Later this year we will ship our 1974 2.0 to Europe with several other couples for a month-long tour that includes England, France and Italy. Wanting to do everything possible to avoid mechanical breakdowns during the trip, I wonder if there is a list of the most common sources of breakdowns and other problems with these cars so these may be addressed before departing. Thanks for any advice and/or leads.

What a terrific trip that will be. I would take an extra clutch and throttle cable. Assorted fuses, relays, maybe a gas filter, have a fresh oil/filter done in the car. Take a couple quarts of oil, some brake fluid. Change the transaxle fluid and make sure it is topped off. Headlight relays, spare tail/brake/turn signal bulbs. Maybe a spare headlight bulb. A nice tool bag with assorted wrenches, pliers, cutters, knife, road flares, some spare tire in a can, tire gauge, tire plugs, new wiper blades, roll of racer's tape, electrical tape, zip ties, bailing wire, several feet of assorted gauge wire, a test light for electrical, a blanket, some gloves and hand cleaner. Makes sure your battery is freshly charged and carry a battery tender, spare key(s). Window cleaner, some detail spray/wax and detail towels. I would also try to ID the Porsche dealerships or reliable mechanics along your trip path just in case. Oh, yeah, some cash. Have a great trip and hopefully aside from the window cleaner and detail spray and towels, you will not need any of it.

A friend of mine did the same thing you are doing 3 years ago. His car was a 1971 1.7l with carbs. We cleaned all grounds, all electrical contacts for lights and relays even removed the relay board and fuse box and cleaned them. He only had one issue, the "run" position of the ignition switch broke, he had to jumper around this the remainder of the trip.

If you have FI there are a lot more contacts to clean/inspect as well as carefully checking the FI harness for stiff/brittle wiring.

Another thing to do is bring plenty of spare oil, it is expensive in Europe.

Make sure your wipers work, as well as your defrost system, it rains more often than I'm used to in SoCal, but you are in Portland, so expect similar weather.

Have a great time!

I would be nervous as hell driving a left handed car in the U.K.
Would love to see your pics and stories chronicled here.

Points

Good list. Thanks Michael.

Good thoughts. Thanks.

I've got a fair amount of experience driving on the left, plus we'll be in England for only a few days, mostly for the Goodwood Revival where the daily driving will consist of hotel to car park, back to hotel.

I'd love to chronicle the trip here, but I'm not planning to take the needed technology with me, plus the evenings will be dedicated to wine, women (well, wives) and song.

Always! Thanks.

Make a list of 914 owners to contact in those countries if you need help. Have fun. Mark

The bushings in the shift rod coupler at the firewall is the most common failure I've seen during 914 events. If yours aren't new I would change them now.

Good thought. Not sure where I'd be able to find such a list though. Maybe contacts for the clubs there would be very handy and easy to find.

Thanks!

I will! With your forum member number of 224 I see that you've been at this for a long time and I appreciate getting the benefit of your long experience.

Thanks!

Sound like a great trip, most spares are available in Europe.

I would add cone screws also

Yes, and there's safety in numbers with 11 other couples to make runs for spares or a tow!

Based our your message and a couple others here, I will compile a list of resources - clubs, dealers, etc. - near our route.

Thanks.

I'll add that to the To-Do List.

Thanks!

Start a thread here with your itinerary. You might be surprised at the number of 914 enthusiasts outside the US.

Wow, that sounds like a great trip. I'm actually really tempted to do something similar in the future, would be amazing to go back to England with my 914.

I drove a left-hand drive 911 in England for a number of years - I'm English, but now live in LA. The weirdest part after driving RHD since i was 17 was shifting with my right hand (you obviously don't have that problem as you're used to shifting in a LHD car) and getting used to judging the distance from parked cars on the side of the road when sitting on the left.

Coming the other way, when i started driving in the US i was totally used to driving to driving a LHD car but obviously the whole driving on the other side of the road thing took a bit of time to get used to. Mostly left turns at intersections... making sure I turned onto the correct side of the road .

I've been here 14 years, and haven't done this for a while, but the other thing was, if i had to make quick decisions during driving, whether to avoid something, or I was about to miss my turning. The part of my brain that deals with subconscious intuitive decision making would just default to how it had learned to deal with situations for 30 years, which occasionally ended up with me driving the wrong way up a one way street. i had exactly the same thing if i tried to cross the street quickly for the first few years, I'd naturally look right instead of left - although a bus screeching to a stop inches from my face in Brooklyn made me realize i needed to slow down and consciously think about what I was doing.

All of that said, you might want to check out the ddk online forum, there are a number of 914 owners on there dotted across the UK that might be able to help you out while you're over there.

Good thought! I'll quiz our tour organizer for a list of overnight stops and post it here soon.

Thanks!

Good idea. I'll check it out.

Thanks!

There’s a few https://www.ddk-online.com/ members here- you’ll find more UK 914 owners there than anywhere else! What are the other 11 cars, Porsches or??
Are you attending any other events apart from the Goodwood Revival? So many events have been rescheduled this year- I will miss it for first time in 7 years due to a clash with a rescheduled rally in Ireland with 911- 914 is in UK!
C

The Goodwood Revival is the only automotive event on the four-week schedule. My first and only Revival was in 2013, so I'm due for a return visit.

The rest of the itinerary is mostly normal tourist stuff, staying in mostly smaller, boutique hotels, using backroads between destinations. Some special custom-prepared dinners. Our tour organizer is absolutely terrific.

I hesitate to say it, but the other 11 cars are all Austin-Healeys. I have Healeys myself, but mine are not well suited for such an expedition. My two Bugeye Sprites don't have adequate cargo capacity and aren't really able to keep up with European traffic without creating a hazard. My 1956 100 is also short of cargo capacity and weather-protection is non-existent.

The 914 is really ideal for such a foray with front and rear trunks, good weather protection - but also open air when desired - and a better network of shops capable of dealing with them.

If that rally includes any long-hood 911s, a story and some pics would be welcome. I'm editor of ESSES, the magazine of the Early 911S Registry. (I don't own a long-hood 911S or any 911 ... my only Porsche is the 914.)

I'm at editor@Early911SRegistry.org Contact me there for the "Contributor Guidelines" if interested.

Thanks.

did anybody suggest an alternator belt?
Sounds super fun. Enjoy

Not yet, but it's on the list now.

Thanks!

definitely do all your maintenance stuff before you go , i think you have most of what i would suggest, i have d-jet so for me it would be an extra MPS, distributor, points or points module, fuel pump, filter , etc i take this stuff with me now on long trips. i have a 123ignition distributor, but i carry a back up, my original one with new points module etc -
also extra cables, extra spark plugs and plug wires, wrenches and stuff to change out all that stuff, most of this will fit in front spare tire area. ,
relays, ignition switch. you probably don't need it but i have 2 spare, one full sized in front and a space saver in the rear, with a Jerry can (small 6L gas can) so extra gas too.

- car cover, umbrella cover,

good luck, start a new thread for the trip, post lots of pics, we will live vicariously thru you.

EDIT: added face masks and hand sanitizer and if youve had covid carry your antibody test results- i have htis- so no one tries to make you get a vax you dont need--

Can you throw Chuck Miller in the trunk? He said he'd buy me a beer the next time we met and it'll save me a trip...

Thanks Phil.

We already postponed the trip one year due to government/airline restrictions in place last year and we're waiting to make the go/no-go decision again this year. Departure is slated for mid-September.

If quarantine requirements are still in effect we'll postpone another year. I'll be sure to carry my vaccination record. I hope that's all that will be needed.

Gorgeous copper-colored Teener you got there!

Sorry, but both trunks are already "fully subscribed." But maybe Chuck could send me a few quid and I'll make good on his promise at the Revival?

You're in Donald Healey country down there in Cornwall. Been there myself, more than a few times. Lovely corner of Jolly Old England (although I understand the Cornish consider England to be a neighboring country).

You can quickly fill your trunks with spare parts and not have room for anything else.

Carry a basic tools set, a spare tire, points/condenser, some fuses, an alternator belt, throttle cable, clutch cable and a fire extinguisher. Everything should fit in in your (NOT HUGE) tool box, the fire extinguisher should be mounted securely in the cabin. If there is an equivalent of AAA for Europe, buy that and keep the card with you. Once it gets beyond basic work you likely are not doing that on the side of the road.

Before you go, do all the PM for your car. Change the oil, check your CVs, do valves, check timing and dwell, do a compression check, and replace your brake fluid. Checking grounds is a great idea. A day of work - maybe a weekend if you work real slow like me.

Instead of bringing a clutch etc. to Europe - if yours is slipping now - change it. If you are having starting issues - fix them now. Car shifting like stirring paint? Do the shifter bushings pre trip. iIs it time for brake pads and rotors? You know what I'm going to say. Use the pre-trip as the time to get your car tip top, and leave the trunk full of parts at home.

If you trust the car to go a couple hundred miles on any given Saturday, then there is no reason why it can't go a thousand over a week. And if you do the PM before the trip, you should be even better off. And if something fails that you can't fix roadside, use your insurance to get it towed to a shop.

Last thought - if you don't trust the car to go a couple hundred miles on any given Saturday - start driving it! Take local road trips. Put a thousand miles on the car and address what needs fixing. Having confidence in your machine will make the trip even better.

Sounds like an amazing time, I'm totally jealous.
Zach

I would take along a spare accelerator and clutch cable with the end hardware. Two 7mm nuts and the trunion. When the cltuch cable breaks the hardware is usually lost. Check the CV bolts and retorque.

Its funny. I was just coming back to this thread to edit my post to include a throttle and clutch cable. The fit in the the toolbox and are easy to fix road side.

Zach

Thanks Zach. We're very much in sync. I'm taking the car to my go-to shop with a list of many things to check, replace, clean, upgrade, etc. If anything I'll be guilty of some violation of the principle that says, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" because the car already starts, goes, runs and stops just fine. That said, I will put more shakedown miles on it between now and when it gets shipped.

I'm taking a fair amount of smaller spares and tools and supplies (oil, brake fluid, WD-40, etc.) and overall I think everything will fill only about half of the frunk. Still plenty of room for some car care/cleaning products and a small duffel or two. The rear trunk is reserved for clothing/luggage.

I appreciate your valued input!

I already have an accelerator cable on the spares list, and will add the clutch cable and hardware.

CV bolt retorquing is also on my list.

Many thanks!

Don't forget an LED headlamp for when you're leaning over the engine bay in dim light

beat me too it...it was the first spare I thought of....good call

After doing a complete maintenance and systems check be sure to to drive the car aggressively to check your work.

Absolutely. It's tied to the handle of the "trunk organizer" so that it stays on top!

Thanks.

I can do that!

I'm also planning to drive it from here at home in Portland to where it will be placed in a container for shipping. That's in Southern California, so in addition to some spirited shakedown miles in the local area it will also get some considerable freeway miles before the voyage.

Thanks!

Sounds like your priorities are in the right place.

great sounding trip.
I don't have a list... but like to travel with lots of spares

this is what I carry any time I leave the state in my 914

spare FI parts (all of them.. including distributor, ecu, mps, cht, tps, fuel pump, etc
a spare axle
lots of tools, and a jack
spare starter, spare alternator...

lots of small parts.. I even had a brake switch for another member in flagstaff a couple of years ago

and... my trunks are pretty full:

This sounds like great fun. I have added driving my 914 in Europe to my bucket list thanks to you.

Wow! I want to tour with you!

Thanks.

I'm really looking forward to it, and our tour planner/organizer is really an expert. All lodging arrangements have been made including many at small/boutique hotels, most meals arranged in advance including many specially prepared just for our group, and some event tickets already purchased in advance. There's some free time too, but our organizer has ensured that we don't miss anything.

The 914 seems ideally suited to the mission with lots of cargo capacity, a spacious and comfortable interior, fast enough to keep up with European traffic, and of course weather-tight if needed and open-air when possible. Plus it's not so exotic that finding a repair shop would be especially difficult.

Definitely a must-do if you can swing it sometime.

Here's my 914, ready for Europe:



No, it's not an original LE/Creamsicle. I just had it painted that way, including the "wrong" wheels.

Is the rake purposeful?

My car was aligned like that for years. Handling improved a good deal when I changed the rear suspension and leveled it out.

One of the things I've learned road tripping with my SO is that the car fills QUICKLY, and things in the rear trunk can get a little warm and may pick up smells that women don't appreciate properly. IE, silly soaps and lipstick can melt back there which could lead to unhappy unboxing when you get to where you are going. For road trips I've started putting the spare in the rear trunk, as well as my tool box and any stuff that it does not matter if it gets warm, freeing up the front for all the stuff she wants to bring with (an allowing me to have a change of clothes as well).

Likewise if it rains, stuff in the front trunk can get wet. Not soaked, but if there is a favorite coat or something in the frunk you KNOW that's the thing that going to be damp when she puts it on. Plan accordingly.

Car looks really good!

Zach

Betty and I did Porsche Parade in Salt Lake City. We drove there in her 914. We were able to pack spare parts and tools in the rear trunk, and full luggage, including formal wear in the front trunk.

914s can carry a LOT of gear.

That's a good question. I bought the car raked like that, although it looks exaggerated in this photo.

I assume the long-term DPO (Dreaded Previous Owner) did that for a reason, but I've never looked into it. Guess I'll learn from your experience and level it up some and see how it goes.

It does handle very well as-is, so if it can be even better that will really be something.

Thanks!