosted a major rodent infestation. I did find some mouse droppings in the trunk and the frunk, but no nests. One of the latch cups in the trunk has clearly been chewed through by rodents as you can see in the photos. I do believe there is a faint smell of mouse in the passenger compartment, but no rodent damage I could find anywhere. The major problem will be intimately familiar to anyone with the skills to save this car: the hell hole needs a major repair. The battery tray is rotted, and there is the usual rust damage to the firewall. The floor pan has rust at the back of the seats. I have not removed the seats, but you can see it from underneath. There is rust at the B pillars in front of the sail panels. The back and front edges of the trunk lid and the frunk lid are rusted, but I cannot find any significant rust in the trunk or the frunk. I do not believe the trunk lid and the frunk lid can be repaired, but I can include another frunk lid in excellent rust free condition. There is rust at the base of the windshield. The rocker panels are in good shape and are still held in place by the original rivets. I have not removed them, and I know a lot of you will want to see photos of this area. I promise to get to it as soon as I can. I think you can safely assume that there is rust in the longs on the passenger side. There are dents in the driver's door and in the driver's side rear quarter panel just behind the door. I cannot find any other evidence of accident damage.

As best as I can tell the car is complete (with the exception of the missing exterior mirror and the stereo) and original, with one "Earl Scheib" quality respray of some sort of metallic Gray over the original Signal Orange paint (paint code L30E). It was not the best respray and the original color remains on most interior surfaces. It has on it faux Fuchs that will come with the car. The tires do hold air and can be used for transport. The original dash has no cracks. The knee pad does have some cracks. Despite the rust, the door gaps are even and remain so when stressed. The doors ring true when closed. I found a large ring of keys under the passenger seat, one of which opened the trunk and the others do nothing. I had a key made for the door, but it did not fit the ignition, so no ignition key at the moment. I am willing to have one made at my expense.

Use the dropbox link to see all the photos, over 100 of them. Please ask for pictures of anything specific you want to see, as well as ask questions you have after you have looked at the photos. It does have the rare stock bumpers with the square indent in the rear. There is surface rust on the bumpers, but no significant rust and no dings or dents that I can see. The original steering wheel was protected by a cover (that I removed) and is in great condition. It is also rare to find an original 1970 dash with no cracks. If you are interested in the car I would by far prefer that you personally inspect it. Failing that, there are lots of local members in the Bay Area with the skill to take a look at and objectively assess this car so you might consider putting out a request. This car, in my opinion (and it is just an opinion after all) should be restored to stock condition and my preference is that it goes to a buyer with that intent. However, like many of you I just want every car possible to be saved.... In my opinion this one is certainly worthy of it. Asking $5K, but open to reasonable offers.

dropbox link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/k7s778yv8jvcdtr/AACx-1FK4QnMkWxDdaj50DIQa?dl=0

Posted by: fiacra Aug 3 2021, 01:22 PM

Posted by: RiqueMar Aug 3 2021, 02:48 PM

PM Sent

Posted by: fiacra Aug 13 2021, 07:21 AM

Still available. More pictures added to prove the floorpan will need to be replaced and that the door gap does not change with stress. Had some interest, but this is not a car for someone who doesn't have the skill and desire to restore an early 914. If that is what you want, then this is a good candidate as it is complete, has the rare parts people look for, including the early bumpers, etc. I've tried to make it look as bad as possible in the pictures so nobody is misled! Local delivery is possible as I have a truck that can tow this. This car is worthy of being saved.....

Posted by: Tdskip Aug 13 2021, 08:29 PM

It’s obvious that you are trying to make sure that the car is well documented and accurately presented, on behalf of the community thank you.

Posted by: tygaboy Aug 14 2021, 09:12 AM

@http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=22920 is the kind of seller you want to work with. I've seen this car as I was interested in it for an engine swap. This was a couple years back, before it was officially on the market.

But it's such an honest, early car, it REALLY should be restored/kept stock, IMHO. Anyway, I'm not the guy for that.

If you're even remotely interested in this sort of thing, this car is well worth your consideration.

Posted by: matthepcat Aug 14 2021, 12:27 PM

Sad to see the orange painted over.

Posted by: RiqueMar Aug 14 2021, 02:49 PM

I've researched this car extensively, based on the photos @http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=22920 provided. This is a GREAT jumping jumping off point for someone looking for a project, especially with all the resources, knowledge, and vendors available today.

Posted by: fiacra Aug 17 2021, 05:42 PM

@http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=19241 @http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=21666 @http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=9478 My thanks for the feedback from three respected members of this forum.

Removed the passenger side rocker cover today. It was still held in place by the original plastic rivets. The two screws and three bolts came off easily. There is obvious rust at the jack point, which means there is more to be found, but not as bad as a lot of other cars out there. One picture below, seven more in the dropbox file.

Open to hearing offers. It is even possible I can deliver as far south as LA. I may be traveling down there in a few weeks and I could drive my truck and rent a U-Haul car carrier.

Posted by: fiacra Aug 23 2021, 11:55 AM

Now up on Craigslist and I'm getting solid interest there, but I'd still prefer to find a buyer on the world.... Offers being considered!

Posted by: fiacra Sep 1 2021, 01:46 PM

A good project for the right person. Maybe my price is aspirational? I'm willing to lose money on this for the right buyer...the highest priority is to put it in the right hands to put it back on the road. It's a worthy base for a restoration of an early car.

The Mahle's currently seen in the dropbox file will unfortunately not come with the car.

I'm headed to LA from the SF Bay Area the week-end of September 18th. I'm happy to rent a car carrier and deliver almost anywhere on this route. Where are you going to find a better offer

Posted by: LefthandRev Sep 1 2021, 05:08 PM

Man, I want those wheels badly.

Posted by: yellowporky Sep 5 2021, 10:19 AM

@http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=22920
PM sent. Very interested
Thanks
Chris

Posted by: tygaboy Sep 7 2021, 08:55 AM

If this car sells "sorta locally" and the buyer could use some help, I have an enclosed trailer and tow vehicle and I'd be happy to transport it at no cost.

Posted by: fiacra Sep 11 2021, 02:03 PM

Thanks for that @http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showuser=19241 Sale is now pending to a local buyer, unfortunately not a World member. I'll post the sale price once everything is finalized so everyone can see, but it is quite close to asking...

Posted by: Tdskip Sep 15 2021, 09:21 AM

Glad this seems to be working out.