...1972
Click to view attachment

Can't believe it's been 50 years...

The academy/squadron parking sticker is still on the rear bumper
Click to view attachment

The heart magnet is still on the dash where Terri put it after our first date in 1979
Click to view attachment

Her bear is still clipped to the charcoal canister line from our first cross-country trip in 1982 (NAS Norfolk to Boeing Field/Seattle)
Click to view attachment

And after more than 244K miles, we're still joined at the hip in "ARH-914"
Click to view attachment

Great document to keep. $4500 was big bucks back then. Any of your friends or family say you were nuts?

Loved the last comment!

Thanks for sharing- sounds like the beginning of a great thread.

Congratulations in still having both.

Very very cool. Congratulations!

Great car, great story! I never knew that they charged $18 extra for the arm rest.

Hooray! Thanks for posting. May all three of you have many happy miles ahead.

Very nice car and documentation! Unusual configuration: chrome bumpers, driving lights, no sail vinyl and no appearance group listed on sales document.

Glad you held on to it all these years…wife also.

Great back story. Thanks for sharing.

Congratulations on both! You made two excellent choices!

Cool story! Life is good - enjoy the ride.

This is the best Lt-mobile story I’ve seen!

My Lt-mobile was a Ducati 1098 that I raced for years. It now has a place of honor in my living room behind my couch

Just out of curiosity, since you've been the sole owner of this car over 244,000 miles, I wonder if you'd share if you've ever had to rebuild the engine or tranny? And, if so, how many times?

First, thanks for all of the kind thoughts and comments. One thing I’ve learned in the last 50 years (!) is that I couldn’t have kept this car, running or otherwise, without the help and support of friends and family (including the good folks here).

Second, my apologies for my slow reply. I really appreciate the interest in our story and will try to follow up soon—but am at my mom’s place in MN, and internet access isn’t the greatest.

Oh, my Mom says “Hi!”
Click to view attachment

And she loved riding in the 914…

Great story and car!

I suspect the statue is a depiction of your mothers swing? She looks like a golfer and she might even be wearing plus fours in the picture on the wall…

That's really cool, Steve. Congrats on the whole shebang


Wished I had kept my first one (a '71 back in 1973), albeit I was the 3rd owner. Chrome bumpers and no sail vinyl, but it was a repaint (gold metallic).

My Mom got white knuckles when I took her on her first ride



I think the 'Appearance Package' option started in the 73 MY production ?

Sales Tax: 134.22 SIGH.............

Again, thanks to all.

A couple of early pictures showing a little more original configuration:

Click to view attachment
First, near the top of Raton Pass on the CO/NM border on a snowy October day in 1973 en route Luke AFB AZ. A little hard to see, but it's an appearance group car with the vinyl on the roof/sail panels. Irish green with tan interior, 1.7L, with tail-shift trans. All stock except for ARE leMans alloys, installed by the dealer before the car was delivered (VW offset of course).

Click to view attachment
My 19-year-old sister Lynn with the car in Renton WA, 1978. She had just finished her first drive in the 914. Excellent driver, even better sister.

A little back story: I'm the oldest of 8 kids. First 5 were boys, all in 5 years. Lynn is #6, then another boy, then another girl. All in less than 12 years. On the rare occasions I got to use the family car, this is what I drove:
Click to view attachment
1960 Chrysler Windsor hardtop wagon (9-passenger, of course), 383 CI engine. Picture could be titled "Why I bought a 914."

Regarding @craiger17's question about rebuilds, yes, one engine rebuild and one transaxle rebuild...but probably went about it a little differently. In each case, we rebuilt a core unit.

Engine rebuild was on a 2L engine (GA 005694) that I pulled from wrecked 914 in Suffolk VA. The FI bits were long gone, so I decided to go carbs (Dellortos). Joe Watson, German Motor Service, did the rebuild while I was at sea (!), so Terri could continue to drive the car. I got back in February 1982, and Joe swapped the engines and did the clutch while Terri and I were on post-cruise leave in MN. Number matching and originality didn't seem to be a big deal at the time, so when Joe offered me a couple hundred bucks credit for my old 1.7L engine I took it.

Here's a little info on the engine rebuild:
Click to view attachment
I don't have that receipt with me right now, or I'd post parts list and cost.

FWIW, that Elgin cam (from Performance Products) has been perfect.

In addition to the engine rebuild, we did new clutch, SSI heat exchangers, and OEM 2L muffler at the same time. I also did 100# rear springs, an H&H front bar (from Weltmeister?) and an OEM rear bar from the same wreck as the engine. Also red Konis in front and yellow Bilsteins in back.

I had it all back together in time for our wedding, 40 years ago last April.
Click to view attachment

Transmission rebuild was a similar story. Post-Navy NATO job fell through, so had to choose between Tinker AFB OK or going back to flight test at Boeing in Seattle. Took only a second to decide.

At 150K+ miles the original tail-shifter trans was getting balky, so I started looking for a side-shifter core. Found one in a wrecked '75 at a yard on E Marginal Way, just down from the flight test center. I think it was $100, but it included all of the linkage etc. Bayside Disposal and Racing (Redmond WA) did the bench rebuild and installation. I didn't have a place for the original tail-shifter, so I gave it to one of the mechanics.

More recently, the biggest improvement came from replacing all of the shifter bushings. They must have been on the way out for years. Failure of the coupler bushing was the last straw.

Here are the remains of the various bushings:
Click to view attachment

Blue arrows mark the shifter bushings that failed. I also replaced the bushing in the firewall.
Click to view attachment

While I was in there, I thought I would make the linkage look a little more "factory":
Click to view attachment

Best thing was that all of these recent repairs were only possible because of the good folks here on 914world. I was even able to help with a "field repair" of broken coupler bushing on another car during a local PCA event, using a technique I saw here:
Click to view attachment

The people here are the best on the internet!

A special thanks to @SirAndy for keeping this up and running. Also to John Perry ( @wndsrfr )--he has been a real lifesaver, rescuing me and the 914 after a blown tire on the James River Bridge, and teaching me how to properly replace a clutch and flywheel. (I need to build him his own podium)

With 244K+ total miles (120K miles on the rebuilt engine), the little green car seems better than ever. And I'm sure I appreciate it even more now than when it was new. Odd how an inanimate object can generate such feelings...but after all, it's been 50 years.

Thanks again,

Steve A-

Only 1 rebuild .....pretty impressive! Thanks for the info and the back story! It looks great!

Fantastic history and back story! Thanks for posting.