QUOTE (rick 918-S @ Dec 5 2005, 01:57 PM)

Two words, This club.

IT'S NOT A CLUB....!

You mean they have a club for these things....what will they think of next.
CCLIN

The fact that I'm a piss-poor mechanic and I finally have come to terms with that, and that this is my 5th 914, and I'm over the worst of the "boy racer" deal. Couple that with a lucky buy of a solid car and my Los Panchos thing (thank you Mike) and I'm just happy to have one that gets down the road, it's fast enough to scare the shit out of me occasionally and now that it's been "reabilitated" I even get an occasional thumbs up from the hoi-palloi....I love the damn thing. What can I say....quit fixin em and start drivin em.....

I think I'm over my funk....figured out that I can get my garage back to a more useable space by a combination of some stealth backyard storage compartments......going to build some "planter boxes" that'll hold a few storage shelfs worth of stuff....about 2'x2'x20' which should help somewhat...that and tossing or giving away a lot of items that I know I'll never need again or if I do, I know they'll be cheap enough not to worry about having to buy 'em....

I figure I'll be more of a cool dad with the 914 when it comes to dropping off or picking up the future rug rats when they get older

QUOTE

What prevents you from saying "#$@%-it "

its for my 2nd boy, Elijah

Hey Mike,
Your going to NEED the 914 (and those other shop toys) for your time outs with the twins. I know I am going to need mine and I only have one kid on the way. I hope I can get alot done in one hour "time outs". I like the planter box idea. You should see some of my 10lbs of crap in a 5 lb box storage ideas that I am just finishing up.

QUOTE (Mueller @ Dec 5 2005, 10:19 PM)

I figure I'll be more of a cool dad with the 914 when it comes to dropping off or picking up the future rug rats when they get older

Your DAMN right.


Im really glad dad got his car when I was in 7th grade.

Got me hooked. Got me out of the whatever that grade nitch that geeks and nerds get it.

I'll tell ya, Being picked up and dropped off in that car for a dance did wonders for my self confidence...


Now I drive the race car around, in a new leather jacket, with my MP3 player in my pocket, laptop in the other seat, and sometimes the girlfriend sitting next to me.
When It hits the boost, my homework troubles just melt away.....

Andrew

QUOTE (Mueller @ Dec 5 2005, 01:02 PM)

Not sure if its the weather, lack of progress, knowing my 914 will never be how I really want it or my boarder-line A.D.D.  :wacko:

Sold my 914 big mistake. At least I sold to someone here. Don't do it mike. Its not like you'll have much time to work on it very soon? You'll still be kicking yourself if you do.

I need another 914. I'll look for another one as soon as my pickup is sold.

Likewise, I just got started. Removed the interior and nasty old sound pad, the hard part. Started adding new interior parts and seeing the results is very motivating.

This board is also inspirational. My next project is to have this hood emblem installed.

The car was a birthday present for my girl friend, so it's not mine to sell. But my name is on the title

And finding pictures like this on the "Club":
How things could be in a perfect world!

Let me see in my time I have owned
2 Fiat 124 spyders
3 Alfa Romeo spyders
1E type Jaguar roadster
1 Porsche 944
1 Porsche 944 turbo
1 Sunbeam Alpine
1 Fiat 128
2Triumph TR-7s
1 Saab monte Carlo
assorted Mustangs,Camaros,VWs,SUVs,Sedans,Motorcycles,Pickup trucks plus many other forgetable cars.
But have never owned a car that was as much fun to drive as my Zambezi green 73 2.0 914 even with it's idiosyncrasies.Went to the local super market with it Saturday and as I was getting in it a 20 something year old with a cell phone came running over and said hey that is the coolest looking car I have seen in a long time.....well that kinda helps to make your day.This car is the most bang for the buck ever.
Dont get rid of your car you will regret it.

QUOTE (pfierb @ Dec 6 2005, 06:02 AM)

Let me see in my time I have owned 2 Fiat 124 spyders 3 Alfa Romeo spyders 1E type Jaguar roadster 1 Porsche 944 1 Porsche 944 turbo 1 Sunbeam Alpine 1 Fiat 128 2Triumph TR-7s 1 Saab monte Carlo assorted Mustangs,Camaros,VWs,SUVs,Sedans,Motorcycles,Pickup trucks plus many other forgetable cars. But have never owned a car that was as much fun to drive as my Zambezi green 73 2.0 914 even with it's idiosyncrasies.Went to the local super market with it Saturday and as I was getting in it a 20 something year old with a cell phone came running over and said hey that is the coolest looking car I have seen in a long time.....well that kinda helps to make your day.This car is the most bang for the buck ever. Dont get rid of your car you will regret it.

Lemme see, 73....me, 2.0.....me, zambezi green, me....hell I'm really close on this one....and I agree, I've had lots of cars, faster and slower over 40 plus years of driving and I keep coming back to the 914....I must be defective I guess....

QUOTE (Mueller @ Dec 5 2005, 01:02 PM)

Not sure if its the weather, lack of progress, knowing my 914 will never be how I really want it or my boarder-line A.D.D. But it's been really, really hard not just post an ad on here or on craigslist and sell it all off......I think a lot of it has to do with me having so much extra cr@p such as about 10 extra pairs of a-arms as well as most people have all the other "extras" laying around collecting dust and filling up boxes. I know I'd take a hit money wise on dumping it all off, but what the heck, it's not like my 914 is going to go up in value

Mike,

KNOW the feeling.. just this part weekend, I was driving my -6 and still trying to get the bugs out!!
I was wondering it I should 1) keep it and fix the bugs myself 2) take it to some one and just pay to have it all fixed 3) sell the thing and move on the my other cars.

Losing patience with this car... don't have all the time to tinker with it.. now that winter is here, you know Whistler is calling me.

ps Some times I think my neighbor must think I'm nuts- working on my -6 every weekend - looks like I have no life except for the cars.

QUOTE (jimtab @ Dec 6 2005, 10:32 AM)

QUOTE (pfierb @ Dec 6 2005, 06:02 AM) Let me see in my time I have owned 2 Fiat 124 spyders 3 Alfa Romeo spyders 1E type Jaguar roadster 1 Porsche 944 1 Porsche 944 turbo 1 Sunbeam Alpine 1 Fiat 128 2Triumph TR-7s 1 Saab monte Carlo assorted Mustangs,Camaros,VWs,SUVs,Sedans,Motorcycles,Pickup trucks plus many other forgetable cars. But have never owned a car that was as much fun to drive as my Zambezi green 73 2.0 914 even with it's idiosyncrasies.Went to the local super market with it Saturday and as I was getting in it  a 20 something year old with a cell phone came running over and said hey that is the coolest looking car I have seen in a long time.....well that kinda helps to make your day.This car is the most bang for the buck ever. Dont get rid of your car you will regret it. Lemme see, 73....me, 2.0.....me, zambezi green, me....hell I'm really close on this one....and I agree, I've had lots of cars, faster and slower over 40 plus years of driving and I keep coming back to the 914....I must be defective I guess....

Heck you are just a kid I have 60years of driving experience first one 1947 Dodge business coupe how's that for an exciting car? and I know I am defective.

The only thing that keeps me going is I hate to quit. Last weekend I would have given it away. I couldn't start the new engine. Checked the spark, it was fine. I found out that injector bank 2 (cylinders 2 and 4) had no fuel. I checked and rechecked the harness and it checked out fine. I pulled the fuel injection out of it and started checking things. Inj2 wasn't firing until 350 rpms on the stim. There was no juice on the driver for that bank. I was ready to tear out the driver and replace it then I stumbled onto an obscure post that says injector bank 2 can be turned off during cranking. Sure enough, I had them turned off. Luckily, I didn't keep cranking and cranking, there should still be some assemmbly lube in there.

Damn MS, why the hell would there be an option like that.

Now, I should have it up and running in a couple of hours.

Dave

That made me laugh a bit!

I stored my teen at my dads last winter...went to start it in the spring and no go. WTF it was running perfect when I parked it!

I forgot that I set the RPM fuel cut (rev limiter) at 500rpm in case someone tried to steal it.
Only took me a 1/2 hour to figure it out.

QUOTE (Mueller @ Dec 5 2005, 01:02 PM)

Not sure if its the weather, lack of progress, knowing my 914 will never be how I really want it or my boarder-line A.D.D. But it's been really, really hard not just post an ad on here or on craigslist and sell it all off......I think a lot of it has to do with me having so much extra cr@p such as about 10 extra pairs of a-arms as well as most people have all the other "extras" laying around collecting dust and filling up boxes. I know I'd take a hit money wise on dumping it all off, but what the heck, it's not like my 914 is going to go up in value

It will be 6 months before I can drive mine again. Winter will be over in May. That is if I can figure out what the kid did to it on it's last trip out (came home on the back of a hook....trans or clutch?).

The memorys of when I last drove it (the good and the bad) keep the drive alive. Medicine Hat McD's where the guy made the "guys who drive those cars have small dicks" comment to his buddy and their girl friends and I knocked on the window and I shook my head, then held my hands about a foot apart and grinned like a fool. The shade of red he turned was priceless. Or the Mustang GT that the salesman was trying to sell when I blew past them twice on the highway near Brandon, MB in a 30 yr old car. The look on the 10 yr olds face when I opened up the front hood to put gas in and there was no motor....

A journey of many miles starts with one step....
A great 914 starts with the turn of one wrench......

The thing that keeps me going,is all the @#$%^ money I've poured into it.


If I quit,I'd never here the end of it.

Now that I do have it running,I can finally smell,and hear the sweet sound of success.

I also got something that no-one,and the Ron means no-one,in my area can lay claim to also having.




Ron

My daughters (7 and 9 yrs old) won't let me get rid of it. They think it's the coolest thing in the world. Even my wife, who I think has only ridden in it once, won't even let me talk about getting rid of it for some reason. My 2-year-old daughter seems to dig the car too.

So on those down days when I think it's too much work or fears of never finding replacement parts get in the way, I just go talk to them.

And they set me straight...

QUOTE (Goge @ Dec 6 2005, 08:30 AM)

My daughters (7 and 9 yrs old) won't let me get rid of it. They think it's the coolest thing in the world. Even my wife, who I think has only ridden in it once, won't even let me talk about getting rid of it for some reason. My 2-year-old daughter seems to dig the car too. So on those down days when I think it's too much work or fears of never finding replacement parts get in the way, I just go talk to them. And they set me straight...

Three daughters! You're out numbered!

QUOTE (Mueller @ Dec 5 2005, 09:19 PM)

I figure I'll be more of a cool dad with the 914 when it comes to dropping off or picking up the future rug rats when they get older

I can't get my daughter to ride in my Tahoe now. She only wants daddy's "cool little car"

I've owned 3 914's in the past 12 years. I restored the first two and got totally burned out on the 3rd, so I put it away. I am fortunate enough to own a garage that I could just shove it up into the back corner and throw a car cover on it for the past 4 years. Plus, my Wife wouldn't let me sell it. She's driven the car in autx's before, and is still hooked on that memory. And like she always said, it isn't costing me anything to leave it parked in the back of the garage.

So, I took some time off, went Formual Vee racing with the SCCA, had 2 kids, now I'm back and re-energized towards the 914. The race car is being sold. The short block 2.0 Six is back together and we should have the car on the road in April.

Plus, I've been getting pressure from the 3 year old to ride in Daddy's cool red car.


Dion

QUOTE (Mark Henry @ Dec 5 2005, 03:02 PM)

That make's three of us...The Brothers Grim

Or do we call it the fab four (don't leave me out).
Keep it? Sell it? Track only it? I don't know anymore.

Mike, to deal with the borderline ADD I have developed a system of "hobby rotation" where I intently focus on a specific hobby to the point of fanaticism for up to 90 days and then develop disdain for it and drop it like a rock for 18 months. I rotate through my hobbies* like this on an ongoing basis. I haven't touched my 914 for almost a year. It's just about up for another tour of duty.

nutball projects past and present:
PEFI (done)
DIY turbo (done)
home-made flares (done)
rebuilding broken surface-grinder (current)
top secret project (current - hoping to pattent)
home gunsmithing (past/present next up: mill compensator ports on the 1911A1)
2.7 six conversion or not? have parts. (project stalled 2 yrs ago)
subaru conversion or not? no parts yet. (future?)


*autocross, 914 wrench-spinning, shooting/gunsmithing, machining, knifemaking, scuba, falconry, flyfishing...

you forgot kids

QUOTE (DNHunt @ Dec 6 2005, 07:40 AM)

...Sure enough, I had them turned off. Luckily, I didn't keep cranking and cranking, there should still be some assemmbly lube in there. Damn MS, why the hell would there be an option like that. Now, I should have it up and running in a couple of hours. Dave

Dude... Been there - got the T-shirt. I had neglected to set the "invert output for EDIS" flag. It would get to about 3500rpm and then miss horribly. It was stuck at 10 degrees advance at all times. I had to go RTFM like 3 times before I figured out what was up.

QUOTE (Mark Henry @ Dec 6 2005, 10:31 AM)

you forgot kids

Right! I forgot.

Mike, you're having pre-first-birth male anxiety. It's normal. Don't panic.

-Ben M.

everytime I turn the key--I get a chill down my back. This car spells Porsche for me, and fits my personality. This car also represents old-world technology and was built during a time when there was no such thing as cup holders or DVD players in the back seat or plastic *EVERYTHING* This car is simple, elegant and I can almost see the life brought to this car from hours and hours of REAL man labor to put this car together. It's no mystery why there are still so many around.....

b

The sounds and the smells...and having it for 16 years now makes me feel like I am not ALLOWED to sell it...

I get to exactly where you're at regularly. Storing the 914 in SF (at ($200+ a month) is a PITA and money drain. The Boxster does EVERYTHING better, and it's comfy for long trips in any weather. Sounds better, handles better, brakes better, goes better...

All for less than that Miata you're looking at!

BUT, after driving everything else, the 914 still puts a smile on my face that's equal to most of those cars... I say pick a sunny day and come on by for lunch... the oil will be warm.

pete

QUOTE (horizontally-opposed @ Dec 6 2005, 01:01 PM)

The sounds and the smells...

Got to agree on that too. I miss the old car, oil & gas mixture smells that seeped through the cracks in the door from the garage and into the house. That alone would put a smile on my face

.......b

Mike, its simple, just focus on one project at a time...

"the Force Mike...use the Force..."

Mike, don't do it!! You'll regret it if you do, and you know it.

We've all been there. Heck, I've been there a few times in the last few years when the most I could do with the car was sit in the driver's seat and make vroom-vroom noises.

This last weekend saw a major hurdle come and go. I went from half a motor and a pile of parts, to an assembled long block. The engine tin is getting powder coated as I type (may even be done by now), and there's actually a light at the end of the tunnell now.

What kept me going? A few things... A desire to follow through on my project and see it to completion for one. An understanding wife (can't tell you how helpfull that is). And a knowledge that when I'm driving the car, it will be a car that -I- built. Not some off-the-shelf pseudo-sports-car with an "R" badge on the back, but a car with history, and performance, and probably the best "support group" around.

I like the idea of going to an autox and showing what a really good handling car can do.

I've driven more cars in competition in the last few years than I'd care to admit. And some of them were without question, the cream of the crop. I've learned what I do and don't like in the handling of a sports car, and the 914 has it!! Sure, I could go out and spend 30k for a car that handles as well. But it won't -feel- as good driving. The 914 is purely visceral car. You don't get in it, you wear it! (and yes, I've driven formula cars that you really -do- wear).

914, it's not just a car, it's a passion, and an obsession...

So take a break, make a list of what simple things you could do now, have a brew , and then know that when it's all done, you'll have the car that you want.

-Josh2

Been there done that? Hell, I am there right now. Bought one as a commute car, non runner, thinking it will be easy to get going. That was two months ago, things are comming together but still seems like I am no closer. I have never owned one, And being on this site I am seeing the good, bad, and ugly. What keeps me going is sheer will and determination. After hearing everyone say how much they love their 914,

I WANT TO DRIVE THE EFFIN THING

Mike,

I know what you are going through. I have had the feeling several times with different cars; I got out; short time later, back into the game again.

Most recent events with the move required me to get rid of the Alfa GTV, Lotus Esprit, 914, and 90 corvette. The idea was to reduce down to where I could live without the cars. While these cars are being moved or waiting moves to the their new owners, I bought a rolling 914-6GT. Even hauled it to Flagstaff. Back in the game again!! it turns out I am stuck on these little cars; I have the "curse" for the 914.

Gotta build; gotta build; gotta build........

There are several people, and you are one of them, that gave me this "curse".

My next question is where you will satisfy your "engineering" talents? I think you will always be involved in projects and engineering new things for cars.

You can shake it; we need you and your expertise along with the rest of this group.

Welcome back. It is not the same if you leave your project.

Hey, Dude, what's cookin' on the engineering back burner? Will need your suspension bearings and .........

Steve Hurt
shoguneagle

Getting together with friends and driving thru the So Cal twisties like we did last saturday. I forgot all the pain and frustration of working on a teener. I left with a smile on my face and can't wait until the next run.