HISTORY LESSON, I need a history critic / english major Options

[Aaron Cox]

Thanks for posting that. good article- 17 seconds on the 1/4 mile? sheesh!

[Aaron Cox]

here is my favorate:

[ninefourteener]

To all..... THANK YOU!!!!

I absolutely love this site. So far, this site has saved me countless hours of time, countless hours of heartsche, and a great deal of money.

And once again, the 914 club has made me feel incredibly stupid....... and I'm thankful for it.

How ironic is that?

Thanks to all!

Cheers!!
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Alfred]

Thanks for posting that. good article- 17 seconds on the 1/4 mile? sheesh!

Car and Driver tested it again in 1988. The 914's performance numbers compare pretty well to the first generation Miata which is, obviously, a much newer sports car.

Alfred

(IMG:http://www3.telus.net/public/alpine65/CandDpage45.jpg)

[Aaron Cox]

I stole all the ads from AA. good vintage ads fo rthe download. take some of them with you to the show.

here is one that shows some good racing history for the 914

[Brad Roberts]

So.. after readin all the comments..

I personally think the only thing missing is a reference to THIS web site...LOL


B

[ThinAir]

As I've heard it VW was looking for something to replace the "aging" Karmann Ghia. Porsche wanted an entry level car. The story about the handshake deal is accurate - VW was selling the bodies at cost to Porsche. The new guy at VW decided they should make some money on the deal. The increased cost to Porsche meant that the price of a 6 cylinder 914 was too close to that of a 911. The 911 was perceived as a "real Porsche" and folks bought it instead of the 914, which hurt sales and that is what eventually lead to the end of production (along with things like VW turning their attention elsewhere).

It is probably more accurate to say that the car is a VW, unless it was a 6 cylinder car. I think the "911" style front suspension was about the only thing Porsche about it other than the 6 cylinder engine. Until 1973 the 4 cylinder engine was very much a VW engine. It was only in 1973 when the Porsche engineers modified the 2.0L heads that the 4 cylinder car became more of a Porsche.

Of course, both cars are really Porsches because of the heritage shared by any German horizontally opposed, air cooled engine. They all trace their basic designs back to Dr. Porsche and the original KDF sedans. That's why I've never minded driving a "VW-Porsche". I enjoy the car for what it is and have no great desire to "move up" to something that has only a Porsche nameplate.

[Alfred]

It is probably more accurate to say that the car is a VW, unless it was a 6 cylinder car.

The November 1969 issue of Road & Track says "Dr Porsche pointed out that the design of the 914 was entirely Porsche KG's and that his firm also does much consulting engineering for VW and others". So, it's a Porsche design, built with many VW parts by Karmann. Good combination for an affordable sports car, IMO.

Alfred

[ninefourteener]

bring some of the ads with you. (i have em all) and bring some posters of lemans, targaflorio etc...

PM me if you want some jpegs

I just PM'd you.... that would be GREAT!!

[tod914]

Do you have the Dr. Johnson book on the 914? That has a very comprehensive history on the car.

I also remember reading as a teenager in Road and Track, that for example, the Spitfire had faster slolem times. This also held true for several of it's other competitors. As far as mechanical issues go, the main one was the recall on the fuel lines.

The're cool cars. I always have people at stop lights roll down their window and compliment the car.

Focus on the possitives of the car. GL

[ninefourteener]

Do you have the Dr. Johnson book on the 914? That has a very comprehensive history on the car.

Actually, no... I don't. Where can I get it???

You gotta figure. I've loved "pictures" of teeners since I first discovered them, but I'd never actually driven one.

My first teener was bought from AZ, and shipped up, sight unseen, never driven. I just fell in love with it once I had it. Thats why I bought another one

I'm still pretty wet behind the ears if you will.

[Bleyseng]

They were put out of production because there was no place to build them, like I said. This is from several books and a buddy who worked for Porsche at that time. The cars always sold pretty well 15-20,000 per year but under the goal of 30,000 cars.
The cars also along with the 911's were suffering from the sagging dollar. The sales price climbed from $3550 in 70 to $7300 in 75. Most of you probably don't remember those years but us old farts do. Every thing imported went up in price! So most bought American. I bought a German family car at that time and it was expensive.

Porsche designed the 924 for VW to build but VW decided to drop it. The car was to be build in the old NSU works and they (the factory) came to Porsche with a sweet heart deal so it could be produced and keep all those guys working. That's how that car was made.

Porsche was trying like crazy to keep sales up in 76 since they only had a limited amount of 914 bodies (stamped out in 75) to sell. Why do you think they came out with the 912E? They had all these extra 2.0L engines laying around!
In 1970 the 914 had decent hp for the type of sports car it was-80hp. The 911's base model had 130hp and the 914/6 had 110hp. Choose your favor.
The 73 2.0l car was a sweet car and still is. 95hp, all the goodies, makes for a fun car with good hp and balance! Ever driven a 72 240Z? Very fast but you couldn't turn it for anything.

Geoff

[ninefourteener]

Nope, cant say I remember that price jump... I was born in 1975--LOL

But yes, I have driven a couple old Zs. They felt kind of "cheap" to me. Maybe I just got a hold of some rickety ones.. I dunno.

I liked the 2nd generation Zs much better.

I do know what you're saying about the advantages of different years. Mine now is a 72, cause I hated the bumper guards in 73 and 74..... forget about the last 2 years.

But the PO built a good, strong 2.0 for it, and converted it to dual Solex carbs.... easier.. I like that.

It just seemed perfect for what I wanted..so I bought it.

Thanks for the info... Man I love this site!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[ArtechnikA]

It is probably more accurate to say that the car is a VW, unless it was a 6 cylinder car. I think the "911" style front suspension was about the only thing Porsche about it other than the 6 cylinder engine.

if there is a difference, it is that /4's were built by Karmann in their facilities, and /6's were built by Porsche on the assembly line in Zuffenhausen/Ludwigsburg. there are many detail differences between the two cars. Porsche bought completed, painted body shells from Karmann and built them up on their line, mostly with prior model year 911T parts.

[tod914]

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-h...8538260-8698207

thats one place - the long book is excellent too. That was actually the one I was thinking of. Click on it. It's $40.00 not $125.00

hmmm link didnt work - goto amazon.com and type in porsche 914

[JeffBowlsby]

To clear up some earlier hearsay...

In May of 1974, the 100,000th Porsche 914 left the factory and there was a great celebration and even a factory poster was issued. Nearly 60,000 914s had been exported to America as of that date. At that export rate, nearly 72,000 914s would have been shipped to North America (60% of total production), with the remaining 46,000 (40% of total production) staying in Europe. I wonder how many are left?

The fundamental reason that 914 production ceased was the cars high cost, both to the factory and to consumers. The German Mark had escalated so high in value with corresponding exchange rate increases, and at the same time the American dollar value had slipped, that the car became too expensive compared to its US market competition, mainly the Datsun 240Z and Fiat 124.

Oh and THE book to get on the 914s history is Excellence was Expected...unless you read German (I don't)...then its Das Grosse VW-Porsche Buch.

Hi Andy!!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

[J P Stein]

"....a miniature sheetmetal stamping plant ...''...now that's funny. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[Alfred]

I highly recommend Brian Long's book and Porsche 914 Ultimate Portfolio .

Alfred

[Queenie]

Ok, you've heard from the tech-smarties and the history buffs - now here's some input from a gen-yoo-wine Engrish Major (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I've edited your piece as follows. Please feel free to take any of my suggested changes, or to ignore them completely. I make a conscious effort to never change the tone of the writing, but only to edit for better flow and proper grammar.

And if you (or anyone else) would like further editing assistance, feel free to ask me here or just email me - I'm more than happy to offer my services to anyone who needs them!

The Porsche 914 was built from 1970 to 1976. It was a joint effort between Porsche and Volkswagen to build a small, lightweight, 2 seater that would compete with the European sports cars of the day (MG, Triumph, Jaguar). Porsche designed and engineered the car, but it was manufactured by Volkswagen to keep costs down. Almost everything externally visible is Porsche, and almost everything not visible (engine, drivetrain, etc.) is Volkswagen.

Although the 914 was never "blisteringly" powerful, it dominated the competition due to its exceptional handling characteristics. The mid-engine, mid-seated, wide wheelbase design coupled with nearly 50/50 weight distribution, extremely low center of gravity, and incredibly low gross vehicle weight (1900 lbs) allowed the 914 to take sharp curves much more quickly than comparable vehicles built during the same time period, including many high-priced Italian exotics.

The 914s were discontinued in 1976 due to emissions constraints, notoriously bad electrical problems, and overwhelming customer complaints about premature rusting. Because of these problems and because the cars were not originally very expensive, many of them were discarded, left to rot and eventually crushed at junkyards. Locating one outside of rust-free areas (California, Arizona, etc.) is extremely difficult. It is only in the last five to ten years that the 914 has developed a small following, and come to be considered a sought-after classic.

Today the 914 is extremely popular among entry-level autocross racers because of its handling characteristics and its comparatively low initial cost. With relatively moderate engine performance upgrades, the car still competes very well with high-performance modern sports cars and import sport sedans despite its 30-year-old technology.

And occasionally you’ll find someone that appreciates the car for the way it was originally built.

[ninefourteener]

Man...... I can't believe you actually edited my little paper!!! THANK YOU!!

I used your format, and I incorporated most of the suggestions that were given throughout this forum.

Thanks to everyone.... next trip to St. Louis...... Beers are on me!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)