914 Journey to the Concours, Project: 1974 914 2.0L LE Bumblebee Options

[JeffBowlsby]

Because it handles so well out of the box, most 914 owners want a 914 so they can tinker with it, race it, and modify it so that it is ‘better’ than the factory ever envisioned, to whatever their definition of ‘better’ is from their perspective. We have seen so many great things on the internet about the 914 lately, on this website and others. It is exciting to see the interest in the car thrive and I am glad to be a part of it.

As much as I appreciate and admire the modified cars and the tremendous efforts put into them, I really like the stock, factory original cars the most. I don’t know if it’s the nostalgia or what, but to see and be near a 914 that looks, feels and smells like it just rolled off the assembly line 30 years ago is an exciting event for me. So many have been modified, and so few are original. I don’t know if I ever will be able to have a 914 that is a contender in a Concours event, but I think it would be fun to try. This continuing saga will be my online chronicle of the effort. I prefer to use photos so I will attempt to include lots of them as I go. To anyone who doesn’t share my enthusiasm for original cars or stock restorations, I hope you will still appreciate and encourage my journey. One great thing about these cars is that they are intriguing on more than one level and this project is about preserving originality for us, and future generations, to enjoy. But I still will drive it to enjoy its best attributes…

Here are a few detail shots of my car VIN 14536, the object of this thread, that I recently sent to Otto, to assist him in the restoration of his 914 LE Bumblebee VIN 14700:

[JeffBowlsby]

I live in the Bay Area...we get ~15 inches of rain annnually, so not driving in the rain isnt a big inconvenience. If I was in the PNW, that would be a bigger sacrifice.

VIN 14536

In my journey to locate 914 LE cars, I was contacted by the daughter of 914 LE VIN 14536, who wasn’t sure if the car her dad owned was a Bumblebee, but it looked like the cars on my website. This car had 48,000 original miles, original paint and everything else was original for that matter, and is in superb unrestored condition. It even had the original tires until 1996. It was first purchased from Rusnak Porsche in Pasadena CA, by a gentleman who put about 37,000 miles on it over its first 22 years, and he garaged and cared for it in a dry climate. Because he was becoming elderly, he sold it to his then ~50 year old son, who put another 12,000 miles on it in the next 7 years that he owned it. The car has never been in an accident, and is the most original, unrestored 914 I have ever had the pleasure of seeing personally. The owner mentioned that it would be for sale soon and I knew I had to have it. So just before Thanksgiving of 2003, I flew down to Los Angeles and drove VIN 14536 to my home in San Jose, where it immediately went into my garage for the winter. The odo now reads just under 48,500 miles. The wife’s 1999 BMW now resides on the driveway, because we only have a single car garage.

Now the car may be original in nearly every respect, but it is not currently in show room condition. Unmolested yes, perfect no. The PO had installed an aftermarket stereo and alarm, and so there are a few small holes drilled in hidden locations for the alarm wires and switches. The front suspension makes noise and is squirrelly, the front shocks are known to be worn out, probably the ball joints too. The rear springs while original…are showing the effects of 30 years of gravity. The outside paint has minor scratches and oxidization and a few small parking lot type dings, which I think can be repaired without repainting the bodywork. The carpeting in the cabin is tired and worn, needing replacement. There is one blem in the targa top at a rear corner and a few of the weatherstripping pieces are tired. The car has its original battery tray intact, but it only has light surface rust, it will clean up easily enough. Both abyss’s on either side of the engine bay are dirty, but have no rust. The engine bay is dirty, intake manifold and fuel lines are old and brittle, but these are of no concern. That’s all the bad news that I am aware of to this moment.

Here is a photo from the previous owner: