Adventures of an old 914-6, Keeping it in the family and making memories Options

[vintage914racer]

As a regular lurker, and occasional forum participant (primarily when I find myself in a pickle and need to "phone a friend") I've always enjoyed ongoing build and "keeping them on the road and running" threads. So in an effort to do the same for myself, and perhaps prevent haphazardly ad hoc and disjointed threads for projects and updates, I figured I'd try to pull things together into my own, ongoing thread.

This thread is about "Speedy," my 1970 factory 914-6. The car has spent more time off the road than on, but as of late I've proclaimed it's the year of Speedy and started tackling a long list of updates. Before we get into those details, here's a bit about Speedy...

My memories with Speedy go back the the mid-80's when I was a pudgy four or five year old. Back when safety was more of a suggestion than a requirement, I'd often tag along in the front seat between my mom and dad on backroad blasts and the occasional trip up to Brainerd International Raceway when IMSA used to run up there.

Why the name "Speedy?" Well I suppose because as a kid I saw the 180mph speedy, felt my dad's right foot initiate some speedy acceleration, and perhaps because I distinctly remember my mom, in the passenger seat look up from what she was reading, glance at the speedo and shriek upon the realization that we were doing 120mph. By 1980s perspective, particularly that of a 6 year old, the car was Speedy. By today's standards? I'm not sure. But it sure is fun. And for the record, I'm not typically one to name a car, but apparently I was as a youth. And its stuck.

Here's she is, for reference...



It's worth noting that my Dad bought Speedy after he overcame a horrible battle with blood cancer (where they initially gave him 60 days to live). After paying off some truly excessive hospital bills that piled up during his better part of a year spent in the hospital, Speedy was his "I kicked Cancer's ass" celebratory purchase. He bought it at Carousel Porsche Audi in Golden Valley, MN, and perhaps not by coincidence, when I was a teenager I kicked off 10 years of employment at that very same dealership.

Stay tuned for more about our early years with Speedy and my journey as caretaker...

[vintage914racer]

With 99.72% of the car's structural integrity restored I could enjoy the cars. And I did. Sometimes. But not nearly and much as I should have.

Adult life, kids and other distractions (including my other, temperamental four wheeled German mistresses) kept my but from the seat. Probably the biggest detractor was the fact that I had young kids and, despite my parents three across the seat approach, I couldn't enjoy the car with my family. The kid also love the van. So that got a fair amount of drive time, except when the engine went kaput. Twice. At least VW parts are still cheap. And that's exactly why I always say more than one vintage car project is one too many.

My other German mistresses...



Fortunately now my kids are old enough to ride in the front seat of Speedy and schedules are such as there's marginally more time to get out for drives when the sun is shining.

So, this past January, with great fanfare and enthusiasm, I declared 2023 the year of Speedy. Trumpets blared. Confetti shot from the sky. Banners proclaimed, "It's a 914!"

I had amassed a long list of repairs, spanning the necessary, nagging and good to do while I'm in there. Then I set about checking the repairs off my list with a target of getting Speedy back on the road in July.

The list of 2023 maintenance items included:

-Replace all three rubber oil lines that run from the oil tank. Each was seeping or more
-Update to 930 valve covers and gaskets. Again to tackle another set of leaks

-Replace the rear main seal. There's a common theme here. Yep, you guessed right, more oil leaks.

-Replace the clutch, pressure plate and flywheel. There was a bit of collateral damage, and slipping clutch, from years, if not decades, of oil penetration

-Replace the master cylinder. Yep, that was leaking too. And unfortunately spewed a bunch of fluid in the driver's floor pan. Say goodbye to the beautifully painted floor pans.

-Replace a rear wheel bearing. Or two.

-Replace the speedo cable.

-Replace the rear window seal that apparently wasn't sealing despite replacement a few years back. Water seeped in, mixed with the aforementioned brake fluid and created some nice flash rust.

-Plus anything else I found while I was in there. And a bunch I'm probably forgetting and will remember when I go through my photo updates.