Hello all.

Checking out a 71 914 1.7 today as a project car. Seller says it doesnt consistently run due to fuel pump issues. Ive been reading a little about these cars, wiring corrosion is my first guess.

My dad and I are looking for a "cheap" project. Something we can make a driver out of soon for somewhat cheap, and restore over time. We had a 944S as a project a few years ago. My dad has owned an X19, e29 320i, 280Z, e36 318i. I've messed around with some motorcycles. So we kinda know what we are getting into, just not super specifics about the 914. We've been talking about a bug or karmann ghia for a while, so why not a 914?

The ad says its a 4 speed but arent all 914s 5 speed?

The body is solid. Some corrosion underneath. Floor pans and trunk trays are no big deal to us as long it's structurally sound.

Looks like a very active and helpful forum here so that's a huge positive.

Any suggestions on what else to look for?

There are no "cheap" projects in my opinion.

914's are a bit worse in that they were treated like VW's or worse. Many of the 914 parts are priced at Porsche prices.

Not trying to be a downer but go into this with eyes wide open.

Read read read this forum. There are a bunch of restore threads that are fantastic. Even better there are some on the homestretch right now so it's great catching up.

Yes, all 914's are five speeds, unless its a v8 conversion and they blocked off first gear.
Besides the above pull the rocker panels and check out the longitudinals and of course under the battery and under the car below the battery. Every where else is easier to look for rust issues.
Best of luck with your project.

Eyes are open, for sure. We dealt with Porsche prices on the 944S. I don't mean I want a cheap project to make 100%. Just something with a relatively cheap buy in that can move under it's own power for relatively little. I know it will take some $ to make it a reliable solid driver.


I like the idea of a 914 because of fuel injection and a 5 speed trans vs the VW's. It isn't a particularly complex car it seems, aside from some early bosch FI nuances.

I've looked into the price of longblocks, and those seem reasonable should the worst happen. I do not know about transmissions, will have to do more reading regarding their parts availability.

And lastly the D jet is what makes me the most apprehensive. But I've read the ecu's themselves seem pretty robust. So that gives me hope.

Just be careful on the sheet metal. When you say some corrosion underneath that is a giant warning flag.

914's are notorious for corrosion. There is no such thing as rust free and whatever you can see, it is much worse in places you can't easily see. Rust is often hidden by undercoating, bondo, or paint.

Here is a link to my build thread. Notice how nice the car is top side. This car needs a complete longitudinal on the passenger side, floorpan, and lower rear bulkhead due to hidden rust. There is also some minor paint bubbling at bottom corner of doors which is a sure sign that rust is working there too!

This was a $4000 car which I ultimately got running for a neighborhood test drive. May seem like a good deal to many but it really is going to be a money pit which I knew going into it.

The problem is is you had to pay a body shop to do the metal work, it would eclipse the value of the car. My time is billed at standard hobby rate of $0.03/hr. Materials are generously funded courtesy of my day job!

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...;hl=rustoration.


Be wise. Better to shop around for the best you can afford that is absolutely rock solid.

I have a nice 74' available in Louisville...pm me if interested

This.

As others have said, rust is the biggest problem. If you see some, there is more and that's where it can get expensive. I think everything else can be repaired fairly reasonably, but no sense sinking time and treasure into a car about ready to fold in half unless you are prepared to tackle that too... which can be fun BTW. Good luck!

We decided to pass on this one. There was more rust than we would like on the passenger side rear, especially the little bar that comes off the main tub the rear suspension mounts to.

Thanks for the tips

Good call.

Both of these.

Keep looking!