Hi Everyone

I have been hard at work on my 71 914 this winter: all new suspension, new coil, injectors, lots of other things.

I'm thinking of taking the car from NC to Las Vegas and back. Has anyone done this? What would you recommend in terms of maintenance/mods to make the car is as safe and reliable as possible.

Bring an extra one of everything.

But seriously, the majority of occur in the first 1000 miles, so get that done locally.

Do it during Route66 this year and you will have company as we head back to Vegas. Plus Vegas should be all open after June 1st

Spare fan belt, accelerator cable, clutch cable, AAA card and a cell phone

I carry a lot...

but in the last 5-10 years I've taken one or two trips a year in my 914

anywhere from 1000 - 2500 miles per a trip

my list is extensive and not typed up
but spare everything I can

its a memory you will not forget

It is a great trip and should be done in a properly sorted car. Do all the suggestions and maybe have a list of 914world members a long the way for potential assistance. There use to a a list on this board that gave this type of information and where they are located. I-40 is pretty straight forward having potential support along the way.

I am not a new member to this board belonging since 2002 so the members along your planned trip.

My old name on this Board is Shoguneagle but having trouble getting the former recognized for sign-in. Will have talk to Sir Andy regarding this small problem.

Hello to bstone914 and brant

Shoguneagle,

I hope your considering the RT66 even this June.... in Santa Fe!

Almost anything else is available overnight shipping if it really came to that.

I might add a set of points, some spare fuses, and a spare set of spark plugs since all items are small and lightweight. Oh, and Gorilla Tape.

I ran my original teener back & forth between Michigan and Florida for spring break trips without issue. That was in an era when cell phones were still in hand carry bags and only owned by rich folk.

I did always travel with decent set of hand tools in small tool box. Never needed them on a long road trip.

If you take jackstands as a totem, in all likelihood you will protect against needing them.

In ten plus years I went on several trips over a 1,000 mile plus tours.

Electrical was mostly the Gremlin I had happen....in particular the ignition switch. These are nortorious in hot weather for going bad. I'd take a spare one of these.

I've seen Bran'st car loaded up on a R66 run. One of the most incredible things is how much a 914 can pack.

My trips were only during the Summer and mostly I'd think about electrical items like:

Make sure your regulator board has been rebuilt and clean. All ignition grounds sorted and no breaks. Make sure your dizzy is in good working order or get a 123 distributor and keep the stock one as a spare.

I used to take out the rain tray for better cooling ......

I'm sure others will chime in.

My wife opted out a few years back to going with me on any more trips in the teener...miss those days! Do it while you still can.

On the Fiat X/19 forum their advice was to always bring return airfare and the car's title on a long road trip.

Hook up a nice aluminum trailer to your truck/suv. Drive 914 on to trailer. Have a fun trip!

J/K - you will want a set of tools for the most common issues including wheel change for your spare or one of those inflate in a can numbers, extra alternator belt and tools to change that, voltage regulator, fuses, brake and turn signal bulbs, and the other things mentioned here above. Before you go try to drive the car every day for at least a couple weeks to work the bugs out.

Sounds like a great trip. Are you near Charlotte?

My mother bought her Porsche in 1976 and drove it everywhere from Central California to Montana, Utah and down into Baja many times. She never broke down. If your car is up to snuff it will run just fine,after all it is a Volkswagen. Don't worry,enjoy. The only people that would worry are the ones that did a bad job of restoration in the first place.

Add a few credit cards and alot of prayer, you will be fine.

How many of us are a little envious??

Definitely plan your trip around an event

The rt 66 event if possible

You will see more roads
Better driving
And have a lot more fun

Plus meet new friends with spare parts and assistance if necessary

I went to Ockteenerfest and when almost there the alternator pully broke in two pieces. Drove on with the rest of the battery charge. There and only there i found my choice of two or three for sale cheap at the swap meet.
Dont forget a few feet of plain steel wire. Zip ties melt when hot.

Depending on age (of you, not the car) maybe a seat cushion; these seats don’t have too much padding!
Good idea about a spare alternator belt; will get one as mine’s the original.

That is Excellent advice about zip ties!

Betty and I have been all over the country in 914s. We have been as far west as ABQ (I can't spell that name for the life of me),as far east as Tail of the Dragon, and as far north as Salt Lake City.

We have had our fair share of failures. Lost an oil cooler on the way to Salt Lake. Blew the transmission seal out in eastern Louisiana on i-20 coming home from Okteenerfest. Almost all of them were because of an age related failure. 914s are old cars. But with proper maintenance, they will run as well as a new car.

We have recently started taking a truck and trailer on long trips. One 914 on the trailer, and one driving. That way if something breaks on the one being driven, we can load it up on the trailer and drive the other one home. This started because we don't want to put excessive mileage on the factory six.

But it still sucks when the tow vehicle blows the transmission 1100 miles from home. Ask me how I know.

Don't forget the small trunion block, a 1" spacer and a couple 11mm nuts for the clutch cable ... they're typically lost somewhere on the pavement if/when the clutch cable snaps

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Agree with all of the above regarding spares, tools, etc. Given the amount of work you've done on your car in the last year, you may want to do a series of post-maintenance checks/drives before heading out west.

First check is a few times around the neighborhood, making sure everything works as intended. Listen for noises, and pay close attention to anything that feels "not quite right." Note any odd smells too. If anything goes wrong, you're within walking distance of home. Check for leaks on return and next morning. Fix everything you find.

Second check is 5-10 miles at varying speeds over different road surfaces and types (freeways, city streets, twisties, train crossings, etc.), followed by same drill as above. Again, if anything goes wrong, you're still reasonably close to home.

When you can repeat the 10-miler with no problem, take a couple hours and go for 50-100 miles. Again, make sure everything works. While it seems like this longer test is redundant, this is when some of the intermittent or heat-related things show up--like an "iffy" voltage regulator in my particular case.

Once you can do 100 miles problem free, you should be pretty confident the car is good to go (assuming wear items--alt belt, etc--are in good shape). Not sure how to guard against a catastrophic failure (seals, etc.) other than prayer and/or positive vibes/zenning into the machine.

FWIW, we've used this kind of PMC approach prior to some LONG trips (e.g. VA to Seattle between Christmas and New Year's Day), and so far we've not had a problem.

Hope this helps!

Steve A-

I'm enjoying reading the different approaches to these long trips. I've always lived by the credo, "Have gas, will travel." I can't count the number of times I've jumped in a dodgy 914 (or VW bus or... ) and headed off on a several hundred mile trip without thinking twice. And that was before cellphones. The trips that went smoothly are mostly forgotten but those that went wrong are the ones I remember and that bring smiles and howls of laughter when retold.

I'm in favor of taking basic hand tools, bailing wire and duct tape, and a few spares of smaller most likely to fail parts that are easy to replace at roadside. I take winter travel more seriously. I don't think about spares for the car, but always pack extra warm clothing and sub-zero sleeping bags. For any trip, I agree a cellphone and credit card are the most important tools. The other is to pack an attitude that you are heading on an adventure and whatever happens adds to the story. Focus on being safe. Everything else is gravy.

90% of it is perspective, if you let it get to you, it probably will, if you move with a spirit of adventure you may have victory

Here's a story I posted on my build thread a couple years ago of one of the best trips we ever took precisely because it went so horribly wrong.