Thought I'd make a quick introduction. I'm a bit of a regular on Rennlist but new to this forum. Several guys on the 914 forum there suggested that I check 914World out and it appears to be a good suggestion. I have several cars. Currently my only porsche is a '96 TT which I love. Also have some american muscle and I've decided that my '68 Chevelle SS just isn't doing it for me so I'm going to look at selling that and begin the hunt for a 914. Its a gorgeous car....all original, fully documented with 37k miles. Just doesn't do it for me like my other cars do.

I'm a bit of a fanatic for originality so will try to focus on an all original car. Might go with a re-paint but since I'm not an expert on these cars and I'm also a bit uneasy when it comes to rust, I'd prefer a car where I know exactly what I'm getting. I think I'll focus on the 2.0 or the 6's although not sure I want to put 6-type money into this purchase.

I'm in no hurry...going to take my time to find the right car. Will appreciate any help and education I can find here.

Steve

Good early cars are scarce. Rust has eaten many of them. The 70-71 also have a different steering column and replacement switches are hard to find. You may be able to find a suitable VW replacement that can be made to work.

73-74, 2.0 seem to be the most desirable for some reason. Unless you are after a real -6. Next most desirable/valuable would be a 74 LE model.

Lots of good people and fellow PCA members here. Welcome to the madness...

914Next,

Did you read through the thread links I posted in your Rennlist 914 hunt thread? It will answer MANY of your questions.

The guys here at 914World were invaluable to my hunt for a 914. Love the 914 I ended up with.

As someone with a early 4cyl car, if I could do it all over again, I'd go with a 72-74.

The electrical oddities on 70-71's can be a pain in the butt. Turn signal switches are just about impossible to find, so you have to modify a later turn signal switch to work in the early housing. The car is hardwired in places where there are connectors in later cars making replacing things a lot harder. There are some Chassis differences in bracing that was added to later cars that wasn't on 70-71's. Interior pieces are different, yada yada yada.

It is cool to see early cars get the once over though. You just don't see many of them.

Appreciate the input. What years were the 6's produced? Sounds like 72-73 2.o might be a good choice if I decide not to make the big investment into a 6.

Just curious. Where do all of you think this ebay 6 will end up? Currently at 65. Looks like a really nice car.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/400748236028?ssPag...984.m1423.l2648

You have found the pot of gold with this forum. Some real serious 914 nuts among us.

That eBay appears to be a solid car. It will command a good price for sure.

The Sixes were made from '70-'72. '70 was the most plentiful year with a couple thousand made, '71 had about 330 made and '72 had about 250 or so. A total of about 3,300 Sixes in total were made.

The '72 Six, the most rare, has some differences from the '70 & '71. The '72 has a 4 cylinder steering column and ignition on the column. Some of the '72 Sixes were, if I am recalling correctly, produced with out all of the other options of the '70 & '71. Like chrome bumpers and vinyl on the sail panels.

It matters not which Six you get; they are all desirable and sought after cars.

The LE cars are desirable too. Not certain, but I believe they were made in '74 and had a different paint scheme, ala the creamcicle, bumblebee and grasshopper.

The '73-'74 2.0 appearance group cars are the next most desirable for me. If I were going to buy another 914, my target car would be a all stock '73-74 2.0 with the appearance group.

Good luck and have a lot of fun. Be patient and the right car will appear.

Thanks Cairo. This is great info. And, I can tell the people on this site are going to be a great help. Thanks for the opinion on the ebay car. It does look clean and orange is a great color. Actually looks exactly like what I'm looking for if it had original paint. I'm guessing the car will go for 70+? I'm not fooling myself to think that the car will be a great investment....they rarely are when all is said and done but it seems like spending $25-$30 on a spectacular 2.0 has better chance of decent upside longterm that spending $75k on a 6. I need to think about that ebay car and meanwhile I'll keep learning from all of you.

Welcome to the madness

1973 2.0 and 1974 LE are the cars to hunt because they are the only four cylinder cars that came from the factory with sway bars. If you want a crisp handling 914 , this is a must.

Sway bars were an option on all 73+ 914s. They are also relatively easy to add to any 914.

--DD

Yes it was an option later. But very rare to find them on the car.
If you are not a mechanic it will cost you 1000+ $ to let them install on the car.
Parts + remove tank + welding + install

Thanks. I'm just soaking all of this in!! Very helpful. Thinking more about the 2.0's. Willing to wait for a perfect...or near perfect original car.

Perfect car = a lot of money

Yes I get that. I'm fine paying decent money for a perfect 2.0. Just can't get my head around $90k for a 65k mile really nice one-repaint 6 car with no great documentation. Not sure what a perfect original 2.0 would cost but if I could find a low mileage original example with great documentation, I am more than willing to pay top market for it...assuming that is $30k-$50k?

So are you saying you are against repaints, even if the car is low miles and well documented and an awesome car?

I have a '75. It's not popular with most 'teeners because of the heavy bumpers. I like the look… to each his own I guess. Those bumpers help out in the real world driving too. It has the later version for the fuel injection which does have subtle improvements. Mine is a CA car and the smog stuff was taken off long ago and sits in a box somewhere in my garage. Keep the fuel injection. Most components for this later system are readily available. For most, these cars are a "blank canvas" to make performance enhancements to the suspension, braking, and engine/transmission. I am one of these 914 owners that has enhanced his ride for week-end rallies while balancing the original look. Good luck. These cars are an addictive adrenalin rush that will also drain your bank account if you're not careful.

20k+ will buy you an excellent four cylinder 2.0.
50k+ is what you need to buy a decent six theese days.

I wouldn't rule out a repaint but prefer an all original car including paint. One reason is that I'm a relative novice with body work and rust and It eliminates one element of uncertainty with respect to past rust issues. I also don't mind a bit of patina on an original car.

So sounds like I can find a really nice original 2.0 for $20-$30k?

Yea, sounds about right. The amount of original paint, documented cars out there is slim though.

I would look at a repainted car when it is well documented. Original paint is very rare on a 914.

Sounds like a challenge!

I realize there are not too many out there. But I'm an optimist. Unfortunately I'm also not terribly patient!

No Offense, But maybe a Troll!

Atlanta, recent longtime AA employee leaving, new Raw Meat?

just sayin....

Ok, I think I'm missing something here....not understanding. Sorry.