I pretty much hide my 914 if it even looks like it might drizzle. Optima battery. I fearlessly drive my 84 gt350 all summer rain or shine.


Am I paranoid? They both go into hiding during the salt season.

I love driving mine in the rain. I often roll it out of the garage when it rains to get a free car wash. One of my favorite things is to drive with the top off in a moderate rain. As long as you keep moving at a decent speed, you stay dry and get some funny looks. I just wish I could find some modern wipers that will mount on the 7mm arms.

It does get parked during snow season though, which seven months of the year.

@bbrock

Pelican carries the wipers for the original 7mm arms
Call and ask for Wes at ext 231.

The Pumpkin does not go out in the rain! She doesn't even get a hose bath. Its more like a sponge bath for her. lol

Probably haven't had the wipers on in either car for over a decade, probably two decades for the '71.
Even when I did drive the '71 in the rain the old RainEx worked really well as long as you were moving...

Doesn't rain much (except for this year's monsoon season) where we've moved!

Like my 930, my 914 has no redeeming qualities in the rain. I drive way too aggressively in both cars to be comfortable in the rain. No ABS, no traction control and no AC.

However I did recently drive from Allentown to Pittsburgh in my 914 in a driving rain. Afterwards I had 2 inches of water in the trunk and had to leave the lid open and all things out of the trunk for a couple of days.

ditto, I never take any of my sporting machines if rain is in the forecast, but have been caught a couple times. Years ago most 914 drivers did not have a "winter car" and exposed their cars to salt covered roads, now we have RD to put Humpty back together again.

I generally consider 914s to be hydrophobic. So I avoid taking them out if its raining, and I wash and dry them very carefully.
With one exception - a well prepared 914 can be quite exciting to drive on a wet race track.

well its been many years since i drove the 914 in real rain.

half a life time ago.

but it was as per @bbrock .

flat out in heavy rain at 60 mph + watching the rain fly up over the windscreen.
of course the top was off.
and i did not need to stop.

was in australia too so the gum trees were going off - heavy eucaplytis scent.



-----

i must do it again.
who cares if it rusts.

but i do worry about all the SUVs tanking at it around me were i to do it now.
i'm running 165 XAS which are just fine in the dry but real marginal in the wet.
given how panic merchants hit the brakes in traffic around you these days.

I have driven mine in the rain but not on purpose. I am not that concerned about it getting wet- I am concerned about the r-tard kids and soccer moms driving way over the speed limit while tweeting and taking selfies who can't stop in time.

I don't mind the rain as long as my windshield does not fog up.
Please remember we only get so much time on the earth. Live life to the fullest, love all you can, stand tall for all that is good, pure ,true and life giving.


Matt

Amen! As long as you have good tires, of course...
Click to view attachment

Yes, it's not the traction that scares me. It's the rust monster.

I love racing in the rain
And have the advantage over so many cars on a very wet track

I’ve driven my street car a thousand times in rain and snow
Once coming back from a RT 66 event in Flagstaff I crossed three small passes each with a separate snow storm and rain much of the day on a 1000 mile run in 14 hours (personal record)

Had a couple of inches of water in each trunk and the passenger compartment when I got home that night

Why live any other way?

Very scary! My defroster fan doesn’t work and the car leaks so much that the car had waves on the floors when I drove to Florida a couple years ago. Live life to the fullest but also try to survive. I bought Led taillights after that trip to help make my 914 more visible. I’ll fix the fan later when I install the front sway bar. I hope this doesn’t come into play driving to Okteenerfest next month (1,000 miles total).

Rain never, as I run with no rain tray since I installed a BlazeCut fire suppression system under the engine lid.

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

First time I got caught on the freeway in the rain with the top off was a surprise. Keep it above 50 and the rain didn't come in.

I haven’t run a rain tray since the mid 80’s on any of the 4 914’s I’ve owned since then

Yeah, that's what I have, but they suck. I've been running Bosch or RainX brand modern style wipers for years on my other cars. They are WAY better than the stock wipers. They don't lift off at speed, don't chatter, and last easily 4X as long as standard blades, especially through our northern winters. Only problem with them is that they don't fit a 7mm arm.

As for worrying about other yahoos on the road, that is a problem rain or shine. We don't have the traffic here that many of you have to suffer, so most of the time I have plenty of elbow room to enjoy the ride. It wouldn't be fun in heavy traffic at all, but then again, what is?

Had rain all day in Montana coming back from WCR. Ever had a cool thing but never got to try it? I had added a wiper relay from a VW Golf. You turn it on and the wipers start. You turn it off. Then at the point you think it should go again, you turn it on. After that it remembers the interval, long or short and continues at that interval until you turn it off. Not sure how long it will go, but a minute is certainly fine. After all that effort, the darn thing actually worked! Yeah, I am surprised too.
It rained pretty hard, stuff got wet, and I bet something rusted.

Are y'all getting all this water intrusion even with good fresh(ish) seals? Just wondering 'cause I'll be driving rain or not.


.

My frunk stays dry but the trunk gets quite a bit of water in it. Seals are not in bad shape.

My car came with the special chassis made of sugar, so I try to avoid the rain.

The seals over the windows between the windshield frame and the targa top have been the biggest leak source in my experience. I hate it when the interior carpets get wet.

Depends on how long I drive in the rain, but in general no. I get a bit of water coming in at the top of the wing window due to a gap in the seal there, but haven't had a chance to since filling that gap with a little silicone hack. I do know that I get a lot less water in the car at the manual wand car wash where I'm blasting the side windows with high pressure spray.

As for trunks, I haven't seen any water in the trunk after driving in the rain that I can remember. After driving an hour or more at highway speeds, I do see a small amount in the frunk that comes in around the headlights. Just a few tablespoons is all. IMO, the bulkhead seal is a little too stiff and pushes the hood up just enough it doesn't seal as tightly as it could. It's enough to let a little water blow in at high speeds, but again, not too much. Would still like to get that hood sitting down more though. It would look better too.

I picked up Bosch wiper blades at the flaps and they work great. Click to view attachment

we don't need no stinkin' wipers


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77oRaG_PoSg

It seems EVERY event I've taken the 914 to over the past 2 years or so have been wet. Sometimes VERY wet.

I spent years never letting the 914 get wet. Now I just accept it and dry things off as I can.







Its a car, and we have been using it to travel sometimes for a week at a time. Yes there is no heat. Yes the windshield fogs. So what. Crack the windows a bit - it not like they really seal anyway. Most of the rain stays out and the windshield does not fog up (rain-x and fog-x help a lot).

If I decided never to drive it in the rain, I'd really be saying I'm just not going to drive it anymore for anything other then a day trip.

Zach

A number of years ago I was driving my first 914, a 75, in Kansas following a recent thunderstorm. I went over a hill and was facing a rather large rain puddle across the entire highway. It was too late to stop (yes, I was going too fast) and the car immediately hydroplaned. I managed to get at least one right side wheel on the shoulder and re-established control of the car. I then pulled off at the nearest sideroad, got out of the car, and gave thanks. Nothing like 70+ MPH with little or no ability to steer. So, my current 914 (a 73) avoids rain.

Way I see it, if our rust prone beauties get wet, it is like feeding the rust. Similar to wood, if it stays dry the decay is slowed greatly.

When mine was my DD I hated the wet carpets so much I just removed it altogether.

What is this thing called "rain" of which you speak??

It's a Porsche. It WANTS to be driven.

My 914 will out live me, driving in the rain doesn't bug me much anymore. More about getting it cleaned up after = lazy.

I don't see how the wipers are much help in that instance either.
Unless your spare tire is actually hooked up to the washer bottle - which contains some kind of super bug dissolver.

Borderline over the top, at least for me

Ha ha , that was after a 2 hour drive through mountain canyons at dusk and shortly after dark with NO washer system. That trip prompted me to get off my butt and convert the washer system to electric after spending too much time unsuccessfully attempting to revive the old tire system. RainX fluid does a good job of cleaning those bugs off if you keep on them from the start. Once they build up like that, the washer is only going to add to the smear.

We got a good rain the day after that trip and I parked the car out in it for a couple hours. Believe it or not, it cleaned all the bugs off the windshield and paint and all I had to do was wipe the car dry. RainX on the windshield and ceramic coating on the paint. Oh, and to add to the fun, I was racing home on that trip with an alternator that had just quit on me and hoping I could make it home on battery power alone because I was WAY out in the sticks. Mission accomplished.

Oh, and there's more, the dizzy was crapping out on me and the little plastic thingy on the driver's door handle decided to snap. It's like the car was purposely punching me in the sack that night.

I think your 914 was pissed off at you for parking it out in the rain.

I am generally fearful of rain and I have 3 914's that are (relatively) rust free. Ever so slowly I'm coming to the conclusion that if it hasn't rusted out by now, when will it ever? Meaning, an occasional drop or downpour should not ruin my precious vehicles. Still I purposely avoid wet weather and consult Dark Sky on my iPhone all the time.

I drive my car to work as much as possible. Typically have an all weather car cover on it. In unlikely event that it's raining I put one of Perry's umbrellas on the wet roof. Short trips I use a reflective windshield protector so my dash doesn't crack.

Guess I'm over the top in this regard BUT you definitely want to buy one of my cars when I'm ready to sell! LOL

P

But it got parked in the rain AFTER it gave me a kick in the sack. Maybe it was ME who was pissed off when I put it out in the rain.

I'm gonna be a happy guy and keep her dry.



Rain, rain, go away
Come again April day

Wash that road salt all away
Little 914 wants to play