Help me decide - 914 to buy? w/pics, Need opinions please (long) Options

[9144me]

I'm interested in a '74 914 that is currently for sale in Massachussets. I went to check it out and took a bunch of pics.

What I want in a 914: a car to compete with in PCA autox and drivers ed events. Ideally already modified for power and suspension. Target: $6k. Cosmetic perfection is not of interest to me as long as the car is solid, rust free and proven as a competitive car. I've been looking for about two years now, been autocrossing for three years with a few DEs here and there. I'm a do it yourself kinda guy, i don't rely on mechanics anymore. Last summer my brother and I did a complete top to bottom rebuild on his 951. It's time for me to get a car for myself.

Here are the details and my comments:


Previous owner in Arizona built the car to his spec. owned it for 8 years, sold it in 2002.
PICS! PICS HERE PICS!


ENGINE: (the highlight of the car)

About 20k on rebuild.
Approx power around 140hp, I think that a high estimate. But then again I drove it yesterday in 30 degree weather with the carbs tuned for summer weather. It obviouslly needs tuning for the weather, feels/sounds like much more power is available.
2.2L built approximately 4-5 years ago.
Dual Dellortos 40s
Full MSD
Lightened internals, balanced, blue printed
Port and polish, head work, etc
Exact specs are unknown, no paperwork.
Full headers into magnaflow
Run on street gas.
I figured any shop that builds engines would clean everything up real nice. Even though the rebuild was 5 years ago why does it look like crap in the pics with only ~20k miles on it?

SUSPENSION:

Rear sway, stock. Previous owner took off the rear to autox. FTD car in 3/7 events so he must know what he's talking about.
Front sway, not sure which
180lb rear springs
Rear KYB Gas-a-just (not a big fan of those)
Around 21mm T-bars
Bump steer kit

BRAKES:
Stock
Stops well. Didn’t really get a chance to test them out
? master cylinder, any idea how to identify?
Brake proportioning valve on rear firewall in engine compartment

BODY:
Straight
Checked major problem areas, all seem solid
Car was originally blue, repainted white. You can see the original color in the front trunk.
A few paint chips

Had a 200+ pound guy sit in the passenger side with the roof off. Checked door gaps before and after. Door opened/closed fine. Also checked the door with the driver side of the car jacked up. Still same gap.
Fiberglass bumpers

INTERIOR:
What you see in the pics, MSD mounted behind the passenger seat.
Reworked stock seats custom bolstered.
Floors appear to be solid.
Alpine stereo.

TRANNY:
Best shifting 914 I’ve ever driven. Granted I’ve only driven three.
Gates are tight, no slop.
Grinds going into first, maybe its me. But don’t all of them?
Clutch is tight.


EXTRAS:
Dino wheel, momo shift knob. Alpine stereo.
FTD car 3 out of 7 events in Arizona PCA AutoX
All heater stuff gutted
Car should weigh about 2000lbs


WHEELS:
I don’t think I want the wheels that are on the car now, the offset is too big on them. They would rub in an autox. Plus the car is a bit high. I'd see myself getting adjustable perches and lowering it a bit. If that were to happen these wheels would definitely rub.
He’s got a set of wheels with 3 year old V700s (rock solid, probably worthless) mounted on these wheels: http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/914_photo_...joe_otool-2.jpg I think. Apparantly the previous owner autoxed with them so they must fit. Comments?

What to do?

CONCERNS:

The engine looks a bit dirty for being rebuilt 4-5 years ago. Maybe they didn’t touch the exterior. A guy from Arizona PCA thinks it was built by Stuttgart Southwest. I found their website, very top notch.
The underside looks a tad rusty in near the firewall. Maybe its some form of coating peeling off, I can’t tell. I poked around, it all seems solid.
Second color under front trunk. Paint is nice, but small chips up front.
No stock seatbelts, no harness bar either…. I need either stock belts or a harness bar. Right now its got old 4 point harnesses with no real mount up top.
No heat, I can live with that right?
Engine looks a tad bit wet, although there was no major drip spot in the garage after sitting for a few months
I’ve spent most of my time checking out more modern cars. Things like the engine compartment and underside area areas of concern to me simply because of this reason. These guys definitely know what they are talking about, they claim it’s the best car they have ever come across structurally. The engine is definitely very powerful. Everything looks ok. Comments?

My friend had this to say:

As far as the suspension, I think you’ll want to make a lot of changes, but you can drive the car like that for a while before you decide what you want to do. I personally think 180lb. rear springs are too stiff, especially with a rear bar (you’ll also want adjustable spring perches at some point – the car sits too high). I’ll bet the car has a 21mm front bar (I prefer the 19mm). I’d also go with stock torsion bars. And you’ll want to upgrade to Konis or Bilsteins at some point. But who knows, maybe it all works together nicely.

I’m a little concerned about the rust. It may just be surface (in which case it’s not a big deal, but I can’t tell from the pictures), but there is a little bit of it that you’ll want to stop before it gets worse. I can’t say there’s a lot of rust, because we’ve all seen 914’s that are far worse, but you do see some in the trunk, on the battery tray (up top where the battery is actually sitting), a spot on an area that no longer has any undercoat near the jack plate on the left side, various body panels, the headers, shift rod, rear sway, etc. Most of that is minor, and will only take a few minutes to grind off, coat with a rust stopper like Oxysolve, and paint – but it will take some work. I’d also wonder what, if anything, is lurking under the undercoat. The door gap does look a little tight on the front of the driver’s side, and you can see the paint is a little chipped there – likely from the fender catching the door. That may mean it’s been hit, but pretty much every 914 has been at some point. It could just mean the door isn’t hung right. But if the gap doesn’t change when it’s up in the air, the rust probably isn’t bad.

As far as the wheels, I’ve never seen those before. They don’t look like they fit the car in the rear. Really, the only four-bolt wheels that fit the car in the rear with 205 series tires are Fuchs, Mahles, and Pedrinnis (all original equipment). The wheels you are thinking about getting are called Empis, and they won’t fit a 205 size tire either (they won’t clear the rear fenders). But you could probably get away with 195’s on either of the wheels that are already on there, or on the Empis (but it will be hard to find track tires in this size).

In addition a mechanic added this: "KYB shocks are useless. They work well for a few thousand miles and then act like stock shocks. And what size are those springs? Look like 180lb to me. they'll need replacing asap."