Driving three hours to go look at a 75 914 1.8. I know to look at battery box area, trunk, under the hood. It's got a rebuilt 1.8 with FI. I'll take any advice of questions to ask, where to look for rust etc. I'll check this post before I look at the car. Thanks guys!

http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/How_to_buy_a_914.htm

Try this link at Birdboard...

Someone on this site also had a Check List for a PPI but I can't seem to find it now....

Good Luck
Ken

Advice:

Don't go alone. You can read up on what to look for but a trained 914-eye will pick up many minute issues.

Take someone with you or meet them there. Offer to buy them some beers & dinner if you have to. It will be money well spent.

Do you live in the SF Bay area?

with the others above &

... & hopefully with a 914 soon so you can move up from the "Wannabe Tribe"

Here's a snip from one I did for another guy looking on here last night, which has the link to Jeff Bowlsby's checklist to print out -

<snipped>
The battery area everyone is warning you about is the original one behind the passenger seat in the R side of the engine bay & check all the way down to the inner rear longs, engine shelf & inner wheelwell, as well along the opposite side below the relay board & along the firewall & engine shelf behind the cockpit (pull off the heat/sound pad to inspect), at both the rear trunk hinge plates on the upper inner rear fenders & on upper firewall for the engine lid hinges (both like to come loose but are repairable); and look at the sheet metal "ears" where the suspension trailing arms attach for rust & at the "box" or console above it - both L & R sides.

Also in addition to what the others have said about behind the rockers on the longs, etc. - look at the floor pans behind & in front of & under both seats & from the underside, remove the steering rack cover under there & inspect up behind there - esp. at the L & R struts which support the steering rack, top & bottom side of both F & R trunk floors (esp. rearmost by taillights & under spare & where they "jacked-in" the battery up front) & pull out trunks seals & look under them for rust, around door jambs & pull off the outer door seals on both doors & look in both the seal channels & up under the doors where the seals cover for rust, check at the small seal in joints L&R cowl to fenders up front, all around the cowl & windshield frame (esp. along the chrome trim edge & at wiper mount indents), along the door to window tops, front fenders low just above the rocker panels, behind the bumpers where the mounting bolts horns & foglights attach (esp. since they're missing the top seals to keep most of the water out of behind there), along the area where the sails join the rear fenders, etc., etc., etc. All this means prodigious scraping & jabbing with a screwdriver to find the rust, & any "rust bubbles" means much more rust on that area of a body panel sheet metal is behind that.

Don't be afraid to make 2 trips (or more) Try to get John or another local Teener familiar with inspection of 914s to go with you to check out the car before you go out planning to buy it, then you can figure out what it needs & what would be a fair price to counter offer. Also take it for a drive with that person too, so you can figure out if it's a good runner - plus while you're out he/she can drive behind you in it in your own car/truck to see if it's "crabbing" due to a bent unibody &/or other suspension problems ("crabbing" = drives straight down the road while "pointed" at an angle).

As the others have said - that's pretty much a standard non-appearance group/options 1.7L 914, except for having chrome bumpers - nothing 916 about it, so it may not be worth what he's asking for it & may take a lower counter offer - IF you think whatever all you discover which needs fixing is worth the trouble. Then a second trip can be made to pick up the car & trailer it home if/when a deal is struck. Remember - YOU have the power to walk away & the seller is left with a car unsold, so you may have to do it once before he comes to your decided acceptable price, if at all. If not, there will be another for you.

I may have given you this link before on one of your earlier posts, but it has the 2 parts of a 914 assessment form in the top 2 items which link to the form that you can print out when you go to look it over.
http://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/TechNotebook.htm

<end snip>

I didn't really cover the engine/running gear angles, but they're on the list, & IIRC Dr.914's 914 700 tips book has a checklist too.

DO try to enlist the help of a local Teener in your area or near the 914's location 3 hrs away to go with you, as suggested above.

Happy Hunting!

I'm near Sacramento..

Well, back from the trek to check out the 914. Seller was right. It was mechanically sound as far as I could tell but the rust was too much for my taste. Rusted through in one of the rocker panels. Rust in battery tray, rust under battery tray, rusted through in a couple spots in the trunk. Small rust spots throughout the body, edge of doors, edge of headlights, etc. It's hard not to pic up a cheap, good running 914 now that I've test drove a few. Can't wait to own one but I just can't get one with too much rust. Don't have the time or money to do lots of rust repair. Thanks to you guys, I haven't made a mistake.....yet. But dang, I want one. If the planets align, I'd love to have one in time for that Napa wine country run in August.