Greetings Amigos! Checking in from NM.

I was offered a 1973 914 with a 916 body kit. White. A daily driver. Odo shows 126K - probably around once. Trunk is slightly rusted through, but the ride looks sound overall. Wheels and tires are very good. Headlights pop up. Dash is rough. Vinyl isn't great but I am trained in vinyl repair. Selling price is $1000.00

Are there any weak things to watch for? What do y'all think?

Thanks!

As with most older Porsches, RUST is the biggest issue. Check the area under the battery. You want to look at the longitudinal channel. Quite often there is a hole that rusted through from battery acid. Take off both rocker panels and check the outside of the longs as well. Chances are when you remove the rocker panels about 4 or 5 pounds of dirt will spill out. Pull up the carpet and remove the back pad behind the seats. You will likely find rust EVERYWHERE. It's usually a case of not if you'll find rust but how bad it is. Check the base of the pedal cluster. Some pictures would be nice. $1000 sounds pretty good for a running '73, it just depends on how much rust is found. Post some pictures, we'd love to see the car.
Cheers, Elliot

new mexico can be a good climate for rust...

but do not buy the car with out pulling the rocker covers off and looking at the jack points....

you will be sorry if you don't check

if its rusty you need to walk away

you will spend 10K fixing it and have a car worth only a fraction
walk away and buy a 5k car that does not need fixing
this single mistake is what produces parts cars

check first!

I agree with the above but what really sticks out for me is the term "daily driver". This is a term that we teener's use to brag about how reliable our car has been; recently. The term is also used as bait. If the seller used this term I would be suspicious. Good luck.

The 914 odo only goes to 99,999.

Some of them have rolled over 3 times or even more.

Take some photos of the areas noted and post them here. The doctors can review the photos and provide a diagnosis as to how bad this may or may not be.

Thanks Y'all! Rust is not usually a problem in NM but I don't know where the car was in the past. I will definitely check rocker panels. My daily driver is a worn out 1987 GMC van that has no rust to speak of. I'm ready for something different.

The car runs good and seems to drive OK. If the rust is outa hand what might it be worth as a parts car?

Pictures to come!

Thanks!

If you want any indication of what *can* and probably will be involved with a $1,000 car, check the thread in my signature. Though, I probably shouldn't have paid anywhere near that.

Heya fellow New Mexican! I'm just a hop, skip, and a jump away from ya in our terms, down here in Rio Rancho.

It's almost impossible to judge the worth of a parts car without knowing more about the car and what the condition of the parts are. Some cosmetic things may be worth money, but that's only because they are so rarely in good shape. If that car is/was a daily driver, and if it's had a body kit put on it, there's probably little left of significant value cosmetically.

What engine is in there? 1.7L? 2.0L? Is it still fuel injected or has it been converted to a carburetor? Wheels can be worth some money, depending on type and condition. Pics would be best here, just post 'em and the gurus will tell ya what ya got.

It is encouraging to hear that it runs. If you've driven it, and if you like it, and if you don't mind potentially losing a grand in a year or two to a car that breaks, I'd say it's a cinch - buy it, drive it, enjoy it! Important caveat though - it really does need a rust inspection if for no other reason than safety (you never know how bad without looking, and it's 40 years old with you not knowing where it came from). Speaking of safety, it's often and rightly said that the gas tank needs to be pulled and the fuel lines replaced. No questions, just do it, unless you've visually verified it's been done already.

Good luck!

Here's pics.










Last 2 are underside 1 in front of passenger rear wheel, the other closer to center looking forward.

Not sure which engine. Think it's a 2.0 Will know more mannana.

If you don't buy it, I will! Someone did a nice job on the body work.

Looks like a good deal - if the rust is bad, you could always make money parting it out.

While the body looks good, I don't like when bumpers are molded in - too many chances for cracking! IMHO

the rust in the rear trunk worries me.

you need to reach down into the hell hole below the battery...
and pull the rockers to check the jack points/longitudinal

A pair of flared rocker panels would finish that fine.

I have looked at a lot of 914s over the last few months trying to find a good project car, and have seen a lot of so called "daily-drivers," beware indeed. From the pictures it looks like a $1000 is not a bad price.

I see some long repair...

Click to view attachment

I agree.

Bought it yesterday and drove it 15 miles home. Goes down the road OK. Will cruise at 65-70 seems like no problems. As I dig into it I'll let y'all know what I find - probably will be searching for more info.

First questions:

Are there a owners and repair manual available online?

How do you change the headlights? I've got drivers side working on low beam only.

Horn not working. Any suggestions?

Look to the far left on the photo with arrows. Is that a rust crack to the far left of the jack donut?

Hard to tell from the picture but needs a look over.

Great looking car.