Did anybody here buy the 74 Black 914 2.0 on Tampa CL?, Used to be Zambezi Green Options

[914rrr]

Just wandering if anybody here bought the recently listed 74 Black 2.0 that was on Tampa Bay Craigslist? I looked at it first thing this AM and passed on it.

[Rob-O]

Not even sure if the answers to the questions in your previous post could be answered by 914rrr...and he’s seen the car in person. We aren’t able to tell the extent of the rust based on the picture we have. But from what we can see and the description that the original floor is gone and the replacement panel is running to the longitudinal and up, that’s probably going to be an expensive, messy job for the correct repairs to be made.

The 914 is prone to rust in this area, usually from battery acid/rust in the engine bay destroying the battery tray and the inner longitudinal area (called the ‘hell hole’). Water intrusion into the passenger compartment will also cause rust in the rear areas of the seating areas. Fixing all of that is an intricate job, usually involving replacement of the floor pan (or at least the back half of it), the inner long area, usually the outer long, the jack post, the battery tray, part of the rear firewall, the jack support ‘donut’ and quite possibly the rear suspension console. Good news is that most of those parts are available (Google: Restoration Design). The bad news is that if you’re not doing the work yourself thats a boatload of money spent at a body shop.

I understand wanting it for a weekend toy. If the repairs were adequate but not pretty you *might* get away with driving it as is. But given the area of concern, most of us look at repairs in this area as mandatory from a safety standpoint. 914’s don’t have the benefit of a steel roof, so you’re depending on that area to provide strength to the entire chassis. 914’s have been known to somewhat fold in half because of the weakened structure that rust cause. Uneven door gaps are one of the first clues that the structural integrity of that area is gone.

As far as racing that car I doubt many here that have racing experience would take that car on a track in that condition. In fact, depending on the race governing body that you’re interested in, it may not pass that groups safety inspection.

Don’t want to be a Debbie Downer, because all of us here love these cars, but want you to take a really good look at that area and be safe.

When you get it take a ton of pics and post them here. The community will chime in...and probably ask for pics of other angles, other areas. But you’ll definitely come away with an accurate consensus of what to expect from the car. If 914rrr is close to you he may even be a resource to put eyeballs on it for a detailed description.