What have I gotten myself into, New old 914 Options

[Rick H.]

So here's a problem I didn't really expect. Tires. All the tires on this car are trashed, rotted out apparently. My first thought is to find a set of old used tires to just be able to roll the car around in the shop when needed. There is a place close by that actually sells tires new or used, installed and balanced. The problem is, the tires on the car now are185/70R15 and apparently 15's of any kind aren't as common as they used to be. Where is a good tire source to find a good set of tires I can use on this car? I called three tire dealers and all of them almost laughed saying 15's are increasingly hard to find. Where do the people here go for tires?

Rick H.

[Ishley]

Tire rack. Order and have them shipped to a
Local tire dealer to be installed.

[Jamie]

So here's a problem I didn't really expect. Tires. All the tires on this car are trashed, rotted out apparently. My first thought is to find a set of old used tires to just be able to roll the car around in the shop when needed. There is a place close by that actually sells tires new or used, installed and balanced. The problem is, the tires on the car now are185/70R15 and apparently 15's of any kind aren't as common as they used to be. Where is a good tire source to find a good set of tires I can use on this car? I called three tire dealers and all of them almost laughed saying 15's are increasingly hard to find. Where do the people here go for tires?

Rick H.

You will find several options in 15" on Tire Rack, my go-to for tires, bought new "boots" for my teener there last year.

[Cairo94507]

Yup, sadly 15" tires are few and far between. I get mine from Tire Rack and have them shipped to my installer. I take my wheels into the installer to have them mounted and balanced. I watch to make sure they are balanced to zero. Then take them home and put them on the car. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[rhodyguy]

Just do a search plugging in 185/70-15 tires to your search engine. The reproductions of the original 185’s are quite expensive.

[930cabman]

My local guy has several options for 175 15 or 185 15

never had an issue

[Spoke]

the tires on the car now are185/70R15

195/60/R15 look a lot better on the 914 and should fit on the car w/o adjustment.

There are less expensive tires than the Eagles but Eagles do grip well.

[flipb]

I'm a broken record sharing this in pretty much every thread about tires, but check out Vredestein. They have Classic tread patterns in vintage sizes, but also modern tread/compound tires in a lot of vintage sizes. I put a set of T-Trac 165/80R15 on mine and have been very pleased. I even ended up buying Vredesteins for my DD, which have been excellent as well.

[Rick H.]

It's been a busy couple of weeks and I haven't done much to this car but I finally got the front boot open. The cable is still there and works but it took a minute to figure out were the release is to get it open all the way. Usually takes me a minute on any car to simply figure it out. I was hoping to find the headlight assemblies but no luck. I did find my very first every rats nest in a car though. I will never need to find another now that I have that experience. Thanks for all the tire information. no one locally could lead me to a source for 15 inch tires. I'll be starting to remove parts to inspect for rust and so on. I'll also pull the covers and see how the internals are looking. It apparently has about 75K miles according to the odometer. When I was trying to get the battery box mess off I did try hooking up a battery to it just to see if any power was getting through. Nothing happened but I don't recall if I even turned the key on. How can I tell what the original color for this car was. I haven't found any references so far. Finally, the Haynes book came on Friday. Lot's of good information there and an entire chapter on my favorite (not) thing, wiring diagrams, a nessesary evil. Back to work...

Rick H.

[emerygt350]

I can smell that from here.

And all 914s have 60-75k original miles.

That is when the odometer breaks.

[emerygt350]

Interesting fuel pump location.

[Rick H.]

I was looking it over a couple of days ago simply to get an idea of where things are. After looking through the Haynes manual I realized I didn't know where the fuel pump was located or at least supposed to be located. Paying some attention I finally found it sitting right in front of me. This is an electric pump and an earlier comment mentioned this engine was originally fuel injected but was converted to carburetor. Is this even the right pump or just got left there? Looks like it has fuel lines attached but the electrical wiring is completely ruined. I'll need to figure out where it draws power and if it even needs to be there or if another pump has been installed in some convenient spot. This may reveal a general lack of sanity but I enjoy restoration work. Figuring out someone else's 'modifications' can be interesting to say the least. Two things I can't figure out are the original colors of this car and why the headlights were taken out. Starting to wonder if this was a donor car for another project. Considering where I found it I sort of doubt it but....

Rick H.

[Root_Werks]

Without looking at the tag with the paint code, going to guess it's original color was silver.

You're making some good progress! Keep the pictures coming.

If your 914 is a 1975 or 1976, the fuel pump is supposed to be in the front trunk as shown in your picture.

[Rick H.]

The sticker in the door frame says it was built in October of 1974. For an American car that would make it a 75 but for German built cars I don't know how they date them by model year. If it was built in 74 does that automatically make it a 74 or that late in the year would it be a 75? I'm not finding anything else to date this car.

Rick H.

[Rick H.]

This is the vin tag in the driver side door frame.

[Front yard mechanic]

I can smell that from here.

And all 914s have 60-75k original miles.

That is when the odometer breaks.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

[Superhawk996]

And all 914s have 60-75k original miles.

That is when the odometer breaks.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) So true. I have yet to personally see a car fully documented as low mileage including the paint seal on the cable not disturbed.

Not saying a couple aren’t out there but somehow there are more original, low mileage cars out there for sale than when I bought my 1st back in 1987.

[sixnotfour]

Be safe..

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png)

[sixnotfour]

The sticker in the door frame says it was built in October of 1974. For an American car that would make it a 75 but for German built cars I don't know how they date them by model year. If it was built in 74 does that automatically make it a 74 or that late in the year would it be a 75? I'm not finding anything else to date this car.

Rick H.

75-76 impact bumper brace on inner fender well,, runs almost back to gas tank bulkhead,, see in mouse house/ fuel pump picture..
Bumper are big rubber things with a steel reinforcement....Or you could be lucky and he had some early chrome steel bumpers to back dte it.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sunglasses.gif)

[Rick H.]

This one came with black bumpers, heavy but not chrome, some kind of synthetic. Maybe rubber but doesn't really feel like it.

Rick H.