914 Build Thread - Ruby914, Link to my blog on rebuilding Ruby, a 1972 914 1.7 Options

[johno_slc]

I recently picked up a 1972 914-4 1.7L which is in decent shape body-wise, but the engine is a mess. I’ve created a blog tracking my build: ruby914.johnoverbaugh.com

Probably could have done a build thread here, but I like owning and managing my content online.

This is the third “older” car I’ve owned. In ‘98 I bought a late 70’s diesel VW Rabbit. It was the first car I’d owned, and I got $750 more on trade-in for a ‘99 Jetta than I paid for it originally! In ‘07 I bought an early 80’s Jeep, but I had no skills and no friends with welders, so that quickly got sold. Fast forward to now, and I finally own the car I’ve literally been dreaming of buying for quite some time. I’ve developed some wrenching skills but still lack experience so expect a lot of questions from me!

She has been neglected for years - last year of registration was 2002. Previous owner got taken to the cleaners by a local garage to the tune of nearly $10k and she still doesn’t run well. She has electrical tape all over the FI harness, shows 110, 110, 100, and 55 lbs of compression, has rusted out heat exchangers, and I keep finding dangling plugs everywhere. Her vacuum hoses were all mixed up, too. Rear wheel camber is so far off that there’s newly 3” of difference between top and bottom, and the right rear wheel is still rubbing on the fender. The shifting is less than vague; it’s actually impossible to tell if I’m in reverse, neutral, or fifth gear.

My goal is to build a 2000-mile car I can hop into and drive cross-country and only worry about the price of gas. So instead of continuing the theme of duct tape, bailing wire, and zip ties, I’m tearing her down, and rebuilding her. I’m not building a spec car - I don’t care if the FI harness connector hoods aren’t original style, I’m likely to upgrade the fuse panel to a bladed panel, and at some point I’ll probably build a much larger engine. Like I said, I want a reliable driver. Today’s highway speeds demand a lot more from a car than they did 50 years ago, and I’d like to keep up.

I’ll try to keep the blog up to date, and will summarize new blog posts in this thread (if that’s allowed by forum rules).