hi- i am in the process of buying my first 914, and have looked at several different options but not found the right one. I am interested in this car: http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/3148923214.html It's exactly what I was looking for but I am from SF and my options are limited.
can someone give any recommendations to the car and if possible to the seller?
thanks a lot.
clemens

Fly down, look, buy & drive it home!!

That one merits a second look!

Not quite restored though if no Fuel Injection (not to mention new stereo and aftermarket steering wheel--that's smaller stuff though). Does the owner still have the parts? How long has he owned this car? What is orig color? Let's see some pics of the battery tray. Is it a CA car originally? Who rebuilt the engine? Better not be Motormeister...What about the tranny.

There's my stream of consciousness concerning...

Still, really pretty, and price not bad

What both of them just said.

Thanks guys. I spoke with the seller. The car is originally from Texas, and was originally green. The paint job and transmission were done about 1 year ago in Texas where he bought it, so was the motor rebuilt. He only repaired and added a few things, and has receipts from Texas for most of the other repairs.

One question about the carbs, I read on http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/How_to_buy_a_914.htm that they are illegal in California. Is this true, outdated information or doesn't matter because the car doesn't need smog?

Thanks.

Carbs are technically illegal, and if you catch the wrong Officer on the wrong day, they can require you to pass a smog inspection. It's happened here before, but is rare. If it's registered in Ca, it's already passed one hurdle.

ok. thanks. It's still registered in Texas.
Can you theoretically be required to pass a smog inspection even if it's smog exempt (http://www.dmv.ca.gov/vr/smogfaq.htm)?

If you register here they will not require you to pass a smog for a 1974 vehicle. Been there done that.

I know this guy and he did my floor pan. I'm going to have him weld a new engine cover hinge bracket on for me. He does good welding work, the floor pan wasn't welded to original specs but it is very solid and I'm satisfied.

He works out of his sisters backyard and he moves a lot of cars. He doesn't know FI but knows carbs pretty well.

I don't know of any other references that have used him. His place is just off the 105 and I pass by that way to work. I could drop by and see what the vehicle is like if you want?

PM me if you want me to check it out.

If/when you go to register it they should not even mention the word "smog certificate". The car is exempt and that should be that.

Thanks everyone. I booked a ticket for tomorrow to check it out. If I like it I'll buy it, if not I'll enjoy the weekend in LA :-)

Same guy has a turbo /4 for sale, and a yellow car too. Take pictures.

the black one has a fixed pass seat ie early interior on a '74.

This is a cool car. Take Picts.

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/3101558692.html

This one was built by DanT.

http://santamaria.craigslist.org/cto/3098633560.html

Claims dual side view mirrors but don't see one on the passenger side. Cool that he put the ignition switch on the left side.

Look again, the passenger seat looks movable to me.

just to follow up on this. I flew down to LA Saturday, checked out the car, very good condition indeed, and bought it. We drove it back up to SF on Highway 1 over the weekend without any issues. beautiful ride.

the car is in very good condition but for a routine check in the future it would be great to have a good mechanic close by. does anyone have good tips for a mechanic in SF or the bay area?

thanks everyone for the tips.

Well done! I bought my '74 2.0 in Orange Co. 6 years ago and drove it to Seattle the same route. Hwy 1 is a great road to get acquainted, or in my case reacquainted, with a 914.

North Bay/Sonoma: McMark at Original Customs in Sonoma.
South Bay: Rich Bontempi at High Performance House in Redwood city.

Further south, lots of good Porsche mechanics that I know of; Heyer Performance, Modderman, RMG, CT Automotive, etc. etc. etc.

--DD