it's almost over Options

[Queenie]

At least, I'm pretty sure it is.

My car won't pass smog.

It appears to have a blown head gasket.

Not to mention it still needs a shitload of engine work that I really don't feel like paying for or dealing with.

I have not made a final decision, but I've already started looking for a bug. I'm about 98% sure that cutting my losses and getting out now is the right thing to do. I can't afford to keep fixing the 914. As much as I love driving it, it's killing me to try to keep it on the road.

*sigh*

I so wanted this car to be a good thing.

[Bleyseng]

Blown head gasket! Who puts those stupid things back in. VW/Porsche had a tech note in the 70's not to install 'em even though they still include them in the gasket sets. Metal to metal is a better seal.

Sorry you are at the end of the rope, maybe someone in SoCal can help?

Geoff

[SLITS]

Don't give up totally - what engine size? What year? Maybe we can help.

AND, from experience, bugs aren't all that reliable either.

[Queenie]

Geoff - if someone in SoCal wants to help me total the car so I can cash out my insurance, then yeah - that'd be great.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

Oh, you meant like with parts and stuff, huh?

Slits - it's a '76 2.0. And I've been driving air coolers for 15+ years - I know more than enough about bugs to make the decision whether to buy another one or not. They're perfectly reliable as long as they're well maintained, and unlike the 914 they don't need a couple of fucking grand in repairs every goddamn year.

Do I sound irritated?

Good. Because I am.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif)

I can't keep pumping money into this car. It's just not an option for me at this point.

[SLITS]

Hey - was gonna offer up a head if ya needed it to pass, but if you're a Type 1 person - go for it.

[Bleyseng]

the only money I keep pumping into my 76 is for the mods I keep doing.
Car runs great with about 15k on the rebuilt motor and less than 1k on the tranny I fixed last summer.
When you can't do it yourself and have to trust a mechanic to do the work that makes it hard but that is the price of owning any car. I still have several friends who come over to repair their cars in my garage cuz they get burnt everytime they got to a mechanic. They use my tools but then take me out to dinner after. I have to answer questions sometimes too.

I remember you had a friend who fixed your engine last year too. Popping the heads off and fixing a leaky head isn't too hard. Is it running really rich?

Geoff

[lapuwali]

It pretty much has to be a '76, as no earlier 914 has to be smogged in California.

Bugs may or may not be more reliable, but engine rebuilds are lots cheaper. From what I've seen, however, a decent Bug costs more than a 914 in the same condition. And don't even think about getting a Ghia for much less than 2x what a similar condition 914 would run.

[Queenie]

I'm not a "Type 1 person" - I'm a person who is trying to get out of debt and can't afford to keep driving a car that needs as much expensive work as this car has needed.

Even if it passed smog, it would still need a top end rebuild - and who knows what else? It's a mess. It runs (pretty damn well, actually) and I can drive it but it's pretty much all fucked up and it needs a major overhaul. Passing smog is the least of my worries, really.

I'm just really frustrated - don't take my ranting personally.

[Queenie]

From what I've seen, however, a decent Bug costs more than a 914 in the same condition.

That's exactly why I ended up with a 914 in the first place. I figured for the money, I might as well get back into a sports car.

And I do love a lot of things about the 914. If I could find a way to get the engine into good shape for a price that I could afford, I'd probably keep it even though it makes more sense to get something that uses cheaper parts - just like you said, the cost of maintenance is much, much less for a bug engine.

Gah.

[Queenie]

I remember you had a friend who fixed your engine last year too. Popping the heads off and fixing a leaky head isn't too hard. Is it running really rich?

Yeah, it's running very rich. Doesn't popping the heads off involve pulling the engine? I don't have a garage, and I don't have access to one. Yes, Pancho (the ex) can do the work, but he has a more than full time job right now and I can't just ask him to pull my engine on his day off - if and when he gets one - especially when we don't have a good space in which to do it.

I've already got new pistons and cylinders sitting here; I knew this was coming. I've known for a long time that the heads need work and that it was just a matter of time until it would get to the point of no return. But now that I'm there, I just don't know if it's worth it to do the work. Because I know that as soon as it's done, I'll get a few months of quiet and then something else will need attention - that's the nature of driving a vintage sports car, and I knew that when I bought it. I thought I could pull it off, but at this point I just don't know if I even want to keep trying.

I really, really, really, really need to get out of debt and spending thousands of dollars on my car is not going to help me do that.

I don't know what to do, but my instinct tells me to get out.

[Bleyseng]

Still djet? Does the MPS hold a vacuum? This could be the problem ....
I could donate a good used MPS for your car to help out. I do rebuild them in my spare time which I have none, but Monique is out of town sooo....
Geoff

[lapuwali]

IMHO, it sounds like you need to bite the bullet and get out of old cars period. Driving ANY 30+ year old car is going to cost money to keep up, particularly if you can't do the work yourself. A Toyota will tolerate going 100K miles with little more than oil changes, but a Bug won't any more than a 914 would. In my experience, people who manage to run old cars as daily drivers either spend a fortune on mechanics bills or they have a well-equipped garage and know how to do most of the work themselves (i.e., they spend the fortune on a house and tools). My newest car is 33 years old, and I can do the bulk of what it will need myself, and can afford to pay someone else to do the rest.

[Queenie]

Yeah, still djet.

MPS? What is this?

I know I should know, but I'm trying to study for a history test that I have tonight and my brain isn't coming up with anything that doesn't directly relate to the drafting of the constitution.

It's not doing super great as far as the vacuum goes. It's functional as far as running, but it obviously needs something because it won't pass smog.

[Bleyseng]

No, I disagree that these are money pits. They are soo simple just like a bug that once you fix them they run and run. Its just if you get one that has been f'd by a PO then you are forever chasing down stuff they wrecked. There are sooo few parts in a 914 compared to a newer car, that is the beauty of them, smart German engineering built to last and run cheaply. European cars in the 60's and 70's had too! Even now with the price of gas in Europe a car is expensive !! I was just there in Holland and Germany and not too many people can afford to have a car unless its very small and is cheap to own and run. Gas is $4.50 a gallon.
Find a take out motor then that is known good and install it. That is the cheapest fix if the motor needs to be rebuilt.

Geoff

[Bleyseng]

Mps

[Queenie]

IMHO, it sounds like you need to bite the bullet and get out of old cars period.

I would rather not drive a car at all than drive a Toyota. Buying a car like that is not, and never will be, an option for me.

I have plenty of experience driving old German cars and I'm willing to deal with what they need. I can easily afford to maintain a VW, but I'm pushing my luck with a Porsche. The smart thing to do is drive a VW until I get out of school and then find myself another 356.

I have someone to help me with the routine maintenance and I have a shop I trust to take care of everything else.

All cars cost money to run. I'd rather drive one that I love.

[Queenie]

Find a take out motor then that is known good and install it. That is the cheapest fix if the motor needs to be rebuilt.

Pancho and I have discussed that as an option, but I can't do that unless I can get it to pass smog this one last time - at least, I don't think I can. I don't see how I could, unless I non-op it until next year.

But that doesn't leave me with anything to get back and forth to school in in the meantime, and that's a big problem.

I think the 914 is a great platform, and I agree with you that they don't have to be money pits. I just think I'm not in the best position to own one right now.

[lapuwali]

Don't count on it being "this one last time". There's a bill winding through the Assembly now that would kill the 30 year rolling exemption and fix it at 1975 as the last year. Your '76 would have to be smogged forever.

[SirAndy]

If I could find a way to get the engine into good shape for a price that I could afford, I'd probably keep it even though it makes more sense to get something that uses cheaper parts - just like you said, the cost of maintenance is much, much less for a bug engine.

ok, then let's start there ...

what can you afford? realisticly?

exactly where in SoCal are you? how far to the bay area?

cheer up, i'm sure we can work something out!
that's what you have us (the club) for ...
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving-girl.gif) Andy

[SirAndy]

I've already got new pistons and cylinders sitting here; I knew this was coming. I've known for a long time that the heads need work and that it was just a matter of time until it would get to the point of no return.

even better!
hmmm, if you could get the car up here, i could talk brad into going through the topend of yer engine ...

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Andy