Hi,
I've tried hard to do my due diligence before posting a simply clearly newbie question like this - but giving up the ghost.

Here's the deal. I've located a 914 that I think is in decent shape. By decent shape, I mean my wife doesn't think its in decent shape (i/e - its not ready to roll). It only has one rust hole. The interior is stripped out and ready to be painted. It has a 1.8 ready to be carbed. The interior has bee displayed so I can see that its in acceptable shape.
Priced in the neighborhood of $1500.

i've also located a low mileage turn key 97 Subaru 2.2. For in the neighborhood of $500. I thought nearly doubling the hp sounded good.. but I'm suffering from forum fatigue and now can't tell if I'm getting way over my head ..... only to later wish I'd dropped more hp in.

Furthermore, since my M.O. is to get bored of a vehicle after 4 or 5 years, what is the reasonable value for a non-v8 non-stock 914? If I pick this up for roughly $2k, paint thoroughly for $2.5k, add any conversion needs I can't have fabricated myself... do I have a prayer of recuperating the cost or close to it at some point in the future? I clearly do not have the budget for a complete kit.

Thanks! Josh

Get it running and driving with the 1.8 before thinking about the Subaru. Plenty of work there to cut your teeth on before getting into the tricky stuff

Rust will kill a 914. Make sure you have very little.

What McMark said.

The car is a hoot to drive even with a well running 1.8. There are a ton of up grades you can make to make it even better. Engine swap can be done later, there is always a market for a good running 1.8 to offset your cost.

The big 4's are really well thought of and have lots of torque. Many claim the Suby is the way to go and there are really some great power options. Of course, there are a lot of Porsche 6's from the 2.0 to a 3.6 with as much HP as you can afford. Or, the V8 is easy and pretty inexpensive power. It's all good.

If you get bored after 4-5 years, unless you go crazy and do most of the work yourself, you should be able to get your money out.

Have fun.

To expand on my other answer:

Most people have a limited amount of time and money to throw at a project. And every project consumes some of those resources. It's pretty much standard procedure for new 914 owners to make a giant list of modifications/upgrades and jump into all of them at once - starry eyed and dreaming of having 'the baddest 914 ever'.

Avoid the deep end. It collects stalled 914 projects. Figure out the minimum amount of work necessary to get it running safely. Undertake that and get a feel for how big of a project it is. Once it's running, start prioritizing your modifications based on time/money and necessity. Move on to the quick and easy projects that don't take the car off the road. For the bigger projects, make sure you collect as many parts as possible before turning the first wrench. Make sure you have cash saved up to see the project through, including the inevitable surprises and hidden expenses.

It's not a very glamorous answer. But I've done quite a few 914 projects and this is the wisdom of my experience.

You can basically answer your own question with this question: Do you want to drive your 914 or just work on a long-term 914 project?

As Mark and other said, a conversion project will consume more time and money than you expect.

Take the 2k for this car and 2.5k for paint and buy yourself a 4.5k running car hopefully with a 2L engine. The 1.7/1.8L engines are ok (I have a 1.7L) but the 2L engine is much more fun.

I started with a rust bucket and had big plans . . . I was grinding and cutting and it became quickly apparent that the goal of a running car was not in the immediate future. I had purchase the conversion kit and a guy was putting the V8 together for me when I found a nice running clean looking 1.8 car. My wife bless her heart talked me into the running car.

I sold the heap, and drove the 1.8 as I put in the cooling system and made some necessary changes. The engine swap was done over the course of a few days. Over the next year I added other stuff like suspension and brakes. All of them are not big project if you do them one at a time on a running car.

Buy the car get it running with the 1.8, enjoy the car. Figure out what it feels like YOU want to change in the car. Then start a list of projects that you can tackle as needed.

Remember Rust never sleeps and if it is hiding in there it will suck all the fun out of your life like a Hoover on steroids. So look carefully before buying.

Remember "It is more FUN to drive a slow car fast, than drive a really fast car Really slow." Yeah that can suck.
John

That's probably the best advice you'll ever get, succinct and right. I'd just emphasize the rust part, you don't have 'just one small hole' you have a rabbit hole into what's potentially a whole wonderland of rust repair. Since you're self-aware enough to know you have interest limits be very sure of what you're getting yourself into before you go there.



.

Best advise ever. I see your in SE MI. Lots of us around to guide you through the 914 buying process. Send me a PM and introduce yourself, say need help
Long timer who also has a wife to please with my 914 habit.
Tom

There are a few of us in SE Michigan so don't be afraid to ask questions. I guarantee there is more rust that you have not yet seen. These cars have a habit of being put on jack stands and staying that way for a while. I would postpone the suburu engine for now.

BTW I'm in Royal Oak

Good luck

David

Try not to be stubborn. Take the advice given here, by McMark and others. It is sound and was dearly bought.

Hi All, Wow, I'm blown away by the level of activity on this site. Thank you all for the feedback; I thought I'd set my profile up for email notification but apparently I missed that step (easily resolved I've found!) so I was a bit surprised to find the high number of feedback tonight!

I think you've talked me in to calling this guy back tomorrow . I'll let you know where I fall. Much less rust on this than I anticipated, but, I would take advantage of it being apart now and get body work done right. Lord knows MI is hard on cars..

PS. I'm glad to see some Michigan folks on the site. I am in the St Joseph area. And, anyone not in MI, you can PM me and I'll help you finance a home in this beautiful state lol.

It will likely be a few weeks until I post again, but I have an agreement with the seller and anticipate catching back up with him over one of the next 3 weekends. Next time I post I will hopefully have uploaded some pics of my "new" toy.

Great thread, and from one newbie to another, welcome! I'm in the same boat, different set of circumstances. But as you can see, the advice is almost as good as the people giving it. Good luck!

. You have gotten sound advice. By all means get your body work done & the rust fixed. Then get that 1.8 running & drive it as stated above. There are plenty of different Engine conversions out there. Enjoy your car a little & work your conversion over time. The projects that are to big tend to not get finished. When your car is going to not run for years. It most likely never will. There are way to many projects you'll find for sale. It's because after a few years in they stop making any progress. Finally going by the wayside. There are the rare few that have kept their cars & 10 years later finished them. It is so much nicer to be driving a 914 than have one sitting on jack stands .

I think the best of both worlds is. Have your running driving 914 with your project 914 on the side. You enjoy driving a nice stock car. While you build the 914 you really want to drive. The inspiration stays there as you are driving a 914. While still fun in stock form you get to see what you want to improve on. It's also nice having a second 914 as a quick reference for how it goes together & what went where