I would like to buy a 914 that I can drive while working on it. Just looking for a fun car to drive and a project to work on. Is it realistic to be able to get into a drivable car for 3-4k? I realize there will probably be a constant flow of money from my bank account to the car after the purchase.

it is possible, but the biggest issue will be to avoid an east coast rust bucket, unles you can weld and have lots of time....and even then one can deal with only so much rust. I am not far from you and willing to help you check one out if you find something you are interested in. The other option is to fly out west and drive it home.

I agree -- fly out west and drive it home. Finding a rust-free car is the main issue. Everything else isn't that hard. (So says the guy whose 914 has been in a shop for four months with an engine rebuild.)

The cars in the classifieds here are a safe bet. Although, I found a great deal on craigslist and bought it. Any car you look at, remove the battery and look at the area around the battery tray. Remove the rocker panels and look at that area. The back trunk and everything around the doors and windshield is also prone to rust.

I would buy a rust-free car that didn't start before I'd buy a running car with rust.

Thanks for the reply.
I can not weld. Rust is my biggest concern as well. Good thing every car I see listed on ebay and craigslist has only "minor surface rust" ha ha.

If you find a car on the west coast, 914World members will look at it for you. Put out a WTB in classifies.

World member looked at mine and I had it shipped from California to Delaware for ~$1000. I think you can get a good, rust free starter car for $3k + delivery from California.

I know your budget is only 3-4 grand, but if you can afford it, fly out and inspect a west coast car. DO NOT BUY a car without seeing it. Someone's idea of a immaculate, pristine car may not be the same as it is described in the dictionary.

Get a knowledgeable 914 enthusiast to help you look it over or get a PPI. Spending this extra money may save you much more later on. Believe me I have learned my lesson with two MGBs.

My due diligence paid off this time (sorry Marc for being anal), and with the help of KELTY360 and greenie, found a great 914 with no regrets and truly enjoying.

Oh yes, check those rocker panels!

Fuzzdon,

I was in your position a few years ago. Learn from my mistakes - Take your time with the search, be patient, and have the cash on hand so when the right deal shows up, you can spring on it. Cars in your price range are out there, but it will take some searching. You may want to start making inquiries about what it will take to get a car shipped to you. Paying the money to have a car shipped to you, may get you the best car for you.

I found it helpful to sit down and write out a list of my wants and prioritize them. Year of car, engine size, fuel injection vs. carbs, interior condition, mechanical condition, etc. Do the research here or looking at websites as to what it will take ($$$ + time) to correct things that are important to you. Factor these costs into your decision.

When investigating an out of state prospect, ask this group if somebody is close by to take a look for you. If the car is local, take some assistance with you. As you know, there are some trouble spots with these cars, and if overlooked due to over enthusiasm or ignorance, it can cost you a lot of time and money to fix. Rust is the enemy and you'll quickly learn that we all have different values as to what "has a little rust" means. In my case, the first car I purchased from out of state was pile. "Some surface rust" meant there was surface rust around the fist sized holes. The seller was clearly holding back info on me even after numerous long phone calls, emails with pictures, and direct questions about the car. I should have paid a few hundred bucks, flown to the car and checked it out myself. I would have saved a lot of $$$ and misery. In the end, I got burned but learned an expensive lesson.

Happy hunting and good luck with the search. Take your time and you'll find the search can be an enjoyable process. And then when you find the right car, you can look back and know you made the right decision.

As others have said, take your time and find a nice low-rust 914.

Absolutely get another 914world member to look at the car with you. The untrained eye doesn't see all the rust hiding under that nice paint job and rocker panels.

For starters, look here on the FS/WTB Cars and rollers page to get an idea of prices and car conditions. Look also on PelicanParts.com on their FS car page.

Although it could happen, you're likely not to find a low-rust car in eastern PA, NJ, or NY. Thus look across the nation for a good car.

I bought a nice low-rust 914 in Connecticut, and my current 911 turbo in Denver, CO. Had a buddy drive and evaluate the 911; flew out to see it and purchase; shipped it back to Allentown. Best $1k I've spent in a while.

I'm somewhat local to you so if you find anything around here, maybe I can look at it with you.

One of my neighbors has already asked if I know of any nice 914s in the area. This is after I sold my low-rust 74 2L 914 for $7k. He offered me $5k and I turned him down. He later told me he made a big mistake by not understanding the 914 market and what costs what these days and buying my car.
Good luck.

With due respect to others' opinions and experiences, I would say with that price range you're going to need to spend time looking and some luck, but most importantly bargaining power. By bargaining power I mostly mean location, location, location, and willingness to pay for shipping. You should be willing to make some trips to check 'em out yourself - as someone pointed out, there's really no substitute for that, but an informed/expert PPI should be considered the bare minimum requirement in any event.

I'd suggest looking into the out-of-the-way places in the Southwest such as Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Colorado, Utah, and maybe the out-of-the-way parts of the Great Nations of California and Texas (the non-humid or coastal parts anyway). Perhaps Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyoming and Montana as well but then I'd be a bit more worried about rust issues. Doing this really can help you find a good car for a decent price, but it does limit somewhat the expert PPI factor simply due to the odds of who's where. Still, you never know where some members might be available to go visit as long as it's a good excuse to go for a fun drive somewhere.

For truly a good car with normal, repairable (non-welding) rust issues, I'd suggest raising the budget to $5k.

Just my sequestered $0.02 worth of suggestions. YMMV. Happy hunting!

Just some of sites I used to search for 914s literally on a daily basis.

1) This sites' classifieds
2) Craigslist using this site to easily check cities in every state
http://www.list-alert.com/craigslist/199076/914-porsche
3) Hemmings
http://www.hemmings.com/classifieds/carsforsale/porsche/914
4) Auto Atlanta
http://www.autoatlanta.com/carsales/porsch...ale.php?car=914
5) and of course, the lovely eBay

I eventually found one on 914 World!

I also agree with Madswede about raising your budget to 5K and maybe even more.

Camp 914 may be able to help you too. He always finds cars to sell.

I agree you need to look West. Rust free (less rust) cars are cheaper out here than on the East coast.

Oh I did forget about Craig at Camp 914. He has a beautiful red 73 right now for sale but a bit over your budget. He said he averages about two new cars for sale a month. He is also a great source for parts. He gave me a great deal on sail chrome trims.