I've come across what appears to be a very nice '74 1.8 for sale not too far from me. I'm currently trying to make arrangements with the seller to view the car. He claims it has no rust (we'll see!), excellent paint, excellent running condition, and he has records going back to the original owner. If all is true, it'll be a great deal for what he's asking, and I'll be able to replace the nightmare Scotty Boy sold me.

Aside from the obvious stuff (rust, etc...which I've learned via the school of hard knocks with my car)...is there anything specific to that model year and engine size that I should be aware of? The car does have its original FI.

Here's my other question...is a 1.8 worth buying? From what I understand it would have less power and torque than my 72 1.7. I'm not unhappy with how my 1.7 performs, so would it be a real noticeable downgrade in performance?

The main consideration when buying a 40 year old 914 is rust. Then look for rust. After that you should look for rust. If that checks out, buy it. You can always put a 2.0 in it.

I have the same model and I'm very happy. No typical issues to this specific year and model.
The things that I would look for are:
Rust
Instruments glass (it's plastic from 74)
Interior color (black is easy to fix,.other colors are NLA )
Dashboard cracks
Rear calipers condition.

Valy's right on all those, all of which are typically easy and not bank-breaking to fix/replace. Rust is your first priority.

The 1.8 had the least hp - only 1 hp less than the 1.7. Not noticeable. If you have a 1.7 you won't notice a difference with the 1.8. I had the L-jet on my 1.8. I like that fuel injection. Easier to work with and adjust than the D-jet. If it has the working fuel injection, it's a big plus over carbs. Also, on my 1.8 I increased the hp to run like a 2.2 simply by doing a bigger bore in the engine and installing bigger jugs. Peppier than a stock 2.0 and MUCH less expensive than replacing the engine. Also, if you're going to alter or replace the engine, it doesn't really matter what engine you get. You're modifying it or replacing it. It won't be original anymore. So don't worry about it.

four digits 1911

It's 4 HP less; 76 vs. 80. It is spec'ed for regular-grade gas as opposed to super-grade, though.

With L-jet, the main thing to worry about is vacuum leaks IMHO. They tend to be worse for L-jet cars than D-jet ones, because they lean out the L-jet mixture as opposed to just making for a higher idle on the D-jet.

--DD

Awesome, thanks for all the info! Yeah, I learned the rust lesson the hard way with my car. At least now I know EXACTLY all the places to look for it! That's going to be my #1 concern. I just wanted to make sure there weren't any other little quirks to know about with that model year.

If I can get a chance to view the car before it sells (it's about 4 hours away from me), I'll report back on whether or not a deal was made!

Going to check it out tomorrow! Truck and trailer rental reserved. I'd love to come home tomorrow with a killer replacement for my '72! Although I'm half expecting it to be a POS and come home empty handed. I'm not getting my hopes up until I get a chance to inspect it.
I think I read somewhere that the key to happiness is low expectations!

The 1974 1.8L had a compression ratio of 7.3 compared to the 1.7L had 8.2 in earlier years. If you do a valve job you can bump the compression. The euro 1.8L ran single barrel Webers with a 8.6 C/R and produced 85HP. I had a 74 1.8 and loved it. Less parts are out there for the FI as it is a one year only system. 75 1.8 did have L jet with some of the same parts.
Good luck.

Came home empty handed.

Passenger side hellhole and longitudinal rust, front trunk gutter rust, bottom of driver side door rust, rear trunk lid has a protruding dent the shape of a tire, rear trunk lid hinge on driver's side broke off at some point and was reattached slightly off so panel gap for the rear trunk lid is off. Heat exchangers were eaten through. Paint was terrible. The 40 year old olympic blue original paint looked great. Unfortunately someone touched up every nick and chip with the wrong color blue. It looks like the car has periwinkle acne. Funny none of this showed up in any of the pics. All the weather seals need replacing. The interior was immaculate though, looked like it just came off the showroom floor.

The seller was a super nice guy though, and let me poke and prod the car as much as I wanted.

I guess it's better to have seen it and walked away than to not have seen it at all

I would check out the cars craig at camp 914 has for sale. Great seller and great reputation for selling top cars at reasonable prices.

You performed what I call a nice 'walk away'. Well played sir!

I looked at all sorts of "walk-aways" in my hunt for a 914. The advice here was great.

The big advantage of looking at cars that you don't buy is that when you find the car you want, you will KNOW it.

Super pleased that I listened to the folks here... I love the car I ended up buying.

Also talk to Brad at 914 limited. Both are longtime members that I would buy a car from without hesitation.

Yeah, I've noticed the cars both Craig and Brad have been selling over in the classifieds. They're definitely tempting (I really like the look of the black '74 2.0 Craig has for sale right now).
But after my experience with Scotty Boy, I just can't buy a car without seeing it in person and test driving it first, no matter how reputable the seller. I've just been spooked by the one and only time I've ever bought a car sight unseen, and I won't do it again.
There's also shipping costs to think about with those guys, and my budget is capped at the $10K mark.

I think I'll just keep scouring the classifieds and craigslists in my region, and wait for that gem to pop up. Besides, what would I do in the morning while drinking coffee without a car to search for?

But yeah, this forum and the folks on it have been invaluable in educating me on these cars! Cheers to all you guys!