Hello,

Any one here that knows this car?
It’s a 1975 1.8L
My 14 yr old son is wanting it as his first car (leaves us a 1.5 years to get it ready).
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Not trying to be a dick, but i don't think any teenager should have a sports car with a roll cage for their first car, even if it's "just" powered by a 1.8L T4.

You are asking for a lot of trouble ...

And, what do you sit on to drive it?

Don't listen to the grouchy old men.

I think it's cool - sort of like sending him to Prom with a super hot "Escort" and a pocket full of condoms. All the other kids will be jealous, and he'll be well protected!

What could go wrong!

In all seriousness, it's not the craziest thing I've ever seen. I've seen kids given a new Mustang or BMW as a first car and once a Honda CBR600 as a first motorcycle. As far as I know, that kid is still alive, but in all fairness the CBR was given to a girl and she had been riding dirt bikes for years!

Check that cage for head clearance. Maybe it's the pics but it looks close, especially in a no helmet situation. You can always cut it out and add long stiffeners.

Can't install the roof by looking at those pictures

I was thinking the same thing. Permanent garage car and fair weather only. nahhhhh not my first choice for my kid.

Teen aged boy is going to crash his first car. It's a right of passage.
Get him a car with air bags and ABS.
Yeah, old man, been there done that.

I love 914’s and still have the one I drove when I was 16 but my wife worked surgical shock trauma so kids only drive modern cars with airbags including side curtain bags. She figures I’m replaceable with life insurance but our kids aren’t.

I call BS on this one.

I got my first car at 16. I didn't crash it at all. I waited until my third car, the 914 I still own. And I was hit sitting still.


I have a friend in PCA club racing that bought his daughter a Spec Boxster as her first street car. No passenger seat, no radio, 6 point harness and a roll cage. She drove it all through college. Got hit twice. Both times were not her fault, but the safety equipment saved her.

Unless your teenage boy is going to wear a helmet all the time, the rollbar is more of a liability than an asset. A minor accident can crack your skull

I think his first car should be more substantial... Safety features like air bags, ABS and crumple zones are there for a reason and that reason is to protect our kids.
With that said, I wish I had a 914 as a young man, but maybe a little older than 16.

In all seriousness, the guys pointing out the liability of the roll cage are correct.

914's actually have very good crumple zones. Well ahead of their time for 1969.

Air Bags are a secondary device. If you properly wear a seat belt, the driver and passenger frontal air bag is redundant device and is actually a bit of a liability. Not sure you believe that? Google Takata air bags and look into the development history of air bags.

ABS didn't substantially reduce accident rates as it was predicted to do. Stability control was then forced to be implemented via the FMVSS 126 regulatory standard in 2012. Still didn't reduce accident rates as much as was predicted but dramatically helped reduce SUV and other high CG vehicle roll over accidents. Automatic Emergency Braking is on the verge of being the next thing that gets forced implementation. Each is progression upon the prior but none will completely prevent accidents.

What will help your kids is to teach them to drive (i.e. car control skills) and most importantly - look way ahead of where they are at; see what the big picture is, see the cars well ahead of them and what they are doing. All racers know this as truth, - you go where you look.

Lack of situational awareness is what leads to many accidents.

This conversation took an unexpected turn.
The plan is that the boy will share a modern Mini Cooper S for daily transport, with his sister, for as long as they go to the same high school.
During that time we can work and play with a 914. He could also use mine. But it’s already finished. And I believe that there are life-lessons to be learned from doing the work yourselves.

Back to the topic.
Anyone knows this 914?

I think a 914 is a great project for you and your son. Send time together teaching him how to work on a car. You both can enjoy the car on weekends.
I think a modern car with modern safety equipment and creature comforts like AC and a radio that you can actually hear, would be a better daily driver.

Me and the family drove down to Houston several weeks back for a weekend (NASA, Galveston, etc)... and while there I swung by a local's house to pick up a brand new type4 oil cooler, that he was practically giving away. I'm pretty sure that's the guy's house in your pics. He seemed busy at the time and handed me the cooler through that gate - so I saw no car. The place was nice (if that means anything), from the pics it seems a lot of time and money has been spent on the car - it's had plenty of attention, which is a good thing. The floors look to have Por15 coating - which points to someone having addressed rust issues already. And you're probably not going to find a better car in that price range so close to you. On the other hand - it's a dedicated race car (no headlights, etc) - so putting it on the street will take some doing.

BTW - I had a 914 that had a 4 point roll cage and it always looked like the top bars were too high when the roof was off. They were not though - it's just the they were built up into the targa top void snuggly. So, I bet the roof on this one fits just fine.

Just bought our 16yo son his first car on Monday BTW.. an '06 325i - so I can well relate to all this.

I like the blue and orange gulf colors!

I speak from experience

Put any teenager in a vw baja bug for at least 6 months or until it breaks down ...then move to the 914 .or any car of choice.....but let the der beetle bare the brunt of all those learning to drive mishaps ...not the 914


Every ones first car should be a volkswagen bug
Teaches you how to drive ...car can take a ton of damage and then you toss it away ...

I don't know the car, and am also wondering what you may know about it that might help others remember what they may know. One pic has seats, another doesn't, and there is blue tape all over in one but not the others -- looks like it has been worked on across the time the pics were taken.

Ditch the cage, beyond that great idea, my first car I did with my father was a 1967 Jeep CJ-5, next was a 1974 Karmann Ghia, after that we moved onto several other cars, trucks, and vans.

Memories that will last the rest of my life.

Need parts like lights etc... I will gladly donate some head light stuff, I have both sides assemblies, wiper motor assembly.

Just PM me with a list of what you need and I will gladly help so you two can build some found memories also.

Thanks for the input.
Indeed it would need a bunch of parts to make it right.
Original hood and light assemblies come with the car.
Although my son likes it better with the headlights-delete as it is now.

VIN is not in the world database.
Also included is:
Original seats (that need rebuilding)
Extra set of wheels

Any idea about fair value?

Here are some pics.
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don't know the car but looks like a fun project.
when I was 15 I wanted to buy a rotted out 57 Chevy as my first car. glad my dad talked me out of it. I ended up with a 73 VW bug

I will get to see this car tomorrow.
Looking for comments and opinions from all of you.

If the car is solid, the plan would be to make it a suitable streetcar (but not a daily driver). I rather have my son working on his car then playing with his phone on the couch.

Comments on the following are especially appreciated.

My own 914 has carbs and an uncluttered engine bay, so I get lost looking at the picture below. Please chime in.

Are Aluminum Kirkey Racing Seats a Pro, or a Con?

Are retrofit Projector Headlights good enough?

See Picture of Oil-cooler. Isn't this a little overboard for a 1.8L? If I get a smaller one below the rear trunk, would the hole in the frunk be suitable for an AC heat exchanger?

Oh Yes.. the roof fits.


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Thanks everyone (Don't hold back)

Okay well here is where I would start.

Kirkeys are fine, can become a pain in the ass / lower back, young kids don't care. 914 stocks are better, Stephan's sets are the best for long trips.

Ditch the cage even if the top fits, your head will not survive a hit with the cage.

Projectors retrofitted could work @Gint would now for sure as one of his cars has a set he is driving to Okteenerfest with it right now.

A lot of oil cooler for a 1.8L unless it is not a 1.8L, but judging from the EFI it is a 1.8L. It could be needed if other cooling systems where not up to the task. The 1.8L with L-Jet is a nice engine, I ran one for a while with the 96mm pistons and jugs to make it 1995cc motor, short stroke 2.0L was great fun. Did not need an external oil cooler on it.

If your son likes all of this stuff then great, the cage has to go, as been said a 100 times

If it runs and moves under its own power and you don't see the ground it is a good starting point.

Keep it running and driving and fix small things at a time. I can not count on my fingers and toes how many "project" cars I purchased where people got discourage by it not running, no site at the end of the tunnel to get it going, I lost interest, etc....

That’s great advise.
Thanks.

You have to drive these cars VERY CAREFULLY if you want to live. I'm 66 and my ONLY accident I have ever had was in one of these, went on a ramp fairly fast and hit gravel and I was spinning like a globe. Was VERY LUCKY not to have killed myself as I did not flip. Getting that car for your son could be his first and last car.

HansJan,

Were you able to go and look at the car? If so, if you don't mind me asking, what's the verdict? This looked like a good deal for a project,...I wondered how it actually looked and functioned in person.

Not sure I agree fully. Need to drive anything with due care. Perhaps the reason you lived to tell the tale is that the 914 has a very low CG and IS NOT prone to rolling over.

Try the same thing in a high CG SUV and it WOULD have rolled.

I will grant you that modern car with Electronic Stability Control (ESC)would have prevented the spin and potential to roll via Roll Stability Control that is part of ESC in modern cars. However, many of us that are on this site lived and thrived during an era where the electronic nanny's weren't riding shotgun with us.

Please teach your kids to drive (rules of the road), but, more importantly, kids need to learn car control skills (i.e. maximize braking, skid control, visualization of the road). Car control skills are not taught by drivers education and can really only be learned by hands on driving.

Get your kids out on Go-kart tracks, Auto-X, what used to be called SCCA Solo 1 (i.e. single car track day - one car on track at a time). That will save lives.

https://www.drivingskillsforlife.com/abouta...at-is-ford-dsfl

100%



I raced dirt bikes, then when I almost killed myself on a street bike at 16 I switched to go carts, at 18 I was Auto-xing. Have done it ever since. And even still sometimes stuff just gets away. On the auto-x course if you don't spin your not pushing hard enough.


Lots of places to gain skills in a controlled environment, that can in an emergency situation transfer to life on the streets. More you practice these skills the better you are when you don't have time to think about it, just do.

The seller came to my home yesterday to show it to me.
I have decided not to purchase it (unless its super duper cheap).
Asking price is $4,500. I offered $2,000. So there is no deal.
The car needs a bunch of work, and is "almost" at the point of no-return to be roadworthy. But for AutoX it should be fine.

Here is what I have seen.

Paint is cheaply done, but decent shape.
There are rust bubbles where the cowl meets the front quarter panels. Repairing that will mess up the paint. The gaps between cowl and quarter panel have been hidden (with bondo?) and this is where the bubbles are.

Door gaps look to be narrower on top then bottom. But when jacking up the car at the jacking point the gaps don't move. Chassis seems stiff. The gage could be instrumental in this.

Longs The rocker panels were still on, so I couldn't really see the longs. But from what I did see there was not too much rust. And I did jack-up the car through those square tubes.

Donuts were dented etc, but not rusted out. Right rear showed some rust behind the donut.

Hell-hole is not great but also not bad.

frame stiffening was done around the rear wheel wells and suspension.

Floor board on passenger side had a 10"-12" piece of sheetmetal welded in. Done by an amateur worse then me.

besides these areas there was not too much rust.


Sway bars are present front and back (backside disconnected).

There are heat exchangers, but the hoses are missing, so no heat inside the cabin.

Shift linkage and bushings are acceptable. Shifter itself feels short.

Booths around shift linkage point, as well as around the CV-Joints are in good condition.

There is a major 18' crack in the windshield.

Side windows roll up fine, But all rubbers around them are gone. Passenger window crank is missing.

Passenger outer door handle does not work.

Sound dampening materials are absent.

Rain tray is present. One funnel present and one funnel missing.

Engine # starts with EC (US model)

Oil leak, left some drops of oil on my floor.

Outside mirrors missing.

Peddleboard missing.

The pop-up headlights are replaced by extremely bright white LED's in the side markers. But the originals are included in a box.

Hood is polyester (but original is included separately).

No visible cracks in the light lenses.

Backup lights don't work.

Blinkers don't work.

Speedometer not working

Charging system works (battery in good condition).

There are some additional gauges.

Tires: Front are worn-out, rears 50%


The wiring in and around the dashboard area is a mess. You will be like an airplane pilot, flipping a bunch of switches before take-off. Turning the key doesn't do anything besides avoiding steering-wheel lock.

The dashboard itself is basically non-existent (not sure how to describe this.

Starter motor turned but did not engage (might need the McMarck Solenoid solution).

Consider buying share in 914Rubber.com or AA, because the buyer would need lots of parts (carpet kit, mirrors, all rubbers, dashboard,...…).

The engine runs nicely and idles calmly. Although the cover of one of the control units is missing.

Even if you're not doing any hood-sliding, you still need to be one of the Duke-brothers to get into this car with roll-gage. I'm only 49 and not even 6'3", but getting in was an event all by itself.

Seller is somewhat flexible with the price.

Br,
Hans Jan

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That is a beautiful write up/PPI.

Sorry it didn't work out, but thanks for the write up!

Expecting a running driving 914 to be less than 4k in any condition right now is a bit rediculous right now... That price seams really good for a toy, and especially a first car...

Also to the Nat Sayers ... I bought my 914 at age 14, and had a V8 in it at 16... Any boy is going to do some racing as a kid .. almost better to be in a dog shit slow 914 than a modern car that's way faster... Gets them involved in track driving right off the bad and learning car control.... Also forces them to learn to wrench.

[quote name='Andyrew' date='Sep 14 2019, 02:30 AM' post='2746931']
Expecting a running driving 914 to be less than 4k in any condition right now is a bit rediculous right now... That price seams really good for a toy, and especially a first car...



It’s just not right for us.
To make it roadworthy you need to add at least $4K to the equation.
For the combined $8K there are better starters out there.

Knowing when to walk away is a good thing. I don't think that additional 4K would get the job done. The shipping total for replacement parts could be a bit dear. No telling how the chassis would react after the cage is cut out. The bar at knee level looks like pain waiting to happen.

Wow somebody is actually thinking, an 8K car is most of the time better than a 4K car. You know this one, so it can be a back up plan. In this area, that would be a great project base to start with.

I would have asked away from your offer also. It is worth a bit more in parts. But then it is about $450 in scrape