Hi, New to the forum and looking for some answers on a 1972 914. I am looking at buying it and the owner says that when he went to go start it after letting it sit over the winter the clutch went to the floor and won't work anymore. I am assuming it would be a broken clutch cable or something to do with it. What do you guys think? Also what would be a fair price. It runs and he says it would drive if the clutch pedal was working, it doesn't have much rust, but a really crappy paint job, and the odometer says 9,000 so I am assuming 109,000 or more. The interior is in decent shape but overall I would rate it as fair condition. Also what are some things to look for or check well taking a look at the car and what do you think about the 1.7L engine? Thanks for any advice.

Really need some pictures to assess.

A car that can't be test driven is dicey at best. Could be a clutch cable but the transmission could also be garbage. Clutch could be shot. Clutch could be frozen to the flywheel. No way to know unless you can drive it.

Since you can't drive it, you can't assess the brakes nor can you really assess the engine. An engine that idles doesn't guarantee an engine that has power under load.

I'm always suspicious of a seller that won't take the time to fix something simple like a $30 clutch cable to improve the sale-ability of the vehicle.

There is always more rust than whatever you can see.

Without more pictures or more detailed descriptions of the car's issues I'd say you're looking at a $1000 car. Tops. Could be parts only if the rust is bad.

Scour this site. Lots of information on what to look for when buying. Always buy the best car you can afford. It's far easier than buying a fix-er-upper.

@bbrock

Get in touch with Brent, he is in Montana. Brent's restoration is beyond words.

If you're thinking of getting into the game - you need a local guide. Brent might be willing to be your guide.

Brent's build thread

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=307290

I'll also send you to my build thread.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=335209

Take a long hard look at that car shown on page 1 and how nice it looks at 20 feet. Then look at a few more pages and see how screwed up and rusted it was underneath.

Don't assume that a good looking car is fine. Likewise, an ugly car may be fine but just in need of some paint.

Educate yourself before you buy.

If you're not familiar with 914's, don't buy the car alone. Get someone on this forum to look at the car with/for you. These cars hide all the really bad and expensive things on them especially rust and especially under the rocker panels under the doors and under the battery tray in the engine compartment.

Car ran last year when parked. Now the clutch goes to the floor. Sorry, clutch cables don't break over the winter. I'm not buying it.

914 prices go all over the universe. W/o pictures it's impossible to make a guess at a price. Anywhere from $500 to $5000 or higher.

Superhawk996 brings up some good points,the value of this car tanks because it won't drive,certainly the owner is being a bit dodgy not replacing the cable if that's what it really is ??.not that hard to check for a broken one.
You need to educate yourself on what amount of rust is exceptable or the car could end up being a real money pit and a real disappointment to own.
A repainted car can be real good way of covering previous poor rust repairs or collision damage...buyer beware.
The stock 1.7 is a good enough engine for what it is but many find them lacking in HP,many say the 2.0 is barely enough ?,totally depends on what your expectations are.
Good luck.

1. rust you can see
2. rust you have to look to see
3. rust in places you didn't think to look
4. rust purposely hidden under bondo or fiberglass or fresh paint

*specially under the battery tray where the water pools. A big rust hole there means bad rust in the frame rail under the door and the jack point. Same situation on the drivers side but usually not as bad as there is no battery acid helping.

everything else can be fixed/replaced for a reasonable amount.

Prices have risen the last 5 years with the jump in "classic" car interest. Ebay is a poor reference as they all lie about how good the condition really is.

AutoAtlanta.com carries just about every 914 part. I'd start a spreadsheet of things needed/wanted to get an "all in" price and work backwards for a fair price for the car.

As far as the clutch pedal on the floor, likely the cable. But with any old car expect to put a bunch of time into fixing things.

That just reminded me that a clutch that doesn't release could also be a rusted firewall and a loose clutch tube.

Good points could well be that way,can't really make a judgement as no pics and not a lot of info,however I might be thinking the OP should look around more.

Howdy from Bozeman. @Yasha7fold is in your general neighborhood and might be able to offer advice. You might shoot him a PM.

$1K-1,500 for a non driving car and not knowing what you are really buying.

Thanks everybody for all the answers. Right after I posted this someone else ended up buying it pending pick up so looks like I will just look around for one in better condition. I had a really nice one a couple years back but ended up having to sell it so when I saw one that was relatively cheap I got excited! But after looking at more pictures and all of your advice I agree that something more is most likely wrong with it and the crappy paint job is just hiding more rust problems. Thanks for the help guys.

Buy the nicest car you can afford. It will save you money down the road. Early small bumper cars are more desirable. Big bumper cars be back dated though. Also, in OR pre 75 don't need to pass emissions, which is nice. Tons of help on this site if you need it.