Ridiculous 914 stories?, You haven't lived if you have never... |
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Ridiculous 914 stories?, You haven't lived if you have never... |
Moneypit |
Apr 24 2014, 11:58 AM
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Member Group: Members Posts: 195 Joined: 4-January 06 From: Georgetown, TX Member No.: 5,360 Region Association: Southwest Region |
I was just recalling the first time we ever drove our '74 1.8 with Twin Webers. It was the first 914 we'd had after my dad sold his back in the 80's, and we picked her up for $600 dollars after catching it on fire briefly while trying to turn the motor over. When we got it home, we started digging through the car, and discovered two main things: 1) the passenger side Weber was seized up, which resulted in 2) the crappy metal crank that attaches the go pedal to the throttle cable being broken. So basically the gas pedal was non-functioning. After removing the carb, pulling it apart and freeing it up with WD-40, we at least could get the car finally started! After much trying, backfires, and standing around with fire extinguishers, the motor jumped to life!
Not content to just have the motor running, my dad and our friend (a body man who restores old cars & worked at a porsche/bmw/mercedes/audi dealership) kinda looked at each other and said, "wanna take it around the block?". We had removed the rear trunk and engine lid to get better access in the engine bay, which incidentally led to possibly the most ludicdous 914 sight I've seen yet. I want you to picture someone sitting in the rear trunk, manually running the carburetors by hand, while my dad steered/shifted, and me along for the ride. It took a few moments to synchronize driver/throttle man, but soon we were pulling out of the back alley, and cruising along our neighborhood in a backfiring, trunkless 914 with a guy hanging onto the rollbar working the throttle. Needless to say, all the kids in the neighborhood were pointing and following, then ducking and running when it backfired. We did a few laps, and then parked her, victorious! We only did it the one time, and naturally this was before cell phone cameras and even digital cameras being everywhere, so sorry I don't have a pic or video. Soon we got a replacement lever, rebuilt the carbs with a rebuild kit, sorted the throttle linkage all out, and had her driving normally. Anyone else have ridiculous, 914 stories from your restoration, trips to meets, or just daily driving? |
Madswede |
Jul 24 2016, 02:03 PM
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Flat Out Driver Group: Members Posts: 853 Joined: 13-September 06 From: Rio Rancho NM Member No.: 6,831 Region Association: Rocky Mountains |
I drove my first (and to date, only) 1973 914 from Granada Hills, CA, to Rio Rancho, NM straight through, about 850 miles or so ... while it was running on 3 cylinders.
I believe the car was originally a 1.7L and someone confusingly put in a 2.0 bus motor, I think it was the previous-previous-previous owner. As Ron theorized, the bus motor had likely been over revved a few times. Anyway, it had a broken rocker arm the day I drove it back from CA to NM. So I was making less than 75% power (of a bus motor). I figure it was about a 40-50 hp motor. Journey took me 18 hours, straight through. Quite an indoctrination for seat time in a "first 914"! I had to stop and let it cool for an hour or so at the continental divide near Flagstaff as it just was too heat soaked and tired to go any further without a break. That bus motor would eventually drop, one by one, all of the other rockers arms during the next year or so while Joe O'Brien and I shopped for a 3.2L six. The last time, parts wound up in the cylinders themselves, valves were broken, and oil was poured all over a quarter mile of road and into Joe's driveway (now mine) ... except the oil that landed on the exhaust manifold, it just burned and smoked up the cabin so I was driving half-blind. The last ride for that old bus motor was the day my Phoenix Red 73 914 looked just like a Spy Hunter car, smoke screen and oil slick! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sunglasses.gif) It's a wee bit better than that now. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/evilgrin.gif) |
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