914 stories Options

[Ace Le Count]

Does anyone have some crazy 914 stories that they'd like to share? Maybe your son/daughter was born in one? Maybe you drag raced someone that was getting cocky because they thought their riced out civic was faster? Maybe you used a 914 as a getaway car after you robbed a bank? How has your 914 saved the day?

[ClayPerrine]

I am going to add a story of bad judgement, alcohol, and black rattle can paint.

The statue of limitations has expired, so I feel safe to tell this one.


When Betty and I were dating, my best friend had a 68 Camaro. But he decided he liked Betty's 914, so he started looking for one. He found a 73 2.0L in a field near what was then Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth. It was being robbed of parts for the 71 1.7 that was running. He bought it cheap, and brought it back to his house. The Delphi Green metallic paint had suffered from the Texas sun, so it looked OD Green with mange.

I helped him get the 2.0L engine running, and we went everywhere in it One night we were out drinking in far north Dallas. When the bars finally closed, we jumped in the 914 and headed home. We were both too drunk to be driving, but we were also young and stupid.

We were running about 70 mph on Interstate 635 in North Dallas headed home. I was in the passenger seat, watching the front edge of the paint on the front trunk ripple in the wind.

Suddenly, the air got under the paint, and peeled it back in one big sheet. It stayed attached at the rear edge, covering the windshield. Picture two drunks doing 70 mph, screaming about not being able to see.

The rear edge of the paint finally let go, and the sheet of paint flew through the air, impacting the grill of a Kenworth that was following us, exploding on impact. Being drunk, that was the funniest thing we ever saw. So we both started to laugh hysterically. My friend had to pull over because he was laughing too hard to drive.

We finally got going again,and if you know the DFW airport area, Hwy 635 turns south and comes in the north end of DFW airport. We had to pass through there on the way home. We get north of the airport, and that same Kenworth is sitting on the side of the road with steam pouring out of the radiator. That brought on another fit of laughing from both of us.

We finally get back to his house. He lived in the converted garage at his parent's house, and you went up over a hump at the end of the driveway, then down to where the garage doors used to be. There was a brick post between the old door openings. He drove down the driveway and ran directly into the post between the doors.

We both fall out of the car, and he looks at it and says, in a very loud voice for 3AM, "THIS CAR LOOKS LIKE SHIT!". So he goes inside, and comes out with a box of rattle can paint cans. It was a mixed box of various shades of black. Some flat, some semi-gloss, and some gloss. He starts painting the car in the dark. And I start helping. We painted everything, mirrors, glass, lights, windows.... everything except the wheels. We left empty spray paint cans all over the driveway and lawn.

The next afternoon, we got out with razor blade scrapers and paint thinner, and cleaned off the glass, and lights. He continued to drive that car until it dropped a valve seat. That was beyond his ability to fix. So he sold me the car.

This is how it looked:



If you noticed in the video I made, this is the before picture of my car. So that is the pre-history of the 4.0L monster motor car.