I'd like to give a hearty greeting to all my new friends here.

My father purchased a new silver 1.7 in the summer of 1973, and owned it until the early nineties. I was trolling Craigslist Friday, and ran across a '73 for sale. She's in rough shape from a front-end collision, but remarkably rust-free (for a 914) and otherwise pretty complete. The seller wanted a few hundred for the car, so I figured, "what the heck?", bought it and had it flatbedded to the shop this evening.

I'll give a lengthier intro with more photos tomorrow, but for tonight, I have a question - The following photos are from this car's engine bay. Is this a 2-liter engine? The badging is for a 1.7, but from the information/descriptions I can find, this appears to be a 2.0. I've not had a chance to vacuum the dust to find if the engine # is between the case and the oil fill tube (2.0) or on the upper right rear (1.7). Also, the ECU is not located next to the battery, but in the front-middle of the firewall.

Many Thanks,
Carl

Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Looks like a 2.0 breather! Take a look at the point where the intakes bolt on to heads. If they are 3 bolt intakes then you have 2.0 heads.

Check the engine number and compare to the numbers listed here to be sure.

Spent lunch cleaning and eyeballing the engine. It has a 2.0 engine number by the oil tube:

Click to view attachment

So it's a '73 with 1.7 badging, housing either a '73 or '74 2.0 motor.

VIN:

Click to view attachment

Was it common to swap in the larger engine? Gang, if this were a Cadillac, I'd already have all the answers - this project is 180 degrees from anything I've worked on in the past. Thanks for any additional info you can provide. I will take and post photos of the whole vehicle this evening.

Carl

Welcome. Looks like you have plenty of cleaning to do! I'll suggest you post your city, so the folks in Your neighborhood can offer to help. Some us actually like to get our hands dirty and it looks like you have a virgin car that hasn't been touched in quite a few years.

Since the 2.0 bolts up to a 1.7 without any hassles (assuming enough of the FI and such was still attached to it) the upgrade is relatively common.

Sounds like you're off to a good start!

--DD

That's a pretty sweet score! I swapped out the 1.7 in my 71 with a 2.0 but kep the 1.7 badge to make people wonder!

It is a early 73. I may or may not have some odd parts on it. Since it was made before Jan 1 73 it may not have guard beams in the doors. It may have the early window rollers, not the later style.

Ok - during our first full day together, I bought us some beer and we got to know each other. I have photos of the whole car from yesterday after she was dropped off. However, it felt it would be inconsiderate to publicize pictures of the car when she was so filthy.

The following photos were taken today after a vacuuming and quick wipe-down.

Engine compartment without air cleaner in place:
Click to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Below the battery tray:

Click to view attachment

Interior shots. The seats are a bit rough, but the door panels and lower portions of the dash are in excellent condition (anything that wouldn't naturally be in the shade is pretty cooked - typical of the area).
Click to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachmentClick to view attachment[attachmentid=462
435]Click to view attachment

Exterior photos. As you move down through these shots, you might want to be sure that the children and any adults of weak constitution are out of the room. Here's where you will see why the car was just a few hundred dollars.
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

There is a '74 parts car included in the deal. I have not yet picked that one up. The body shell is good on that car.

Trunks - Front shows cut-outs for the dealer AC system condenser as well as the remaining drier bottle, hoses, and wiring (compressor, brackets, and interior parts were included with the car - none of the front trunk mounted parts were there).

Click to view attachment


Anything here that looks like rust is just West Texas dust:
Click to view attachment


This is a crummy shot, but the dark spots under the rear deck lid seem to be where holes were filled in. I'm guessing a long gone luggage rack?
Click to view attachment


Other than the battery tray, this is the worst rust I've encountered. It's just surface rust.
Click to view attachment

Labels and rocker panels:

The various tags/labels -

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Behind the passenger's and driver's seat, under the carpet-

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Passenger side behind the decor rocker panel (this is the longitudinal?). The hoses are the remaining refrigerant lines for the AC system.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

I'm in Amarillo, Texas. The house is some six minutes North of I-40, and 13 minutes from the Amarillo International Airport (gateway to Europe and the Orient - in case you have a layover...)

I'll take the driver's side decor rocker off tomorrow and see what's under there. So far, I am astonished at the lack of rust (based on Dad's car and what I've been reading). I hope that the 'solidness' of this car outweighs the front-end collision damage.

You may all rest easy knowing that I'll not start chopping the dead fender off until I have had several in-person consults with either some experts from here or other Porsche/unit body experts from in town. This car is too lovely to hack up!

Disassembly photos and updates may become sparse in the next couple of weeks. I'd like to leave the car as complete as possible until Mom and Dad get home from vacation. I'd like for them to be able to sit in a relatively complete car (for sentimental reasons) before the real work gets underway.

Again, I'd like to thank you all for the information you've deposited on this site, and your continued interest and encouragement regarding this 914 '1.85'!

Carl