My 914 turns 40 years old this month.

Here is the story and the car's biography.

Last year I found some major rust (it would be minor for some East Coasters) and a tear in the long of my 914 that I had for the past 15 years. So instead of paying to have the rust fixed I decided to look for a roller. In April of 2009 I found one here on the World that LarryR was selling. I dropped him a line and made arrangements to look at it. He called me back and said someone else is going to beat me to the car. I left work and headed to McMark's shop and check out the car.

What I found in his shop was a virtually rust free Irish Green 1970 roller that had been off of the road since the early 1980’s. Mark was doing some work for Larry and had installed front sway bar mounts, fixed the clutch tube, welded a 6 cylinder engine mount in it and replaced the battery tray top. While the car had a bunch of door dings (from storage) I figured that I could not find a more rust free car. I called Larry and bought it.

What was to be a quick engine install turned out to be a project that lasted most of the summer, but now I have a great 914.

Engine & trans:
The car features a D-Jet 2056 with a Raby 9550 cam and an MPS tuned by Bleyseng, SSI exchangers and a ceramic coated Bursch muffler. It is probably the only car with 4 cylinder installed into a car with a 6 cylinder engine mount. I had to modify the engine tin to fit around the 6 mount. One day it will have a 6. I updated the shift linkage and installed a side shifter transmission.

Suspension & brakes:
I installed Elephant Racing poly bronze bushings on all 4 corners, front mono balls, steering rack spacers, a billet steering coupler, stock front sway bar, Bilstein shocks all around and 140lb springs. I rebuilt and painted all 4 brake calipers with kits from Eric Shea, replaced the brake lines and installed a new 19mm master cylinder.

Interior:
I left the seats in the early configuration, but I installed a ’73 center consol with voltage, oil temp and oil pressure gauges. I ran wires for a CHT sensor but have not installed one yet. I put in new carpets and an early foot rest that I bought from DanT. I also installed a dead pedal that I absolutely love.

Exterior:
Original L60E Irish Green paint that looks good for 40 years old. There are some door dings and other dents that I will remove when I can afford to paint. It’s a good 20 footer. I put on a LE front spoiler and Fuch rims. I had a GT engine lid, but I recently swapped it out for a standard lid and it is much quieter in the car. The targa top is almost flawless. I have been replacing the rubber seals with Mikey914's products.
Click to view attachment

Lookin good, man!
I've got a first year too(slightly later). It's not near as pretty as yours, but I love her just the same. She's got some cosmetic and 'other' issues, and she lives a pretty hard life. However I basically saved her from the scrap yard to go do what she was built to do. She loves surprising the hell out of cars with 2-3 times the horsepower and race slicks, although we're working that direction. She also likes all the middle-aged men who walk up and say, "I wanted one of these SO BAD when I was in college."
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Not to hijack your thread. It's just a hell of an accomplishment that these cars are so well received 40 years after their birth. It's just a VW, right?
Mark D.

I"m an April 1970 build too.

Awesome car.. I dig that green with the fuchs....