Newbie Introduction Options

[Porscheliebhaber]

Just a note to say hello and introduce myself. My name is Rhonda and I have adored these cars for many years now and am finally in the position to acquire one. I have been really impressed with this forum, really positive and helpful. Looking forward to contributing. You may see a lot of questions from me but just trying to wrap my head around what to look for and how to purchase the best car I can.

I live in Asheville, NC so a nice handling car is my focus. I am focusing on a 1.7 L or 1.8L. I don’t have a very large budget (6-8K), so the 2.0L’s are out. I am focusing on a driver. While I know my way around a car but just don’t have all the tools, or knowledge for a complete resto. I am hoping to find a car that is an older restoration or a well cared for original. Priorities are a relatively rust free body, factory color is a must, factory body a must, not opposed to GT kit but that would most likely drive a car out of my range.

I drive the heck out of my cars, so I would love to hear what your thoughts are about a 1.7 L or 1.8L, in the mountains. My car will likely have 50-80,000 miles so I am a little bit concerned about the power for some of my higher elevation drives. I live at 2,500 ft. and am often up to 6,500. The car will have a ppi and compression test, etc. Not sure how much power these cars loose over time but I am sure many of you have experience with these cars in the mountains.

I would be thrilled to hear your thoughts about my choices and perhaps alternatives to look into. Thanks in advance for your time.

[Tom_T]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) Rhonda,

Well dang, our daughter & hubby just closed the sale of their home in Candler on Friday, & had moved to Charlottesville VA last Feb. for a new Asst. GM position at the Doubletree there! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

You'll be fine in those lovely WNC mountains with any 914, so long as you're not trying to compare or race with modern cars, wherein a Honda or Toyota sedan has more HP - but far less fun factor! They're usually pretty reliable & fun cars when properly cared for & maintained.

And getting stuck somewhere out of town can usually be resolved by any competent air-cooled VW mechanic/shop - vs. more specialized old aircooled Porsches or the 914-6.

I think there's a VW Westfalia shop on the West side of Asheville (can't recall neighborhood name) that may be a local mechanic source, if no other 914/Porsche shop/mechanic is in town. I don't know if the local Porsche dealer there off I26 & SM Pkwy even works on the old air-cooled cars.

When not driving it, do keep it garaged back there in the heavy rain, ice & snow weather though! ...all older pre-76 Porsches were not rust preventative treated (& 76 914s, while 76> 911/912E/930 were zinc hot dipped).

A 1.7 or 1.8 would be okay for what you're talking about driving there, but no pocket-rocket as noted above. However, since they're electronically fuel injected (D-jet @ 1.7 & 2.0, L-jet at 1.8), the EFI will do all the altitude compensation automatically for you.

The 70-72 1.7s were 80 HP, while the 75-76 2.0 was detuned for smog control to 88 HP (86 on CA cars due to stricter smog) - so not a huge difference, but the 73-74 2.0 were 95 HP, & the 74-75 1.8 was 76 HP & less than the earlier 1.7s due to smog detuning - while the 73 1.7 got socked by smog down to 72 HP (only 68-ish in CA). Of course any of them can be tweaked for better power.

IMHO the sweet spot for the 1.7 is 72 MY - before the detuning sapped the power, & where the interior improvements (movable passenger seat, side dash vents, etc.) & the tail-shifter transaxle's shifting was tweaked & tightened up (& any tail-shifter can be converted to the better shifting 73-76 side-shifter version).

Similarly, the 74 1.8 is a bit better than 75 with the original stitched-seam seats & less of the cost saving measures instituted for the 75-76 models, & IIRC the CA (semi-rust-free) 75 1.8 was also detuned to only 72 due to the cat converter etc. added for 75 MY.

You may still be able to find a decent DD quality 73-74 or 75-76 2.0 in your price range, but not concours/collector quality - but one with good bones, which you could improve upon over time as budget allows.

Key thing is to be patient, take your time looking for the right one, & thoroughly check it out or have a pre-purchase inspection (PPI) done on it before buying. So that generally leaves out the evil-bay quick auctions, unless you're a real gambler - in which case your luck is probably better at the Cherokee Casino!

You can use the 914 assessment checklist at this link below for looking at them, & just go slow & check them out, or request someone nearby from this site to go do a PPI for you &/or go with locally.

http://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/zTN_Gen_914CAF.pdf

And 2 references you'll want to peruse are:

p914.com

and

http://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/ (Jeff Bowlsby is the source of the form above)

Anyway, there are a few 914 folks around there in the Smokies you can look up too, & they did a non-Dragon fun run a few years back on some of the mountain side roads out west of Candler, so you'll have company for some fun drives when the put them together.

Member poorish is just north in TN & set up that fun run, & we met up with him at the end of the run (looking at houses with kids then, & rental Nissan not fun for that anyway).

I may get back through there again on the way to Cherokee, so I'll keep a look out for your 914 ... well I always look out for & notice them anywhere anyway! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Good Luck! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Tom
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