This should work.

wel for me ,,it was because i was sitting around smoking a big reefer ...thinking how great it would be to own a piece of germany

my dad bought one when i was a freshman in college. i found that i could take corners at a very high rate of speed which made me very happy.

now that i hit 40, i told my wife it was a teener or a 24 year old blonde!

actually, i think the teener will be cheaper in the long run than the blonde.......

i had never been into 914's growing up in germany.
the porsche of choice was the 911 (especially the late 70's turbo).
plus, 914 were pretty rare in germany, even in the 70's.

was kind of looking for a new car, drove by a porsche dealership that had
the car sitting in the lot. i liked the look, i think mainly because the GT look
was different from the stock 914. stopped and took it for a test drive and
bought it right there at the spot ...

Andy

If I could have clicked two they would have been "Aircooled VW scene" and "Other". I've been into Bugs since 1969 and figured I would eventually get a 914.
When I decided to build a Modified class autocrosser I chose the 914 chassis because it was cheap, fairly light, mid-engine and the best handling I could get while still retaining the factory type suspension. (Macstruts and semi trailing arms).

Mike T.

saw one...was sold on it....then it was my first car!

Aaron

The short answer to that question is that I was into air-cooled VWs and wanted one that handled well and that left the 914.

For the long answer, I would also add that I was sick of American iron. When I was a kid, our family always had American cars - a 1963 Mercury Monterey (Montego?) convertible, 1971 Camaro, 1972 Ford pickup, 1978 Trans Am and they all rattled when going over bumps or the windows would rattle when you shut the doors etc. I just thought all cars were like that until I rode in some foreign cars. I remember being about ten years old and going for a ride on the highway in someone's Datsun 510 station wagon and realizing that it was much quieter and smoother than our Mercury and it cruised nicely at highway speed. A couple of years later, a neighboor of ours had a Type III square back that (in my twelve-year-old wisdom) I thought was "one of those crappy little air-cooled VWs" until I was taken for a ride in it on a really rough dirt road and the thing was completely solid and rattle free and cruised very nicely. I'm a bit of a slow learner so it wasn't until my early twenties that I made the switch completely to foreign cars. I believe the US cars have gotten much better recently though.

Alfred

I used to make fun of them in high school. There was a kid that had one and we always told each other "that's not a real Porsche, You can't even get in the Porsche club with one of those!"....

Well about 3 years later a guy I worked with told me of a car in his now deceased mother-in-law's garage. It was a white 76.


I fell in love instantly! AND I felt like an ASS for what I said in HS. My friends all loved to drive the car we even snuck into a parade in college in it. 3 of my friends jumped in and sat on the rollbar while myself and another friend drove slowly and waved at the folks on the side of the road!!!

I'm older than most of you folks. To prove it, here is my story. After a short time owning a '58 VW Karmann-Ghia convertible, I bought my first Porsche, a '56 356A ($1200) in 1968 (year my daughter was born). In 1970 I stepped up to a new tangerine 914 ($4300 with appearance group, am-fm blaupunkt and chrome wheels). Sold it after 8 months because, as a young school teacher, I couldn't live with new car depreciation. It was the last new car I have ever ownd. Restored a '73 2.0 for my 16 year-old daughter in '84. I have owned over 30 Porsches since that first 356, restoring several, doing my own paint in the garage. Now that I am retired, I have become a 914 "collector". I have a '70 factory six (track car/autocrosser); '70 signal orange 4; '71 tangerine 4 (rare non-appearance group car); and my pride and joy, a phoenix red '74 with 31000 original miles (looks like a new car). I love the little devils!

Saw one way back when....thought they would be a fun summer car and a buddy "found" me a deal on my first one. Now several more later, I have more P cars than the local dealership.

How did I get hooked? Well, Crack is getting sooo expensive these days...

Ive been a long time 911 owner, but have always wanted a 914-6 but was discouraged by all the cars with "tin-worm" problems in my area, so I basically gave up on the idea of owning a 914 untill my friends car came up for sale

Im in the process of making my '69 911 into a GT5 racecar, and like all projects this is taking way longer than expected.

I knew i was jonesing when I realised that I might miss another season at the track.

A week or so ago I saw and andd in the local PCA newletter, and a guy I know was selling his 914. So now I am the owner of a '75 914 GT3 car with a 3.2 stuffed in the back.

My Porsche collection is almost complete. I would like a nice 356 speedster, but I dont live in the right zip code for that.

Cant wait for the snow to melt so I can go pickup my new toy

if your interested here is my 911 project, Ill get some pics of my 914 soon

Wish I hadn't. I drove karts for 35 years, since they were invented in 1958. I wanted something that drove like a kart. If this thing doesn't when I get it finished, it'll be for sale. :toilet:

I voted for the one that was closest. I've never owned "American iron", but I was tired of driving appliance cars that weren't any damn fun! A Porsche-owning buddy pointed out 914s to me. Convertible, pop-up headlights (for some reason that was important to me, LOL!!), and very fun to drive? Yeah, maybe I'll try that.

One test drive. Just one, and I knew I would be buying one. Bought the fourth one I test-drove (a 74 1.8), because I liked the color. DOH! I thought I was immune to that kind of stupidity.... Guess not!

--DD

Back in the fall of 1998 I was looking for a 2 seater toy. I looked at TR 6's, MG's, Alfa Romeo spyders, etc. Then I looked at the January 1999 edition of European Car magazine, which featured 914's and that hooked me. I had driven one a few years before that belonged to a friend and I had forgotten how much fun it was to drive. Now I'm hopelessly addicted.

Air-cooled affiliation... I have always loved Bugs. It grew to all VW's, air/water cooled. Bringing me to T IV. I've heard many times of a "Porsche" engine swapping abilities, but thought it was unaffordable... Never even knew it was a T IV. I was first attracted to a Ravenna Green 73/74 up the street from my house. A detail shop owner's car. I really liked the look, still not knowing it was T IV.

So the hunt began when I found out. Mid engine?? Rear wheel drive?? FOR REAL?? And a VW to boot

After watching a friend leave behind a field of corvettes racing in the rain driving a nearly bone stock 911, I knew some day I would have a Porsche. In the late seventies I purchased a beautiful maroon 1969 911E. It took me a couple of years to learn how to drive it properly. It wasn't the fastest Porsche around, but several years I managed to win my class in solo II. I put over 130,000 miles on that car before I sold it. After it was gone I didn't really care what I drove. It was like for me, there are Porsches and, well, everthing else are just cars.

Last year after my wife bemoaned the fact that she had never owned a sports car, we found her a nice looking, but unrestored 75' silver 914. Even though it was "her" car, I found myself offering to run errands all the time saying "hey I'll just take the 914". One Sunday I took her to an autocross, you know, just to "watch". Well, that was it. The disease was back and I was the patient. I began the hunt. A few months later I ran across ol yeller, a 1975 2.0L that was a two owner car that had been restored and modified by the last owner who's dad owned a Porsche shop. It is a truly great Porsche. I feel very lucky to have found it. With the help of this discussion board, and others like it, I'm in the process of learning all I can about these great cars and am looking forward once again to autocrossing. I think I'm hooked. Okay, I know I'm hooked.

I also chose "Air-cooled VW scene" but the long answer is that I inherited my brother's bug when he went to college. Moved on to different flavors of American Iron in high school and college ('68 Mustang, '69 Firebird, '76 Camaro, all pretty much beat to hell but a lot of V8 fun). Wondered around in what I call "the dark years" until my brother again came to the rescue, selling me his '90 VW Corrado. Definitely got me back into European cars for the forseeable future; but I know the wifey wouldn't mind having a '57 vette someday.

Went through the Corrado and loved it. We brought it with us from Florida to California, but at the end of the day it was still a front-wheel-drive car that had to obey smog laws. I wanted something rear-wheel-drive, light and modifiable. I got pretty hooked on early 911s but chose the 914 for better handling and the rebel / underdog mystique.

Not sure what the future holds but I (like a lot of you) already have a list of cars I'd like to get to someday.

After college, I started racing a mini-stock Toyota on a paved oval in Ct. I had an absolute ball for a couple years. Then I moved south to NC and found dirt track kart racing, had a ball with that. Then life got in the way - sold the Kart, became a partner in a Land Surveying firm, had a baby, etc, etc.
The racing bug never left me - I started hearing about autocross and DE events - a way to get out and drive hard but not necessarily be tied to preparing a car for a race every week. So I started searching out a car that I thought would be a cool "hot rod" to ride around in on weekends, autocross, and maybe put it on the big track. After a lot of research and spending too much time on boards like this, I decided that a 914 was the way to go - mid-engined with so many possibilities regarding suspension and engine combinations. I got hooked bad, so now there is a '74 2.0 and a '73 2.0 (soon to be for sale) in my garage!!!!!!!!!

The first 914 . I drove was in 1972, Bob Bondurant who was and old friend of mine used them in his driving school at Ontario Motor Speedway. They were a blast to drive. I then went on to drive Formula Vees. Worked the Old SuperVee Circuit (ISMA) for several years in the mid 70s. Then I had to go back to work for a living. thirty years later I thought that I would buy a car for fun that would not cost a lot of money to own and would not depreciate or cost a lot of money to drive HA HA HA HA. So I bought mine on ebay site un seen (Stupid act) but it was close in Santa Barbara. which made it easy. Many dollars later I think I can drive it back to Santa Barbara without it breaking down. Made it to Dunkels meet ok, and I love it I have spent way to many hours on these fourms learning about my car


Bernie

If you click on view results without voting the web site thinks you voted and you don't get to. I go back to the thread and see this.

How did you get into the 914 habit ?

How did you get into the 914 habit ?
Owned other Porsche [ 6 ] [20.00%]
The air-cooled VW scene [ 9 ] [30.00%]
Sick of your American iron [ 2 ] [6.67%]
Saw one and liked it [ 6 ] [20.00%]
Other [ 7 ] [23.33%]

You have already voted in this poll

I turned driving age in 1968, and I followed the lead of a friend and got a 63 vw bug. My dad had a vw tranporter (precursor to the king cab pickups) and I loved the fact my whole band could go to a gig, band inside and instruments in the back. My car magazine of choice was Road&Track, and so I was sold on things such as the virtues of IR suspension and Fuel Injection over carbs. For a long time, IMO, the greatness of a car was determined by it's efficiency, comfort, and speed in making the journey from Orange County in So. Cal up 395 to Mammoth for a weekend ski trip. Thus, the 911 was my car of choice, but out of my league at the time. I was excited about the 914 but the reviews were lukewarm at best. (anybody remember Car& Drivers review headline"as a second generation Karmann Ghia it would have brought the house down". So I drove a type 73 type3 squareback for a few years, where I learned how to keep the Djet running.

Finally got my 72 in 1981, then married into my 76 shortly thereafter. Still have them both, and with boards such as this and the Pelican board, am enjoying them as much now as ever, even though they're no longer daily drivers. Something about these cars........

It was a 914 or the wife, I now own a 73 2.0. She would have never let me have it, but I have wanted one since the mid 70's

elwood, coincidentally, my first wife left shortly before the arrival of my 914.

My Dad bought my Olympic Blue 74 914 2.0 when I was 6. Its in my garage today.

My 5th 914 later. Its more than just a passing thing.

I started with aircooled VWs in the early 80's. Actualy, I still do the aircooled VW thing. I've got a 1969 Beetle project on my plate right now. Dad had been into aircooled VWs since the 60's.

I used to think the 914 was the most worthless, ugliest Porsche wanna-be that was ever produced. Dad was a foreign car mechanic back in the 80's and was always talking about how cool the 914 was compaired to the 911s that he had driven. Dad bought a 914 arround 1989 and I've been a BIG fan ever since. And I no longer think they're ugly or worthless or a wanna-be.

Rick

To male a short story long, the wife wanted a 9eleben. So we got an 82 SC. Searched for 6 mos and found it 2 miles away. It was too pretty to drive and I couldn't DO anything to it. It did get me going on Porsches, tho.

The daughter wanted a car.....looked at a whole shit load of 914s and found one in Seattle....I didn't know shit about em', (specially bout the hell hole) and bought it. It leaked oil and didn't shift worth shit, but ran good. It was a Bile Green (color code YUK), 73, 2.0L. She got married and moved out....the 9eleben went to pay for the wedding....I got the 914 and it went after I learned about the hell hole & RUST.....but.....I was already lookin' for a good one.
I got the daughter back after 4 mos .....but HER car was gone and I had found my present 74.
Wanna see a prudy 9eleben?

4 months? Is she a hollywood actress? J.Lo perhaps?

The long and the short of it. Growing up.....

66 chevy II nova -- upgraded the 6 to an 8. Fried the tranny. Upgraded that.

70 demon - purple - it hurt to sell it. But I sold it to pay for college -- it was the right thing. Needed a ride. Made a deal with my older sister for a '68 beetle. It got me through school. (I was there a long time -- beetles actually do very well in snow) Moved to Toronto. Salt ate it. Several Mazda's later... I move to the Bay Area.

Growing up, I read all the car mags -- in this case VW&Porsche. I still have some of 'em. The 914 article that caught my eye was an article about shoving a turbo 6 in... Martin Schneider was the name IIRC. The car looked hot, and ran hot. Anyhow, the CA move gave me a chance to get my first 914 (a great '73 2.0) and I've been hooked ever since. 'Course from there I got my /6... the story continues to improve!

Dunno how to fit this into Brad's vote... I think I'll claim I'm from Florida.

kim.

If it wasn't so dam late I'd write a novel. Most of the story is on my web page. Here's the rest of the story. I owned the car for a long time before I ever drove it. I sold My body shop and brought the car home and stuck it in the garage. after a couple of months of having the additude that I was never working again. I got real bored. I brought the car over to a friends shop and basically just put it together. I would go down to my friend shop and work all night. After a couple of weeks I rolled out about 5:30am with a finished car. I cruised around for awhile and came pulling in the yard as my wife was leaving for work. She hadn't ever seen the car before or never really paid much attention to it. All of a sudden she say's "what are you going to do with that?!" I was really confused. You need to understand My wife has alway's let me do what ever I wanted as long as it was constructive. I said what do you mean? She say's "that's nothing but a pick up car! You can't haul the kids in that! All you can do in that is pick up chicks! She was very jelous. She never liked the other woman and I really don't think she ever will. I did haul the kids and there friends around in it all summer! (average age 7) We had a blast. showed her...

The whole wedding deal was like a slow motion train wreck but I was the only one that realized it.

The wife & daughter were spending money like drunken sailors, the guy was a looser......my solution was to go along and try to pick up the pieces after it was over. The only good thing that happened was that I got shitfaced at the reception. Hadn't done that in years.....and ain't done it since.
I did get another 9eleben, a 73 with a 2.7L. As the 914 got fast, the 911 got obsolete...outta here.

I hear 914's rust.

In my sleep
While driving down the street
While reading other peoples posts..

Dad Roberts was building kit cars and was into VW's in general around the time I was 15. He had a type4 powered "rail" that had a 1911 in it with dual Dell's. Some people down the street from my moms house had a Yellow and Black 914 in their driveway that never seemed to move. I went down and asked them how much (1000$) A month or so later my friend Stuart and I pushed it to my house. I had the 1.7 running farely quickly, but had NO idea what I was getting into. I needed parts and called a number in the newspaper for 914 parts. That person turned out to be a close friend of mine for over 15 years now. My wife currently works for his company (Oracle consulting) We bought and built 914's and 356's over a 3 year period at my friends mom's ranch house in Keller Texas. Then moved into a aircraft hanger at the Grand Prairie airport. Then... had a shop in Arlington for years.

B

I got into fourteens at the age of 9 via a pack of £1.99 'Top Trump' playing cards. I wouldn't believe that the 914 picture on the card was actually a Porsche as it was square and not round in shape. The card didn't actually win many games but then it didn't have a category on it for handling corners .

It was another 10 or 12 years on until I actually saw a car in the flesh. Now I've owned mine for a while the £1.99 invested in the cards seems small fry compared to keeping the fourteen up and running.

My dad bought a new beetle in 66. When I passed my driving test in 77 it became my first car.

When it was time for a sports car, being in England it had to be a MG.
It was fun when it worked, but that wasn't very often! I wanted the benefits of the beetle (good engineering) with the fun of a sports car.
You can see where this is leading...
Many years later ('91) I was working over in the states, miles from home, looking for some excitement. So I bought a Californian '76 914 and shipped it back to England in a container.

I've only driven it about 5000 miles since then. It's been sitting in my garage due to wife, kids etc. but I have put a 2 litre six cylinder engine in.

Oh, the MG caught fire a long time ago and I reluctantly sold my beetle when I bought the 914.

My story is total aircooled VW’s. My dad and older brothers had bugs and dune buggies since the late 60’s. I learned to drive a buggy at the ripe old age of 13, chased by cops through trails and fields, I never got caught, in the act at least. Had a bug in high school when they weren’t the coolest, and except for a few dark years I’ve always had a bug.
My trade is cabinetmaking, but I also had a beetle resto, parts and engine business called Mark’s Aircooled. About 5 years ago I decided that I didn’t really care for the resto and service part of the biz, so I shut that down and now I only do engines part time.

Last spring, one of the very few people that I will still do repairs for, asked if I would get his uncles 914 running. It was in excellent condition, but it had been in storage since the late 80’s. It needed a couple injectors, oil, filters, lines, minor brake work, etc. When costs started to add up the chap asked if I knew anyone who wanted to buy it. A Porsche guy checked it out, said he wanted it and I thought we had an agreement, but when I took it over to his place he tried to almost halve the agreed price. I smiled and politely said, “go fuck yourself,” and drove off.

My wife was following me in the bug with the kids, I decided to stop and let her drive a Porsche for once in her life. I started to follow her and then ‘vroom’ she was gone! When I got to the house she was standing there, looking at the 914. A bit later she casually asked how much the guy wanted for the car. Then a little while after that, I walked in the house and heard her on the phone, eavesdropping, I realized she was finding out how much insurance would be. Now I liked the teen, but with a 1 yr. baby and a 3yr.old girl and more old VW’s then you can shake a stick at, I had never really thought about owning it. Besides for sure the wife would say no, right? WRONG! She wanted it! Cool!

Now we are proud 914 owners, both totally addicted, she drives it to work on nice days and I grab it whenever I can. She is very much a gear head (for a girl) and she has always gone to the VW shows with me. Most of our VW’s are hopped up, so now she (and of course so do I) wants some more go. Yee-haa! Gotta love a chick that digs cars!

Oh ya, I used to be one of these NARP (not a real Porsche) asshole’s and of course I had never driven one. I’ve now seen the light!

Our cars

’74 914 1.8 (soon to get some steroids)
’67 Cal-look Bug (2007cc)
’71 Squareback (2007cc) California car, the original owner called her Freda, so do we.
’72 Super Beetle (stock, winter beater)
’67 Bus (resto in progress, might get it done one day)
Okrasa 36hp engine project (I don’t even have a bug for it, yet!)

It was 1985 was driving by and saw this odd looking car..... 914 with FG flares and 916 bumpers...
Fuch 7x16's all around.... did not know much about the car at that time but took it for a ride and wow !! it was like a Go Kart.... pretty cool and it was cheap.... and no extra charge for the hidden rust

Needless to say after about 3years that car succumed to rust

After being Proscheless for a while back in 96 I bought another 914, since then have converted it to a 3.0 and also bought a 911....

It all started in High School. Aptos, California my friend and I worked at a 76 station and we would use the hoist to work on our cars. Mine was a 67 Mustang Convertible and his was a 67 bug. After pulling the bug apart for the 10th time we decided we could make some money doing this. We started buying all of the wrecked bugs in the neighborhood and making good ones from the bad ones to sell. One day we had a friend who came across a 65 912 motor for $300 and we had a 66 bug sitting around without a motor….why not we asked!! Man did that P-bug go! When I wrecked my Mustang on Mulhulin Dr in LA I went out and bought a 914-6 with a 916 steal kit and proceeded to go around the corner that I had wrecked my Mustang on. I was going more than TWICE as FAST! I have owned 7-914’s 2-911’s and 1-912 since then. Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking too it!!!

In '69 a friend of mine had a "rich" girlfriend who got one of the first 914's in Seattle for her HS graduation present. So I got a few rides in that lovely white car. In '76 I was married had been into VW's fixing them on the side to make ends meet, went to the Porsche/Audi dealer to look at Fox's. They had a '76 Nepal Orange 914 for sale that I test drove. Couldn't get wife to buy that car so we bought a Dasher SW instead
In 95 I dumped the wife and found by accident a 76 Nepal Orange 914 when I was looking for a project car. I have been working on it ever since!
Geoff

I built a hot rodded bug when I was 15, 1835cc etc. it turned 14.4 secs in the quarter at the bug-ins. I sold that and got into american iron, then I met a guy in high school had a 914 turbo (bernie bergman set up). I had to have one so I sold my Mustang II mach 1 and bought my first 914, a 71 with very low miles. I never got it turboed, that took another 22 years :

Why?
1. I was into air cooled VW's, as was my father.
2. I had a friend with one in high school that I drove and it was a blast.
3. While in high school I went to a SCCA race and saw a 914-6 BP chase down and beat a AP Vette and that was very cool.
4. I could talk my parents into getting one by saying half the parts are VW anyway. So I sold my '70 Bug and the bought the car pictured to your left 24 years ago.

Paul

Well I got this addiction from my father-in-law in Missouri...

He gave me his old '71 914 for FREE. It has been sitting in a field for 5-10 years. Me not knowing anything about 914's said sure I'll take it, it's a free Porsche

After, months of reasearch and lurking on PP's I headed out to Missouri on Vacation .....and to check out the ride.

WOW...RUST RUST RUST

Long-short

It turns out it was WAY too rusted and could not be saved . The bad news is I was now addicted to 914's. I spent 6 months reading looking and more reading of 914's daily.
So I Then spent 6 more months trying to find a 914 on the east coast in my budget.

It's been 2 years and I have only driven my 914 2-3 blocks and I still work on it almost EVERY weekend.

It goes in for paint in April

Cheers
Kerry

You should add another option-- drove one and bought it on the spot. I was into air cooled VW's. Bought my first 914 about 17 years ago. I had liked the look of them since I had first seen them hit the streets as a kid. Had owned and driven about every model AC VW but didn't know much about the 914 except that it was some kind of Porsche design with VW engine (making it economically possible for me to own). Test drove it and had the owner doing a death grip on door pull and seat bolster as I took a circular fwy onramp at about 60-70. VW engine with a 5 speed and could handle like that, yeah OK good enough for me. I owned it for about a year and then life got in the way. When I turned 40 and could have a second car toy I knew what I would get. Been enjoying this one even more than the first with the discovery of this club and all of its enthusiasts and events. John

Was mid 1980's and just out of High School when I discovered Autocross. The local club had two 914-4 and three factory 914-6 and one 914-6 that was either a real six or conversion (not sure). One of the three 914-6 was owned by the original owner.

They seemed to do well and I figured I needed one. I got a chance to drive one as well as ride in a 2.7L conversion and fell in love. At the time, I didn't realize (to young and sheltered in the way of 914s) that you just didn't have that many 914s running in a small club like that. I am talking about events in which we may have had 30 drivers.

Owned two while in college (one wrecked, one rusting away as a parts car). Got married, had two kids, etc. Decided this past year that now was as good as any time to build that dream six conversion that I kept putting off. Purchased the 72 1.7 last August to be the basis for building a 3.2L six Autocross/Track car.