Newbie from Tulsa, First 914, need to do some brain picking Options

[mrdezyne]

Hey all!

I'm a very new owner of a 73' 1.7l, baby blue, all stock from what I can tell. Story is the motor lost oil back in 1990 and has been in my buddies mother-in-laws garage ever since. I couldn't pass it up so now I have a new project. After doing some searching I ran across this forum and it looked like a place I could call home. I'll tell you all up front that I plan on using you. Using your experience, knowledge, and tips to get this baby back into shape.

First couple of questions should be simple.

1. This thing has A/C but I plan on ripping it all out. Is it worth anything? Should I just hang onto it for resale later?

2. I have always wanted to do a slant nose on one of these. No, I am far from a purist and don't intend to keep this thing stock and by the numbers. Are slant nose conversion fenders still available? If so from where? And is there a market for my rust free front stock fenders. I have seen new replacements priced around $1100!

Any help is appreciated. This is only the begining of the multitude of stupid questions I'm going to ask but hey, I gotta start somewhere.....

[Type 4 Unleashed]

QUOTE (mrdezyne @ Aug 4 2005, 10:27 PM)

HOLY MOLY! After a good 15-20 minute read, going through all the great posts, I have come to the conclusion that this is definitely where I need to be to get the info. Thanks everyone that has chimed in. You have all helped me make a few decisions based on the different experiences and advice laid out like a 914 bible. First off, I am a toy collector at heart. Its just the older I get the bigger my toys become. I had always intended for this little thing to be a fair weather fun driver. I have garage space to keep it from wasting into a pile of rust and all the tools (except that plasma cutter!) to get this thing going. I do have experience with resurecting older vehicles so welding pacth panels is not a problem. I've built a baja bug to run at little Sahara so I think I can manage the powerplant side of things as well too. The little disertation by "flesburg" about how the car will never be worth what I put into it to make it totally stock was great! Now I won't feel so bad making changes to suit my liking instead of trying to restore it to "concours" shape. So its not going to be a power house regardless of what I do to the motor, eh, no big deal, it sounds like the real fun is just getting out and enjoying the drive. I'm all about hitting the twisties on the weekends, the BMW is testament to that. And this MUSR sounds like something I really need to make it to. If anyone else from the Tulsa area is heading down, PM me so maybe I can join the caravan. George, I'm going to take you up on that offer to check this little 914 over. The car is at my dads shop in Claremore currently so maybe we can make a time to get together and talk shop. Hey, you wouldn't by any chance have Rex Turners old 914 would you? I think that one is located in Owasso but I test drove it with a buddy of mine a year or so ago. Just curious if that was you..... And yes, that pic of the Bimmer was taken at Hefner this past July. That was the location for our BMW group meet last month. I have recently co-founded BMWMOFO (BMW Motorsports OF Oklahoma) and we are growing like a weed! Next weekend on the 13th we are having a monster charity event in Jenks Oklahoma. Anyone local is welcome to come down. Its turned into a euro-show so the 914 crowd is more than welcome! So the down and dirty is that I will be pulling the motor next week to see what kind of shape its in and if its able to be revived, I don't even know if its seized yet, actually I didn't expect it to have an engine so it was kind of a bonus to find! I will certainly keep everyone updated as I go along and I'm sure I will have a million more stupid newbie questions to ask, but hey, a couple years from now I'll be passing on the same wisdom you have all bestowed on me to some other newbie, so the cycle continues....... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

[QUOTE]So its not going to be a power house regardless of what I do to the motor, eh, no big deal,

I, DISAGREE, 180 to 200 HP easy and good gas milage, and in a 914, it will be a rocket.