Hello, I'm picking up a 74 914 with a seized 2.0 engine. I started building a type 4 2.0 for my 73 beetle awhile ago and the upright cooling conversion was holding me back. I saw a 914 on craig's list for 1100 with a non running engine. Asked some questions and found out that the engine had gotten some water in it, no problem, all I really want are the heads and the carbs, so if I can save those I'll be happy.

Then there's the car itself. I looked it over pretty well, not as well as I would have liked though, but I ended up putting a deposit on it. There were some issues. Rust on the floors and in the front trunk. The "hell hole" seemed in decent shape, but it's hard to say given the amount of tar like substance in the area. I think this crap usually just hides hideous rust from initial inspections, but overall I believe there are enough decent original parts to make back 1100 bucks if the rust serves too much for me to overcome.

Some signs of body sagging I believe. Could be misaligned doors, but the targo top was difficult to get clipped into place in the back, and when secured in the back the front clips just flop down.





This is the car ready for my inspection when I arrived. Just love intense sunlight when I want to get detailed shots of something. Moreso irritated that I left the ISO at 800 and didn't notice till i got the images on my computer...



Floors had visible prior patchwork, and rust was having a hayday on what hadn't already been patched.



The rear trunk was actually quite decent.



The front trunk.....not as nice, but not teeeerrible.



Anyone think I'd mad to spend 1100 on this car?

Hey, I just wrote the same issues to look for for this other new 914 owner here -
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=110655

Yup - the tar was probably a half-fast POR15 cover-up of battery tray/hell hole damage from that pic, the doors look like you have rusted out longs at the jack tube/support are - so pull off the rockers & start checking & cutting them if rusty & behind you'll probably find serious rust-holing, & I can see that you'll need new full or half/quarter floor pans for that half-fast repair on the floor - go the Restoration Design under member vendors here to check for member discounts - here's their 914 parts link -

http://www.restoration-design.com/Merchant...tegory_Code=914

http://www.restoration-design.com/Merchant...ry_Code=914-PAC

Lotsa knowledgeable wrenches & body work wizzes on here, just post your pix & questions as you go along!

When you get it dun, then you can take it down to TN/NC to run the Dragon on MUSR, since IN is relatively flat & 914s LOVE the curves!!!!

(I know how flat, as I have family around the Indy & Ft. Wayne areas & was just back there again last week!)

Good Luck & Cheers!
Tom
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What are your plans? Are you going to save her?

I would really like to save the car, but I have never done body work, and I am sure it needs a good amount of that. I can do all the mechanical work. I'll be transplanting a power plant in that I built, and going through the brakes and everything else.

If the rust is too bad, It'll probably get scrapped after a part out to make back the money, or maybe sold to someone who actually will save it?

I have a 70 Karman ghia that needs saving as well. rockers are gone and a lot of rust along the bottom....but it was my aunt's and she just passed away, so I'm going to restore it.

The metal actually seems comparable, if not cheaper than the bug/ghia sheet metal replacement parts.

It is actually in better shape than one I just restored. I ended up getting a 1973 body minus the engine and tranny for replacement body parts, usable sheetmetal, and interior parts. The rest I salvaged the electronics and other valuable parts to sell later.

It looks like a doable project. Just check the subframe for rust out. If the subframe is too far gone I fear that you will have a money pit.

I would suggest you take off the rocker panels and see what other rust you can find. From the pictures it doesn't look that bad however rust is always worse than you think.

Be sure to register the vin here on the 914world site. Sir Andy has built quite a nice resource for tracking the condition and status of our little cars. Don't get too discouraged with the rust. Panels are available and if you have a welder you can install then easy enough. There are many guys here that have fixed some really serious rust. There build threads are here for the searching and reference.

That is my concern. It appears that a lot of areas were poorly coated and ended up attracting and holding in moister, thus rust. I had a hard time seeing a lot of the areas I really wanted to look at, but with the carbs and the 2.0 heads and a side shift trans, I can make back 1100.

I do really want to get this car on the road though. I have dealt with money pits before... Worked on a 95 VW GTI VR6 before haha.

I am hoping I can salvage more parts off the engine as well. I had the owner pour some wd40 down the spark plug holes while I prepare to go pick it up.

This is pre assembly. I have all of this together now.







and the cam upgrade.



I may...though I reeeaaally don't want to. Go ahead and split the case, and transfer everything over to the porsche case.

Somebody described the "tar" as POR-15. It's not. POR-15 looks like paint, tar looks like tar. Tar is used to either attempt to fix or stop rust by people who are cluelesss travelers through life, or as an attempt to hide flaws by the scammers who plague the rest of us ..............................

The Cap'n

shinny black paint can look just like shinny black tar. hard to tell apart unless you feel it or poke it, or heat it up and smell it.

POR 15 is also used by clueless travelers to cover up flaws, scammers to the last???

one nice thing about tar is it is self healing of minor scrathes given heat although neither should be used to cover up flawed metal ideally. but some times you have to use what you got.


at anyrate if you want to save the car, do a complete rust insepection before diving in. you dont want to underestimate the scope of the project.

I'll be tearing everything out to inspect for rust when I get it. First thing on the list is to drop the engine. Then I can see everything and get an idea of what all I need to do. Then if all is well...or less than miserable, I'll go ahead and work on fuel lines, brakes etc.

I'll have more photos soon and make this a build thread.

Hey Mike, you may want to check if that's a "matching numbers" engine & transaxle on the 914 before you swap out the motor for another, as they're usually worth more to collectors with the original case nos. Get a COA or even just call PCNA's COA dept. at their 800# with your case nos. & ask them if they match their Kardex records, then you can order the COA later while knowing what you've got to work with.

BTW - the 914 looks good from the outside & interior, so it's probably worth your time to do the bodywork, or find a good one knowledgeable near you to work on it. You might also contact wayne1234 on here who recently resto'ed a yellow slant nose (FS on here now & also selling a parts 914), as he's down in Brooklyn/Mooresville area & may be willing to advise/help out.

Well, thank you for the replies. I know the engine is out of another 914 based on the seller's info. So swapping it out isn't such a big deal. I may get super lucky and be able to free up the engine in the car and just run that for awhile, but I definitely want the built motor in something soon having so much time and money invested in putting it together.

Alright, finally picked the lil guy up. Couple things. Lots of pop riveted patches and some really sloppy welded ones on the underside.

It's a 74 with 2 horns, 2 side view mirrors, a rear sway bar. No center consol

I'm in the process now of looking the car over better and getting an idea of what all needs to be done. The first step was to asses the rust situation, then I'm dropping the engine.

I hooked a charger up to the battery and tried to turn the lights on, it started clicking and nothing happened. Tried turn signals etc, started clicking faster and faster along with some other strange noises. I hate electrical work....

I'll be posting up some photos later, going to do more inspection etc.

bad grounds! clean before you get too discouraged...They are at the - battery terminal, under the relay board and the tranny strap.

trans is loose and about to be pulled. saw the ground strap on the trans was broken. so that should be it. pulled the 36 dells off and disconnected everything. going to pull the engine next and then take photos.. busy busy!

Well, I said pictures were on the way, then I worked till I was out of light, so here's a few of the progress I have made this afternoon between helping out my grandfather and aunt with errands etc.

As you can see, the powertrain/drivetrain is out.


And everything looks saveable.







Floors are a different story. They are all sorts of gone. I'll be taking the interior out tomorrow to see just how much patchwork I'll be doing over the winter.

Under the battery tray, where the engine shelf meets the firewall. Probe that area WELL with a screw driver. Really push on it. If the metal there is good you will not be able to push through it. This is the backbone of the car, and a very common failure point for rust. Rainwater mixes with battery acid and then pools against the firewall. Even otherwise rust free cars tend to have a little rust in there.

Zach

You are sure this is a 74??? the shift assembly at the firewall is a 70-72 tail shift setup.

yeah, 70-72 firewall bushing setup for a tailshifter tranny...

Lots of rust but strip everything out and go for it to clean it up.

got a shot of the vin tag?

What the hell is that orange shit on the relays?

I have seen the same stuff on various cars and spare relay boards i have picked up. Not sure what the purpose of it is but this is not the only car to have it.

4702913204 which makes it a 70.

I think I see a tack welded patch on the top of the long up next to the firewall under the battery tray. Also the long drops down there and that one looks level with the engine sealing tin.

Here is a closer look at that corner. more riveting patchwork


Speaking of rivets....


Seems the car was green originally. Stripped out the interior this morning and cleaned up all the loose rust etc.




And yet more obvious shoddy patchwork that is just rust now.

Silly Putty??? - the wonder error of the space age????

I guess somebody didn't want to bother learning how to weld, but had a pop-rivet set handy on this one Mike!

Floor pans look bad (esp. rear), but replacement sheet metal bits are available at Restoration Design (member vendor here), but agree that you need to pull the rockers & probe the longs (including rear longs in the hell hole & under the relay board), as that may be the issue on the door gap(s), & even if not - you want solid longs "while you're in there"!

It looks salvagable, with enough work. If you are set up for anre inclined you could to a tub up restoration. It will require allot of stripping and new metal. It is a big project to do it right. If you got you the parts you want, and can sell it to someone who is set up to do it (rather than part), it would be a good deal for everyone. Just remember that for the rust you can see there's more you can't (yet).

Yup, just keep tearing into it. Taking a break from the mysterious rust and doing something I know that is worse for my blood pressure.....Stripping down the engine. Those tin screws can really be a pain. I have been at it for over an hour and still only have the back piece and some of the lower shields off. Cyl head tin is always the hardest.

Looking like it's a 1700, so it may be the original engine as apposed to the 2.0 the seller said it was. He also tried to say the dells were rare. pfft. I know better.

I'll keep at it and see what else I run into. Looks like a winter of learning to weld and patchen it up.

Pulled the engine apart. Pistons are still in decent shape. Only one side of the engine had water in it. Managed to get the cylinders off all of the pistons and honed the ones that were rusted. I believe they will all be salvageable.

If this is the original engine from the car, I might just put it back together and slap it in, but I really was wanting to toss in a 2 liter with a webcam 494 cam and flat top 94s I have built.

Started peeling off patches with the air hammer and die grinder.





and the carbs.

Been awhile, but I am thinking about starting to work on this again. I got a nice welder that was subsequently stolen and I have now replaced I Got my bug back on the road and am now driving a classic again, but every time I work on it next to the Porsche I feel kind of guilty.

looks like your car was orig irish green. the orange goop is rtv applied in an attempt to waterproof the relays. easier just to install the cover and be done with it.

k

I am finding more pop rivets than I know how to deal with. I guess at least the pieces that are riveted on can act as templates for some real patches to WELD in. Oh, I guess the person DID have a welder because there are two plates welded on either side underneath that run the length of the longs...Just......gobs of weld every couple inches.....not sealed at all.