Buying an 914, Need advise before buying Options

[Juel72]

Hi there 914 fans.

I am calling in from Denmark, Europe.

I have just sold my BMW 2002 because I want to buy a 914.

I have received some pictures from the seller of the car I am interested in-

It is a 1,7 from 1970. Yellow with baby Fuchs. Nice interior. Paint not perfect but useable. Engine runs fine. Bursch exhaust and aftermarket air filter fitted (MSD or something like that). Koni shocks in all corners.

Price is fair :-)

Please see the pictures and comment. I would very much like to hear what you guys think of the car.

Looking forward to hearing your comments

Best regards
Juel

[Juel72]

More pics.

Comments please :-)

[brant]

You really need pictures of the actually rust spots.

I won't buy a car without taking the rocker covers off.
Please ask the seller for pictures under the rockers

[Juel72]

Thank you for your reply.

So you mean the usual places where to look for rust like under battery tray, engine room, rear suspension ?

Are the rocker covers easy to remove ?

[r_towle]

Where is the car?
You should have someone inspect the car for you before you buy it.

A PPI will find the rust.

Because most of the major structural rust happens at the jack posts, it's really best to get pictures with the rocker panels removed.

Most of the rust happens at the back of the jackpot, so an educated buyer with a flashlight does not need to insist on removing the rocker covers....lots of people would rather not deal with that request, and honestly I would not either....

You can see from above and below most of the longitudinal in the area that typically rusts, and the seller can take pictures from above and below.

The rear trunk looks suspicious.
The amount of undercoating on the rear jacking plate is suspicious.

I would hire someone to put it on a lift and do a formal inspection for you before you buy it.

Rich

[Rob-O]

Some things I noticed.

Weird paint cracking around the door handle. Usually paint doesn't crack like that unless there is some type of substrate (usually filler/bondo) behind it. If there is filler or bond behind it, that would suggest to me that there is or was rust there. It's an area of the car that is known to collect moisture and produce rust.

The rear trunk area is weird too. I will be the first to say that I don't know the early cars well, but the pan in the trunk looks like it was skimmed over with some type of filler material near the taillights.

In the front trunk picture, there is something going on by the drivers side headlight bucket. There is a triangular piece that I don't recall seeing on other 914 bodies, early or late. But someone else can chime in on that. To me, it looks as if there was a repair made there at some point after an accident and the headlight bucket didn't meet back up with the front panel correctly, so they added a piece of metal to cover the area where the two panels weren't meeting.

In general though, it's tough to tell the exact shape it's in from these pictures. The crux of a good 914 lies in the pictures that were mentioned by Brant and yourself. The rocker panels need to come off and the battery tray/hell hole need to be photographed.

[Rob-O]

Oh, also, the door panels are from the 1975/1976 models. The early cars had either plain vinyl or a basket weave material on them. This car appears to have the square weave, which is the 1975/1976 material.

I would do what Rich said, have the car inspected by someone knowledgable. Pictures tell a thousand words, but getting up close and personal with the car will tell you so much more than pictures.

[Rob-O]

Lastly, the front trunk has been painted, at least partially. The ID plate on the passenger side headlight bucket has overspray on it. The wiring loom looks like it was painted over as well and then electrical tape was used to cover the painted wiring loom. You can also see that someone taped over the front trunk cable tube and that there is paint on it as it goes underneath the headlight bucket on it's way to the passenger compartment.

[Juel72]

Thank for your replies.
I have also found some of the things you have mentioned. But I do not have the trained 914 eye like you :-)

The strange paint surfaces, I am afraid that something bad is under the used filler.

The crack in the paint next to the passenger door is not good. It does look like a lot of bondo/filler has been used in this area.

The car is located a couple of hundred kilometers from my home here in Denmark. I guess this car is a US import.

[mepstein]

I agree, a rusty car can get pricey real fast.
On the other hand, there's almost no such thing as a non-rusty 914 and while some people may chase that unicorn forever, sometimes you just need to buy it, drive it and enjoy it.

Have fun!

[r_towle]

Front trunk metal looks stock.

At a few 100 k from your house, rent a car and go look in person.
Bring a good flashlight and look under the battery, even remove the ECU....get a good look in there, and then look underneath that same area from the fender, look all the way forward to the jacking post and look for rust.

Tap with some screw drivers, make sure you understand how much rust there is.
It has rust, and it has it in that area....just figure out how much.

Rear trunk also has rust, closest to the back.

The rest of the issues are paint and filler, so being a magnet.

Good luck

Rich

[Cairo94507]

I think it has been tapped in the driver's front corner and the rear trunk has been hit too. The door handle area looks as if it has rust or something going no there.

The main thing is the typical rust areas are not shown in any of the pictures. Rust is expensive to repair correctly. That would be my foremost concern, everything else is easily fixable.

I would strongly urge you to go see the car in person or have a trusted person experienced in 914's go see it. The alternative would be a ton of good quality detailed pictures showing all aspects of the car, top and bottom inside and out.

[boxstr]

See if you can find someone who is a little more versed on the 914 and the areas to look at who might be local.
Lots of paint, overspray.maybe look at a few more if you find them near you.
Good luck,
Craig at CAMP

[Nine_14]

Looks like a quick sale paint job. i would allways prefer a car with original color or a well documented resto.
Most sellers dont send pictures of the most rusted areas of their cars. a inspection
of a person with 914 experience is recommended..... it will save your money !

have a frequently look at craigs website. He offers cars in fair conditions and prices too. (my impression)

[Chris H.]

If you get serious and decide to do an do an inspection ask the owner to remove this black rocker panel cover and look under it. In fact, look under both sides.



It looks bowed (bent outward) at the top near the jack point which is not normal (much easier to see in your larger picture). Might just be poor installation but it doesn't look right and could be a sign of damage or debris/rust building up at the jack point.

[Dave_Darling]

The Fuchs wheels were not an option for 1970, they started either late in the 72 model year or with the 73 model year.

The car also has been converted to a 73+ side-shift transmission.

Those are both mods that make the car more useable, but less original. Could be a plus or a minus, depending on what you are looking for.


There was foam put in the body in several locations, including above the recess for the door handle. From the cracking there, I'd say the foam held moisture and is either causing a rust-through there, or already did that and it was poorly repaired. Well worth checking more thoroughly. (Other foam spots include above the outer corners of the taillights, and inside the reinforcement at the rear of the rear trunk lid.)

No photos of the usual rust spots would make me assume that there is a lot of rust in them, unless you can verify otherwise.

--DD

[Juel72]

Thank you very much for all the replies.

This Saturday I am going to inspect the car. I am meeting the owner at a Classic car race.
If it looks OK we will drive to the owners garage for a much closer look.

I will let you know the result of the inspection.

Thanks again :-)

[Juel72]

Thank you very much for all the replies.

This Saturday I am going to inspect the car. I am meeting the owner at a Classic car race.
If it looks OK we will drive to the owners garage for a much closer look.

I will let you know the result of the inspection.

Thanks again :-)

[green914]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) Looks like everything has been covered. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[Chris914n6]

Sheet metal should be smooth. Next to the drivers headlight and the rear trunk don't look good. Bring a magnet to find filler. I would print out a bunch of pics from a known good car to reference to for accident damage. This one looks rough under the ghetto paint job.