Hope I am posting this in the right place. If not please forgive. This is my first post here.

I am looking at a '73 914 to go with my collection of German air cooled crap (affectionate term). I own and work on my own '63 Beetle, '76 Westy, '89 911, and '95 911 (993). So I am pretty familiar with most things air cooled.

Have always wanted a 914 and I might now have the chance for one. Wondering what specific items to check. I have a lift and will be able to look around under the car. Things that I know (or have been told and will verify) about the car so far:

All original 2.0l with original FI intact (comes with 4 complete spare FI systems),
"Recent" rebuild on engine (receipts included),
Aftermarket exhaust (forget the make),
No rust in hell hole (I verified visually),
No rust under spare tire (again verified visually),
No rust in trunk (trunk liner intact, verified visually),
Interior very nice, no rips in dash or seats,
Center console added,
4 lug Fuchs wheels including spare,
Single owner for past 12 years with fully documented service records,
All service for last 12 years performed locally by a shop I know and trust,
Car originally green, wearing a blue re-spray that is in "good" condition,
Starts and runs well.

I haven't driven the car yet.

Wondering what other specific things I should look for in a '73? I will drive the thing sometime this week and will have it up on my lift to look around underneath.

Any and all help appreciated.

Good luck. Just recently purchased a '73 and love it. Also have a '96 Twin Turbo. Different worlds but I love them both.

Once you drive it you'll know it right. Do try to have a local member help with a pre purchase. These cars can hide stuff and repairs aren't always evident.
It sounds like a very good candidate. My second favorite configuration / year, second only to any 6.

Welcome to the sickness, or at least the 914 version.

Inspect the Hell Hole under the battery tray (if there is one)...
Inspect under the rocker panels with a dental mirror and flashlight
check equal ride height at all four corners
see if the rear brake calipers are doing anything / try the emergency brake while rolling slowly and see if the car lifts while doing this in slow reverse rolling

make sure it has a clear title and no leins outstanding but invisible to the clean title holder..... Yikes! Good Luck

Sidebar: just sold my 993 in favor of my 2nd 914 / so much more fun to drive at its limits. the money gained in the sale almost has paid for the $$$$$$$'s in the 914

I live close to Seneca, I'll send a PM with contact info and we can go look at it.

Olin

check the door to fender gaps. this could visually let you know if your longs (longitudinals under the rocker) are rusted through. if you can, remove the top when checking this.

From the info in the original post, the car seems like a great candidate!

There's really nothing "magical" to look for, and sounds like you have the essential items well covered.

Post up some pix when you get a chance.

You've got the basics covered.

Why didn't you drive it when you were doing the visual inspection? Just curious.

You have posted in the right place. You will get all the help you need here.

A couple of things to do:

Check under the rocker panel covers. Along with the hell hole, this is where the greatest concerns of rust will be. Rust hides very nicely under the rocker panels. The owner may be very reluctant to pull a cover off so you may need to pull a rear wheel and peek in between the cover and the longitudinal.

Another check of integrity of the longitudinal is to jack the car up by the jack holes. Should be able to do that on both sides. Once jacked up, you should be able to open and close each door with no difficulties. In case the owner doesn't have an original jack and wants to jack the car up with a floor jack, bring along the jack from your 911 to check the jack points.

When driving the car, check that the transmission shifts w/o grinding. Especially when sitting still; shift from neutral to first; should have no grinding.

You seem pretty familiar with these cars but it does help to get someone local from this site to look at the car with you.

Good luck.

Thanks for all the replies folks. The owner has left the car with a mutual friend about a mile down the road from me (we live n a rural part of the county). I can drive it whenever I want this week (which is why I didn't drive it first time) and can put it up on my lift.

I'll post some pics when I get it on the lift.

This seems like it kinda fell in my lap so I am almost obligated to buy the car (not a bad thing). It is almost _exactly_ what I was looking for (all OE, unmolested, early(ish) bumpers and appearance group), and appears to be in the ballpark on price ($7k(ish)).

Not sure if I mentioned mileage in OP, odometer reads 33,XXX and owner confirms it is 133,XXX miles. I aint afraid of that if it all checks out.

If it all checks out well, 7K is a fantastic price !!!!

If you don't want it, let me know, I may be interested.

Just buy it.

Wow, if the car doesn't have any serious body, cosmetic, or mechanical issues, $7K is a steal. Buy it before the seller realizes what it's really worth.
Reminds me of that thread recently over in the classifieds: one day it was $9500, then the next day it was $20K.

Love my 73.

Is this the blue one that was for sale in Crestwood?

Dunno. I will drive and inspect the car today. Will put up some pics if I can figure out how (all Forums seem to be different on that).

Anyone wanna buy a '76 Westy??

Good Price.... Go for it and post pictures....

Drove the car on New Years Eve and spent some time inspecting it. Had help from a local 914World member (WalterOlin - thanks). Car runs well, handles well, and seems solid throughout. Some more info from a sheet I found in the drivers door pocket (this IS the blue one from Crestwood (KY)):

Factory Appearance Group
Porterfield RS4 front brakes (??)
19mm MC
Stainless brake lines
Weltmeister 140LB springs
Adjustable Koni shocks
930 tie rods
Solid engine and tranny mounts
Bursch header
H4 headlights
911 clutch
Stainless heat exchangers
205/50/15 tires
Harness bar with 4 point harnesses
Momo Corse steering wheel

I didn't see any rust that scared me. Just a little tiny bit under passenger side long and some paint bubbling behind each of the doors (just below the sails).

A few pictures:

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OK, well I am limited to just the one pic due to space.

Interior Pics:

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Looks good. Did you do it already?

Engine:

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In the barn:

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Underneath:

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Some Rust:

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Will be buying the thing this weekend.

I need to say goodbye to my 76 Westy to make room in the barn. It is the air cooled vehicle I "cut my teeth" on and has been with me for over 20 yrs, so it is difficult to let it go.

That looks like a great car! Well done.

^^^ Indeed!!! I wonder why the seller is leaving so much money on the table??

That, sir, seems to be a real find.

Very nice looking car. It appears to have had some love along the way. I would relocate the fire extinguisher, nice to have it close by, but not in my ear.
Looks like well bought.
Craig at CAMP

The bubbles are something to be at least a little afraid of. The stuff that shows up behind the door is coming through from the back side of the metal, which means it will take a fair bit of excavation to get all of the rust out.

Still, it looks like a decent example! Might even make a driver for a little while before you start cutting out the bad metal and welding in good.

--DD

I'll bet on quite a bit of hidden rust in the corners, but overall it's a great candidate for saving.

We talked about the bubbles, and there is some hell hole damage. It survived the "Big guy standing on the passenger seat" test - no movement of the door. Ran really well, has original FI.

It will need some work, shift linkage was sloppy, and clutch cable/tube might need some attention. Needs 914Rubber parts including the visors.

Nice car for the asking price.

One helluva "barn".

I'm really kind of digging that woodgrain on the dash...

Spares...

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More spares...

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Dat's a lot of spare's!