Just wondering how many of you use your 914 as a car on a regular basis, and why?

A wonderful , yet 50 year old car.
No longer a DD, though mine was for a while.

Drove it every day Senior year, this year it's been sitting back at home (first years cannot keep a car on campus), except for when I visit and it gets some exercise.

Soon it will be back on daily duty as finals are coming up next week and it will return to daily duty.

I think it makes a great daily driver - maneuverable with 2 trunks and a removable roof!

(The fact it is my only car may also influence things)

Bought mine at the end or 2009 and daily drove it for 10 years; work, drive kids to school (one at a time ), errands, canyon pleasure rides, Rennsport 2x, roadtrip, POC DE days, ...



Going to Rennsport VI

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Decided to begin its restoration three years ago and miss driving it everyday. Definitely the main motivation through this long process...

Current status...

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Mine is not a DD but I do take it to work (Kelly-Moss) on nice days. Its a fast 40 mile trip, I can't stop smiling when I get out of the car. We usually have 30 to 40 Porsche to look at, but last week a little contrast. GT 40 Tribute, Bug Eyed Sprite and my 914-6 GT Tribute.Click to view attachment

I drove mine from 82’ till 85’ as a daily. After 91’ it was again my dd
for a few years. Wasn’t the cars fault I stopped driving it, I just had to
have an auto trans for a while. It made a great daily driver, it rarely broke down and when it did I could push it home.

Bought mine the day after graduating college in 74. Drove it as only car and DD from 74-83, driving from Richmond to Cleveland two days later for a friend’s wedding.
Was thinking of selling it when changing jobs having a longer commute, but friends who had sold their 65 Mustang, 69 GTO, etc all advised me that I’d regret it as they did.
It languished for 20 years with occasional driving and repairs due to finances, job, family, etc. Finally got back to it seriously about 10 years ago.

For the past 10 years, my 74 2.0 has served as my primary car unless there is salt on the roads. It has even been pressed into emergency service during winter a few times if my truck goes down.

For me, its the experience of driving it. It makes the journey as much fun as the destination. I always arrive with a smile on my face.

Driving it daily makes the 4 year restoration worth it.

My "Mistress" is not a daily driver, but I do drive her regularly and will be participating in a new to me event week after next. The "Freedom Road Rally" in Ohio is a 5 day driving tour for vehicles made before 1974 and I have no experience with this group. It will be interesting to see what variety of cars show up, must be able to maintain a 55 MPH road speed, not a problem for my 73 teener that was originally from Ohio. Thought I should represent our mark and see some venues I've never before seen in my old native state. Wish me luck!

I love my 75 because it needs paint so I do not have to worry about road debris hurting a 15,000 paint job. Although the car has low miles and all of the options, the bad paint makes it a GREAT daily driver



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They make great daily drivers, but hard to compete with a modern car. The 914 was my second car at 19 years old and it was my only car until i turned 24 back in 1984. I then bought a VW Sirocco thinking it would be a better daily driver. I was wrong, but it was easier to work on. After I got out of College in 1986, I got into sales and needed a more convenient car with AC, so the 914 became a weekend toy.

Haven't driven a 914 daily for 10 years. Last DD was a 75' 2.0 with L-Jet and custom gears. That was a good driver. Dunno if my current 914 would make a good driver.

My 70 was bought as a virtual non runner that had sat for years. It has been made to be a fairly reliable driver. I like the condition because it looks nice from 20 feet but on closer inspection it has many warts from regular use by the original owner who I've met and gotten to know a bit.

I drive it regularly in decent weather. I have a modern sedan daily driver but am getting ready to sell that as my wife retires. We'll be with one modern SUV and Truck. The 914 and 356 will get even more regular use. I hate driving my big truck for anything but towing our travel trailer.

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Back in the 1990s I drove my second 914 for about 3 years as a DD and road trip car. I only gave that up because I could not get two people and a baby seat in the car.

With my current restored 914, I am just getting used to letting it out for special events.

I used our car as a daily driver from 1972 until 1989, over 150,000 miles--including 4 years of commuting from Redmond/Issaquah to Boeing Filed in Seattle. Now it's retired from that role and only comes out on nice days. Me too.

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I have been taking my '75 914 home mostly every night, excepting when rain is in the forecast. My DD is a new F150, but driving the 914 brings back memories from 50 years ago cruising in a beat up bug, then Karmann, fastback, ..... The lightness, go kart feel is simply fun and the mpg is good.

My 1976 is also suffering from the same nicks and dings of 50 years of use. While a 70k car it also looks good from 20-30 feet. I plan on driving it more and more as I sort out things. The last thing will be paintwork. What new car could provide as much joy to drive?

For the last 3 seasons I've been driving the 914 to work whenever it is not going to rain.
The top usually just stays off for most of the summer. Yesterday 2 different guys in their 20's in old Corollas went out of their way to give the thumbs up.

Before that, this -6 was my autocross car from 2000-2018 until I thought it deserved
retirement, but also did some long weekend trips and general driving too. I've put 90000 miles on the car in 24 years.

I had a '73 1.7 before that, just a driver from 1990-1999.

First car was a '73 2.0 in college, so that being my only car was actual daily driver from 1987-1990. Back then up north you would be buying the 165 tires as that's what gave
you grip in the snow.

I drive it whenever I can (no snow or salt or rain).

And I try to have fun with it too.
https://youtu.be/r5HXCcm1eqI



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The 74 1.8L 914 was bought it in 1985, and it was a daily driver until 2020. It had 435,000 miles on it when it got tagged from behind. So in driving distance, it almost made a round trip to the moon and back (477,710 miles).


Good mileage, fun to drive, and being able to decompress in a 914 on the way home from work is priceless!

My '74 2.0L is not a daily, but it is so reliable, especially with its duo Dellorto carbs and Pertronix ignition, that it could be. TGIHC !!!

Osnabruck914

I daily drove this 914 for 2+ yrs here in Indiana. Sold it last fall. It was by no means a show car, but fun nonetheless.

My '71 is my DD-except when raining. My rain mobile is a '73 Thing. Always wonder why the Thing's transmission is so much easier to shift than the Porsche 901 transmission.

I love my 914 as DD. Fun fun car and I don't need to waste time at yoga classes!

Question for the folks who drive their 914's frequently.

I just bought a 1974 914 2.0L and the tires are 8 years old. Gotta replace them. Currently has BF Goodrich g-Force Super Sport 195/55 R15's on Fuchs rims.

Two issues I am having: (1) speedometer is clearly overstating the speed by 5-7 MPH, and (2) the ride is quite stiff.

I have read on various posts that the proper tire size is critical to proper speedometer / odometer performance. Moreover, others have commented that a narrower and higher profile tire can provide a somewhat smoother ride.

Was hoping to get some opinions from this group on (a) preferred tire brand / model / size, (b) similar experiences re: speedometer issues vis-a-vis tire model / size, and © similar experiences re: ride vis-a-vis tire model / size.

Many thanks in advance.
Steven

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The original 165/80-15 tires are available from places like coker tire. If you run anything else on your 15 inch rims, you are going to have an inaccurate speedometer. You can go to a 16 inch rim and then you can find a tire size that is both more available, and a lower profile. There are lots of threads on here, or use Tire rack's tire size calculator.

If you go with the 15s, you can use a gps speedo app on your phone to figure out how much the speedo is off. We have run 205/50-15s on Betty's car for years. The speedo is way off, but you get used to mentally adjusting it in you mind. Or you can take a grease pen and mark the glass on the front of the speedo if your local police are a bit anal about speed violations. Usually when you explain to them it is a 50 year old car and the speedo is way off, they will let you go and tell you to slow down a bit (as long as you aren't doing 100 mph).

Good luck.