It's been a year since I bought Oly Blue. You probably recall, she was found in a garage in Texas. Stored away for more than 20 years. Wayne Dempsey was kind enough to check her out and found a very rust free original condition 1974 1.8. With only 25,000 miles. I bought her sight unseen, and she spent the last year in local shops getting a few items addressed. Now, back home, I am preparing to start a refurbishing of this beautiful young girl.

I have already redone the original wheels as we discussed here earlier, and now I removed the faded and torn stripe decals. I may replace them but have not yet decided.

Here are some quick reference pics of where I am starting from









More to come as work progresses!!

That certainly looks like it is in fantastic condition. It appears that you have gotten a very nice 914 for yourself. From the photos, it appears to be "O.E.M.", keep it that way, there seem to be less and less "stock" 914s as the years pass. There are more 914s being converted to /6s, or "GT" wannabes, or having unspeakable engines transplanted into them all the time. And for what it's worth, I'd leave the "PORSCHE" stripe off.

Paul

Yes thanks. It's very OEM. I took off the Mahle wheels and refinished the steel wheels. Replaced the ansa exhaust with stock dansk muffler It also has a dealer installed AC which might be a plus to some buyers. The plan is definitely to keep it as bone stock as the day it came off showroom floor.

. Removing valance, bumper and lenses for cleaning. I like to remove all brightwork for a thorough clean, polish and wax.

That is incredibly clean behind that bumper for a car that hasn't been "freshened".
From where I sit, I see no rust!

Take some Simichrome (brand) polish to those horns and revel in how nice they'll look behind the fog light grille.

FInally got a break in the heat so I could get back to work on Oly Blue. Cleaned inside front wheel wells today, and behind the bumper.

Question for you,. These are the a/c hoses running through into the front trunk. They come out of the side channel with a big wad of duct tape around the hole to protect the hoses. Should I leave it as is, the way the dealer did it, or try to clean that up sonehow, maybe with a proper rubber grommet of some sort??

Can I ask what products and process you're using to do this? The results are looking really great! I'm curious as I'm in the same situation with mine and am willing to put in the work if I can get results like that!

Sure! Just Autozone store brand Engine Degreaser, a couple of smaller scrub brushes, and a kitchen scrubbing pad for the tar. I tried GUNK brand degreaser and it was not nearly as good.

Just spray the degreaser, wait a minute, scsrub and rinse. It won't all come off the first time, I think it was 3-4 application in each area. I work in a small areas at a time, maybe a sqaure foot is all.

Be careful not to get the degreaser on the rocker panels. it doesnt do well on that flat finish.

Once done with the degreaser and rinsed thoroughly, I wiped it down with Mineral spirits which removes any residue.

Keep in mind though, this car has only 25,000 miles, so there really wasnt a lot of mess to start with. I will take before and after pic on the back ones.

If it were me, I'd find some proper sized grommets & do it the way the dealer should have done it. Of course, maybe they did it right & subsequent work changed it.

You'll want to get or make them split grommets, otherwise you have to discharge the freon, disconnect the lines, string thru the grommets, then recharge the Freon. Ergo why somebody later working on the AC may have cut off the original grommets (if there) & replaced with duct tape.

Look at the wheel well pix of Steve G's Sahara Beige 73 2L in the "The few, The rare...." nailed topic at the O&H Forum for the proper grommets set-up.

BTW - your Oly 74 should go to that nailed thread too when you're done dressin' her up pretty!

I've always been a big proponent of Simichrome, but not here. The horns should have a satin silver paint. Simichrome WILL make them appear chromed, which is not the proper finish.

Your wheel wells and front apron are looking spectacular, and all OEM to boot! Nice car. Keep us posted on your cleaning process, your work thus far is fantastic.

Paul

I cannot speak for the 1974 finish on the horns, but my 1970 horns are not painted.

Paul

My 74 horn is metal with no paint. I only have one and no fog lamps.

Definitely not painted. I cleaned them and gave them a light shine but not a full polish. Looks very clean but not overdone.

Here are the horns and lights cleaned and reinstalled.

Looks beautiful! Did you replace the lenses on the fogs or were they just in that good of shape?

Thanks! No replacement. originals were unmarked, no chips at all. Just needed cleaning. Worked for an hour on the grilles so far. they are very good condition, again, just need cleaning. no easy way to get into the corners between each little louver.

Using mineral spirits and 0000 steel wool so fay has done wonders for it.

A full day of careful work on each side to remove all residue and hints of the side stripes. wet sanded with 600, then 1000, then 3M light compound at 1800 rpm, then 3M finishing glaze at 2400 rpm. Not a hint of stripe residue.
Finished it off with Menzerna FMJ at 2000 rpm, and P21S carnauba by bare hand.

Her first outing will be the local cars and coffee this saturday. Its A Grind near La Quinta and Bermuda Dunes, if anyone os near that area, come say hi.

She won't be finished, but nice enough to drive and show off.

Your car is looking fantastic. The cleaning you've done has made the car look new!
The paint in the wheel wells and the detailing behind the front bumper show the care you've put into your efforts.

Paul

Beautiful car. I love seeing it as you work on it and return it to like new with thorough cleaning and polishing. Very nice indeed. I vote for getting rid of the duct tape and using some type of rubber grommet for the AC lines.

Did make it to cars and coffee over the weekend. SHift linkage out of adjustment, was the only issue. Still not cleaned and detailed enough, but she is gettingthere.

Amazing job! You really did the car justice.

Been a long time since I have had a chance to post. Car is now complete, and she will be at auction here in Rancho Mirage in late Feb. One of two auctions in town, havent decided which.
Probably the Desert Classic Concours. see you there!

glad to see this progress!! I knew when I took the pics for that car it was something special!!

Are you selling her, or just showing?

Selling. Anyone interested, let me know in advance I will get you a bidding number.

Too bad!

Maybe post the auction info., recent post-resto pix & the back story/pix before in the classifieds here for anyone interested....

Did you ever get a chance to enter her in any of the PCA Zone 8 CdE's?
.... if so, how'd she do?

I never did get to show her. Two years of ugly divorce took over my life. And we are still not done.

But, the car is beautiful and would be a great addition to any collection. Just wish she had a couple of awards to show her pedigree.

Classified post will go up as soon as I get some better pics

Hey Wayne! Yes, you uncovered a gem with this one. I have enjoyed having her for this short time, never did get much time to drive her though.

Sorry to see her go, but I need something more track worthy. I would hate to flog this girl around a track.

Just posted her in Classified.

Your car is now being viewed here, also;

http://bringatrailer.com/2012/02/26/origin...74-porsche-914/

Typical responses from the pinhead crowd. Hope you get your asking price.

Don

Amazing the ridiculous comments it has received. "removing bumpers for inspection compromised the structural integrity" ? Really?
Wrong wheels, wrong console, wrong engine, etc. Sheesh. I didnt know there were so many 914 experts on that site with better info than this site. apparently, everything I have ever learned on here, or from original documents, brochures, COA, etc, is all wrong!

Nothing like the internet know-it-alls!

No sweat, you KNOW you did Oly 10:10 & 100% correct!

It's 10/10...Good luck with the sale! Someone who actually knows what they're looking at will see the value there...

Looks like she is on her way to a new home. When the new owner gives me permission, I will post more details.

Congrads on your sale!

Congrats on the sale! Before you ship the car off to Calgary, it would be nice if you could, as Tom_T mentioned, snap pics of the car to document how a truly original car should look.

I read a lot of comments on the BaT page ..... seems the 914 is as polarizing today as it was back in the 70's. To be honest, I don't agree with your comment about the superiority of the 1.8 over the 2.0, but then again I don't think the 1.8 is as bad as many people believe. While shopping for my car I test drove a '75 1.8, not really expecting much, but walked away pleasantly surprised by how spunky it was (smog equipment was removed).

Last summer while in upstate NY visiting our son at Ft Drum, Andy/scarlet75 treated me to a drive in his 75 1.8 - which I think had some of it's smog kit removed, and I was pleasantly surpirsed at how peppy & torquey it was. I think I used 4th a bit more at higher speeds, than I remember with my 2.0L.

Of course I should add that I drove it VERY poorly, I stalled it several times on 1st gear start up -
not being used to the stiffer late MY throttle springs,
stupid big/wide soled running shoes interference with the center console (mine didn't have the console, although originally equipped with one but removed by DAPO),
and then it had been 26+ years since I'd been able to actually DRIVE my 73 914-2.0 - or ANY 914 since for that matter!

Thanx Again Andy!

My opinion from owning many of both is I would rather have Ljet over Djet. So for longevity, service and drivability the 1.8 is better.
Lower HP yes, but better driving.

Ah, L-Jet vs. D-Jet, a whole other can of worms ...