Geez, I'm an addict & there's no way out of it.
I got a call at the shop yesterday while The Cap'n was at the bank (it's fate, I tell ya), and this guy had a 71 914 project car he needs to sell because he's moving & doesn't have room. I ask all the normal questions, and decide that since it's right across the street from where we sometimes get lunch, that that would be a good place to get lunch from today, so I could check out the car. Long story kinda sorta shorter, all the windows are out, no cover on it for at least a year, hasn't run pretty much since he's owned it (about a year). Paint (black over orange) has peeled badly on all horizontal surfaces. He wants $1500.00. I walk around it picking it apart (that IS what we're supposed to do, right?), and tell him since it's not running, shifts REALLY hard, has fake fuchs, carbs instead of FI, and was generally filthy throughout, the best I could personally do would be $600.00, but I could put it on the internet to my buds on the World, and see what happens. And even then, I would need to hear it run first. He says he can get it running, but he wouldn't go any lower than $800.00, so I tell him to call me when he does get it to run.
I go pick up lunch, an hour goes by, no call. Another hour goes by, no call. Just as we figured, he can't get it to run. No surprise.
Finally he calls, "I got it running, just had to hook up a battery & put in some gas" and he holds the phone up so I can hear it run. It actually didn't sound half bad (I really didn't expect it to run at all after sitting for so long), so I decide to go look at it again. I get there, he reaches thru the window & turns the key, and it fires right up, and idles just fine, and revs well. I'm thinking to myself, gee, I need a motor for the other black 71 I already have, so I can sell that one (this is a delusion on my part, that I could ever sell a 914 that has come into my posession, but bear with me here, OK?). I look the car over again, and the motor actually is clean enough that it could be as he claims " a fresh rebuild, according to the guy I bought it from a year ago". The battery tray has the normal rust hole, the hell hole is slightly rusted thru, but I'd need to get it up in the air to check further. Chrome bumpers (that someone painted), but are pretty much dent-free, with no chrome peeling, the front bumper-top is nice, a REALLY nice windshield/targa seal, and a few other decent things on the car. I make a snap decision, and offer him $800.00, and I could leave him a check to hold it until my tax return comes in (it was due just about now). He says he doesn't deal in checks, but he'd take cash if no one else offers him more in the mean time. OK, sounds good.
I get home from the shop, check the mail, and guess what? Not just one tax refund, but both refund checks. It's fate, I say to myself (did I mention I talk to myself a lot?).
I called him this morning, arranged to meet with him, get a battery & gas, since it ran out while we were running it yesterday. I get there, put in the gas, hook up the battery, it fires right up. Damn, no way out of it now. Long story getting shorter, it's now sitting at the shop, waiting for me to tinker with it tomorrow. After they dropped it off at the shop, guess what? I can't get it to start. Geez, he's jinxed it!
It wasn't until I got home tonight & was thinking about it, that I realized I may not have given it enough gas to fire up. The gas pedal has rotted away, and the linkage is rusted & won't pivot, so maybe I wasn't pumping it enough at the carbs before cranking. I'll mess with it more tomorrow. It'll get new plugs wires, and coil in the morning. Wish me luck. Did I mention I'm a addict.
on he new project
. Windows had been left down, hole cut in the targa top. The kicker was when I went to open the front trunk and I said that it looked like a rat had been living in there- at second glance I said- "Yep, and there he is!" Crawling around in his nice bed on top of the fuel tank!
So I got some used off of a junk motor I have lying around.
for update in another thread