Hi All,

I just became an owner of a '74 914 2.0 in great original condition.

I have owned several older cars including Alfas, triumphs, etc. so I am well aware of the challenges such vehicles present. Still, I found that with the Triumphs I generally would never venture much more than 100 miles from home (or further than I would want to have it towed!). The Alfas were, in my experience, more trustworthy and I would not hesitate to drive them across the country and I never once got stranded.

The 914 wil not be a daily driver although I would like to be able to drive to work on sunny days or even take a long trip of say 1,000 miles without worry.

So, what is your experience with the 914 in terms of trustworthiness. Do you stay close to home only? Would you take a long trip without fear or would you only do so with a trunk full of spare parts and a directory of mechanics handy?

Thanks,

Mike

I've only been a part of the fray for six months, but my '74 2.0 drove like a champ from Northern Virginia to Hershey PA for the swap meet last month. I was nervous and the car pleasantly surprised me. Even through some rain, had no trouble whatsoever.

The PO of my car told me that he uses Haggerty insurance for his collectible cars, in part because they include free roadside assistance... and while he's taken advantage of it several times in other cars, the 914 never needed it.

That said... I'm thinking about a fishing trip to West Virginia in July. Almost five hours of scenic driving through the Shenandoah to get there. I will probably bring it to my pro wrench before the trip for a checkup. Would be soooo disappointing to have to do that drive in my DD.

For the record, my car has:
19mm MC and new brake lines
Relatively new gas lines, pump & filter (might replace the filter soon)
Weber Progressive carb
Skinny original-size tires
New clutch & flywheel

I'm in college so I only drive probably 500-800 miles per month on average, but in over 2 years of using my 914 as a daily driver I have only broken down once so badly that I couldn't fix the car on the roadside. I do drive in all 4 seasons; I'm actually more comfortable with my 914 [with good snow tires] in a serious snow storm than I am with my brother's SUV; its much more controllable.

That said, I have replaced/adjusted points on the side of the road, but that is the limit of unplanned maintenance. Overall the car has been extremely reliable and once I drop the motor this summer to fix the oil cooler leak and redo the fuel lines again I won't hesitate to drive cross country. As it stands right now I have driven 4+ hours on whim without issue.

Just for comparison I have a stock '74 1.8L with L-Jet. The chassis has somewhere over 180K miles on it, but I did rebuild the engine and completely restore the car so now it only really has about 15K on it.

Once I replaced the little injector hoses and seals, (Auto Atlanta has a kit) and a few other gaskets which got rid of all my vacumn leaks, changed the oil three times in 2000 miles so it was clean again, I went on a 600 mile run and it was trouble free. I have now put over 4000 miles on mine, a 73 2.0, and I feel more confident every time I go out, and once I even got caught in heavy rain, it never even hiccuped. I would hate to break down far away from home but you know that could happen no matter what you are driving.

Ian Stott
Moncton
Canada

if it is all gone thru, they is very dependable, used to drvie mine to the mountians all teh time (500 mile round trips) and used as a daily comuter (60 miles round trip)

keep up the mainatinace, oil, valve etc... and make sure things are ok from the prior owner, once you fix it to normal factory standards, you should have a car near as dependable as a VW Bug

ps i would never ever want to try to take my triumph spitfire on a sin=mular trip, reliabiltiy is not there.

got photos of your amphicar?????? got to see them!!!

have fun in your 914 a very nice a dependable car.

Once my engine warms up and I get some heat in my carbs, it runs like a champ. The only reason I am not driving the car more often is a headlight wiring issue. I trust the car not to break down on me, but I don't trust the headlights to come on, or stay on, while I am driving at night. Until I get that fixed, the car is daylight only.

Zach

Porsche is known for it's reliability but we all have to do our part to help the cars take care of us. Observation and rigorous preparation are your insurance.

I'd put mine up in the air for 15 minutes, do a solid tech inspection, check the tire pressure, fill up with gas, get in and take off cross country this very minute. In fact I have several times gone from San Francisco to Little Rock Arkansas, Little Rock to Columbia SC and back, and many points in between. No drama.

I'm a stickler for preventive maintenance, and inspect for problems regularly. I don't find them very often, but I've built the car and know what's in it.

When I do travel I prepare as if I'll be breaking down on a lonely mountain-top, with no help in sight. So I carry what I need to recover from everything I can imagine short of a complete engine or transmission meltdown.

Come to think of it, a road trip sounds delightful... right now!

Mine's a daily driver, about 15,000 miles per year. It's reliable only as long as I spend about one weekend a month checking, adjusting and replacing parts that wear out.

But with a little help from member vendors, AA and FedEx, I pretty much trust my car to take me anywhere.

Eric Read

I'm still building confidence in taking mine farther, personally... I've had some minor bugs to work out, and have a few more little ones that aren't deal breakers (windshield wipers only work when they want, etc) so until I get a little more confidence I tend to keep it close to home... within an hour anyway


oh, almost forgot:

I don't own a 914, but I am the wrench for a '74 2.0 D-Jet. I would not hesitate to drive it 3-4 hours each way to a meet, like I did to last year's East Coast Cookout.

You might be able to control your own car, but your car won't do much to protect you when the other 99% of idiots that can't drive in snow smash into you with their oversized SUV.

as true as that is, it's daily, not just snow related I had a guy in a F250 powerstroke diesel try to share a lane with me THIS MORNING!!

.........pcar916, s advise makes sense.,and a good baseline to follow.........I would recommend as a new owner that you find an EXPERT mechanic and have him go through your car with a fine tooth comb...I would have him replace anything even remotely of concern reguarding the FUEL SYSTEM....these cars are 40 years old + or - and need special attention unless YOU KNOW systems have been replaced or are as new.........A good mechanic is your friend.

My first car was a triumph spitfire. That was a miserable car with a mind of it's own. Not a very good first car at all. Even then I wanted a 914 but they were very expensive so I bought a fiero GT.


My 914 is very reliable but it's so loud I don't like to take it on long trips or sit in traffic.

Once sorted, they are very reliable for a 35+ car. I drive mine over 55 deg days and less then 100 deg days. So, about 10 months out of the year.

If I followed that rule that mean I could drive mine about 2 months of the year. Many mornings I drive it with the top off, heat on high and still wear a sweater.(But I look cool)

Betty's 914 has been a daily driver for 20+ years. It has made every MUSR except one since MUSR2, and was driven to all of them. It made round trip to Huntsville Alabama with only one issue, the instrument lights quit.

Mine has been to ABQ (still can't spell it), New Mexico, and to Huntsville, Alabama. At Huntsville I had to change the throttle cable, as it melted against the heat exchanger. I had a spare and the tools.


I would not hesitate to drive either one anywhere. But I am not stupid, I take basic repair tools and parts, as this isn't a Chevy, so parts aren't available just anywhere. And I also keep a cell phone with me too.


If you break down away from home, you can probably find someone on here who is close to you and willing to help out. We tend to stick together.

For what it is worth, mine only breaks at Autocrosses.

I'm not convinced that driving an SUV would be much safer.

Its funny, I almost never have problems with other people and have only had 1 or 2 close calls. I do drive very defensively in that i'm usually about 5-10mph above traffic speed and try to only stay in spots that allow an easy lane change in the chance that I need to move quickly. The bright yellow seems to help as well.

You have to remember, Wayne drives on Central Expressway in the North Dallas area every day. It is a lot like the 405 in LA, but it has armed rednecks in huge dually pickups driving like they are in 914s.

Wayne... get a set of really LOUD horns, and use them!!!

These cars don't need to be babied once they are sorted out and properly maintained. When I bought mine 4 years ago I drove it from SoCal to Seattle without hesitation. Summer before last I changed the oil, checked connections and drove to Eastern Montana for a 10 day camping trip with my brother and his Syncro Westy. Had one no-start problem that turned out to be a loose connection on the starter solenoid; that was it.

Once they are squared away they can be rock solid.

Mike - 914's are NOT British cars where - as my Lotus buddy used to say - you need to own 2 or 3 even when new - one to drive, while the other is in the shop, & the 3rd is a back-up in the garage!

914s are notoriously trustworthy & excellent long drivers which have uuumpf - especially the 2.0's & -6's - while sipping the gas, when properly maintained.

That said, they're now 35-50 years old & this is a new car for you, so give it some time to shake it out on some local driving, & check it over yourself or have your trusted mechanic or local fellow Teener do it for you. Then it will be go to go on any sort of long drives you want in most cases, but keep the AAA, Hagerty, etc. roadside & towing card handy just in case.

Back in the day I'd used mine as a DD & on 1000+ mi trips regularly wherever I wanted to go & whatever weather - even snow!

So for the uninitiated here - how about posting some pix of your Amphicar here with a blurb for those who might be interested, as it's probably one of only a heandful left here in the US now!

It's a "Car with a Prop" guys & gals - perfect for the impatient Bass fishers out there who want to get in there NOW!

FYI - there was a beautifully restored tan one at our Classics & Rods car show here in Orange CA last month (NV car originally IIRC). Used to be several in San Diego when I was growing up there in the 1960's - one just down the street.

PS - I was born in PGH PA & moved to CA at 10 in `63 when my Dad got a job out here.

I would have drove my car across the country if I had a reason. I trust it would get me there and back with little to no issue other than maybe a bad back or loss of teeth . Like Marc said, they are very reliable once you get them sorted. That said, all used cars need to be sorted. It will depend on how handy you are with a wrench as to how reliable any car 15 years old or older will be. Sometimes even 10 years you never know.

But, Jon is a poser as he no longer owns a 914....

Careful, road salt is not your friend

I feel my road car is very reliable. I would drive it across country if I had to. The only time it broke down was at a track event driving very hard, had a set screw in the carb come out and disappear. Fortunately someone was at the track that had a shop nearby and was able to repair it.

Mine is Loyal too

Only had two breakdowns in my car. The cluch tube welds cracked, and I was on the road underneath a lowered 914 with no jack burning my hand on the header adjusting the clutch so I could limp it home.

Another occasion, I lost the fuel pump relay. No biggie, but I had to get a ride home from a friend to grab another relay. Since then they all have been replaced.

I drive my car 10-15 miles everyday to and from school. I've been driving it since about September, and still no toehr big issues other than that.. Mind you, the ignition systam and motor are brand new, but it still always runs like a champ, and starts up fine every morning even with carbs.

I'm in the process of building confidence. Took it on a 1,000 mile trip to Vegas a couple of weeks ago. There were a couple of moments of drama when an odd squeaking came from the back end, but it stopped at low speeds and wouldn't repeat itself on demand. The trip helped me focus my next projects, primarily to eliminate those couple of moments of drama.

Probably the biggest surprise was the lowly 20.7 mpg from my freshly rebuilt engine at a steady-state 70 mph. That kind of mileage is fine when you're driving for fun, but not for simply traveling. My other vehicles get 33-50% better mileage. Yet part of this trip was to prove the car and it was worth it.

Overall I was pleased with how the car ran and would not hesitate to take it somewhere else at 500 miles per day. As long as it was for fun, not just for transportation.

"Betty's 914 has been a daily driver for 20+ years."

Yep, like Clay said mine's a daily driver. He's got 327,000 + miles on him now. The next door neighbor has 400,000 miles on his 2.0 (he bought it new).

Go through the car, fix stuff when you find it (don't put it off to just get worse later), regular maintenance and it'll be the one that starts for you when the others won't.

Plus it's great fun to take a 914 to the grocery store! The bag boys freak out when you tell them "It's the little orange one over there". Then you start opening multiple trunks and they about lose it. You do have to remember to put cold items in the front though.

And.....

100% for a year and a half, DD except when it rains because it leaks. I'm a mechanic which should give me an up, but it's not exactly been well cared for for it's whole life which is a down. All in all, I'm impressed. It's as good as an old Volvo and that's saying a lot.
BTW, I'm not talking about the blue & green car. I don't drive that on the street.

When my 1.7 was new in 1973, I drove it all over the country. The only problems I had was vapor lock in the fuel pump. After getting this fixed, I drove over 185000 miles with no tows home. Closest I came was about 600 miles from home when the pivot that attaches the clutch cable to the transmission broke. At taht time, the car only had about 20,000 miles on it. The pivot piece was originally plastic, but now they all are now metal. I bought a copper pipe fitting and a hack saw at a hardware store in the middle of Florida. After about an hour of fiddling, I had a means to connect the clutch cable to the transmission, and was off again.

I have completely rebuilt mine and have been driving it a little over 2 years now, with only two problems in the 10,000 miles so far since rebuild. One problem I had was an intermittent connection on the relay box in the engine compartment. Luckily I found this and was able to drive the car home for a permanent repair. I soldered the connections to make sure they didn't cause trouble . The other problem I had was that I had a Mallory Unilite dizzy that up and died on me when I was driving down the highway. I had read about potential problems with these (after I had purchased one), and followed the recommendations on this board to keep a spare dizzy just in case.

I have replaced almost all of the critical components except wiring, so that I hopefully don't have to worry. These cars are pretty simple, so if you know your car and keep it maintained, it should be pretty reliable. JoeO

I "trust" mine. But I keep my towing insurance current. I had never used my towing insurance until I owned a 914. Now, I use it about every two years.

Is your mileage better now that McMark has massaged your air:fuel ratio?

I drove my car 22 hours straight last month, I trust the car but we all know things do happen

The mileage improved 3-4 mpg after McMark fine tuned things. Definitely worth it! Starts easier, too, and doesn't fart three seconds after I turn the engine off.

I'll drive mine anywhere up to 3hrs on the road, my back just won't take it anymore. Mine has never broken down on the road and been towed home since I got it in '95. It has not started 3 times in the driveway, once of dead CHT, twice due to the cold (15 degrees and low battery.).

Last trip to Eastern Wash (3 hrs) I averaged 33 MPG flying along at 75-85mph....CHT's 350F

I guess I need to rebuild the seats with more lower back padding.

I would trust mine to go anywhere. Did Buffalo to Hershey last month, with the entire return in the rain. Had no problems at all, and even stayed dry. Of course, I have had the car for 10 years, and pretty well have it sorted out as mentioned above.