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Tom_T
What's your 914 trip story? .... here's one of mine!

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Okay, so here is a thoroughly "[R-word] sanitized" version of a funny story about a long & fast +/- 570 mile each way 914 trip from Huntington Beach CA, up to Park City UT one October in the late 1970s, that I hope others will enjoy.

More importantly - I hope it will encourage others to add their own stories of trips in their 914s - old & current, funny & sad, related to other activities & events, or just for the shear fun of driving their beloved 914s.

Somebody on here had suggested this type of a topic last Spring, and I had started it here, but it was relocated to the obscurity of The Sandbox, because I included the dreaded "R-word" in that story & as a follow-on write-up.

So I've cleansed it of the dreaded R-word parts and only present the 914 trip part herein. Now here's my 914 trip story to start things off....

First a little background on my beloved old gal - an early model year 1973 914-2.0:

My particular 914 may be "The Fastest 914 Ever Built" - in that her VIN Label/Sticker denotes an 8/72 build month, and her Chassis No. Code translates to 8/31/72 - which was usually stamped earlier in the production process.
.... and I'll bet most of you immediately thought I meant speed on the road fast! biggrin.gif

So that means that she was a one day build! biggrin.gif
.... well not likely - more likely a quirk of the guys stamping & labeling 914s at the Karmann Plant late that Summer of 1972, but a good story nonetheless! laugh.gif

"Back in the day" - for my particular 914, that is meaning Dec. 1976 to May 1985 - I used my 73 914-2.0 for everything! She was my one & only car, so I used her to/from work, on errands & groceries/shopping, hauling Xmas trees, on dates, to/from flying lessons & later to the airport or my solo flights wherever, for business trips, meetings & projects, to visit friends & family, go to airshows, to go camping - up to 2-3 weeks for two easily packs in if your careful, to go to R-word stuff, and to go skiing - both downhill &/or cross country & I'd borrow a buddy's ski racks for the right side set up to carry 4 pairs of skis for 2 of each type when a friend or girlfriend/wife came along.

I've seen others on here set-up hitches for trailers, racks for kayaks & surfboards, etc. ad infinitum! So we really do use our 914s for just about anything & everything!

I bought my `73 914-2.0 / "914S" at 36 months old in Dec. `75 for $4500, with about 45k miles on her (she was 1st sold 11/9/72 to the PO/OO). That was after an extended search for a good one over the prior 6-9 months (including looking at the 914's competitors back then), with all of them checked over & rejected until my 73 2L by my mechanic then & ever since - Hans A. of Hans Imports fame in Huntington Beach CA (I literally lived a block or two from his shop & equal distance to the beach in the opposite direction). I couldn't quite afford a new one my first full year out of college, and didn't like the detuned 2.0 GC's "only 86 hp" & big bumpers of the `75-76 MY.

I then put on about another 130k to the now +/- 172k in just under 10 years 12/75 to 5/85 as my DD, and I'd guestimate that about half or more was "recreational driving" & most of that was to/from [R-word] stuff! I was able to keep some mileage off her by riding my 10-speed bike from Huntington Beach to/from the OC Airport Area of Irvine where I worked, & on long lunchtime runs down to the Balboa Peninsula, across the ferry to Balboa Island & back to work - all in an effort to stay fit for the [R-word] game. But it also saved maybe 4-5,000 miles per year on her up to about 1979 or 80, when I had to coat-n-tie more for meetings.

Since May `85 she had sat on blocks in my SoCal garage, up until last year when I started to strip her down for what will turn out to be a full body resto (not my original intention, but necessitated by the 914s' propensity for rust).

In addition to mine, there were several other 914s on the SoCal [R-word] scene during the `70s & `80's too, along with 930s, 911s, 912s & 356s, and some of those dang water-bangers 924s, 944s, 968s, & 928s out-n-about. We'd usually get a bunch of P-cars showing up at the San Diego OMBAC, UC Santa Barbara & Monterey Pebble Beach tournaments, and we'd try to get all of the P-car guys to park in a group - no matter to which clubs they belonged or spectators.

I may find some old game & tournament pix with the Porsche guys parked around - or maybe ski or camping trips in her, when I can dig out my old footlocker with old pix & documents.

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Okay, so to the [R-word] trip aspects of 914s! driving.gif

She was my DD and only car up to May `85, and I used my 914 all year round/all weather, to/from work, project sites, ski trips (yup - in the snow too), vacations - and to every [R-word] game & tournament, mostly Nov.-May, with "off season" ones sprinkled in the other months, as well as to practice/training 2-3x a week in season. With 16 cu. ft. in the 2 trunks, 2 [R-word] players could easily stash our play gear/kit, street clothes, often camp gear to save on hotel costs, and food/drink, etc.

Of added benefit, was the fun of driving the 914 - especially on the "curvies," and getting the attention from the ladies - and the ability to use the middle seat/cushion if one wanted a "ride" (I was single most of that time).

I played [R-word] from my Freshman year in 1970 at USC (Trojans - also 4 years on their Soccer Team), then continued through the `70s & `80s with the SoCal 1st Div. Irvine Coast RFC (now merged to form Back Bay RFC), & dual play while at UCLA's Graduate School of Management `84-86, then `87-96 with the "Coasters" Old Boyz club. Most of that was on the 2nds at Scrumhalf/Halfback (usually #9 on jerseys in the games), but I played all over the backfield and at Flanker/Breakaway over that 26 years as well.

I used to regularly drive 50-100+ miles each way to our [R-word] matches 1975-85 in SF Bay area, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, San Diego, LA area, Inland Empire & Palm Springs, Phoenix, Vegas, Park City UT, etc. & a few times to the PNW - Ashland/Medford OR & Seattle WA - and it all was in my 73 2L 914 from 12/75 to 5/85 I might add! driving.gif

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Now to that Fast 570 mile Utah Trip......

On one trip to the Park City UT Tourney in Sept./Oct. in the late 1970's, a non-player buddy and I had to work until 6:pm on Friday, & I had to play at 8:00 am on Sat. morning! blink.gif

We drove the 570 miles from SoCal in 7-8 hours with one gas stop, and only one traffic cop stop in rural Utah - fortunately only a warning with the help of my buddy!
See that funny part of the story below!

It was on that trip prior to the cop stop, that I took my 2.0 GA up to 126 mph (downhill) on I-15 on the "sweepers" through the Virgin River Gorge (not quite "twisties," but imagine a smaller Grand Canyon with a freeway winding through it)! For the naysayers out there - I've confirmed with SLITS at last year's GPR BBQ, that indeed a stock 2.0 is capable of that speed downhill, and my buddy was there with me to vouch for it as well.

This was my buddy & I driving it ...... Phil> w00t.gif driving.gif <me laugh.gif

Now my buddy Phil was an MGB guy - & I tried not to hold that against him biggrin.gif , but he had a quick wit, liked to watch our matches & tip a few beer3.gif & sing with the boyz in the pubs.

He had told me a story just an hour or so before the Utah cop stop, about him getting out of a ticket on Jamboree Blvd. in Newport Beach, when the NB cop asked him the usual:
"Do you know how fast you were going?"

Phil spied his little niece's toy phone she had left on the seat, got an happy11.gif and picked up the toy phone's handset to his ear and answered in a thick put-on Scottish Brogue:
"Scotty, how fast were we going!?"
lol-2.gif
- (that's a line from the original Star Trek TV series, for the younger set).

The NB cop was laughing so hard he could barely talk and let Phil off with a warning! av-943.gif

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So then later when I got pulled over by this rural "County Mounty" in Podunk Utah, and the Utah Cop comes up with a no nonsense swagger - and then Phil looks at me with his happy11.gif and says:
"No problem Tommie, I've got this one!"
(I was "Tommie Tee" in the [R-word] circle).

Needless to say, I was scared s**tless that Phil was going to use my CB Radio Mic (yup, I had one in the 914 back then), and call up "Scotty" for this yeah-hoo cop too! blink.gif

Well, ole Phil had me on good, and instead, he was just polite and sweet as molasses with the sheriff, and explained that it was all his fault because he had to pee so bad and needed me to get to a rest stop or gas station that was actually open (it was after midnight in UT and everything was closed).

He wasn't lying either, cuz he'd had the "pee farts" for the prior 45 mins. - and it was a very good thing too that we had the top off, with the green cloud streaming up & out behind us! icon8.gif lol-2.gif

After a long and stern lecture from that Utah Copper - he all the time watching poor Phil squirm in his seat still having to "race like a piss-horse" - the good sheriff let me off with a "stern warning" and saying that:
"....he'd be looking out for me on my return trip Sunday night!"
- complete with the 2-fingers to his eyes salute & then pointed to me in the process! laugh.gif

So that's my 914 [R-word] Trip story for today - but that's enough of my waxing nostagic!

Here are a few pix of my 914 - the culprit in the story - although she was still wearing the L96K Copper Metallic "war paint" on my 1976 repaint on this trip - very similar to Brent's 73 914-2.0 in the 3rd pic below.

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These above pix are in her current condition after 26+ years sitting in my garage & now stripping down for resto, is my 1973 914-2.0 with 172k+ miles - much of that from that "[R-word] Touring" in it's last color April `80-85 (to present, pending resto back to the OE L80E). Part of the reason for going to this paint color was the story above (and other "incidents"), in order to get more of a low key "pavement cammy" color going - so she'd be less noticeable to the authorities on the open highway! shades.gif

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She was Gold Metallic similar to this `75-76 & before when I bought her (PO/OO color change from L80E) - not my 914, just an example from another member's parts car (although I bought that bra for my post-resto baby from the guy who owned this gold one & he turned out to live a few blocks from my brother in Brooklyn IN - not NY; & TC bought then sold his yellow 72 project).

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Then I repainted her to Copper Metallic in Aug. `76-80, which was before the `80 Anthracite Grey Metallic paint job in the first pic. (this is Brent's 73 2L, in L80E below)

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After the resto, I hope she'll look as good as Brent's (bembry on here) L80E in this pic & in McMark's/Original Custom's banner ad (the copper one above was also Brent's in a prior paint - not my car, but same colors & wheels). Soon I hope to be driving.gif her all purdy in L80E "Light Ivory" (white) with the #31 "Beige" (tan, caramel, cinnamon) interior all fixed up again! smile.gif

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During Graduate School for my MBA at UCLA in the mid-1980s, my last [R-word] trip in my 914 was up to Stanford in April `85, during Spring Break for a inter-Biz School Tournament. I drove up with an MBA classmate & fellow player, who was also an `84 Olympics multiple-Gold Medal Swimmer BTW, who's Dad was a New Zealander Maori, & Rob had wanted to learn to play [R-word] like his Dad had played as a kid & young man, while Rob was in B-school with us.

Unfortunately, my poor 914 was whacked a month later in May `85 while parked in a UCLA parking structure by a sorority ditz when she "...forgot to turn left to go up the ramp...." (her words), which was after I'd spent $6500+ on a rolling resto & a full drivetrain overhaul ($20k+ today's dollars)! sad.gif

After being whacked in 5/85, I stored her in my garage for later resto/repair, then I used my 85 BMW 352e & 88 Westy for runs to [R-word] games & tourneys, as well as other fun stuff & trips with our kids, etc..

Back in the day, my 914 wore license plate frames saying:
"It takes Leather Balls to Play [R-word]"
...because that's what we used to play the [R-word] game back in the day!
Nowadays they use Plastic Balls, but it just doesn't translate the same for the license frames! biggrin.gif

And if anybody wants to see the "R-word" means or that part of the former topic, go here:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=158072&st=

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Okay, so now the rest of you can add in your own 914 trip stories! type.gif
popcorn[1].gif

Cheers! beerchug.gif
Tom
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Tom_T
EDIT - I just added the other pix back in manually.
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Andyrew
I see 6 total pics, 1 on the top and 5 below.

My 914 trip stories.

Not much, I've been driving it around town quite regularly and I used to take it a couple of towns over about once a week for work. Some wonderful sunrises and calm drives in there.
Tom_T
QUOTE(Andyrew @ Dec 7 2011, 09:05 PM) *

I see 6 total pics, 1 on the top and 5 below.

My 914 trip stories.

Not much, I've been driving it around town quite regularly and I used to take it a couple of towns over about once a week for work. Some wonderful sunrises and calm drives in there.


Thanx Andrew, I went in & added back the missing pix.

You need to take yours on a weekend run to Tahoe, Wine Country or something - they're such great road trip cars! driving.gif
Andyrew
I see the pics now!


Yes I do plan on quite a few runs. Im sure you know my car is a little different animal than others and i've been working through the kinks for the past year as I drove it very regularly. Im just getting to the point of driving it outside my normal comfort zone and actually made a trip on the highway to a town 45 minutes away without a hitch. I'll get there, just for now its an in town car smile.gif

Tom_T
QUOTE(Andyrew @ Dec 7 2011, 10:26 PM) *

..... just for now its an in town car smile.gif


Yeeahhh ..... a freakin 5.7 L monster-middie "Town Car"!!!! blink.gif biggrin.gif
vwsamba
Once I drove mine from CA to the bonneville salt flats with a 4 speed and came home with a 5 speed. I bought a trans en route and was so excited to have 5 gears again i changed it one morning at the campsite before my friend woke up. The drive home was much nicer driving.gif
Tom_T
QUOTE(vwsamba @ Dec 7 2011, 11:15 PM) *

Once I drove mine from CA to the bonneville salt flats with a 4 speed and came home with a 5 speed. I bought a trans en route and was so excited to have 5 gears again i changed it one morning at the campsite before my friend woke up. The drive home was much nicer driving.gif


Now that's dedicated camping in a 914! biggrin.gif smash.gif

Your fuel burn home was probably 50-60% of up there without 5th overdrive too!
Tom_T
More stories? icon_bump.gif
bembry
Since the rebuild, I've had mine on short trips in RI, Mass, and Connecticut. I even had it out 26 DEC in New England! We haven't had snow where I'm at yet.
This is a rust free CA car--it doesn't see salted roads.

Last trip, either speedo cable or speedo/odo head was making a nastly noise. I'll have to figure out what's up with that. (Speedo still works, odo hasn't since I've owned the car)
rnellums
2500 mile road trip in my 73 2.0L! I left late spring from Denver expecting great weather for my trip through Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota and Indiana. Instead, we got nothing but rain and snow the whole way. Still had a blast though!
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My cooling fan snapped off the crankshaft mid-way through South Dakota and I lost cooling and the alternator. I was towed to Mitchell, South Dakota where a nice man allowed me to use his VW shop and some tools. I dropped the engine, used JB Weld on the fan and limped the remainder of the way to Indiana. What an adventure!
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And the wonders awaiting in Indiana...
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Tom_T
QUOTE(bembry @ Dec 28 2011, 07:58 PM) *

Since the rebuild, I've had mine on short trips in RI, Mass, and Connecticut. I even had it out 26 DEC in New England! We haven't had snow where I'm at yet.
This is a rust free CA car--it doesn't see salted roads.

Last trip, either speedo cable or speedo/odo head was making a nastly noise. I'll have to figure out what's up with that. (Speedo still works, odo hasn't since I've owned the car)


Last I saw, they still sell the gear sets for the speedo/odo to rebuild Brent!

I'll bet it hauls bootyshake.gif now with the McMark 2056 build in it too! driving.gif w00t.gif
Tom_T
QUOTE(rnellums @ Dec 28 2011, 08:22 PM) *

2500 mile road trip in my 73 2.0L! I left late spring from Denver expecting great weather for my trip through Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota and Indiana. Instead, we got nothing but rain and snow the whole way. Still had a blast though!
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Great trip! Those pix remind me of taking mine to Tahoe & Mt. Ashland OR - the latter being about a 2500 mi round trip including side trips & local driving.

The bottom pic reminds me of the many camping trips out of my 914: umbrella tent, propane stove, & sleeping bags in the rear trunk; 2 mid-sized coolers in the front trunk; food & soft luggage bags for 2 interspersed between. Packing a 914 for a long trip, camping, skiing, etc. honed my packing skills for later years, cramming 4 of us into the Westy for 4000-6000+ mi XC trips every summer! biggrin.gif


QUOTE(rnellums @ Dec 28 2011, 08:22 PM) *

And the wonders awaiting in Indiana...
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So sad.... sad.gif
... well at least you've got the ice green beauty now! wub.gif

Thanx for adding guys & Happy New Year!

Others??...................
popcorn[1].gif

Cheers! beerchug.gif
Tom
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bembry
QUOTE(Tom_T @ Dec 29 2011, 12:44 AM) *

QUOTE(bembry @ Dec 28 2011, 07:58 PM) *

Since the rebuild, I've had mine on short trips in RI, Mass, and Connecticut. I even had it out 26 DEC in New England! We haven't had snow where I'm at yet.
This is a rust free CA car--it doesn't see salted roads.

Last trip, either speedo cable or speedo/odo head was making a nastly noise. I'll have to figure out what's up with that. (Speedo still works, odo hasn't since I've owned the car)


Last I saw, they still sell the gear sets for the speedo/odo to rebuild Brent!

I'll bet it hauls bootyshake.gif now with the McMark 2056 build in it too! driving.gif w00t.gif



It does haul some serious ass now. And yes--I've been meaning to rebuild the odo/speedo--just one more thing on the list drunk.gif

I do have my old blaupunkt in the shop to get looked at and fixed if not too expensive--a vintage radio shop in Sacramento. piratenanner.gif I gotta get some tunes!
914.SBC
Those are some great stories. I dont have anything to match.

I drive mine once to three times per week to Starbucks for coffee in the morning. I like to wake up the neighborhood. Once a month I might drive it to my office 25 miles away. I take it local car shows regularly.
TheCabinetmaker
No pics, but a couple of (short)stories.

My first 914 in 73 came with a luggage rack, and I used the crap out of it. My girlfriend and I went camping in Missouri for a weekend. Both trunks and the rack were full to the brim. We rolled up to campgrounds, found a suitable place, and started to unload. I was in my 20's at the time. My girlfriend was a knockout with rather large breast, so everyone was getting an eyeful between her and a car they never seen before. An elderly couple were sitting in lawn chairs across the way and his eyes were riveted on my lady (or so I thought). First we unpacked the front trunk, then moved to the rear and cleared the rack. When I opened the rear trunk and started taking things out, he stood up and made a beeline for us. He walked up, looked over the car then said" I just got one question. Where the hell is the damn motor?"

The best trip by far was just before Christmas of 2000. I took my 8 year old grandson on a two week trip. We left will no real destination except to at sometime go see my mom in Yuma,AZ. Now I've driven I-40 to Ca and Vegas several times, but it was always what you could see from the interstate. This time we did all the tourist stuff. Saw all three of billy the kids graves in New Mexico, the aliens in Roswell, shoot out at the OK coral, mom in Yuma, Sea world in San Diego, London bridge in Havasu, cruised the strip in Vegas, took the inside tour at Hoover dam, grand Canyon, petrified forest, meteor crater,and found some arrow heads at an 1840's ghost town in the mountains north of Sante Fe. The only trouble we had was a spark plug came out. Had to put in a helicoil in Yuma.It made it the rest of the trip and blew out again two days after I got home.

Full trip was 14 days, 4150 miles, 129 gallons of fuel.
Tom_T
Brent - email me the name & contact info for the vintage radio shop in Sacto please, in case I need it for my original AM/.FM/8-track. TIA

SBC - so stop going to Starbucks, put that money in a jar, then make your own coffee at home. After a year you'll have more than enough for a long 914 trip! poke.gif biggrin.gif ...just pushing your leg - short trips are good too!
I hear some of the Inland Empire folks do a Sat. morning run monthly out of Temecula up into the mountains. You should hook up with them & bring back a story or two! driving.gif

Curt - those are great stories, and we had similar experiences back in the day, including the where the heck is the motor query more than once - except my gal wasn't super large breasted! biggrin.gif

For those that don't know, when I got a chance to visit a bit with Curt while in Tulsa in October, I found out he started the Talimina run from Talahina OK to Mina AR, so he probably has a few good ones from them as well! driving.gif driving-girl.gif biggrin.gif

Keep `em coming!
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sixnotfour
delivery vehicle Seattle WA. to Ouray, CO
sixnotfour
beer3.gif
sixnotfour
Alabama to WA. family vacation, oh and picked up a 914.
sixnotfour
flew to Texas and drove home to WA.
sixnotfour
Bought this out of the blue , 1 week later drove to Torrey UT, RRC2008
The previous owner had the tank cleaned,blablabla, only problem I had I assumed he put a new fuel filter in , wrong, still made all the way, just stumbled on long pulls, replaced fuel filter. The previous owner also said there were no more mice, It had to go.sold it (PeeGreen)
TheCabinetmaker
Hey six not four, pee is not green (unless you are very sick). Peas are green.
TheCabinetmaker
QUOTE(Tom_T @ Dec 30 2011, 02:15 AM) *


For those that don't know, when I got a chance to visit a bit with Curt while in Tulsa in October, I found out he started the Talimina run from Talahina OK to Mina AR, so he probably has a few good ones from them as well! driving.gif driving-girl.gif biggrin.gif




Actually Tom, it was a joint effort between Joseph Mills (joseph 222) and myself.
sixnotfour
QUOTE(vsg914 @ Dec 30 2011, 03:08 AM) *

Hey six not four, pee is not green (unless you are very sick). Peas are green.

True, here is the rest of the story;
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=125462&hl=

Tom, you need to get busy on your ole ride. welder.gif
GaroldShaffer
I was going to get married in 1995, long story but I called it off. In a weak moment during a poor me party I was having I bought this 73 914 knowing NOTHING about these cars.
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Fast foward to 1998 I married my wife Julie. I still had the 73, but work, life, building a new house ....... I had no time for it and sold it to guy in Kentucky the summer of 1999.

Fast forward to summer 2003. My wife was tired of me talking about the old 73 and told go find a car. Gotta love her wub.gif I found my 1970 on ebay. In the ad the guy said that it was at one time owned by Brad Mayeur and he still serviced it for him. Knowing Brad I called him to get details on the car and then contacted the owner via ebay saying that if he didn't get the $7500 that he wanted on ebay to contact me because I am a serious buyer, but not at $7500

The 914 didn't sell and the seller contacted me and we struck a deal at $5k and I paid for Brad to do one more PPI on it for me. Drove down to Peroia IL and met the seller at Brad's shop exchanged $$, bought a set of Fuchs Brad had and drove my 914 home. The following weekend I drove it all the way to Toledo OH for one of Barber Dave's 914 meets. I did get pulled over in South Bend IN by a State Trooper, no ticket but we did talk about cars for 30min before he told me to slow down and have a nice day. smile.gif

It's a great car with a 73 2.0L engine & side shift trans. Plus it is setup to pull a small AX trailer. I had it repainted in 2006 and I autocross the snot out of it now plus drive it ever chance I get.

Here is how it looked when I got it:
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After a few updates to the suspension:
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And current look after paint and new interior.
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ConeDodger
I regularly take my 914 100 miles or more so I am not afraid to drive it. My most memorable trip was from Portland to Sacramento in the Bumblebee Racer or Submarine as I called it. For you newbies, do a search - it is a rather famous car that was owned by Porsche Rescue then me and now resides in Norway.
The car is a Bumblebee that was converted to a six. Sixnotfour built a 3.0 liter engine for it and it flat-out flew! After many pictures over the internet and a few conversations on the phone, I got a flight from Sacramento to Portland to take a look at it. It just so happened that WCR was in Portland that weekend so I booked a room at the host hotel and hung out with the gang for part of that weekend. I met some great people to be sure... By the way, if you ever get a chance to go to Turtle Mountain Brewery in New Mexico they have some very - very good beer!

So after some very good times with some very good people, I gassed up the Bumblebee Racer and headed South on I5. Jim Chambers (Porsche Rescue) had warned me that the gas gauge was not accurate and he didn't know what kind of mileage the car was getting so I should fuel up every 100 miles or so. I took his advice at first, until I figured using my GPS as an odometer that the car was getting 25 miles or so on the highway.

Now here's where my inexperience with Porsche 6 cylinders showed up... Somewhere around Grants Pass I check the oil. Engine off on slanted ground. OMG!! There is nothing showing on the dipstick! blink.gif I toss in a couple quarts and off I go, worried that my new Jeff Hines (sixnotfour) engine is burning or leaking oil badly, though I saw nothing in the rear view mirror and no obvious leak under the car on the bottom of the engine. Back on the highway, I decide I am going to take advantage of the great mountain pass curves so I tickle the peddle on the right a little. Just then, I notice an oily smell coming into the cabin and can actually see smoke! OH SHIT! I'm on fire! Not. I look in the rear view mirror and see smoke billowing out the back and oil flecks all over the rear view mirror. I had overfilled the oil tank... lol-2.gif
400 miles later, I pulled into my driveway with an experience I will never forget, a badly sunburned left arm, dehydration, and new found knowledge that you must check the oil on a six and a 911 by the way with the engine running, warm and on level ground... unsure.gif
3d914
Back in 2004 my son and I took a 3300 mile trek from Phoenix to Illinois & back in my sweet Ravenna. This was an acid test for the Megasquirt I had installed. It performed quite well - though not without some problems.
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First I'll say that all these problems arose only because I switched out the stock Ignition with a Permatune CD unit before the trip. I didn't have any real time to test it prior to the trip.

My son and I set out on Sunday, but barely made it an hour north of Phoenix before the fuel pump & MS both crapped out from the heat. Thankfully I had my Laptop PC and could connect to MS and determine that the Injectors circuits weren't firing. Also the Fuel pump was spinning, but when I pulled a hose it only trickled out onto the road.

I thank God that just as my son and I started hoofing southbound to a rest stop some miles back, a couple from Mesa stopped on the southbound side and waved us over. They even dropped us at our front door. Got the car towed back to Phoenix that afternoon.

Needless to say, the fuel pump was toast, as was a resistor and chip in the MS coil circuitry. It took three days to locate and install the replacements, but we were back on the road Wednesday afternoon.

I had to bump the 390 Ohm R10 resistor all the way to 1.0K before it would run without getting too hot. Even at that it still was discolored and starting to break down by the time we drove 1000 miles. So in the motel in Wichita I bumped it up to a 1.5K. This worked well for the remainder of the trip to Illinois.

All would have been well for the return trip, except that I made the mistake of installing the cover on the MS, as I had been driving without it to aid cooling. I could tell the resistor was starting to crap out again as the car behaves much like one that is suffering from vapor lock. So we found a station in Oklahoma that had a seating area, plugged in the soldering iron and went to work.

My brother (in Illinois) suggested putting two 1-watt resistors of 1.0K ohms each in place of the single 1/2-watt. Since I wasn't using the D8 diode, I decided to replace the jumper with another 1.5k 1/2-watt along with a new 1.5K 1/2-watt R10.

This worked quite well with no excessive heat - and would have seen us the rest of the way home had one of the solder joints not broke loose. The weird part was that I didn't know at first whether the fuel pump had overheated and I was getting vapor lock. The new resistors still looked fine and didn't appear to be overheating. Since the solder joint was on the back - it was only because I touched them that I noticed one of them moved. But now we're stranded miles from the next rest stop. So we waited about 20 minutes to see if it would start. Nope. Then miraculously with one more crank - it started. We went about one mile and it started to cut out again. So I'm on the shoulder of the road, coasting, trying to start it. Again it starts up just long enough for us to make it to a rest stop 2 miles down the road.

So picture this. I have an extension cord running from an outlet in the men's restroom with my soldering iron plugged into it and resting on a rock. I've pulled the MS unit out to re-solder the faulty joints. My son is holding the circuit board while I'm repairing the solder joints. I'm just glad no one reported us to homeland security.

That's all it took. The rest of the trip went flawlessly - mechanically speaking anyway. It was one of our favorite trips. The feature event at the reunion was an incredible fire works display at my parent's place outside of town. The show latest for an hour & a half.
Tom_T
That's a hoot Gerard! biggrin.gif

I used to carry a bit of the thin aluminum or Copper tape in my toolbox on long trips, just in case I needs an emergency quickie elec. connection fix. Snip a bit to fit, clean some adhesive at the contact points & stick - usually works in a pinch!
Tom_T
QUOTE(sixnotfour @ Dec 30 2011, 06:27 AM) *

QUOTE(vsg914 @ Dec 30 2011, 03:08 AM) *

Hey six not four, pee is not green (unless you are very sick). Peas are green.

True, here is the rest of the story;
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=125462&hl=

Tom, you need to get busy on your ole ride. welder.gif


Jeff - I've run out of space & need to get a canopy garage for my parts shell & build some more storage to get crap out of the garage for full time jackstand or rotisserie mounting - then I can work on it here & there. As it is now, I need to roll it out (good weather only - fortunately SoCal) - jack it up on stands, work for awhile, jack it down & push back into the garage - a royal PITA! dry.gif

I've pretty much dismounted everything on the strip-to-shell that I have room to store for now! Since this pic both 914s are stacked to the rafters with parts in boxes & new roller tool chest, mower, etc. fill the space between them. Our "2 car" garage is only 7'6" clear ht. & 17'-6" w. x 18'-0" d. - good enough for 2 Model Ts or 2 914s, but not to work on them with both in there!
Click to view attachment


Then there are the other 2-3 cars to work on, our 1921 house renovation, & the wife's honey-do list, my business/work (I'm eating a late lunch & typing now) in competition for my time!
sad.gif
Tom_T
QUOTE(vsg914 @ Dec 30 2011, 05:33 AM) *

QUOTE(Tom_T @ Dec 30 2011, 02:15 AM) *


For those that don't know, when I got a chance to visit a bit with Curt while in Tulsa in October, I found out he started the Talimina run from Talahina OK to Mina AR, so he probably has a few good ones from them as well! driving.gif driving-girl.gif biggrin.gif




Actually Tom, it was a joint effort between Joseph Mills (joseph 222) and myself.


Thanx Curt, I couldn't recall Joseph's name. Credit where credit is due! smile.gif
... I still hope to drive my 914 back & do one with all y'all! driving.gif
Tom_T
Rob, Jeff, Gerald & 3d914 - both great stories & pix.

I'll have to find my old footlocker in storage & see if I still have any old 914 pix in there? ....you've inspired me to find some! biggrin.gif
Tom_T
QUOTE(Garold Shaffer @ Dec 30 2011, 07:13 AM) *


Classic Shot Gerald!

How about one with your Mom & a 914 &/or her service covers?

How is she doing now?

Shamless plug for his Mom's excellent 914 Service Covers - I've got mine - do you? biggrin.gif
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