Why a 914?, What got you started with these cars? Options

[ClayPerrine]

This is just curiosity on my part. What got you started with 914s?


Me, I can thank (Blame?) my wife. She had her 914 (yes, the same one that we use for a daily driver today) when we met. I had a 924. I got one ride in it and said "I gotta get me one of these!!". After I found out that they came with a six, I really had to get one. Needless to say, I sold the 924 after finding a 914 of my own. And I married her too. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)


So, tell us your story.....

[william harris]

Always liked the look of the 914. Didn't know much about them. A couple of years back I took a ride in Eric (partsman) Sander's 914 - and I just knew I had to have one. Love the handling, the simplicity of purpose and the fact you don't see one every day (unless Eric comes over to my house). (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beer.gif)

[root]

It started in 1973, still in college, couldn't afford a Porsche.

My girl friend at that time had a rich Daddy who wanted to buy
her a car. I told her to get her Dad to buy her a Porsche. He was a penny-pincher so he opted for the cheapest one...a little green 914 1.8L.

I fell in love with her car (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wub.gif)

Had to get one of my own! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif)

[Joe Bob]

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-2-1116894291.jpg)

Who wouldn't fall in love with this?

Found it for free next door to my brother in laws house.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-2-1116894324.jpg)

Then finished up looking like this.

[tat2dphreak]

didn't we JUST go over this?! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

why a 914? pt. 1, the prequel.


what I said then:

QUOTE

I looked at miatas, and mr2s(kinda scarce), ghias, 944s, Zs, etc... but I found a 914 that I thought was a good buy, and I could afford it... so I thought, what the hell... I'd never driven one either, but one drive and I was HOOKED... miatas, mr2s, Zs etc are all good cars... but something with the 914 just clicked in me and I am addicted to it like crack... part of it is the 914 community too... I would have long since given up if not for the helpful people on this site and others... and I'd probably have some numb-feeling car that I really don't like as much... but it would probably be on the road already (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif) but that's not the important thing to me... I like something to wrench on... honestly, if you want a good sports car, there ARE more reliable and cheaper "projects" that can be a TON of fun... BUT, for me, there's just something about the 914... something about the bastard son of VW and Porsche... something that's you can't explain, but it's a great feeling when you pull up next to someone who actually recognizes it... or even if they just come up and say "what is that?" it's great!

QUOTE

first time I took my first one around the block... I was grinning from ear to ear, spinning the tires like a kid at every stop... when I took my (now)wife for her first ride... she couldn't stop giggling... and that was only a tired carbed 1.7 with weak tires, and KYBs on all 4 corners...

I love the car, dirving it, wrenching on it, seeing them, and the community is more than I could have ever hoped for! this site and the 914 community in general has kept me addicted when I probably would have thrown in the towel... I hope I'll always have a teener. and I know if I do another project, that the community for that car will be NOTHING compared to this site!

[MoveQik]

What I said then...

[QUOTE]You gotta drive one. When I was 18(I'm 34 now) I went with some buddies to California. I rode with a guy that had a 71 1.7 liter. He let me drive it for about an hour. I came home and bought one two days later. It's tough to explain. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif)

[i love porsche]

well..i was set on buying a porsche before highschool ended...at first i wanted a 944..but i realized i couldnt afford it...then i was forced into buying my uncles old integra when he bought a new rsx....so with my leftover scraps..all i could afford was a project car...and a 914 it was...and shes coming along..slowy but surely

[ClayPerrine]

I must have missed that thread. It was probably when I was at a customer site with no internet access......... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/headbang.gif)

[turbo914v8]

The best five minutes of my life. I met a complete stranger in a parking lot. He had the coolest car I had ever seen, stopped to talk to him about his car. He offered to take me for a ride. I think I stopped breathing for the entire ride that lasted five minutes. His car was a 1970 914 with a monster GNX turbo charged v6 hiding in the engine bay. I turned to the dark side that day.

[majkos]

I've had a Type III Squareback to use as a daily driver,
Needed a faster car to get me to the ski slopes,( was a ski racer)
Looked around for a while,settle down to two,A VW Sirroco or a 914 with an engine VERY similar to a Type III,
I'm so glad I picked the 914!!
Still have it! That was over 20 years ago. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smilie_pokal.gif)

[xsboost90]

I wanted a car that was light, quick, a porsche and was like driving a ww2 airplane everyday! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) You have to admit, driving these has much more 917 factor than any other porsche youll find for the price. Loud, stiff, minimalistic, and like a 911 it takes a certain person to drive it right. Everyone in my autox class was complaining i was winning-with a stock car basically- because i had a 2.7 instead of a 2.5 and the ten hp was making the difference-even though they had thousands in suspension mods etc. I just wanted an excuse to beat them and say"but you have 60hp more than me" (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif)

[goose2]

For 35 years I was into British and Italian sports cars. Owned a Brit parts, repair and resto shop....raced Mgb and Bugeye. Owned a long string of Jags, Healeys, Mini-coopers, Alfa, yada yada. My personal favorite ride was a Bugeye with a cheater Formula Ford motor. Always preferred sportscars to be very small, light, nimble and minimalist. Anyway, the bugeye got bent, I sold the business and stopped messing with cars. Now...15 years later, a friend lets me drive his 914....my car passion was reawakened. Within a couple months I had one, then another, now a six. So I'm a car junkie again and I spend a good part of every day driving, working on, or at least thinking about 914's. I had some great cars in the past, but told my friend yesterday that it was too bad I spent all those years deluded by all that Brit junk when I could have been building 914's. That first drive did it....I realized that with enough HP, this could be my perfect sportscar. I'm trying to make up for lost time now and lovin' it.

[anthony]

My uncle had two new ones - a '72 and then a '74 2.0L. I remember riding with him when he took a clover leaf at 60mph. I was hooked!

[SirAndy]

QUOTE (ClayPerrine @ Jun 27 2005, 07:02 AM)

So, tell us your story.....

same as i said in "the other" thread ...

i wasn't even looking for one. i had seen a few growing up in germany, never really liked them much.
the 911, in particular the wide body in guards red with the big whale tail, was always the porsche of interest for me as a teenager in the '70s ...

fast forward to the year 2000. i just had moved from mill valley to the big loft space here in oakland and all of my and the wife's stuff was in storage in san rafael.
on our way to the storage, we would always drive by a small porsche shop. they had a lot with maybe 15 cars that were for sale. mostly newer cars.
so one day on the way to the storage, there was this red 914 sitting in the lot with a "for sale" sign on it. it looked different than any 914 i had ever seen. flares, spoilers, wide tires. cool!
so on the way back from the storage unit, i stopped at the shop and looked at the car. talked to the shop owner and took it for a test drive.
came back the next day with $3500 in cash and drove it home. the rest is history ...

you can read all about it here:
http://www.sirandy.com/projects/cars/

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/driving.gif) Andy

[SLITS]

Began with a Bugeye racing...moved to TR3...moved to a TR4...moved to an MGB and then got a job on a 914/6 Race Team.............the rest is a series of teeners, but never owned a sixer.....................

[bmcwilli]

I graduated HS in '75. The 914 was in its prime. I just loved the look of the car way back then. My dad didn't get it; said the teener was an ugly shoebox and the 911 was much prettier. I disagreed, though over the years I have come to appreciate the purity of early 911's. I even owned a C4 964 for a very short while. It was fun, I would still rather drive the teener.

Fast forward to 2000. The VERY FIRST thing I ever bought on ebay was my 75 280z. The seller mentioned he had a 74 2.0 914. The car looked great on photos and I bought it for 5 grand. Life long SoCal car, solid battery tray, good longs, great interior.

The 2.0 runs great, the 901 must be pretty good, as I compare my experience to others I've read here. Have had very little trouble with car, adn I just love driving it.

Sooner or later, it will have to go on stands for preventive stuff (new fuel lines etc). I'll prolly remove the AC ahat point and sell it to Clay Perrine if he still needs it. Get someone to fix the AC hole, start upgrading the suspension, and eventually sign up for mo' power.

I just love how this 30 year old car hangs on in a turn, lets go gently with plenty of wwarning, and is easy to recover. I love the sound, the odor, the room yada yada

BTW, I have had the good fortune to own several of my dream cars, the Z, a 74 TR6, a 72 elan sprint. I will soon be seeling some of them , but will always keep the 914!

[eg914]

I drove a type III for 15 years. The CA smog gods said no more several years ago. Drove a POS japanese car until two years ago. I told my wife I wanted another VW, and she choked! I said how about a Porshce, still German and air cooled (I missed the smell). She was OK with that, but I didn't have enough for a 911. I took one ride/drive in a 914 and was hooked. It has been my daily transport since then. I'll have a 914 until there's no more gas or my old body can't get in and out. Most fun car I've ever owned, even better than my old squareback. Plus it smells great!

[zymurgist]

Back when I had just graduated high school, I wanted a 914. My dad had a '65 356 that needed restoration, but he wouldn't let me touch it. So I shopped around for a 914. I never could find one in south Florida, ended up with a nice first generation Toyota Celica, and I let the 914 dream die.

Fast-forward 20 years, and a friend calls me on the phone. She is totally stoked. She had just bought a pretty little white '74 914 2.0 with a gorgeous interior. She had already named her new car "Babydoll." When I got an opportunity to drive the car, I was seriously impressed. I could keep the revs up on twisty mountain roads and never had to hit the brakes. (Just try that in a Corvette or a 911 and you'll know why the 914 is so impressive). So now I'm helping her get her car into driving condition, learning about the care and feeding of 914's, and thinking about getting one of my own if I ever have the garage space to build it the way I want it built.

[Brando]

How I got hooked onto 914s...

I was in a desperate situation. I was driving a reliable 1978 924 that I had replaced all the wiring in to get it driveable. The car was plenty fun. For some reason the pilot bearing failed and ate a drive shaft. $$$OUCH$$$. One new pilot bearing, drive shaft and $1400 later, it failed a second time outside of warranty. Great.

I needed a car, fast, and only had about $500 dollars. The public transportation systems in SoCal will make you homicidal. I talked to a mechanic I barely knew at the time, Jay Ward. I bought the 924 from him (just to get it running) and asked if he had another car he could sell. One day he drove up his 914 to the shop and said "Well, here's a payment plan I figured out. You pay me $500 cash, and work here for 28 days. You need a car and I need an apprentice."

So I got a car, and a sweet job. Since I have taken the car to the track, I'll probably never go back to the land of ass draggers... That's not true, I'd take a 930 any day.

[Dr Evil]

I was 20 and had just gotten stationed at the Coast Guard air station at SFO. I was tired of riding to work from Emeryville in the rain on my motorcycle ('94 Honda Magna) so I decided to shop for a cheap car. I did the whole shopping by price method not even paying attention to the type of car until its price cought my eye. I almost skipped over teh Porsche section until I noticed that there wer etwo in my range; a 928 for $1000, and a 914 for $1600. I found that the 928 would require like $10K in parts to get right later. I went to look at the 914 because I had no idea what the hell one was. When I saw it I imediately fell inlove with it. Its simplicity, exotic set up and engineering. Even the shifting was odd. It turned out to be a total beater and I nursed it along for a while, but I eventually sold it. I found my current car in '02 I think. I had the money as I had just been hit by another car while riding my motorcycle ('87 BMW K75RS) and the insurance money was burning a hole in my pocket (I fixed the bike myself, saved $2000). Contageous little beasties, these cars are.

I think that I am more attached then I want to admit. Last night I found a bunch of rust in my rear trunk (this damned rainy season realy f-ed up my car) and felt my eyes kinda well up. Most would think that the rust was nothing, but it is on my baby. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/mad.gif)