For every one that said I could, three said I couldn't... guess I beat the odds
So the last year I was at every teen's turning point where I was getting through the licensing process. The previous 3 years I raced Provincial level for downhill mountain biking. We would take the chair lift up at a ski hill and race down through time trials.

Once the licence was in my hand my thoughts changed towards motors. At the beginning of last summer I sold my race bike. I kept the cash and saved for the rest of the summer. Near the end of the summer I was desperate for another hobby. I found a 914 project on Kijiji (Canada’s Craigslist) and figured, what the hell. I have never taken auto at school, just learned from my dad who was pretty handy. I brought the car home and gave it a shot. The goal was 10 months until my PROM. That was THE UNLTIMATE goal.
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I knew how to weld and grind so that was the start of the project. I rented a rotisserie from a guy and put the car in the air. From then I sand blasted the under coating and started patching.



The only part I expected to have someone else do was the exterior body work anything that could be seen. I stripped to bare metal the car, primed it and sent it out. In 2 months it was back. Perfect, just in time to have the engine rebuilt. With -30 winters and no heat in the garage, it was nice to work on the engine in the basement.

Mid march I had the engine in the car. About 3 weeks later it was fired up.



After a huge deal about getting it painted (long story) I settled to have my uncle do the base/clear job in my garage.

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I think it turned out pretty good.
So here it sits. Its 2 days from prom and I just finished it up. I still have some tuning but it runs, it moves, and I think its sexy as hell. I am very happy with it. Its not a concours, award winning car but it was keep close to stock. There was a few shortcuts and lots I would do different next time but I was on a huge student budget and a small timeline.






I am on the right, my friend on the left.


In the end I have about 1300 hours into it. I am 18 years old. My best friend, Aaron has about 1000. My dad has about 60 hours in it and the bodywork/paint guys have about 70 hours. I just wanted to say this was all done AND funded by MYSELF.

I want to give a big thanks to my family, friends, Yves (Memeber Freezing14) Steve (Memeber SWL). Also to the 914WORLD and its amazing members!!!!

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Congratulations on your project. It looks great. Persistence pays off. Good work.

Thank you!

Sweet car and great job! You really got that thing looking good. I bet it was a big hit at prom.

Thanks, prom will be this saturday so I hope it will be. I will post a picture and an update over the weekend.

Excellent! You, sir, ROCK! I know I couldn't have done that when I was your age.

--DD

Outstanding!

Now, be extra sure not to close the door on your date's prom dress.

Thanks guys!
I am already dreaming up another but maybe a few (4?) more cylinders...
I have been accepted for mechanical engineering next year so I can design it but will have to wait a few years until I am done school too afford it.

Right on! Looks great. Grats

Cool!! Should be a big hit at the prom.....where is Brockville? Ontario? Sounds familiar...think I played hockey there once

Ecellent job and you picked the perfect color.

Congrats!!! Looks great!! Another successful garage paint job!

For an 18 YO on a limited budget you totally rocked it! Great color, great results. Enjoy the prom.

Congratulations little Brother from the North, you did a great job, now get another bike and keep riding.. Don't forget to post your Prom Pix,,,,
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Really nice Teener,I got my 1st one when I was 19,(1976) and still have it.
There great cars.Just wait until you get the six bug,There are a blast
to drive.Great Story and Great Kid...Good Luck,914

Great job! It's always inspiring to hear these stories. Persistence and hard work pay off once again.

Awesome build! Have fun at Prom, post pics

Nice job ! I did a Datsun pickup when I was about your age. I like the fact you bought something, fixed/restored it yourself. That will help you for the rest of your life. Too many today just want to buy mom and dad to buy something nice so they can destroy it. Mucho respecto !

Thanks everyone!

Brockville is kinda between Ottawa and Toronto on the 401 highway. We are also right at the border crossing over the St. lawernece river to Ogdensburg, New York. Hockey is really big in the area.

Great job!!!! If you were old enough I'd buy you a beer.

Congrats!! Realize that you have just completed what many do not (and only dream of completing). . . Much to be proud of my man!! (I only have beer in MY glass, you got root )

You understand that once you are a mechanical engineer, a project like this will take 3X as long because you will over-think everything, right?? Good Luck at the prom and in school!!

Great job, hope her prom dress fit inside and wasn't hanging out the door. Show us the pics!

now THAT is a cool story. Nice work!

Thanks, I hope this will inspire some people with a project to keep going. There will always be road blocks. The worst thing I found was my age. I would tell people what I am doing and some wouldn't take me seriously. They figured I was a) smart enough or b) would loss interest in few weeks. So I wanted to prove them wrong...


On another note, if anyone in the area wants to stop in or needs a hand with anything let me know. I have many spare parts as I had a few 'cars' that came in boxes as well. Most of the parts I would be willing to give away to a good cause. I would prefer to stay away from shipping but if anyone is in a crunch just let me know and I will see what I can do. I had a few people donate some parts and now its my turn to give back!


Parker

Very Awesome Story. Now go drive it!!





p.s. adjust the passenger eyelid

WOW! Great job man. What a way to finish high school! Enjoy the prom but you better keep the top on or her hair will not make it

This is what I hope my son and daughter will do when they are old enough

Nice work

Always one in the crowd....

Its all done now. That picture was 2 weeks ago like right after paint, I just set it there lol.

Drive on

Wow that is some serious focus. Beautiful car, great achievement!

Good job. So I take it you passed safety last week? Remember your only right across the river.

This is AWESOME! Congratulations!

Reminds me of myself in that I bought a basket case 914 right before my senior year and drove it to my Prom as well. My date's dress did NOT get caught in the door, LOL!

Keep going man. I got my ME degree 18 yrs ago and sadly moved into another field. Still wish I were in that field.

Nicely done!

Yep, safety went perfect! They were saying how nice the bottom looked compared to even some of the newer cars on the road.

In the summer when I have a few parts shipped to Ogdensburg I might have to take a drive and visit!


Parker

Anytime doors always open

Nice job!

Now all you need is to do this with it! ....
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I like the rims!
I hope to try it at a track day sometime. I just want to get through a summer first and enjoy it just in case I am little hard on it...

Nice work! Car looks great. Enjoy the prom!

cheers, mike

Right on ! Glad to hear you got er' back together in time ! I'll be back in Trenton a few times this summer and most likely heading up to Ottawa atleast once so I'll have to drop by and see the finished product ( and peruse your left over parts ). I'm going to be moving this summer into a new old house with a bigger shop (actually a barn) so my progress has slowed considerably, but hopefully I'll have mine on the road next spring and we can meet up at Mosport..

Parker you are exactly the type of guy we all hope our kids will turn out to be. You and your family should be proud of this achievement. It aint easy for folks with a bigger budget and more time.

Chalk up another teener saved for eternity

YOU ROCK, and I should know!

Rocky

He is in Canada, he may be old enough...

You're absolutly correct on taking the time to learn your 914
I got mine when I was 25 ('85)
I heard someone mention it takes two years to learn how to drive a Porsche.
wasn't kidding, gotta find the 'Sweet spots' in our 914's it what makes them special

Great story. BIG congrats.

I think alot of us can learn a very valuable lesson from your story. Here is what stuck in my mind; Rent the rotissari (or jack stands). That way every time you have to make that rent payment you get inspired to finish your project!

It's 19 here so close enough.

. . . just remember 914's and booze really, really don't mix.

So I got to bed at about 1 last night after helping my friend at racing. He races 358 Modifieds on Dirt Track racing. He is the same age as me and is doing pretty well.


Anyway the weather was 100% ran today. Just woke up, took a peek and the sun is shinning! Its down to 40%.

Now my date and I can go topless

Great job man! Congrats on getting it finished on time!

The question is, will you be sporting the top hat and pink cumberbun?

A cannot tell you how impressive it is for you to have met that deadline! You gotta put that in your resume when you apply for summer jobs.

Have fun tonight ! but not too much . And no until the teener is back in the garage!

For summer entertainment you might want to check out http://www.stlac.ca/Events.htm SMP is the Shannonville Track. About an hour and a half drive from your place. 5 minutes off the highway just past Napanee.

Well, here are some pictures!

It was alot of fun. Everytime I looked people were in front off the car getting pictures. Some I didn't even know. Lots asked about it too, including the ladies In the end it was a great hit, many said it was the best entrance! It made the last 10 months worth it in that 2 hours. No rain either. Then of course I parked it back in the garage and had a sweet all nighter celebration with my classmates.

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Parker

Wow! you need to keep these photos for the next 20 years and then repost them after your HS reunion!

Excellent job. It's fantastic to see young folks tear into cars like us old guys had to do when we were young.

To most kids today, working on your car means buying new wheels, cold air intake, a chip, a fart can, and a stereo.

Your car and your lady look beautiful. You clean up pretty good too.

Great job, Parker. Congrats!