Okay, here's the deal, I just bought this car in early March, and I have to tell a bit of the story of myself and the "progress." I found it in the upper desert (Pearblossom, near Palmdale/Lancaster, SoCal) at an out-of-the-way, largely Mercedes Benz junkyard, where I went with a friend so he could check out and buy a MB Diesel wagon. (he swears by them) There it sat, forlornly knee deep in the weeds and I couldn't resist. The purveyor of the fine assortment of (junk) classics wanted $3K for the car, I had the money, but I finagled it way down because he needed the dough, badly. I aired up the tires and with the help of a crack head forklift driver who "forked" a few dead MB's out of the way, it rolled right out! The dirtiest car (inside) I've ever seen, and/or have ever taken on. This car was NASTY inside when I first saw it.

So, after dropping off his (pain in the ass) MB wagon in San Fernando, we headed back for my new toy. I finally got home after a full day of driving all over Pencil-Tucky retreiving (junk) cars with high hopes. By 11:00 that night, the car was in my garage in south Orange County. My fiance is already jealous, probably wants to give me a reality lecture, and all I want to do is start working on it by midnight!



Notice the dirt/mud stains on the tires.....Isn't the side mirror supposed to point to the rear?

That Monday, I joined something called "914 World." I am a quick study, I've owned many cars, all types of VW's, Porsches, Ghias, BMW's, etc. I start cleaning it first, taking out all of the extra parts that came with the car and indexing the paperwork, receipts, manuals, junk. I know enough to save all this stuff, as I have in the past made the mistake of tossing stuff out immediately. I save EVERYTHING now. The receipts were interesting, the car seemed to be well maintained during it's life. The guy was a Navy flyer obviously, with receipts from Pensacola, Hawaii, Virginia, Texas, Yuma, AZ, even a service in Acapulco, Mexico. My fiance is nodding, but I know she is thinking: (I"M NEVER GETTING IN THAT PIECE OF SHIT, EVER, EVER.) I'm cool, I can dig the dirt out, the car is okay, solid, (I have no idea at this point what a "hell hole" on a 914 is) and I'm in business. A battery, some gas, and I drive down to the tire store on the way to the DMV and I'm golden. I'm into a fine German sports car for under $2,200.


After some clean up......

Could've done alot worse but she looks pretty clean! They all have rust to some degree... it hides from you!

So, I reach out to the fine forum here, introduce my self, (newbie wanna-be) and tell a bit of the story, and a few people offered help, (Bruce, Colin) and Colin Greene even showed up and spent half the day helping me do a new starter, and getting the POS up on jack stands. (the kiss of death) A new battery, starter, some relays, Eff with the fuel pump, tighten some hoses, buy a remote starter, (because no start at the dash switch,) a fire extinguisher, and put a gallon of gas in. The engine turns over nicely, but doesn't start. So, I return to the forum and call Bruce back. He gives me the "hoses, fuses, grounds, fire extinguisher" lecture, (thanks!) and I go back to work. Some things work, wipers, radio, blinkers, lights, (no headlights) and I'm happy with the progress. I call around to my beloved 356 mechanic, (NO 914's!!!!) and a couple other local shops that work on type IV buses, (NO 914's!!!) VW places that end with the word "haus." (NO 914's!!!) No takers. Shitskies!! Hmm, okay, I'm back as the head mechanic. I go about faking like I know what to do with a test light (my fiance is impressed) and make a bit of progress> (in my own mind, I know I'm completely lost) I determine that there is no power going through the coil. So I call a local guy to ask if he sells Bosch coils. We get to talking, and he says he used to work on 914's all the time. "Can you take a look?" "Bring it down Monday." Call AAA and tow it two miles away. I'M FRIGGIN' PUMPED!!!





There it goes for a quick fix...............................................................................................

Hell hole? Look at the longitudinal channel (that provides most of the strength of the chassis) directly under the battery in the forward right side of the engine compartment. Is there a rotted, rusted hole in the metal? Probably. Oh man, you're screwed now!! By the way.

This place does mostly Mercedes Benz repair, but Gary seems to know what's up on VW's and Porsches too. (He is building a badass BMW 2002 street racer, so I'm pretty sure I'm in the right place!) He says he'll look at it that afternoon, Monday. By Wednesday, nothing. It hasn't moved and it's parked right on PCH, on his lot. I drive by there every day on my way to work. I'm sure it's going to get stolen. A week goes by, nothing, and so I wander in. He's one mechanic down, shorthanded, but he'll get to it. I'm friggin getting antsy by now. He sends me a probable parts needed list, but no prices. I just want the thing done. I have the money to fix it, but I want it done right and running. (I'm reading 914 racing stuff here and doing the Walter Mitty thing, the wife thinks I'm mad) Two weeks, nothing.

I sent him an email last night, I don't want to be a dick, and this coming Friday I was just going to go quietly pick it up, no arguing. Today, I drive by and I see it halfway up on his rack, Bosch parts boxes on the roof!!! Yaaayy. It's a good day.

I remember driving my friend's 914-6 in high school, and I NEVER Forgot the feeling. I don't know why it took me 40 years to finally buy one? I'll update things when I find out, and thanks for the friendship and the forum!

Yup, there is the "factory" rust there, but not really as bad as I thought at one point.

Post some pix of the hell hole so we can see what you're up against.

Best to learn as much about the car so you can do most of the repairs yourself. As you have already found, there isn't a large selection of repair facilities to work on them any more.

Take your time and ask as many questions as you need. You'll find most of the knowledge and mechanical skills right here on World.

Some folks quickly lose their love affair after they get an enormous repair bill and still don't have a good running car.

I got my engine from a crack head!

Very dependable.

























The engine. Not the crack head..

John

Welcome to the Madness!

neighbor car looks good, liking the color (they're faster). I know of some good mechanics in the area if you don't get any further. Looks like a pretty clean car considering where you found it (they don't do well sitting outside anywhere in the world) Good luck......

You might want to invest in some safer jack stands. One of our members was badly injured when a jack stand of that type failed. I prefer the ones that are secured with a pin that inserts through the barrel of the stand.

Do it yourself and get the answers to your questions here. These are simple little cars and won't be a problem for you to maintain yourself. As far as your "lack of knowledge" is concerned I'd bet that 85% of our members were mechanical novices before joining our ranks.
Oh. Be sure to make the G&R event in a few weeks.

, enjoy the new addiction, I'm a few months into it and still super pumped, mine runs but does need some "fixin", good luck and hope you are driving it soon

So I see your first mistake was to ask a few "914 experts" to come help and they ended up jacking up your new toy and placing the sacred jack stands underneath.

Did they draw the circle around the car and light the correct German made candles to ensure the jack stands would mate with the car properly?

Never invite guys over who being jack stands as gifts....

I bought the jack stands and it is already off of them! I read a lot here about the "curse of the jack stands" and I want to avoid it. I just want to drive it.

Those stands are OK, just drill and pin them.

He wasn't 'badly' injured. He wasn't that pretty to begin with...

Nice quiver of boards you've got......Trestles no doubt?

Welcome to the madness.

Welcome aboard! I'm a newbie myself, but have had some great help from guys here on the forum from answering hundreds of questions to coming over and helping me drop my engine and strip my car for media blasting! This place is a great resource for support and learning!

Those aren't Trestles boards. Look more like San-O or Trails boards....man I miss SoCal

You're right! The San Onofre boards are from a 9'2" tri-fin to 11'6" crowd dominator, and the shortboards are on the lower shelves for Middles and Lowers.....

Okay, the car starts at the key, (new switch,) brakes are good, new wheels need to be mounted for a proper test drive....I have them....

We have ignition, Houston!!!! I would REALLY like to drive this car to Lake Tahoe!!!!

Okay, I'm not as "blue" anymore, the car has updated Fuchs and new Yokohamas. The 205/65's barely fit, but they don't rub. For a mystery 1.7 driver, it hauls ass. (NOT) I'm surprised, so was my mechanic. It runs just fine. Brakes work good, clutch and trans okay. What took me so long to buy one of these?

I'm smitten and my fiancé went to bed early. She may be jealous...?

You may have to get rid of her at some point in time then. Your choice as to which her

Not very often is haul ass and 1.7 used in the same sentence. All the better that it's a boneyard rescue. Looking great.....nice work!

Really have to ask what the hell was that car doing in a boneyard to begin with?! Way to go rescuing her

nice job!

Very cool.......drive the 1.7 till it dies......it could be a long time.

We need to make some "Who Rescued Who" stickers with a 914 outline...


Cool score by the way! We got our first 914, a '74 1.8 for $600! Guy basically wanted it out from the front of his house, and there it went. One of the carbs was frozen and the gas pedal bell crank was busted, but we got her to turn over by pouring gas down the carb. Caught the car on fire before we even owned it.

I will have to +1 on the suggestion to really check out the underbody and the normal rust areas, that 1.8 was decomissioned due to really agressive rust in the rear passenger suspension mounting area. Killed what was really an alright car.

I don't know ... we've seen some folks bring back some really dead cars over the years



My wife's [supposed] 1.7L halls butt ... sometimes two butts

I took a good little drive today, out to Colin's, then back through Laguna Canyon to PCH, and then south with the top off. Heavenly. Car ran strong, but it doesn't exactly "haul ass." (I was excited yesterday.) The only car I've ever owned that is close to this much fun is my 356.

I'd like to lower the front to level it.....?

There is a 8mm bolt(s) that adjust the torsion bar(s) that will change ride height but you will need an alignment afterwards. Only takes 1 or 2 turns at the most. Lowering will give you a lot of toe in before alignment.

Glad you had a chance to stop by the other day.
Sorry I missed your call.
Do not have a 73 D'S door panel.

BTW it is an 11mm bolt in the adjuster at the back of the torsion bar you turn to lower the car.
Bruce

I visited Bob At Appbiz today for some interior bits. It's nice to go and see how these things are actually made. Door panels, carpet set..he makes RS stuff, this guy is legit. Highly recommended! PCA discount too....Every$$$ helps

Bob is up in my neck of the woods (sort of). Coincidentally, the shop I lease in Harbor City used to be Bob's shop. Good guy and has a lot of stuff for our cars.

I installed his door panels yesterday and today will be carpet day. My car was really ragged inside from years of sitting and weather in the desert. The POS is really starting to take shape.

You've done quite a bit in only two months

Some of us have taken several years getting one on the road.

Stripped the old shatty carpet out, ready for new stuff....

Viola!!! A few pitfalls, learn as you go.. This took me about 2 1/2 hours start to finish. I can't say enough good things about the Appbiz set, although there are a few things I might tell Bob about his future kits that could improve them even more. This isn't that hard to do, guys.....

Next is to attack some nagging things:

1) fix the gas gauge - Where is the sender?
2) new rear shocks and springs - Which shocks I should buy?
3) I need a driver's door map box/door handle thing - Anybody got one?
4) fix the headlights - They work, occasionally

1) sender is in the tank, underneath the expansion tank which unbolts.
2) Sachs for stock ride, koni for a nice ride with adjustments, bilsteins for a stiffer ride
3) post a WTB ad, I suspect more than a few locals have one.
4) clean all the connections and grounds...and headlight switch.

The problem with your headlights sounds like it's in your ignition switch, I have a similar problem withe my 1974 914 2.0.

Turn your car on, pull your headlight switch, and "slightly turn your key clockwise", very slightly

After a quick "tech talk" with Bruce this afternoon, my lights are working. A few fiddles, and "viola!" I took the top tank off today and pulled out the sender to test it, and when I turned it over, I saw that the wires were all sheared off. They don't look cut, but maybe something else "nibbled" on them? I don't know, but I now know one of the issues the fuel gauge has. It almost looks as if the cable for one of the vent boxes in that area might have worn it through?

Thanks for coming by yesterday as your car has come from the graveyard to where it is now is amazing !!! Keep it running and clean that thing everywhere you can until you're ready to paint it and that would be a sweet sled for sure. See you soon bud.


Scott

went to his site, I don't see 914 stuff only 911, my interior is not much better than your started out as, ready for improvements like you did, congrads coming along very nice

A lot if his 914 stuff is on ebay: Click here