Here I go on the Teener Adventure !

I think she will hold-up, as long as I keep the commute short!




- Mark

My car has been totally gone through with stock injected 3.2, new brakes, CV's, rebuilt trans, etc..
But it still sucks driving without AC and a manual stick in traffic.
But for back and forth to work its priceless.

Even a 914 when it was brand new was no where as reliable as a new car from the last 10 years. Unless you've completely gone through your 914 recently stem to stern driving it daily just accelerates wear and tear. And that's fine if you have the weekend time to fix and maintain it.

Besides mechanicals though, the biggest problem with a 914 as a daily driver is exposing the car to rain and road salt if you live back east. The reason so many cars are rusted is from exposure to the elements not drives on sunny days. These cars can make ok spring/summer daily drivers but when it rains, it should be in the garage.

Here's the other issue with old car ownership - any old car really. They just have so many things going wrong with them on different schedules that you end up spending a couple weekends a month fixing this and that. I drove an old BMW 320i for 8 years as my daily driver. The car was fairly reliable since it had a rebuilt engine and tranny but there just a lot of little things that always needed attention. I also didn't feel comfortable driving the car to go skiing or on a long trip for fear of a breakdown. Of course the one time I did take it on a long trip it did die twice during the trip. It turned out that the alternator brushes needed replacing.

After that BMW I bought my first new car - a VW Jetta. Even though I could barely afford a new car at the time it was great investment in piece of mind. I still have it and over 11 years and 140K miles of driving I've had to spend maybe 3 Saturdays doing repairs on it. Even with the current mileage I still have no fear of driving that car to the snow or on a long trip. It starts every day and has been rock solid reliable.

I drive mine daily, which for me is about 5 miles per day usually. I would say that so far I average about 1-2 weekends per month working on it and fixing things. On the other hand I bought the car for $1000 a year ago and it has needed a lot of the usual things that go bad on 914s, thins like ignition parts, some suspension stuff, hoses, rubber, etc.

It isn't the most reliable car, it has had somewhat serious problems on the road three times or so in the past year. Sometimes I feel like its not worth it, but then after its fixed and working right its a joy to drive daily.

I say go for it, assuming you don't mind working on it regularly, or if its already in very good shape, you are lucky!


-Tony

Welcome!




M

My '76 with 300k mi has been a commuter car for 15+ years. In that time I've had it towed maybe twice. But its been thru a few engines and such with significant down time. Also, I dont skimp or patch things together - always new parts and good maintanence including preventative. Back that up with AAA+ (100mi towing). I've been tempted to buy new cars a few times, Boxster or 330, but then think what the hell, here in LA, most days I wont get it > 30 mph, and for the most part just need to drive for commuting and errands, so eff it.

In your case you have a bike as back up (other way around in my case), so as long as you're fairly confident in your teeners condition and you''re not like a surgeon with patients waiting in the OR, go for it!

btw, a/c hot = window open, real hot = shirt off, cold = sweater. dont tell me they've come up with something better - dont wanna know, I'll get spoiled and fat.

have you ever gotten up on a cold morning and had to work on your car just to MAKE it to work? I have, and didn't care for it...

I love working on cars(yes, even when things aren't going well) but if I get frustrated, cold, hot, hungry, tired, or lazy... guess what? I don't HAVE to work on it... being FORCED to work on a car to make it where you are going, quite frankly, sucks...

I like to choose when I'm going to work on the car, and do it in the "comfort" of my 1000 degree tiny garage, instead of on the side of the highway... because a cable broke or something...

Thanks! for the support... This is a complete car & mild weather... The rain can be a bummer. I do remember my 1970 teener, I had to put sponges, under the floor mats. Then squeeze them-out every couple of days! Now, my 1973 is tighter, and I have the benifit of having a garage! I hope that I have worked-out all the bugs, the AAA - Deluxe is good advice...

Cheers


- Mark

QUOTE (brp914 @ Jul 23 2005, 11:32 AM)

btw, a/c hot = window open, real hot = shirt off, cold = sweater. dont tell me they've come up with something better - dont wanna know, I'll get spoiled and fat.

If my 914 was just a commuter car I wouldn't care about AC.
I'm a sales rep making sales calls with a suit on.
I also spend most of my time on the cell phone so I have to leave the windows up.
I currently drive my 993 on days where I have to make sales calls and drive my 914 to the office on days I don't.
The 993 is still much higher maintenance than a rice burner but its never left me stranded.
The 914 also has never left me stranded since I went through it 5 years ago.
I still have AAA and never leave home without a cell phone.

Yes....you are CRAZY. But it has nothing to do with wanting to make your 914 your daily driver!

Not a big problem, if you dont mind fixing the little things that break every now and then. I have put 8k on mine in 2.5 months, and she doesnt seem to mind!

I started testing my 914 as a commuter car this month. Just moved in February, and my commute is now 100 miles round trip, over some steep, twisty mountain roads. Temperatures this month have been extreme - we've been in the 100's here since 7/11, and it's supposed to continue until the end of the month at least.

Depending on your commute, I'd say be prepared for a lot of maintenance. My 914 runs great, but at this rate I would have to spend 1-2 weekends a month doing regular maintenance on it. For me, the only drawback has been lack of a/c. Driving the 914 after it's been sitting under the sun in 90-100 degree weather for a few hours sucks. By the time I get home, I have to change my clothes and drink a liter or two of water.

I only got stranded once, when my 7-year-old battery gave up on me. But I still take a cell phone and my AAA card with me whereever I go.

Yes... crazy ... like-a-fox !



BYW - It was 99 degrees today ! Broke the record from 1964 !

- M

I'm in Phoenix... 50% humidity and 100 today... Desert my arse, this "monsoon" season sux. It's like nebraska again.

Its got up to 115 this month. I drive mine daily and have put 10k miles on it in 6 months here in Phoenix. no troubles yet - knock on wood.

I can say... it is HOT without A/C and I'll never go through another summer here without it.

The car isnt the most comfortable in the world to drive daily - i wish i had a cheap accord or something.

btw... speedster for sale... 2 aircooled without ac in phoenix is just plain retarded.

speedster for sale pics etc..

first i would like to say one thing on the DD aspect, if you do want to use it as a DD there are ways to get more out of it, things like engine swaps that can be more reliable than a stock type 4, mostly do to age and technology. also if you do drive it as a DD i would recommend a back up vehicle, even if it is a 200 dollar honda.

QUOTE

I'm in Phoenix... 50% humidity and 100 today...

hot my ass, that down right nice try 90 to 95 degress and 80 % + for a month

I drove mine 120 miles a day for a year and a half usually at 80 mph. The only problem I ever had was the fuel pump relay losing contact. A little cleaning and I was good to go. That was after I rebuilt the engine. Towards the end I was having a little oil leak out of the push rod tubes.

I just used my car for work this week for the first time. I put 900 miles on it driving thru the Monashee mountains. Only problem was my throttle assembly came loose but I just coasted to a stop and remounted it. Temp was high 90s so on the hills I took it easy but coming down I would turn it off and coast all the way down. Teener is quiet with the motor off at 80!!
Blast of a trip but 7 hours in a convertible is lot like being on the Harley.When you check in to a hotel and have your shower the water coming off you is almost BLACK!
Dan

Mine has been my daily driver since I bought it almost 2 years ago. I have a drive of 20 miles each way. It is a blast to drive, better than the last car I onwed (Japanese). It has been fairly reliable, but working in the garage in summer is tough. I don't miss a/c, as I almost never turn it on when I am in a car with it. I think that any extra maintenance I have to do is well worth it.

I don't think I would do it now, but I did it some 10 years ago. Logged over 100k on a 74' FI 2.0. It had it's share of problems, but never left me stranded. Car had over 200k on it when I sold it, still ran great, but smoked a little.

Hell mine has been driven 9K since March, and its 180 ponies...

Longest trip so far was 740 miles- I haven't even synched the carbs!

Having a car that you are afraid to drive is like having a wife that won't give you a piece- its worthless.

Drve the damn car! Drive it everyday!

QUOTE (Jake Raby @ Jul 26 2005, 06:08 AM)

Hell mine has been driven 9K since March, and its 180 ponies... Longest trip so far was 740 miles- I haven't even synched the carbs! Having a car that you are afraid to drive is like having a wife that won't give you a piece- its worthless. Drve the damn car! Drive it everyday!

My first one was a daily driver (~10 round trip to work ) but it was a true DD (errands, clubs, work, etc.). Only problem I had was the leaking of the targa top because of the constant rain in the winter time in Oregon and the so-so sealing of the top. Heaters worked great (even with leaky exchangers) with the fan on and I love convertibles so my roof was off whenever I got the chance when it was sunny. Very hot days the top stayed on but windows down, not too bad.

I had AAA and my baby ('72 VW Squareback) just in case but even for a slowly rotting 914 she was dependable! DO IT!

QUOTE

Having a car that you are afraid to drive is like having a wife that won't give you a piece- its worthless.

Mine's been a daily driver for as long as I've had it. I've done some weekend wrenching, updated some flaws... not a day it doesn't start and run. You just dont turn the key to start it

Betsy's a daily driver. I think my commute is about 20 miles round trip (Alameda to Berkeley). But before that I was driving it from Fremont to Berkeley (63 miles round trip) and before that I was driving it from Novato to Fremont (about 65 miles round trip). I've never broke down. I've had problems, but nothing serious. I've been driving it as a DD for over 4 years (or is it three years?). But I do have a backup vehicle too.

You can do it! I drive my car every day. Even through the ice and snow of colorado with no heater and i love every minute of it. The only problem i have is when the temperature drops to the low the car runs like crap until i can get some temperature in it and then it loves life. i would say go for it there is no point in owning it if you are not going to drive it and enjoy it fully.

I've daily-driven a 914 for 9 of the past 13 years (not consecutive). You can do it no problem. It's not as easy as driving a newish Honda every day - you'll need to pay more attention to maintenance, but it's definitely doable - and FUN.

-Ben M.

I'll add that my 914 also has a full cage, heavy springs, stiff clutch with basically an "on or off" engagement due to the 6 puck disc and 8 pound flywheel.... In traffic if you don't light up the tires at least once per day something's wrong!

Be hardcore or sell it to someone who will be- This isn't a Model T, fellas. The 914 is a driver's car, if yours sits in the garage its not worth having..

Too many people have been spoiled by A/C, power windows and cup holders. I proudly do without all of the above, don't owe a dime for any car I own (or anything else for that matter) and do so because I love driving an aircooled car.

As long as you keep it out of the rain it should be a great car as long as you maintain it. I have had 2 high milage 914's and have to say there isnt a lot that goes wrong if you keep them dry , clean and maintained. Used to see a guy commuting over hwy 17 where I live everyday in a 914 for a while just last year.

But for me personally I drive a toyota, better safety, 100% relaible and 40 +mpg. In my opinion 914's are better weekend/AX cars now.

If you only own one car, a 914 may not be the best choice. On the other hand it's been 20 years since I've owned less than three registered, insured vehicles at once (I don't count the stored ones). I consider my 914 as my daily driver, if it's driveable, I take it, but I've got alternatives for when I'm waiting on parts, time or motivation to fix/upgrade it. That said, it's been parked since the 4th of July, should be back in service by next week.

Eric

Dude,

You've got two back up vechicles.

I totally agree with the guy who said It's no fun if it's not reliable. Just like a woman... LOL

I was in exactly the same situation when I had an old '63 Ghia convert.
It ran great and no one but me touched her under the hood or anywhere else. That's where I learned that reliability came from my knowledge of her and keeping her regularly maintained. This was key to driving her like there's no tomorrow all over Cali/Nv. And not all that gently sometimes. =-)

My other vechicles at the time: a Toy 4X4, a lowered '65 Chevelle, and 2 motorcycles, all collected dust for a few years.

Heck, I think I dropped the insurance on everything but the Ghia and the Toy in the off seasons.

She scared me once when an alt relay got stuck, but one whack with a screwdriver and was going again. I don't think I even replaced that relay after that and it continued to go for another 2 years.

Sometimes it takes time/$ to get a ride up to "reliable" specs and some shake down cruises. Just invite a friend with a AAAplus card or get your own like me and go for it!

QUOTE (anthony @ Jul 23 2005, 10:47 AM)

Even a 914 when it was brand new was no where as reliable as a new car from the last 10 years. Unless you've completely gone through your 914 recently stem to stern driving it daily just accelerates wear and tear. And that's fine if you have the weekend time to fix and maintain it. Besides mechanicals though, the biggest problem with a 914 as a daily driver is exposing the car to rain and road salt if you live back east. The reason so many cars are rusted is from exposure to the elements not drives on sunny days. These cars can make ok spring/summer daily drivers but when it rains, it should be in the garage. *EDIT*

I bought a new '73 2.0 with A/C. Daily driver; 70+ miles a day, rain or shine. Spent way more time washing and waxing that black paint job then I did on any repairs, as I recall. PITA parking it away from door dinging American sedans; GF hated that car. Sold it in about '76.

Andy

I've driven mine to work and back every day for the past 8 work days......

I ve driven the car every day for the past three years, and it has only been out....maybe a full month at most. Three weeks of that was from rain...didnt wanna install a engine in the rain.

b

"THE ROCKET" was my daily driver for five years....

/necro!!!

//well done

How else are you gonna know what breaks?

OK, this is my garage view. In the morning I bet it's the red car that gets the nod. Smelly, loud, ill-tempered, and fucking ugly . I'm driving the 914 to work tomorow .

I had a 914 as a daily driver for a year or so. Then again, that was back in 1973 (bought it new when I was attending UCLA).

You poor folks in La La Land (and Atlanta, and probably many other cities I've never visited). I take the train to and from work every day. In fact, I'm lucky enough to have the choice of the CTA "L" train (slow, late, noisy, but closer to both home and work - good for those sloppy wet days) or the Metra (fast, on time, quiet, but a 10-minute walk at both ends, my "daily ride"). Not having to have a commute car makes it a lost easier to justify a toy car...

Skip

I drove my stock, non-AC '74 2.0 every day for 10 years. Put on well over 100K miles on it.

Of course, the car had been restored/rebuilt and dialed in. And that's in So. Cal., so the temps aren't bad. (Although I did drive it out to Palm Springs a few times, in the summer. Ouch!).

It never, not once, left me stranded.

I drive my V8 almost daily now. I would drive it daily, but it's a very thirsty beast! Esp. when you get on the gas, which is hard to resist.

The honda started life as my weekend car. When I got poor I had to get rid of a car. Lose the celica or the civic? So now the civic has been my daily for almost 2 years. I've done alot in that time to kinda tame it, and amazingly made it faster go figure.

SO I got the 914 as a weekend car. But who knows if history repeats itself it could be my daily driver.
HAHA No way. That heavy ass clutch sucks big time in traffic.

yeah, I say do it. My DD for a while has been a '70 VW fastback, it's the most fun to drive of my cars since I don't have a teener running yet. Ya gotta ask yourself a question, would you rather do some preventative maintenance and pay for a few parts here and there, or suck up a payment each month. I love not having any car payments.

I have been using my '14 for the last 3 months as my dailly driver (no options the girlfriend seems to think my alfa gtv is hers!!) Using it in the rain, snow, sun - Scotland has a varied weather system but normally involves rain (no heaters but then no need for aircon, windows and roof are sufficient for this.

I have been constantly tinkering with the car but now (touch wood) having resolved the carb issues (wrong idle jets - who would have thought 48s would run lean!) the car now runs as it should and I have lost any fear I had that the engine was on its way, sure its noisy and makes some strange noises but hey its great to get up in the morning and smile about going to work

If your 914 is ugly I don't even know what mine is.

Maybe the admins could cook up a :driving-left: smiley for our UK/Australian non-members so the gear shift is on the proper side for them...

Skip

Good idea, but mine is a leftie (from CA) I am not lucky enough to have 1 of the 11 RHD conversions there were, anyway I plan to use it to get to lemans so it will be good for Europe

Sorry, but I have to disagree.

My old 914 was my only car from 1991-1993. I remember having a lot of things to go through (brakes, clutch, transmission, electrics, axles, etc.) for about a year, then it was stone reliable.

Then it became a garage queen from 1993-1997 -- with a LOT of time sitting in the garage when I was away from home for school, etc. Drive it to Portland for the Porsche Parade in 1995 -- it didn't miss a beat.

Then it became a weekend-only car from 1997-2003, with occasional trips to SoCal or really, really NorCal. Always just started up and drove away.

In 2004, I hauled it out and used it rain or shine as a daily driver, taking time to address a bunch of deferred maintenance (heater valves, trunk lock, sail-panel vinyl, seals, etc) and used it for a year of 50-mile daily commuting. Never missed a beat, never late to work or home. Nope, not so great in heavy rain (esp compared to a new car) and awful on a 112 F day in Novato in the summer, but pretty darn nice the rest of the time. Traffic sure looked different in 2004 than in 1992...however.

Now it's back to occasional use, but damn if it ain't a great car.

I say drive it. Depending on the PARTICULAR CAR, it could need a year or so of fettling and fixing. After that, assuming all the work is done carefully and right, it should be a very, VERY reliable car.

All this, IMHO, from my own experiences.

pete

my first car was a dd, but it had a rebuilt tranny & rebuilt engine - twice

this week my teener is my dd and i am remembering it is really a luxury to have a back up car sitting there on those days that the teener won't start and i can't figure out wtf is wrong with it - as mentioned earlier, it sucks to *have to* work on a car.

My 73' was my daily driver 80 miles round trip. The only promblems was vapor lock during the hot weather. Now I wrecked it, hopefully I will get it fixed soon, gas prices are killing me.

100 mile commute ,round trip ,2-3 times a week.
Adjust your valves regularly, change the oil, do all the wheel bearings and seals if you havent yet.
I do miss the a/c but wouldnt trade for the grin I have when I arrive at work.

JT

I've been driving mine to work everyday is does not rain. Burns less gas than my truck and Yes it Rocks.