newby questions Options

[ckk]

Hi,

Sorry for the newby post, but I'm thinking about getting a 914 as a weekend car. I might take it to the track once or twice (since the local PCA requires driving a p-car for your first few events), but I have a dedicated non-porsche track car that will do most track duty after that. I've seen the buying guide on the Pelican Parts website, and I still have a few questions for the experts (is there a 914 world buying guide, btw?):

1. Generally, how easy is it to work on one of these? I'm comfortable doing interior trim, wiring, suspension and brake work on mid-80's and newer cars, along with minor engine work (belts, alternators, fluid flushes, etc), but I don't know how to weld, paint, or do major engine work. So if a major engine repair is necessary it would be my first time pulling off a head (as an example). I plan to do most of the work myself. Also, are parts generally available?

2. In a similar vein, if the car seems to be running well, and drives well, are they generally reliable given regular maintenance? Are there any major engine issues to look for? (Specifically on a '75 1.8 with the stock fuel injection -- I will look at one of those this week).

3. Lastly, on rust issues -- I'm really not an expert at checking rust. How can I tell if a rusty area is just surface rust that needs to be scraped and sprayed with rust inhibitor or if it's worse? Would I lightly scrape with a screwdriver or something, to see if I hit metal quickly? I'll check all the areas listed in the Pelican buying guide.

Thanks for any help, and sorry again for posting something that has probably been beaten to death!

--C

[tat2dphreak]

1. Generally, how easy is it to work on one of these? I'm comfortable doing interior trim, wiring, suspension and brake work on mid-80's and newer cars, along with minor engine work (belts, alternators, fluid flushes, etc), but I don't know how to weld, paint, or do major engine work. So if a major engine repair is necessary it would be my first time pulling off a head (as an example). I plan to do most of the work myself. Also, are parts generally available?

pretty easy. I've done 99% of the work myself. and I'd say I was about on the same level as you a few years ago, when i started. I knew how to weld some, and took a class to learn more. for the engine work, there's a lot of resources for helping walking you through anything. the parts are generally available, good member vendors(morph,Jwesteng, mikey914, Eric Shea), used parts and good store fronts like Pelican, Paragon-products, restoration design, Jake Raby, aircooled.net and cbperformance all have their place depending on what you need.

2. In a similar vein, if the car seems to be running well, and drives well, are they generally reliable given regular maintenance? Are there any major engine issues to look for? (Specifically on a '75 1.8 with the stock fuel injection -- I will look at one of those this week).

biggest issue with a 75/76 in Cali is the smog control, I'll let a cali member speak up on how hard it is to keep those inspect-able. generally speaking a 73 and 74 are the most desirable, because of the side shift tranny, and a few other nice tweaks they made to the 70-72 models. but if the car runs well, and is rust free, then that's the most important thing.

3. Lastly, on rust issues -- I'm really not an expert at checking rust. How can I tell if a rusty area is just surface rust that needs to be scraped and sprayed with rust inhibitor or if it's worse? Would I lightly scrape with a screwdriver or something, to see if I hit metal quickly? I'll check all the areas listed in the Pelican buying guide.

don't "lightly" do anything (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) check the hell hole, longs(esp by the jack posts) and passenger side suspension ear well before making a decision. if there's rust, you need to know how bad it is... no matter how much you find, there's more, hiding that you won't find until later. being in Cali you might be in better shape than most of us... I bet before this thread ends, someone in Ca will say " I have a rust free car in perfect shape for sale" (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) this is where to start (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)


now... I can't stress this enough... buy the best one you can afford, you won't be sorry you did... but if you buy a cheaper one that you need to do more work on for rust, etc... you will regret you didn't wait and pay more.... it's generally cheaper to buy a nice one, than it is to fix a "meh" one... ask me how I know (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

also, I recommend having a club member help you do a PPI. again, ask me how I know...

I made BOTH mistakes. and I've driven my car 1 week out of 7 years... this PAST week, btw.