Hey guys. Tonight I put a deposit on my first project car, a 1975 914 2.0. The car has 65,000 original miles with some surface rust and rot on the rear quarter.

The car has been sitting for 3 years without being cranked. Supposedly it ran before it was parked. My first concern is to get running so I can enjoy it a bit. What steps do you recommend on waking this sleeping car up?

I'm thinking change the oil, drain the old gas, new battery, plugs and wires. What else?

I look forward to all of your advice. I am very much over my head, so this will be a real learning experience.

You're in for a lot of fun

This is a good question. And I don't know the answer.

I know of a 914 that wasn't running two years ago. The owner figured that, because it is fuel injected, it must be the fuel pump. He removed the pump, bought a new one, never installed it. So, the car has been sitting in an unheated storage garage in Michigan (zero degrees lately) with no fuel pump and hasn't started for two years. I will have a chance to see the car in May when the owner returns from FLA.

So, how do you approach the vehicle? Betcha there's a thread on this...

biz

Just some thoughts... Take out the plugs & put a little "Marvel Mystery Oil" in the cylinders. Let it sit a while before starting. Also, replace all fuel lines & filters- this is a must unfortunately. Take out the tank & clean it too. New tires, cap, rotor, plug wires, plugs, air/oil filters, points, conderser, oil, gear oil, brake fluid & gas. Lube all linkages & cables. Should clean out the oil screen, take off valve covers & clean, adjust valves & replace gaskets. Check all fuses before putting in new battery. Lube all locks, hinges & handles. Adjust clutch cable. All before starting. I could go on... Good luck & welcome to "The World".

yep,
be sure to use the Porsche High Pressure Fuel line to replace crappy leaky ones laying on top of the engine. If they leak, a fire is sure to be next.

If its anywhere mice are, pull the cylinder tin off as they will nest inside there and you will overheat the motor. This way you get to replace all the other intake seals etc so it will run right.

What is the rot in the rear quarter? How about the battery tray and under it? The long/rocker area in front of the drivers rear tire?

First off - welcome to the land of 914 wierdos. Secondly - you came to the right place.

Here's what I'd do, but then, who am I?

Drain every iota (my Mom's word) of fuel from the car. Drain it from the tank first & move towards the rear. Trash the filter & drain anything that'll come out. Remove the injectors & fuel rails & drain again. If you can, blow low pressure air through the lines(after disconnecting after the fuel pump,from front to back in your case. This may blow out any bits & pieces of crud that could clog things up. Just make sure the lines TO the fuel rails are disconnected & resting in a catch tank (coffee can?). NO SMOKING or sparks from anywhere around - if you have a water heater in your garage - shut it down! Garage dor WIDE open.

There are very minute screens inside the injectors - don't let any crud get into them!

Now, put fresh high pressure hoses on ALL lines. They make look fine, but new are inexpensive & remove any worries. Check those screens in the injectors with a bright light. Any junk in there, flush it out with carb or brake cleaner. While you're at it, put new injector seals on - also cheap & worth every penny.

Connect everything up-TIGHTLY & fire away! If you see even the slightest leak, shut it down immediatley. Fuel is pushed through the lines at high pressure & even the slightest leak can spray down onto hot heat exchangers, causing a fire.

These are great cars, but prolonged sitting requires extreme measures! Do it right, seal it up, and the car should be fine. Old gas is something to get rid of.

I'm sure others will offer alternatives. This has worked for me.
Pat

Great step-by-step plan. But when exactly is it necessary to not even try to start up the car? Is it one season, two years, three years?

biz

good thing your car thats been sitting for 3 years doesnt look like this 914 sittin for 4 years (not started or anything)

Click to view attachment

Welcome to the insanity....

Welcome! You've got a good basic plan! The above advice about cleaning out the old fuel is good advice, and can be accomplished with basic tools.

Replacing the black rubber fuel lines is key for safety. I would pull the plugs, and if they look good - scrub them with a wire brush and reinstall.

Getting the car to go is important. Making sure you can stop is even more important. I would flush the brake fluid from the system. If you have a stuck caliper or master cylinder that's about to leak, a good flushing the system will stress-test the brakes and let you know.

You have two options to flushing brake fluid: Speedbleeder brake bleeding screws or the traditional method of pedaldown-hold-crack-tighten-pedalup. Just make sure you keep plenty of fluid in the resevoir, or you'll be bleeding bubbles rather than flushing old fluid.

Again... welcome! Glad to have you here!

Cheers,
Rusty

First off, thanks for all the advice guys. It looks like I have my work cut out for me! I will definitely be following a lot of the step-by-step directions provided. To be frank, I am quite nervous as I am not very experienced mechanically, but I guess that is what web forums like this are for! So please be patient as I will be asking lots of rookie questions.



The battery tray definitely needs to be replaced. It doesn't appear that there is any rust below it though, I guess we'll see.

The rockers appear to be okay.

As for the rear quarter, it is pretty bad. It is right above the rear tailight, maybe 2"x3". I know I will need that cut out and replaced. Can I buy the whole new quarter? What is the best way to tackle this problem?

Sounds like you're looking at a part from a donor car... but... rather than guess, can you shoot a picture of what you're concerned about?

The car is not is my possesion yet, so I don't have pictures of it. I have attached a example of where the rust is located. It is completely rusted through, so I definetly need some new sheet metal.

That's what I'm afraid of

i've got a 71 california car i'm cutting this weekend. i believe "0" rust except superficial surface rust were paint has chipped. just get back to me by this weekend and we'll see what your looking for. otherwise i'll be sectioning it out to sell taillight panel, front etc.

this is a very helpful group of "teeners" (your now gonna haveta' learn 914 language)

orange914

Click to view attachment

Actually, to me anyways, it is fun. Your going to learn to weld, do body work,

wrench, yell, scream, rant and maybe even paint. You'll love it...or not.

they rust there as its filled with foam so its rusts from the inside out due to road water getting up there.

me personally (keep in mind these motors run on three cylinder, and sometimes two.)

I would change the oil, get a fresh battery, and start it.

If its FI, it will start with a bit of fresh gas..
If its Carbed, dont bother...the carbs are all gunked up and will need to be rebuilt.

After I start it, I only let it run for two or three minutes..always smelling for gas, and looking for leaks...

Then, do all of the above...

The rational is that I want to know the extent of my project prior to starting in...
If the car sprays oil out...put that on the list.
If you smell gas...on the list
If you hear muffler...on the list...

At some point you will take out the motor, and its will be good to have a list of things to do prior to taking it out...

Rich

Awesome, I'll have to get back to you on that. I don't have possesion of the car until this coming weekend. But once I have it I'll take some close up pictures and let you know what I'm looking for....thanks for the help!

You guys are so helpful, I'm looking forward to my time on here!

There's a lot of good people on this site, and you will also become very familiar with the archives.

Well damn, I had a job situation occur this week that will make this not possible, I just got it today and it looks like I going to have to part with it.
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I will pm you. I live in Knoxville.

Rob
865-463-2575