Rust cover up?, Car looks good, but how can I tell if rust is just covered Options

[tomh]

Buy the most car you can afford and have fun with it. Every car on this forum is a project of some sort and every person has his or her ability so that being said even the very best repaired cars are still "repaired "and not by any means perfect.
Do the best you can with what you got and never try to compare yourself to someone who spent 5-10 years on trying to create perfection.
My 2 cents

[amfab]

If you go out to look at it, use the factory jack to jack it up. Do it on each side.
IF it lifts the car it gives you a better look—if it doesn't—run away.

[Jonathan Livesay]

craigslist maine
$10,500
https://nh.craigslist.org/cto/d/waterford-p...6780918698.html

He should have definitely taken either of those $9K "low ball" offers.

[SirAndy]

I disagree with some of the assessments above. those "screw heads" may be rosette welds. and as long as the battery tray is well done, it's not substandard.

We're talking about the clearly visible screw heads on the outside long "repair", not the battery tray.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[John]

That's a lot to ask for a cheaply done 914 conversion car that doesn't run and looks like it needs LOTS of repairs. Run away!

[Jon199]

Thank you everyone for your opinions and advice. My first Porsche was a 993. I loved the car, but did not like how the ass end would get light if you let off the gas in a corner. I would like to get a mid engine Porsche this time around. I like the idea of a light 914, but I want to have enough power to give that pushed back into the seat feeling. Also, I want something I can drive to the track for drivers education a few times a year. So I should probably be looking for a cayman. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Jon

[mepstein]

If you want a car that can do it all, in comfort and not have to constantly “tinker” with it, a cayman is probably a great choice. Just finding a low rust 914 on the east coast is almost an impossible feat in itself. Good luck with the hunt.

[Superhawk996]

Thank you everyone for your opinions and advice. My first Porsche was a 993. I loved the car, but did not like how the ass end would get light if you let off the gas in a corner. I would like to get a mid engine Porsche this time around. I like the idea of a light 914, but I want to have enough power to give that pushed back into the seat feeling. Also, I want something I can drive to the track for drivers education a few times a year. So I should probably be looking for a cayman. Any thoughts?
Thanks,
Jon

Jon, there is a fine line between a car that is neutral in a corner and one that gets light tending toward classic oversteer (i.e. 911's). Frankly that line is based on personal opinion and driving style.

The secret is don't lift in the corner. If you have your speed set at corner entry, you really want to be easing back into the throttle during the corner rather than lifting which is panic reaction to having gone in too fast. This transfers weight to the rear axle and helps stabilize that rear end.

However, you are on the right track. Do as much driver education and track time as you can afford and find time for. You won't regret it. A Cayman is a fine car but being that it is a Porsche you'll find that it too will be neutral to oversteering on an abrupt lift throttle. You can't go wrong with a Cayman but don't expect it to be forgiving of an abrupt lift during a corner either.

If you're not already aware, the main issue with 914 handling (and a mid-engine Cayman) is that once you start to lose it, the car can rotate pretty fast due to low polar moment of inertia that is why we love mid-engine handling in the first place.

Good luck in your quest.

[amfab]

My 993 is much more forgiving than earlier 911s
its the only one I have not spun out of my history of an SWB 911, 914, and my 84 Carrera...

of course I have matured a bit over that period of time.

-Andrew

[jmitro]

i agree with superhawk996 comments about tracking.
I think a cayman (or a Boxster) would be a good choice for low cost track car.
My Boxster project was $3k and I'll be in it $10k for a great little car that can be a DD or a cheap track car

I'd buy the car in question only with the understanding it's a project car

[914 Ranch]

If you're going to buy it to have a hot rod conversion you should run. Everything there needs to be reworked. So this may have all the parts in it you want you still have to build a car out of the parts. This car needs a complete rebuild of the chassis. I once bought a "rust free" car that had fiberglass on the firewall, inerfender wall and floors. I found out going over a dip when the battery box fell, sheet metal screws don't work in fiberglass.
For 10 Grand you can buy a nice driver ( 914 or Boxster ) in the South West , ship it home and learn to drive it. Maybe not a Cayman but Boxster for sure.
10K is a lot of money for a parts car...
I have about $15 in this.



In ten years it is still not done.

[VaccaRabite]

Thank you everyone for your opinions and advice. My first Porsche was a 993. I loved the car, but did not like how the ass end would get light if you let off the gas in a corner. I would like to get a mid engine Porsche this time around. I like the idea of a light 914, but I want to have enough power to give that pushed back into the seat feeling.

If you're not already aware, the main issue with 914 handling (and a mid-engine Cayman) is that once you start to lose it, the car can rotate pretty fast due to low polar moment of inertia that is why we love mid-engine handling in the first place.

Couple points here.

My 914 (which is a mild 2056 making about 150 at the crank on the dyno) will push you into your seat WOT in 2nd and 3rd. A 914 tends to be a quick car, but not a fast car. My stock WRX is faster and feels faster in nearly every regard. In stock or near stock forms, they will never match a modern Porsche in terms of speed. They will struggle with some mini-vans in a drag race. They are 40+ year old cars, and even when new they were not speed demons. They were always cornering cars, and to this day they can out corner almost anything on the road.

I've been in a stock 2L spinning, and it happens very very fast with little time to correct. I've also been in a stock 2L where I looked at the other guy after a corner where the car held the line even when we were both puckering. The best way to deal with it is just seat time, learning how your car reacts and teaching yourself NOT to panic stop mid corner, but rather to slow down before the corner and throttle through it.

Zach

[burton73]

Dude,

A Boxster or Cayman if you can afford one is a great car. The newer the better but as Boxster’s have been around for 20 years you should be able to find one. Be careful on early 6s in Boxster’s because of the IMS bearing.

I remember when my 1st 911 needed a fuel pump. It was $350 for a part on my car that was just a few 6 years old. Used (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving-girl.gif) Car was $9,500. Back in 78. 73 911s. You know what that S is worth today.

The Boxster is all around you. It is an extension of you just like a 914. These are really very small cars.

On the Radio was Toto. Hold the line
Lyrics
It's not in the way that you hold me,
 It's not in the way you say you care,

 It's not in the way you've been treating my friends,
 It's not in the way that you stayed till the end, 
It's not in the way you look or the things that you say that you'll do,

Hold the line, love isn't always on time, oh oh oh Hold the line, love isn't always on time, oh oh oh
It's not in the words that you told me, girl
It's not in the way you say you're mine, ooh
It's not in the way that you came back to me,
It's not in the way that your love set me free,
It's not in the way you look or the things that you say that you'll do
Hold the line, love isn't always on time, oh oh oh
Hold the line, love isn't always on time, oh oh yea


Bob B