Hi all,

Once and former 914 owner – had a 1974 2.0 four cylinder back in the late 70’s - early 80’s… in California. I’m now located in Europe.

Looking to perhaps renew my 914 experience – it was one of my favorite cars. Maybe even with a modified 6, but they’re quite rare and pricey these days, a good four would be a reasonable option.

Back in the day I rebuilt or repaired practically everything on the car – including the engine (with the help of an expert friend) – I think the only part I didn’t do was the transmission.

Anyway, couple of questions to start:

Been looking at a few local examples (there are very few actually) and several of them don’t have the center console (under the dash between driver/passenger, with the clock, etc.). My ’74 did. I can’t remember now, was this an accessory, or was this just offered in the later model years? Can one get aftermarket ones if one desires?

Also the 2 liter VW engines had some of the first Bosch electronic fuel injection units. I know I had to replace mine (the "brain") once – are replacement/remanufactured units still available?

IIRC the heat exchangers were prone to leaks and rust-out – I imagine there are stainless replacements available (probably expensive)?

Let’s see – CV joints were a weak spot – I threw one once out in the middle of nowhere. I guess there are also aftermarket replacements to be had?

Mine had a hot engine starter problem – which seemed to be endemic for these cars – there was a fix-it kit available, but I still recall having to push-start the car after having driven it on the freeway for a couple of hours.

That’s all I remember for the moment… Any comments/suggestions appreciated!

Oh, and this forum does seem to be US-centric - logical, it's in English - I checked the Swiss 914 Forum (there is one actually) but there are zero posts... The German (Germany) forum is reasonably active, I'll be checking out that one too I guess, I do speak German. Any European residents in here? (Yes, UK is included even though you "opted out" )

The console first arrived in 1973. It was optional. The temp gauge in the console is useful, as is the clock. The volt meter is good for telling you the brake lights work. It is not accurate.

The D-Jet Fuel Injection on the 1.7 and 2.0 is 50 years old, and parts are getting hard to find. Every MPS you find will need a new diaphragm, and the cylinder head temp sender is NLA. The aftermarket head temp senders have very questionable quality, so everyone is looking for good used ones. The 1.8L L-Jet injection is also suffering from lack of parts. In the garage there is a recent thread on the availability of the double relay required to run it. In the past, I was an advocate for keeping the stock injection instead of converting to carburetors. But now I would recommend finding a modern, aftermarket fuel injection system and installing it. You get a better system that will start and idle, and uses common, locally available parts. You can even get a system that replaced the electronics on the stock injection while keeping the hard parts. So it will look mostly stock at first glance.

There are stainless steel heat exchangers. They are recommended installation parts. If you can find them, the ones made in the 80s are better than the currently produced ones.

The actual CV joints are not really a weak spot. Improper installation of the bolts is the cause of most of the failures. Every time they are disassembled, you must take the time to replace the schnorr washers and torque the fasteners to the correct torque. If that is done every time, you should not have issues with the CV joints. Well, they are 50 years old and probably worn out. They are available new to replace them. Also, for the really paranoid amongst us, there are CV joint bolts that are cross drilled so they can be safety wired in place as is done on aircraft. Personally, I don't think it is necessary if the factory procedures are followed for installation.

The hot start problem is a long standing issue. I have found it is related to poorly rebuilt starters. There are multiple methods for resolving it, such as adding a Ford starter solenoid to the start circuit. But I prefer the use of the aftermarket gear drive starter. It turns faster and draws a lot less current. The weakest point in the starter circuit is the ignition switch. It is a VW sourced part, and the aftermarket ones are mostly junk. They break inside and won't complete the circuit to energize the starter.

And always, there is the forum. The wealth of knowledge here about these rusty old cars is amazing. If you have a problem, somebody has been there before you and will help you find, and fix your issue.

Clay

Ah, memories .....

Find yourself the nicest one you can find and life being as short as it is start having some fun behind the wheel again

You will find a very helpful bunch of guys/gals here on 914 World

I always liked the center console. I bought a brand new '73 2.0 and it came fully loaded, included the console. My current 914-6 came with the factory "deposit box". It is nice and allows one to store sun glasses, etc., without much fuss. That is essentially just the front of the later console without the gauges or the part that separates the seats.

Thus is a terrific place to learn about these cars and to get answers to your questions. Good luck on your journey.

Here are a couple pictures kind of showing my console:

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