I have towed this running driving 914 home two weeks ago. I am the 4th owner, previous owner had it for one summer. It drives, stops, starts. Supposedly "original" 47k miles .
Will drive it for a few more weeks and than restoration begins. Got a Lincoln MIG welder, have a friend coming down for a week in January to help. I was debating what to do with it, looks like everything is original on the car. It was repainted probably in the late 80's. Paint is chipping, very little rust on the fenders, hoods, doors and floors. I want to drive it, now show it. Going for mechanical first and later cosmetic. Interior is is great shape, dash has no cracks, one little rip on the passenger side of seat bolster. Has original fuel injection that the previous owner and his mechanic got in running great, new fuel regulators, pump, checked the lines, cleaned the tank, did spark plugs, wires, got the brakes serviced (need to bleed a little more and adjust the emergency brake). I love the look of the original chrome fenders. Car needs to get reinforced, doors are not closing great on the top. Was debating if I should do Restoration Design or Brad Mayeur, leaning toward the latter because I just want to drive it for fun. Goal is original looking outside, inside, mechanically sound with upgraded suspension.
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Good luck with the car. For some reason I don't see the pics.

Figuring out the image uploads form Google Photos. I think I got it.

The only issue with the 914ltd kit is that the originality is then gone.. For my car which was a basket case thats a different story.

Torn about that. Looks like the Restoration Design parts are super nice and retain the originality. The price of everything I would potentially need scares me. Maybe it is not as bad as I think and I will not have to replace too many parts. I am definitely getting sag in the middle of the car. That is the main concern.

You still have to cut out all the rot and fix the longs with the correct sheet metal before you weld on the reinforcements.

Good luck with the project. And thank you for saving yet another 914.

Do that as mentioned ,no other way,you don't need to beef up the chassis till the rest is right or @ all unless you have a power upgrade and I'am not talking a small upgrade on a 4 cyl engine.
Good luck.

Brad Mayeur does great work and you cannot find anyone better. He has always been willing to work with owner's regarding their cars. Get with him and let him help you/assist you in determining what you are willing, able to, or not wanting to thus getting him involved in the car and helping you make decisions.

Follow the suggestions on getting a knowledge handle on any potential cancer as others have suggested. Again, Brad can help you determine a survey on what has to be done to the car and the order things can be accomplished.

again, there are people here who can help you; car looks great from distance. Good luck and keep the postings coming.

I have Brad's external stress kit on my car which is great, BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW what the car actually needs before giving any consideration to stressing the cars; repairs first, then improvements; thus a good survey on condition.

My '73 was restored by Stalltek (who mainly do 356's) and they used Brad's longitudional pieces, and some other stuff from RD.
Very happy with Brad's stuff and car is STIFF as a board now- better than new.

He is great to work with.

Thank you all for the advice and kind words. I will post pictures of the problem areas to get some advice. One of the reasons I made the plunge to get a 914 was the great support the car gets from the owner community. I had a 72 MGB roadster and loved the help and guidance I was able to get online. I will do my best to preserve the originality of the car while creating a solid fun car I can drive like it was designed for, fast and fun.

Is this the car that was on Craigslist for a long time? Looks familiar.

Craigslist Albany.

You will find excellent help and good support here. Just make sure you keep on posting pictures

I've installed a Brad Mayeur kit on mine 6-7 years ago and been driving it almost every day.

Enjoy!

I think this same car was being sold by a guy in Wilton for a couple years before the last owner bought and initially tried to flip it for $7500.

In regards to the top to door fit, are you sure you have an early top vs. a late top? Difference between the two in terms of fit.

More photo's and enjoy the ride...

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=73129

There are a half dozen owners nearby who would be happy to help. PM if needed.

It is the door against the top corner of the door jamb tight fit.






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Thank you for the warm welcome!

Remove the rocker panels so you can see the longitudinals. That's going to be what tells the story.

Took a quick look without lifting the car, definitely some work to be done under there. A friend of mine coming to help for a week in December. I am ready for it, just picked up a welder last week, great deal at $400, it was used on one art installation, full tank, they used flux core.


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