i had never riden in a v-8 or a 6 car, let alone driven either flavor. today i had the pleasure of driving, deliverying, craig's new, flared, 75' 8 clyinder beast, fron seattle to portland. great car. very well manered while cruising at a moderate rate of speed. the same behavior while rolling at a less than moderate speed. the car really makes the leap from 70 to 110 at a amazing rate, but not in a fashion that leaves you wondering. now i only did this one time . pity the hapless young sprat in the mustang cobra who thought he could goad the old timer that was just putting along. he was a mere speck in a heatbeat. his bad to think the 2 huge pipes sticking out the of the valance were all for show and not for go. thanks craig, i won't forget the morning

you may be wondering how i got home. did i take a fast motor boat? a speedy jet plane? an atomic train? oh no. got to drive the "used to be dan root's" flared 6. i got lots of thumbs up during commute traffic. a guy that was working maintanace at a rest stop asked me if there was a car show in the area today. he said the orange car was the second 914 he had seen today. i asked him if he saw the first one this morning, was it flared too, and was it yellow? "yes it was. how did you know?" great day. great weather, and a great drive. anyone else need a car delivered?

k

QUOTE (rhodyguy @ Mar 7 2005, 07:26 PM)

the car really makes the leap from 70 to 110 at a amazing rate, but not in a fashion that leaves you wondering. now i only did this one time .

You sure you weren't a valet attendant in a former life.

So if you could have kept the keys to one of them, which one would you choose?

QUOTE (VegasRacer @ Mar 8 2005, 04:13 AM)

So if you could have kept the keys to one of them, which one would you choose?

Excellent question, I would be interested in that answer as well.

Actually Kevin, I would be interested in your answer to that question myself. After owning the flared orange car and driving the V8 car I know my answer. I would choose the six for these reasons:

The six is just true to what the 914 was meant to be. It is a more refined power.

Although the V8 has POWER I didn't like how the wieght was placed up higher in the car.

I could easily push the six out of the garage by hand. The V8 I had to prop my legs against something and PUSH. Obviously a wieght difference which can be felt while driving it.

Craigs was the first V8 car I had ever driven and I am glad I did. It is a very well done car, very tight.

why is it, Kevin, that i get this vision of the slow motion airborn ferrari scene from "ferris bueller's day off," only it isn't a ferrari, it is you in the V8 914?

glad you hsd fun. tell us more at breakies on saturday!

tough choise. with a tall limit on the visa for fuel the 8 would be a swell car for road trips. i think the added weight would be a disadvange for hard carving and zero practicality for auto crossing and it's terrible on a congested freeway. it's a bit overwellming the first time in a v-8. the 8 engine is an agressive unit and i'm sure i would get a ticket or 2 in short order. what i didn't mention was how quiet it was. much more so than my 4 with webers for cabin noise don't get me wrong, the 6 is fun too. bottom line is 2 cars would be the optimum setup. i think i get what howard has going with moby AND suzie. so if i had to choose between the 2, i guess i would say i don't know . i'll be calling you around 11 dan.

k

Sounds good man.

Yeah, I didn't mention that the V8 was quieter than the six. Water jackets make a difference. And that V8 felt right at home humming along at 3500rpm's. Very well built engine and car.

Weight, you can definetely feel the difference in the six and eight when I tow dolly either car. The eight takes much more throttle to get rolling than the six, and I notice it in gas mileage also.

A few weeks ago I tow dollied the 8 up to Dan in Seattle, dropped it and then loaded the 6 and towed it back to Portland.
Felt like the rear calipers were dragging.
CCLINPOWERSTRANSPORT

the 6 is quieter than my car too dan. i'm not refering to the exhaust either. i have no idea why the 40idfs are so droning. not having to down shift crossing the syskious on I-5 would be a lot less work too. "ok. i'll just give it a bit more throttle".

k