Hello all,

This is my first of many posts to come. I am very excited about the purchase of my first 914. I have wanted one of these babies for 20 years since I was about 12 years old. I love the car and knew that one day I would buy a 1972 model year. (By birthday is 9/14/1972 - so it was only natural that I buy a 72 914).

On to my question. Unfortunately, I am not a very handy guy in the shop. I am however very unthusiastic about learning as much as I can regarding the repair and restoration of my new ride.

What resources would you suggest for a shop "newbie" that wants to learn as much as possible about car repair and restoration? I truly am as green as they come in regards to working on cars - but I am very dedicated to changing that.

Thanks,

Stags

find someone in your area that works on 914s. Hang out with him in his shop and help.
You'll learn a lot quickly.

haynes manual and 914world.com, forums.pelicanparts.com, shoptalkforums.com as bookmarks on the computer and a 2nd job for $$

Buy something broken or break something. Then put it back together. That's what I've always done. With my bikes, I'll ride them awhile, and when I want to learn how to fix 'em, I get out the allen wrenches and take 'em all apart.
Same thing with my cars. When crap breaks, rather than taking them to a shop, just start in on it. If you don't get it fixed yourself, you're gonna have a huge bill at the shop!!

Buy a manual to help....

Cole

another east coaster, all of the above are good, dont be afraid to ask questions.

and we will be nice till you hit about 10 posts or so .

BTW start shopping for side shift conversion parts now

welcome and don't sweat it.

I am no mechanic either, but I perform all the work on my car (sometimes with the help of others).

Buy a Hayes manual and start small. Change the oil and filter. Drain and refill the transmission oil. Let the game come to you.

most important, surf the sites listed previously and read, read, read.

enjoy.

oh, and were hell are the pics of your new car!!!!!!

Welcome

MAP torch and a spare 914

Seriously... MAP torch

Eric, I know what a Map is, and I know what a torch is, but what is a MAP torch?

Get a factory manual and read the sections relevant to whatever issue arises. Just seeing the parts "explosions" is a help.

Welcome to the club brother.

I suggest you join PCA (Porsche Club of America). The people you will meet in your local region will take care of you and help you find 914 experts in your area. You will receive a local newsletter announcing social and competitive events. It will also contain your local Porsche related advertisers every month. You will also receive the national PCA magazine Panorama every month. Log onto www.pca.org and you can join on-line.

So between the 914World.com and PCA you will be well taken care of.

Welcome Stags,

#1 priority is buy a Haynes Manual. I had NO experience whatsoever when getting my first 914... absolutely none.

Read the Haynes Manual cover to cover. It's actually interesting

In the last 3 years of 914 ownership I learned that I could drop an engine & put it back... oh ya, and it ran afterwards (mostly)

......b

Definately find a local 914 guy to hang with to learn. I have trained a Microsoft geek with no mechanical ability on how to work on his 914 so anyone can learn if he can.
Don't be afraid to ask questions even if they are stupid. Even DD asked the dumbest questions you have ever read years ago....


Geoff

Sorry, I should have said MAPP not MAP

methylacetylene-propadiene

About the best $40.00 ever spent.

BernzOmatic Site

Lowe's Link

a computer in the shop so you can ask quetions of the guys on the club...I have found that all of my silly and not so silly questions have been answered by the members of this club, of course accumulation of a good tool set takes a while to aquire...
best of luck
steve

QUOTE

I suggest you join PCA (Porsche Club of America).

I will appologise in advance if I offend anyone with this comment.....Sorry, nothing personal!!

I have found that the local PCA's (In the California Area) are more of a wine and cheese group, not wrenches like the 914club group is! There are some "mechanically inclined" but the ones going to the events that I have attended didn't give the 914 the respect that it deserves and spent more time polishing than talking big brakes or the motor pull out last night!

Again, these opinions are my own and may not be shared by everyone here!

WTFDIK

Jeff

PS: Welcome to the club!!

Yo Stags, I'm in Crochester, an hour away from ya. I've gone through most everything with mine, it's all pretty easy. The manual and a good set of tools are the best things to have. Rustle up some benjamins too.

PM or email me, happy to help if I can

Jeff

Welcome Stags. Just remember there are no dumb questions. We have all asked them at one time or another. So don't be afraid, and keep your thick skin suit handy. There are times you might need it.
CCLINNEWBIEWELCOME

I'll jump on the welcome wagon too. Glad to see another Nor'easter.

I didn't even know what a 914 was when I bought mine. The most I had ever done to a car was rotate the tires before I bought this one. Now, I've helped friends install a cross bar (911), install a clutch, shocks, springs, tie rods, oil and tranny fluids, and so on. With all that experience and with the help from some of the best people you'll ever meet (all on this board) I'm ready to start working on my own car.

Haynes manual is a wise buy. While I might get flamed for this, I like the 700 tips book from Automobile Atlanta.

Best of luck to you.

Cool birthday! Get a big floor jack and plenty of jackstands Also, be prepared for the "while I'm in there" disease... a pedal cluster rebuild can turn into a full restoration in the blink of an eye.

Welcome on board! We'll help you whenever possible.

When do you want to start?

KT

seems there's lots of members in ontario. not sure how far they live to the greater buffalo area. i usually visit relatives in east aroura yearly.

k

QUOTE (seanery @ Feb 24 2005, 07:34 AM)

find someone in your area that works on 914s. Hang out with him in his shop and help. You'll learn a lot quickly.

that's the only way!

reading manuals isn't going to help much if you don't already know the basics ...
find a local 914guy, invest in a few 6-packs and hang out and help.

nothing beats hands-on experience.
Andy

QUOTE (jfort @ Feb 24 2005, 08:02 AM)

I would download the factory manual available on this site and read the sections relevant to whatever issue arises. Just seeing the parts "explosions" is a help.

Wow!

I can't believe the outpouring of support for a complete novice such as myself. You have all certainly made a beginner like me feel very welcome. I can definitely see myself spending a lot of time on these forums!


"I would download the factory manual available on this site"

Where can I find that download?

You will not find it listed in public. There are, umm, potential issues with it--and it is very unwise to discuss in a public forum. Though if someone PM's you the location....

I would also suggest finding a copy of John Muir's VW "Idiot Book". Ol' John was a good writer, and if you can get over the very "60s" attitudes of his writing, you can learn a lot of the very very basic things. As a bonus, the "Type 4" sections of the book also apply (to a greater or lesser extent) to the 914's engine and some of the brakes!

--DD

Whaddya ya mean DD, "get over the 60's writing attitude" We were cool back then (and still are).....It is the dawining of the age of Aquarius. (insert flowerchild smiley here).

Oh BTW, welcome to the "Club"...now get ready for the bashing

Welcome!

And

I've always wanted to do that

QUOTE (scooter311 @ Feb 24 2005, 11:36 AM)

Yo Stags, I'm in Crochester, an hour away from ya. I've gone through most everything with mine, it's all pretty easy. The manual and a good set of tools are the best things to have. Rustle up some benjamins too. PM or email me, happy to help if I can Jeff

I will definitely be taking you up on your offer!

If you are ever doing work on your car - I would love to just hand around and watch.

QUOTE (rhodyguy @ Feb 24 2005, 01:00 PM)

seems there's lots of members in ontario. not sure how far they live to the greater buffalo area. i usually visit relatives in east aroura yearly. k

Me (Mark's Aircooled) and Mike's 914 are about 2 or 2 1/2 hours from buffalo.

My advice is do all the mechanical work then save the coin and let a pro do the body and paint. Then at least you'll be driving it in this decade.

QUOTE (trekkor @ Feb 24 2005, 11:51 AM)

Welcome on board! We'll help you whenever possible. When do you want to start? KT

I plan on doing some minor interior stuff within the next few weeks.

I plan on enjoying the car this summer (relatively trouble free I hope). And next winter I would like to do a very thorough restoration of the entire vehicle. It would be nice to find a 2.0 engine that I could start rebuilding this summer.

QUOTE (mudfoot76 @ Feb 24 2005, 10:03 AM)

Welcome! And I've always wanted to do that

Welcome!

Yeah, get a Haynes first. Easy to read and pretty darned accurate for four cylinder cars. The Haynes 914/6 info can be a bit vague, IMO. I have two Haynes, one in the living room & one in the garage.

Even if you invest in the factory manuals - the sheer volume of information in those beautiful burgundy binders can be overwhelming.

You can do most all of the work yourself, if you have the time to be patient and organized. Most routine stuff can be accomplished with basic tools, plus a feeler gauge for valves and a CV joint tool. (Grand total for those two... about 15 bucks at NAPA.)

Every new owner should become intimate with his/her car... during the search for rust.

IMO, fix rust first, and then be concerned about other issues. Either that, or you'll end up taking stuff apart again later to fix rust you should have first time round.

Don't let us scare you off! Welcome!

-Rusty

Welcome to the club!

Don't be intimadated by the car, anyone with the motivation car do it. Here is a picture of Linda Horne doing her first engine and tranny drop. She has only minnor experence. Ho! Wellcome to the insanity.
:DJoe

That's not an engine drop... there's no leaking oil, beer cans piled up, or drivetrain balanced on a flimsy scissors jack and a 2x4...

I don't know WHAT that is.

-Rusty

Wow, I can't believe all these fellas that are so sharp on this car forgot to recommend the one single, most important thing to have when one has a 914, AAA membership! (the "gold" card!)




This is perhaps even more important if one does their own "wrench work" (of the quailty of mine, especially)

Welcome to the club!

I grew up in Lewiston, just north of Niagara Falls, and have been to Amherst
(and Rochester) many times. Nice towns, good people, and good times, eh!

Yes, please post pics up top, when you can..

quote:
I will definitely be taking you up on your offer!

If you are ever doing work on your car - I would love to just hand around and watch.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------



That was, like, every day last summer .

PCA's vary widely...

It's usually worth the price of admission just for the classifed section in the back of Coco errrrrrr... Pano.

Find the next autocross. Find the dirtiest car that's kicking everyone elses ass and get to know them

Intermountain PCA rocks

First lesson:

The wheels are only on there for shipping. Get four jackstands (I don't know why the car didn't come with any!) and put the wheels away somewhere for them to get dusty.

my new ride:

Unless I am mistaken, those wheels are the rare 1972-only VW "Baja Champion" wheels, right? (sometimes called "Marathon" wheels).

Quite rare, they are collector's items now. In North America, 5000 Beetles/ Superbeetles (1000 in Europe) came with them as original equipment. They could also be ordered thru the VW parts dept until the supply ran out sometime in '73. They are not the same as 1971 Jubilee wheels, which are completely different, as are 1973 Sport Beetle wheels.

Wow, they look great on your car!

I've never seen those wheels. How many spokes, 10-12?

Here's my Western's.

KT

Nice car, BTW!

More pics...

KT

QUOTE (reverie @ Feb 24 2005, 08:45 PM)

Unless I am mistaken, those wheels are the rare 1972-only VW "Baja Champion" wheels, right?  (sometimes called "Marathon" wheels). Quite rare, they are collector's items now.  In North America, 5000 Beetles/ Superbeetles (1000 in Europe) came with them as original equipment.  They could also be ordered thru the VW parts dept until the supply ran out sometime in '73.  They are not the same as 1971 Jubilee wheels, which are completely different, as are 1973 Sport Beetle wheels. Wow, they look great on your car!

I am not sure what wheels they are... If these are the 72 "marathon" wheels, any idea what they are worth? here is a close up pic:

Yep, that's them! Yours are in good condition, too. It's very hard to find them in good condition.. most of them have been pitted by surface rust and have dents on the outer lip.

Their value is limited by their weight (heavy, made of steel) and their narrowness (165's are the widest you can go), so the VW street crowd isn't much interested in them, but the VW show crowd is.

Bare wheels in good condition are worth $50 each, and if you have any good original center caps (extremely hard to find) those are worth $50 each also. The lug nuts are just throw-ins. So if you have 4 of these wheels in good condition, with 4 good original center caps, I think you can get $400 for the set on www.thesamba.com The buyer usually pays shipping, and mind the weight of these wheels before you agree to pay part of that. Or you could sell them at a VW show/ swap meet. Wheels like yours are very hard to find (I've never seen a good set for sale), and VW parts collectors are looking for them, so I wouldn't accept much less than top dollar.

But they look nice on your car..

QUOTE (Dave_Darling @ Feb 24 2005, 09:28 AM)

You will not find it listed in public. There are, umm, potential issues with it--and it is very unwise to discuss in a public forum. Though if someone PM's you the location....

hmm...did a search, but the link...no workie....

wish someone would send me a pm....

QUOTE (stags14 @ Feb 24 2005, 10:07 AM)

I plan on enjoying the car this summer (relatively trouble free I hope). And next winter I would like to do a very thorough restoration of the entire vehicle. It would be nice to find a 2.0 engine that I could start rebuilding this summer.

Um unless you don't have a job and devote every waking hour to the "very thorough restoration" that car could be on jack stands for years, ask several members here.

QUOTE (jr91472 @ Feb 25 2005, 11:15 AM)

QUOTE (Dave_Darling @ Feb 24 2005, 09:28 AM) You will not find it listed in public.  There are, umm, potential issues with it--and it is very unwise to discuss in a public forum.  Though if someone PM's you the location.... hmm...did a search, but the link...no workie.... wish someone would send me a pm....

Someone was kind enough to send me a link the other day - and I downloaded 1 item from there.

That link however has not been working for the past 2 days....

Hopefully I will get another PM!!!

I got an anonomous package in the mail one day with all of the files on one CD. I wish I knew wo sent it to me so I could ask them to send one to Stags too.
edit: I wonder if I still have that disk? I doubt it. I'm sure it's not as good as the "Factory Manuals" anyway.