I was thinking it would be cool to set up something like a pro Bono support group for our younger members. The wisdom is already out there, but something like a used Parts stockpile to help out the youngsters getting these cars back together. I'll be the first to start. If you are still in high school, and restoring one of these cars, PM with parts you need and if I have one in stock it's yours. Just cover shipping.

-Ross

Hey... what about us old guys that have to scrape by to feed our 914 habit?

Would it not be considered child abuse to hook teens on this addicion?

Well Im not saying that I am an enabler of sorts but... Most Kids now days know the line "Just Say No!"

We aren't trying to hook them, just supporting the addiction.

I like this idea , when us old farts need help they would be more inclined to ablige. Foster esteem in thier abilities and accomplishments , there sure is not a lot of them that cares to get thier hands dirty anymore .

Jack

But hold on, I have three teens, they have all my money - I need support for my addiction!

I started off in the 15-20 age group and now I'm in the 20-25 age group. Honestly I think we have it easier than the old farts- we don't have children to support, mortgages to pay, or spouses to evade. The next half decade will be automotive nirvana for me. Maybe we need a mid life crisis support group....you know, the 40 year old guy who wants to restore a car but has no time or money, and a nagging wife.

Decide which one ( s ) you want to keep , give away / get rid of the rest . Let them know that there will be a rebudgeting ( downsizing ) of the bottom line , nothing personal , just priorities / goals need to be implemented and achieved.






Of course it would probably lead to a muntiny.

Jack

I was in the 20-25 group at one time and had (2) 914s and a Lotus Europa Special. Guess what got pushed to the back burner (or off the cook top completely) once marriage and family came along

Now in the 46-55 group and back into the car that I love though with two kids in college and one at private school, the money is tight. I may not have the prettiest 914 out there but I sure do it!

You overlapped your groups. I can go into 25-35 and 35-45...depending on how I feel today I will pick one. Back to being a statistic.

BTW, I always help out the young folks with the transmission stuff

I know that one. I bought my first at 14, and progress was diabolically slow until college since funds were so tight. Now at 22 in grad school, funds are still tight, but at least I have SOME income.

-Ross

I got my first 914 at age 17 in 1999. Had no money to fix it up the way I wanted to then, car gone by age 21. Fast forward to last year when I found my first car again by accident. I still don't have the money to fix it up the way I want to. Glad I have a patient wife.

Yeah, I just turned 30.

I was given mine when I was about 23.......then it sat under a Tarp in my parents back yard til about two months ago.....I'm 35 now

Wazzup with this poll Ross!?
- you give the youngsters 5 year blocks, then pile 56-70 in one group!
.... Geez, I know I'm getting up there, but it didn't fall off when I turned 59 last month!

Good suggestion you made though!
... as Doc E said, there are many out there already helping.

Got my `73 914-2.0 in Dec. 75 at 23 - about a year & a half out of undergrad, drove it as my DD for almost 10 years, then it got whacked May `85 by a ditz in the parking structure while I was in grad school, sat for 25 years while I raised a family, ran my business, etc.; now working on restoring it. My one & only 914 - not counting the parts car!

Cheers!

I wanted to figure out how many young guys were on here, so far its really only one. I was gonna go 5 year increments all the way but my hands were getting tired from entering all the data into my smartphone!

Woohoo! Loks like I'm the youngest. bought mine a day or two before my 15th birthday, and have been drivin' it ever since. I'm now 18.

Jeeze. Having got my first 914 at 19 I started out in the second group. Now I've moved all the way to the 46-55 bracket!?!

I only have two more groups to go and then I'm . . . dead!

ah well; Eric Shea is still a year ahead of me.

Heres The link to a previous post on this subject, lots of age info.

Well, maybe youngest now I bought Bosser two weeks after my 14th B-Day.

Just want you youngen's to know that there are still old crazy guys that have been doing this for a long time . . . I may be a little slower but my heart is in the right place. . . Just because age creeps up on you, you don't have to give up your passions. . . . .

It took me 7 months of every day labor, but I've completed the body of my full frame restoration and did it all myself. . . that includes the body work and paint. . . I'm on to the engine now. . . .
I'm 65 and would love to pass on some of my 50 years of Porsche time trial and Concours experience to someone local. . . I've got 3 sons and only 1 is into cars, and he's chosen the dark side and has a 65 Mustang. . go figure. . .

That's a 40K mile all original six I'm doing to be my last keeper car. . .

Rats.

I was told by my boss to go pull the 3 motors out of the Ghia and the bus out back (yes, the bus had a spare 1.7 liter Teener motor sitting on the floor for balance:0) and get them ready to ship. Up to that time all I did was reassemble transmissions of every variety and pump gas - gas crisis in those days had folks waiting 100 deep in line.

My boss liked to carry his 357 on his hip to deter folks running and not paying

That's when my emotional connection started with V-Dubs and Porsches...

Like water-boarding, I got used to it

Tool guy, I'm right here in SD if you're looking to adopt

Or even if you just need a hand...

Ross,

I am with you on helping the younger folks.

If you are in high school or college and need an extra part that I have, it is yours
for shipping. Start a thread and post some pictures of your car and progress so
we can see that you are legit.

Just PM me.

John

Love the idea! Keep thie middlemotors going! I can't even envision a contemporary teen wanting one of these cars - would be the eqivalent of of me, as a teenager, wanting to get a car from 1928 to run!

Bought my 72 new, when I was 25. After 4 years of daily driving it was relegated to full concours status. Driven less than 20K miles since 1975.

I have lotsa spares. Most these days are brand new, but have plenty of dirty, working parts that I'll never use. Will gladly help the needy to keep these cars out there.

If I have what anyone needs, aside from my stash to keep Fritz going, we can make a deal.
Pat

I'm almost 22 now, and have been driving the 914 since I've I day I got my learner's permit at 15. I will never part ways with the car either

Hello gents,
Would a struggling 27-year old Masters student count as well? Particularly a first-time owner and one with a baby on the way? I need heater parts more than anything! Otherwise she won't ever ride in it, lol.

Actually, come to think of it, what I need even more is pictures. This car was stripped so bad by POs that I have no idea what it has and what it doesn't. Other than it runs (or did until I dropped the DT last weekend) and stops fairly well. I have no idea what the heating system entails, nor what the wiper system looks like, nor the firewall or dash. All of this has been altered at some point and I'm having to do a lot of fabrication and research just to find out where to begin. Does anyone have suggestions on good, full photo albums of the front trunk and interior? I'll be happy to post pictures of the car and what I've done so far once mid-terms end this week. Thanks for a great topic gentlemen!

-George

If you head to the concours section there are plenty of shots of just about any area on the car. The rest can be found using the search function.

Ah thanks! I had done some searching and started compiling some photos of different areas of the car, but was just wondering if there was one good location for many photos. I'll check out the concours section! 'Preciate the help.

I was 20 when I bought my first one.

BTW, I still have it.

Bought mine as late 24th birthday present 6 months ago.

Where in Norfolk are ya? I'm right next door in Va Beach....

Got my first one (1973) at 17.
The "Too many cars for the house" topic was eventually the reason for the first one to be sold. I will have a hard time forgiving my parents for that one ... Had I known how much I would have missed it prior, I would have found SOME way to keep it.

At 23 I'm now the proud owner of a '74.

Home again........

In January I will be turning 34, but I feel younger, in my mind at least (or out of my mind, depending upon the day ).

Life is good.

-S

Toolguy, you got good genes to pass on.

And I don't mean no Jordache or Lauren crap either

If you read the above and don't get it, wait 20 years and you will...

I'm up for the stash pay-it-forward idea. If the nameplate doesn't say Xbox or Wii, my kids aren't interested

Thank you for the kind words. . . As I get older, I hate to see the lost knowledge and experience that passes away when we lose the older guys. . . It's a waste that can not be replaced. . If I can get other people interested in maintaining these fine cars, they can last for future generations. . . When I started out in the 60's, a 356 Speedster was just a neat car but not really that collectible. . . and we all know what has happened to them. .
Fast forward to today. . . 914's are neat cars and are just becoming of real collector status. . . in 20 plus years they will be what we think of as a true collectible car and hard to find in good condition. . . Now is the time to take advantage of that. . . In 50 years, there may not even be gasolene vehicles as we know them today. . . .
If you think I'm off base on this, just remember that cars have only been in existence for 100 years or so. . . and the older you get, time passes very quickly. . . Trust me on that. . . These ARE the good old days. . .

What? No PS3?

Ross, since you are sending me a front wing from the US to the UK you already qualify for sainthood...


Roman

I have a bunch of heater parts and plumbing that I will never use in Florida.

Figure out what parts you are missing and you can have mine.

John

Sure they know it, but they all think it concerns somebody else.

The Cap'n

Heh, we got my 'teener in '73 when I was 6 years old. Mom drove it, then I drove it, then I parked it. That was 1986. Now I'm trying to clean out my garage and actually work on it. Maybe in the spring I can actually start!

Sweet!

Now 43 here, first got my -4 six years ago. Mildly surprised the 35-45 group is currently higher than the 46-55, but then this is self-selecting.

Many folks have already entered their birthdays as part of their profiles. SirAndy or another of the mods could probably womp up a script in a few minutes that'd trawl the database and give us a good picture...

Yeah get to work on that thing.

Got my first when I was 21 - thought it was in better shape than it was so it ended up as a donor to my first *drivable* 914, that went on the road when I was 22, after driving my little CRX off a cliff. Sold it when I moved to NYC, bought another when I was 25 and moved back. That one was stolen when I was playing pirate and spent 6 months sailing in the Caribbean. Used bicycles and company car for the last few years, went to Haiti for a year, and now at 32 and in the top part of the 25-35 bracket, I'mfeeding the habit once again.

One thing I will say that has been so valuable has been the wisdom and info the experienced folk have been so kind to provide. A parts bin would be great, but I agree that most of the younger guys have enough disposable income to cover parts. In fact, I'd bet most of them (us?) have enough time and money that if you "more distinguished" guys keep dishing out the info I know some of us (well me anyway) would be happy to bring beer and elbow grease to help out when it's needed.

From someone who's appreciated all of the advice I've gotten over the years I'd like to say thanks for the wisdom and patience: when you're in a pinch (as most 914 folks are at times) it's worth more than a physical parts bin could be.

And by parts bin I mean the greasy cardboard box kind of thing that we all have in the garage. If that parts bin had, like, new chrome bumpers or a set of clean baby Dels this would be a very different post.

Anyway, thanks .

Hey, Ive been interested in the 914 since I was a child, I traded a jetski I restored for a 1973 Porsche 914/4 when I was 16 and its torn completely apart for restoration now (no garage, so I do my best) Ive been working on primarily scooters and mopeds as well as motorcycles, starting out when I was 9, Im 18 now and hope to push in many more projects as the time goes on.

Nice! Any career plans with that mechanical handiness?

I purchased my 914 1.7 when I was 28. It is in the barn, and I purchased my second 914 around 1997, for the parts. It has been scrapped because of Aholes in Indiana who complained about it sitting outside. I purchased my third 914,the 6er, in 2007.

'bout time!