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Optimusglen
Hello everyone, it was recommended I come here by a member on another forum I'm a part of. I'm new to the 914 world, well... the Porsche world really. This will be my first life-size Porsche.

A tiny bit about me: I'm a mechanical designer at a major Medical Device company, I've owned roughly 30 cars in the 15 years I've been driving, the majority of which were VW, Audi, BMW, and Volvo. I am a major DIYer, I do paint, welding, bodywork, upholstery, glass, mechanicals etc. Only had a few carbeurated cars though, and one motorcycle. I'm also an artist and create high quality vector based and 3D rendered car illustrations as a hobby and to help pay for other hobbies. I wrote an article a few years back for a contest sponsored by Porsche and won a 2-day driving school trip to the Porsche Sport Driving School in Birmingham Alabama, this further cemented my goals of owning a Porsche.

Most notable cars/projects: I've had a few MK1 VW Rabbit's, two were major builds including engine swaps. Just recently sold a 2001 Audi S8 that was wonderful.

Current stable: 1998 Jeep Cherokee DD/tow/winter truck, 1974 BMW R90/6 cafe racer, my wife drives a 2014 VW Jetta (manual too!) and tonight I will be picking up my newest project and the reason I joined here, a '71 914.

On to the meat and potatoes.

I had been missing having a project car, something old that I could work on and drive in the summer. That lead me to selling the S8 and buying a DD plus a project. I was interested in 914's, 924's, and 944's and even had a few 944's lined up that fell through only days before I found this 914.

On the morning of the 25th I saw a message from a friend in my inbox, with a link to a 914 that had been posted locally around midnight. Price was very low, and details put the car right in my comfort zone. It's a project for sure, but not too much of a project a'la a past Locost build. I emailed them immediately, toothbrush dangling from my mouth. Explained I have cash ready, would like to see it at their earliest convenience, etc. I imagine at that moment several others were doing the same, they got a lot of interest.

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This was a California car for most of its life, and was my daily-driver during the late '80s. When I moved to MN I garaged it every winter, it is rare (for a 914 in MN) in that the frame is not rusted out. The original Targa top still mounts without trouble/binding! It has surface rust in a couple spots. There's a little bubble where the driver-side fender meets the apron in front of the windshield, and there's some where the passenger-side jack mount is. Oh, yeah, I still have and can use the weird/creepy jack that came with the car.

The way I bought it the car's fuel injection had been removed in favor of dual-webers and a more aggressive distributor. It also has a stroke/bore kit on it that took the standard 1.7L up to a 2.0L. This was a fairly common mod to these back then. I still have both the fuel injection+input manifolds and the original distributor.

My brother got it in a fender-bender that last year that I drove it, and the driver-side fender needs replacing or some serious TLC. The interior is pretty old/dried/cracked. The exterior needs a new coat of paint.

I parked it in the winter of 95/96 planning to do my normal thing of starting it monthly all winter long. (I never "put it away" entirely, opting to go this route instead.) However, life intervened and pretty soon I'd let it sit several years without starting or anything...so at this point it's safe to assume that it'll need some TLC to get it running again.

This car really deserves to have someone bring it back to life, one of the most fun cars I've ever driven! I've had to face facts that it's just not going to be me.

Don't pass up this great deal!


The sellers wife replied later during the day, said that I could come see it around 6:15 if I wanted, but warned that there was a lot of interest. I expressed my interest as best as I could, I was super excited about it and was in love with the prospect. I went against all of my conventional car buying wisdom and offered to send a deposit immediately to lock it down for me and save them from having to schedule a bunch of showings. My thought was that if it was structurally too far gone, that I could probably weld it up enough to drive, put GT flares on it, and make it a rat. Or part it out, or sell it again. It was a risk I was willing to take at that price.

They agreed to the deposit, and were very happy that I was so enthusiastic about it. That evening my wife and I drove down, I got to meet the sellers and look over the car. If you've ever played the Forza Horizon video games where they have these "barn find" cars, there's a cut scene where some character comes and opens the garage or whatever it is to see this dirty faded car with a few dents. It was exactly like that, to a tee. I got to check the car over, could have dug deeper but honestly didn't feel the need. We went inside and exchanged money for the title, and arranged for me to return tonight (Friday) to pick it up and tow it home.

In all there were about 2 dozen inquiries on the car, and after they accepted my deposit there were 4-5 offers with several hundred above asking price. They were great people though, and were true to their word. They knew the car was worth much more than their asking price, but were just happy that it was going to someone who was ecstatic about it.

For now I only have the pictures from the ad, but once I get her home I'll snap some better ones.

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The ad claimed it was a '70 but upon inspection of the title it looks to be a '71. Not a big deal, there weren't any major changes between those years as far as I can tell.

Plans depend a lot on how much rust is hiding in there. If it's stuff that I'm comfortable welding up or replacing sheetmetal to stock, then I'll lean more towards restoration. I'll do wheels for sure, but otherwise focus on replacing old seals and rubber bits, see if I can get someone to bring the luster out in the paint again but if that fails I would paint it and keep the original color. It will be a driver, but aiming for a clean, OEM driver. Very unlikely it'll get GT flares at this point, don't want to bastardize it if it's a good example.

The 914 was $1,100
Yes, eleven hundred.

Ok, that's it for now. Looking forward to spending a month looking through old threads trying to learn as much as I can. smile.gif
76-914
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LowBridge
welcome.png nice to see a new teen owner, welcome to the community
Optimusglen
QUOTE(LowBridge @ Feb 26 2016, 09:47 AM) *

welcome.png nice to see a new teen owner, welcome to the community


Haha, I'm 33. Thanks though!

Or by teen owner do you mean 914 owner? I'm new to the slang too, if you couldn't tell.
stevegm
Welcome! I think you will find a lot of useful info here. And the members are a great group. You might consider coming down to Hershey in April for the Porsche-only swap meet and Mid-Engine Invasion. But from Minneapolis it might be a bit of a drive.
JeffBowlsby
1970-Early 1971 were the same. Some wiring changes happened late 1971.
Chris Pincetich
Great to hear there are still some good deals out there! beerchug.gif
I'm having a ton of fun in my 1.7. With headers and extreme "lightening" of the car, my "cafe racer" 914 has beaten plenty of 2.0s at autocross events.
Good luck beerchug.gif
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iwanta914-6
Welcome!

There was a little discussion the other day about this car. Also being from MN, I also saw it hit craigslist early in the morning and I knew it wouldn't last long at that price. If I had the time and money to work on a project I would have jumped on it myself.

I still don't have a 914 myself (yet) but I enjoy living vicariously through all of the members here on the world.

maddog
welcome.png tons of info here
Optimusglen
QUOTE(iwanta914-6 @ Feb 26 2016, 10:02 AM) *

Welcome!

There was a little discussion the other day about this car. Also being from MN, I also saw it hit craigslist early in the morning and I knew it wouldn't last long at that price. If I had the time and money to work on a project I would have jumped on it myself.

I still don't have a 914 myself (yet) but I enjoy living vicariously through all of the members here on the world.


Thank you! Yes, I was a bit shocked if the condition was as the seller described. I've yet to dig into it deeply, but I'm excited to do so. The downside is I feel like everyone else that contacted them are also online in all the groups I'm in, and they all despise me. eek.
napasteve
Optimusglen, your 914 looks like a great deal and it sounds like you have all the needed skills to get it on the road. You were the first to show up with cash so I wouldn't spend too much time thinking about the other potential buyers. It's also nice to read about the sellers being true to their word.

What is the color code for your car? Orange is a great color.
PanelBilly
I was looking at that ad and thinking that the car might be a diamond in the rough. For your sake, I hope it is. Like your attitude that even if the car turns out to be a dog, it will be a good parts car. It never hurts to have an extra car in the garage. Teener a seem to enjoy company.

Welcome to the madness
Optimusglen
Thanks guys!

I've tackled a fair share of rust repair. I feel like I can bring it back unless it's really really bad. We will see.

I did a rocker on my wifes old GTI.
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This wasn't too hard, and it was on a car I didn't really care too much about.
falcor75
Nice find and I hope it turns out to be a gem.
Remember that nothing pleases us like plenty of pictures. biggrin.gif

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DCJosh
That ad caused quite a stir amongst us MN locals. Post pics soon!

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aharder
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iwanta914-6
QUOTE(Optimusglen @ Feb 26 2016, 10:26 AM) *

The downside is I feel like everyone else that contacted them are also online in all the groups I'm in, and they all despise me. eek.


Don't worry about anyone that might be jealous. I am a little, but I knew I couldn't tackle a project right now. I am happy that someone like yourself ended up with it. You have a great attitude and obviously the skills to get another 914 back on the road. That's all we as 914 fanatics want, is to see as many saved as possible.
Shadowfax
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Looks like it's in good hands. Congrats!
rick 918-S
welcome.png Duluth assimilate.gif
Big Len
awesome find...best of luck!!
Larmo63
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I saw that ad and knew it wouldn't last long. These cars are being gobbled up lately, but they can still be found with a little sleuthing.

You have skills obviously, so you'll be fine. We can't wait to see this one come out into the light of day. Hurry up and get it home and get some pics up!!
Coondog
Great price....congrats
Tom_T
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Oddly enough, ever since they were new, 914s tended to appeal to engineers, designers & architects a lot - even more than the 911/912s back in the day.

Cheers! beerchug.gif
Tom
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Optimusglen
Hi guys, got it home and dug into it a little. Grabbed a few pictures while I was at it.

I think it'll clean up pretty well, but here you can see some rust hiding under the paint on the rocker.

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The interior is rough. I can upholster, but the foam is trashed too. Wondering what it takes to swap, and what the benefits would be.

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Got a bunch of goodies, and a few receipts. One of which was the clutch.

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What many of you were wondering about, the hell hole.

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And under the hell hole

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I laid a long ruler across the top with the top removed, measured before and after I climbed in and stood in the middle. No noticeable flex.

I'm happy!
Cuda911
Congrats on the purchase! Sounds like you are the right guy for this car, to save it from the scrap heap.
rick 918-S
Looks good so far. Pull the rocker covers and let's see! beerchug.gif
TheCabinetmaker
Nice find, and welcome!

The "teen" reference was indeed directed at the car. There are some that refer to them as "teeners". A moniker which I personally hate!

Good luck with the resto. Post pics of your progress and you will get tons of advice from the most knowledgeable 914 owners on the www.
Optimusglen
QUOTE(rick 918-S @ Feb 27 2016, 07:39 AM) *

Looks good so far. Pull the rocker covers and let's see! beerchug.gif


This morning I pulled the passenger side cover. It was the worst looking from the outside, I assume the hell hole is the reason why this side is worse?

Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think. I haven't been around any 914s to know what is typical, good, or terrible.

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EdwardBlume
welcome.png welcome.png welcome.png

Looks good so far.....
Optimusglen
Quick one for you guys, to swap in adjustable seats from a later model, do I just need a new cabin back and passenger seat?
napasteve
By the look of your passenger seat in post #24, I'd say you need a new seat!

What is the color code????
KELTY360
QUOTE(Optimusglen @ Feb 26 2016, 10:16 PM) *


What many of you were wondering about, the hell hole.

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And under the hell hole

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I laid a long ruler across the top with the top removed, measured before and after I climbed in and stood in the middle. No noticeable flex.

I'm happy!


What you called the hell hole is actually just the battery tray, and yup, it's toast. What you labeled as 'under the hell hole' is the hell hole....you'll have to poke around down there to see if you've got solid metal.

From the looks of the long near the jack post you may be in pretty good shape.

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PlantMan
Welcome!!!
Nice find!
Have a great time with it!
Optimusglen
Color code is L-21E Tangerine

There's a full seat set with back on eBay right now that I could upholster, wondering if I can use them.
green914
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rick 918-S
May have a nice set of black cordaroy seats if you area interested. I need to Check.
Optimusglen
QUOTE(rick 918-S @ Feb 27 2016, 11:03 AM) *

May have a nice set of black cordaroy seats if you area interested. I need to Check.


VERY interested. Bonus points if they need upholstery work.

Pulled it outside and cleaned it up a bit.

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Larmo63
Tangerine is a great color. The passenger long doesn't look too bad either, congrats.
bigkensteele
welcome.png I think that you have made the buy of the year (so far).

To answer your question, yes, you can bolt in later seats, but you will need to source a late back pad as well. However, one thing that makes the early cars cool is the fixed passenger seat (at least to me). If you post a WTB ad in the classified, somebody might have what you need. Looks like critters got to yours at some point - same thing happened to mine.

Or, I have a complete nearly perfect tan interior from a '74 that I am looking to sell. (shameless plug). beerchug.gif
Optimusglen
The fixed passenger seat is really unique and cool. It's a comfortable seating position I feel, so maybe I'll look for a new pad and upholster it.
Gunn1
Great find, great color...

Don't be worried about getting to the car first, someone had to.

Looks like it got a good home, and a great owner.

I look forward to seeing the Car progress through the restoration process.

The pictures have been great!

Thank you!
Larmo63
It is nice to be able to have a separate passenger seat, but the bench seat is cool too.

It's your call, google pictures, you can do it either way.
iwanta914-6
Local late back pad!

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/csw/pts/5459408543.html
bigkensteele
QUOTE(iwanta914-6 @ Feb 27 2016, 06:55 PM) *

The bottom fiberboard looks completely trashed. Will need fiberglass work to get it back in shape. I would want to see a picture from the rear.
bigkensteele
Hard to tell from the pictures just how badly your foam is gouged, but I was able to fill in some rather large divots with silicone. It has a similar "sponginess", so once covered, it really doesn't show. I filled the missing holes with silicone and then used wax paper to blend the contour. Let the silicone set and peel off the wax paper, and it made very nice repairs.
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vintage914racer
Congrats on the Craigslist score. I too saw the ad and was tempted to act on it. Good to see it went to someone who will fix it up and get it on the road. I replied on the Eurowerks Facebook thread as well. Once you get the at back on the road it would be fun to plan a local 914 drive. There's a handful that I know of around town.

Rick in Duluth (rick918-s), amongst many others on this forum, are great resources particularly on The rust repair front. Rick made my 914-6 100% structurally sound a few winters ago. You can see photos of some of the usual problem areas and rust repairs on the thread here: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=226585

Optimusglen
Thanks guys!

Did some more prodding in the hell hole area. Took a wire brush down there and sucked out anything loose with a shop vac. Then grabbed a long pry bar and started feeling for soft spots. It all feels super firm.

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Also pulled off the wheels to have a look. Everything is pretty awesome. Some surface rust on the floors.
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Braided stainless lines up front installed, rears are rubber. Good thing there were two braided lines in the box of goodies!

So the last year it was driven, 1995 if you go by the tabs, the owners brother wrecked it and dented up the drivers front fender. I think I found out why.

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Also, can anyone tell me anything about my distributor?
http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1591/24989804...0e4d85383_b.jpg
http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1488/25331264...9dd363e95_b.jpg

And from what others have said, I have Weber IDF 40's Though I haven't seen a stamping indicating 36-40-44. Here's a pic

http://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1477/24730743...f03a885d6_b.jpg

Thanks guys!

JmuRiz
Welcome to the club, great to see a Vortex TCL make the move biggrin.gif
rudedude
Nice find! You beat me to it. I've parted a few and may have most things you might need out in Chaska. PM me if in need.
iwanta914-6
QUOTE(rudedude @ Feb 28 2016, 09:34 PM) *

Nice find! You beat me to it. I've parted a few and may have most things you might need out in Chaska. PM me if in need.


He beat many folks to it. To think there's more competition around here than I assumed is going to make my quest much more difficult than I thought.
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