Hi All , am looking at a '74 2.0 car . Speedo says 90k but not sure if it is original . Anyway rear shocks have recently been replaced .

Question - would front shocks need replacing , how can this be tested ?

Bounce test is the down and dirty, the suspension should move, but if you try to bounce it just goes back to the start position. Rear shocks are easy to see, should be boge (sachs. stock), bilstein or Koni. KYB and others suck. Rear springs should be rust free, stock springs sag, look for the car sitting nose high.
Front struts look for leaking.

That's about all you can see, the front rubber A-arm bushings likely need replacing and the rears also can have issues. If the seller can't prove the bushings were done it goes on the to do list.
All this stuff can be fixed, just time and money.

If your looking at a car you should think

Avoid rust repair not suspension refresh .


Like m.henry said time and money but
Not enough to walk from a good solid bones car

Thanks for the advice guys !

The rust side of things looks OK , I did have the car up on a ramp and that showed the shiny new bits at the back ( Konis ) suspension wise.

However I am not that familiar with the ( front) torsion bar suspension and did not examine nuts and bushings for signs of work .

Since first posting have discovered the 914 DIY videos on youtube ( Ian Kerr ?) so that has really helped to clarify things .

The car I am looking at is 'restored' and the price reflects that , which makes me mindful to check out stuff and be a bit picky before a deal is done .

Restored is always a broad term. Does the seller have photo documentation and a parts list to what has been done?

What color are the konis? Do they have small tabs (adj feature) on the tops? Same for the strut cartrages on the front? Btw, there are no springs on the front. Cartrages and torsion bars. Invest in a Haynes manual if you don't have one

I would strongly encourage you to post as many pictures and details about the car here as possible. As you have seen there is a wealth of knowledge and real enthusiasm for the car is here, that sort of virtual prepurchase inspection can save an awful lot of time and money.

Good luck and welcome!