Hello all. I'm new here at making a post.

My story goes like this....I went to see this porsche 914 I was told about. I was reluctant to go, but I went anyway...my curiousity got the best of me.

Not having much knowledge of the 914 and type 4 engine I didn't have anything to base my assessment of the car on.

I was so surprised by my reaction to this car...I had to have it! If for nothing else, but to figure it out and it seemed like it could be fun and this seemed like a toy in the making.

So, I purchased it. I could not leave it sitting how it was to rot even more.

It's a 1976, 1.8L, central carb 914. Which is in need of much love. Its been sitting outside since 2020 under a deteriorated tarp.

I have been able to get it started and drove it down the driveway a few times. Needs a better carb to make it idle and accelarate. It went through all the gears correctly, but the clutch is slipping.

There are way more serious issues which must be addressed before any of the mechanics matter.

Of course, it has the dreaded "hell-Hole/longitudinal infection". Could be worse (I keep telling myself)

I'm working on how to load pictures...

Oops...double post

As a ~30 year addict of these cars I couldn't imagine living without at least one. They are fun and relativity simple to work on once you understand them.

None of the US 4 cylinder cars had carbs stock, especially not a single carb setup which is generally considered to be the worst setup you can put on one (but they will run) You will probably find a lot of other interesting "fixes" from previous owners the deeper you go, they pretty much all have those to some extent.

Once you get past the learning curve and get it sorted though you will probably wonder how you ever lived without one, literally nothing else like them. There is a great group here to help you get through the rough patches, from what I hear its the best car group on the internet. I have friends all over the country as a result of this group.

so again, welcome to the club

VIN:
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VIN:
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Engine ID:
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Side shot:
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Interior:
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FYI-Your vin is in the registry. Click to view attachment

FYI-Your vin is in the registry. Click to view attachment

Is she running/driving? You have come to the right place for help

A ‘76 1.8?? I thought they produced only 2.0 units in 76. I could be wrong?
@wonkipop ?
Maybe it’s had its engine replaced?

@ 914_Tcup

Welcome to the 914world. You are at the right place. You will find answers to you questions by going to goggle and asking a question like- 914world what Engen came in 1976 914?

You can see from my question. This should help you out!


The info in our database.

Best Bob B and Welcome, Welcome, Welcome
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Welcome to the crazy house. Keep posting photos as you evaluate.

It looks like a great project! Welcome to the world of 914s!

Thank you all for such a nice invite to the 914World.

I got the hang of the pictures. I need to reduce the size of each and will be posting more soon.

The car will run if you do all the right things...


The body has not been hit and it fairly solid, outside the parts that are not solid!!! LOL

The passenger's long and the hell-hole area are the main issues.

I plan to replace/repair the entire floor panels, frame stiffiners, outer & inner firewall, etc. After i open up all these areas, then i can truly determine if I follow through on this car, or run away and try to find a better speciman...

I know I want a 914 and thats what I need to start leaning into to make it happen.

Originally, I could not determine which engine I had, because I have a 3-bolt head on the drivers side and a 4-bolt head on the passengers...then, I have the 2.0 tin, but there has been holes cut into the tin for the 4-bolt head. Until I understood the engine code, all we could do was

Someone must have pulled the distributor to set the timing and gave up. I had to remove the capicator to rotate the distributor clockwise, as it was running into the cooling tin. I have installed a 32/36 I had sitting around to get it running, but I don't have a secure throttle connection....YeeeHaaa!

After I cleaned up more parts on the car, then more electrical components started to function. Surprisingly the brakes work great.

The last time I had it running, it was spitting sparks at the ground wire connection to the body. I tighten it up, but need to take it apart and investigate the entire grounding circuit of this car....

Again thanks for the information.

Wow, a 1.7 or bus head on one side and a 2.0 on the other? That needs some explaining. There might be a DAPO award for that kind of thing. Were 1.8 3 bolt? Spark plug angle?

914_Tcup

Welcome
I am really excited about that (rare) rear trunk rack
It's different that normal trunk racks we see & could be worth a few bucks more?

Tom

def had its engine replaced.
check dashboard gauges.
has a temp gauge instead of hand brake flasher.
no 1.8s ever came with the dash pod temp gauge.
(only a temp gauge in console if you ordered the appearance group).

was once a 2.0

Could have been a 1.7 head, 2.0 head, and 1.8 block...Yeah Baby! This is the real deal. Paste it together and if it runs...cool.



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The passanger's longitudinal:

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The Hell Hole area:

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That engine is just a little disturbing. Yikes. Nothing wrong with a 1,8 block. I would pull it and look at what else is going in there though. You can't leave it like that. Well I guess you could but it would make me very nervous.

Gonna have to pull it to fix that rust anyway.

Could be worse, could be better. You're in the middle. Congrats!

I like your optimistic view on the assessment of the car!

Rear firewall:

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Location helps with rust identification. Where the hell is "T-town".
You got rust, lots if your on the East coast. Don't worry I'm a novice..

Matt

Is this a DIY project or a check writing project?

Hey Matt,


T-town is what the folks around here called Tulsa Oklahoma. In days gone by, the peeps from the surrounding country towns always referred to Tulsa as T-town and it stuck with me. I'm one of those country peeps!

I had a lot of fear about the extent of the rust in the car. However, I am being cautious and optimistic (gets me into lots of trouble) about the repairs. I have been watching lots of videos on the repairs and thinking I might be able to make the necessary repair if I take my time and seek help from the 914World.

It's going to be a DIY.

I'm in the middle of another project at the moment and had to push the 914 aside until I finsh with getting the engine/tranny in my '76 bmw 2002.

As you can see I'm space challenged...

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It has the front stabilizer bar (also it has a rear stabilizer). Is the front stabilizer a stock item with the 2.0 ?

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i think not.
think you had to tick the box.
my 74 1.8 has front and rear stab bars. owner checked a box when she ordered.

WonkiPop,

Thank you.

no worries mate.
fix her up.
she is fixable.
all 914s are fantastic cars.
she would have been a 2.0
and bonus. you got the sway bars.
those sway bars make a HUGE difference.

And making it a 2056 isn't a difficult or expensive project. Except the head replacement part. That will be the most expensive part on the engine assuming you stick with carbs. An ljet setup might not be too hard to come by but in your case carbs are probably the best way to go.

Welcome to the club. Best of luck with the restoration, as the dog said when he backed up to the grind stone "ruff".

Then you will spend only too much money, instead of WAY too much money.

Sounds like this is not your first rodeo, so you can judge how much "fun" you will have doing some extreme rust surgery.

BTW, my third car and semi-serious restoration was a '71 2002. That's one of my former cars I wish I had back.

Actual conversation with Volkswagen indy when i was in college… i swear!!!

ME: I’ve pulled my clutch cable through the firewall, can you weld it up?
INDY: Yeah, i can do that… hesitates… we used to have a guy that knew a lot about 914s…
ME: Oh yeah? (wondering if i need to turn around and head out the door). What happened to him?
INDY: He’s in the hospital, he was welding the same thing on that 914 (points to a half finished car on the rack), fuel line broke, dumped fuel on him and he caught fire… but I’ll take care of yours…

Be careful welding on that!

Yeah. I bet it runs despite the cruelty.

Easy tunnel access but it may make it hard to get the clutch to work

I have that rear firewall piece when you get around to replacing it. I ordered it in error and it's been in the attic ever since. You have a very knowledgable member, Curt Curtis, near you. @TheCabinetMaker I'm finishing up a '76 white car. The '76's came with everything so I believe that front sway bar was probably a factory install. Crazy engine set up. The previous owner was Carrie. She had words with some members here and then disappeared.

drink up you'll need it. Where is Ttown?

Okiehoma!