My first 914 po man's Porshe ruff life, alot of TLC and still misses Options

[DJsRepS]

I found my 72/914 1.7 sitting in an open carport for 9 yrs uncovered and nose sticking out from under the carport with 3 flats and mostly locked brakes. The PO was a retired teacher here in Sarasota Fl. We settled on $400 and after just 3 days of new battery, beating on the brakes and new gas lines and fluids I got to drive it.

A week later I put tags and insurance on it. I got to drive it for three weeks and fell in love (hope the wife understands!) I had to quit driving it when left front caliper locked my wheel. Priced the parts local International auto parts and a catalog I had $1000 ticket and my new $16,000 2 lot Sarasota home needed a roof bad. (At that price it needed everything)

After 6 yrs of sitting in my yard, me always amazed after 4 to 6 months how easily it started again but its condition steadily declined. The rough life continued, the driver's door window shattered window down and shut too hard? I got in new glass but never got it in until I found brakes for $300. It had plywood cut in until then. Then my son showing the car he lost via dropping out of Job Core (8 of 12 months) to his friends had the top off and only latched the front 10 days later bad storm blew it into the windshield.

The last time I started the car in its 6yr sitting spell the throttle cable snapped removed the oil bath filter to find the reason a stuck throttle body. It broke loose easy and the car started as usual. Well 6 months later and a rainy season I found my brakes went to start it again and found the throttle body stuck again this time bad!. Went to remove it took the rubber filter housing boot off... Noooo it was full of water!! I grabbed the fan and the motor turned, I only moved it an inch to see if it was frozen with the water in it.

The opening of the air intake was vertical on my D-Jetronic system not horizontal and the hood and tray drain hoses in tact. The less than 1/4 gap between the trunk and motor hood was lined up with the vertical opening of the rubber filter piping left on the throttle body was enough to hold water in the rubber boot, throttle body, intake manifold tubes and one cylinder #4 full oil looked ok.

Now after 6yrs I finally got a new roof on the house and found new brakes $300. But I have a car that sat for 15yrs of its 32yr life now with a bad windshield, and drivers door glass, needing all new brakes and hoses and tires and OEM radio dropped left channel, a lot of new rust under drivers seat from bad door glass, rust under battery and on both sides, drivers side rusted clean through into the engine compartment, rust around front trunk seal, some at windshield, and when last driven the clutch was slipping and wet with oil given all that and an motor full of water it seemed like the end for it. But I love to tinker and remember how it used to purr.

I started to tinker. I pulled off the throttle body and soaked it in a lot of different things before it broke loose. Even the TPS was frozen and full of water (I drilled a drain in its cover) Took about 2 weeks to get it ready to put on and try. The motor I blew out with copper tube through the plug hole and filled with 2 quarts of marvel mystery oil and blew and flushed and finally turned over the motor by hand then by battery. Got it started on 3 cylinders then 5 min later the 4th then it was purring like a kitten again I was again amazed with this car.

I used stainless fishing leader for the throttle cable rigged some plywood under the driver’s seat so my own car would not run me over when going over an RR crossing. Put new brakes and hosed and 22mm master cylinder. Tags, insurance, and new CD radio with new speakers. The clutch still slipped but it was a blast to drive. Less than a week later sunset drive on Siesta key beach Sarasota Fl with my younger 12yr old son we discussing the same deal for the car my older son had the purring kitten engine at 2800 rpm cruise started making more noise than the new $200 stereo.

Pulled over checked oil started it again the bad noise. I cracked the throttle a little and noise quit along with #4 water cylinder. I limped it on home as the noise stopped. Now I have a car with new brakes and a lot of rust, and just promised to my son (got the drivers glass fixed.) A good friend let me use his open empty carport and for 6 months of rust repair approximately 50% of total rust. Work mainly around engine area and drivers floor. New clutch disk only the good OEM 5 spring one dressed the steel parts with drill and flex grinder pad, new trans seal and motor seal, same throw out bearing, NAPA valve job all new springs one valve and guide, new seals and PCV valve, new gas filter and hoses, new Bosch plugs, wires, cap, rotor, points and condenser and the Bosch blue coil.

Now that’s its all together and going it’s got an intermittent miss and I can not find its trigger. Sounds like a simple hi voltage spark problem but not on any one cylinder. After all this effort to keep this car out of the junkyard my reward is a car that runs as bad as it looks, and it looks bad. I used to say I have the best running ugliest Porsche on the road or at least in Sarasota Fl.

I just joined this 914 club after 3 months of reading posts and doing a lot of the talked about procedures. As soldering the relay board, Rebuilding the FI harness, valve, dwell, timing settings, running all 4 injectors into glass bottles, adjust fuel press to 32 from 29, trigger pts (clean and lube), pinch return line and fuel press +70psi, ohmed all sensors and trigger pts and TPS from ECU harness, soldered all grounds together and used used electrical grounding lug from an house panel (on motor and near relay board, found lights flickering at 3000rpm replaced regulator with electronic one. It fixed the flicker not the miss.

Fixed pinched wires at rear trunk hinge driver’s side. Factory problem hinge pinches rear tail lighting harness check yours. I’m always laying there working on the thing cutting into the wires. That still did not fix the miss. Pulled the dash and fixed the odometer as per instructions in this form, I found 2 wires to a bulb in the red blinking what ever lights? touching each other. All new fuses and cleaned holders, hot jumped off the battery to the coil while driving and it missing. Unplugged the TPS as test still missed same with the tack wire.
I took VOTEC auto mech in school and worked in body shops and some garages. I do refrigeration repairs now keeping things and people cool. I took the car back to the original PO 6yrs ago when I first got tags on it as he asked to see it when I got it going. I took it back again after the 6yrs of hell I put it through to show him I was still working with his old car and learned he passed away shortly after I showed it to him 6yrs ago when I bought it from him. He was very pleased to hear it run again after he let it sit for 9yrs. I was hoping to give him a ride after all those years and recent work I’ve done. Here are a couple of pics. I will post again about the forever come and go major miss that makes me come home and park it.

This post has been edited by Lawrence: Nov 7 2004, 11:49 AM