Hey all. This is my first post on the forum! I picked up a 72 914/4 that hasnt been started since 1986!!! They say they drove it when it was parked. Any thing i should spend time with other than the normal stuff to start and engine thats been sitting 20 years? the oil in it looks clean. Meaning no water or debris in it. Thanks a bunch!

Hoo boy. I'm going through this very same procedure with a car that hasn't been started in 3 years (and apparently wasn't maintained very well prior to being stored).

Rust in fuel tank.
Old fuel.
Fuel filters (2)
Fuel lines (brittle/cracking)
Spark plugs
Crankcase oil
Trans oil
Brakes (calipers, pads, master cylinder)
Brake fluid
Tires (dry rot)
Battery/ground cables (remove/replace - wire brush ground contacts)

Be sure to spray the interior of the cylinders with fogging oil and turn motor by hand before hitting the key. You don't want to break piston rings.

I'm sure there's something I'm missing. Some people think I'm going overboard. "Just change the gas/oil & turn the key!".

Well...maybe if it were a '58 Buick.

I purchased a 914 that sat for 17 years,I just did this and the car had no fuel in the tank. So I added some premium fuel, some injector cleaner, some other cleaner additive. Charged the battery, checked the oil, cranked it to build up oil pressure and it started and ran, and is running fine.
CCLIN914NATION

on what has been posted so far about the fuel system. Dont let that old junk and rust get through your lines and into the engine!

Hi: I agree with all of the above sitting that long there has to be a lot of

deteareation (sp) ,rubber hoses,tires,breaks rebuilt, on and on . But please ,if
you haven't yet, check the usuall spots for " RUST " amount of that will determined
the amount of work to get it runing again "SAFELY" . Keep us informed as you progress, some one here will have done what ever you are stomped on at that moment .

Dave

If it were me, I'd pull out all the old fuel lines (including the ones through the center tunnel - and while you are doing that upgrade from brittle burn-my-car-to-the-ground plastic to stainless steel) and replace them and the fuel filter too. Also, I'd replace the alternator pully belt.

There will be no more gas in the car, but I would drain the 20 year old varnish out of the gas tank. Check the tank for rust. If yes, you are allready 3/4 of the way there to pull the tank and clean it and seal it. If you are lucky, get new gas in it quick.

Change the oil, crank for pressure, and see if it goes BANG.

Zach

i think that seattle car was the exception to "what should i do before i try to start" list. pretty much garaged ALL of it's life and it shows.

k

"Brittle burn-my-car-to-the ground plastic"? An irresponsible and indefensible statement, statistically speaking. Known instances of failures in the hard plastic lines, OTHER THAN in the external portions subjected to heat and road debris, are pretty much all related to drills, saws, welders, and other destructive forces. Many new cars still use the technology, certainly a sign of the safety of the material 38 years down the road. More common is the failure of the rubber lines, often because Bubba used 3/8" or 5/16" common low pressure line, possibly together with the wrong clamps. Other causes of failure are mostly because the owner or maintainer decided not to inspect and service the hoses in a prudent manner, or the injector bodies have sprung leaks. The Cap'n

Welcome to the insanity!

I did exactly the same thing. Parked her for 20 years then tried to get it started. The advise above, particularly from Zack and Danny Ocean is really good.

My additions/reinforcement to theirs:

Do not even attempt to turn over the car before you deal with the fuel supply system. It will probably be full of varnish. Mine was so bad that the fuel lines were blocked by it. I did a half ass job of cleaning it out and was too eager to try to start it. Wound up with crud in the injectors and need to get them clean.

Commit yourself to the time necessary to a full fuel system overhaul. Strip it all out. Replace the rubber hoses. My plastic hoses were ok but I've heard a lot of people that had them break particularly where it comes through the firewall. If they feel brittle replace them with something. One of our members fabricates stainless replacements - good stuff. Pull out your injectors and send them to cruzinperformance for an overhaul - best $50 bucks you will spend.

Do a vacuum check on your MPS - make sure it will still hold a vacuum without leaking.

Pull and overhaul your distributor. The advance plates are likely all gummed up. Check that the vacuum can on the dizzie is ok.

The D-Jet system doesn't like vacuum leaks anywhere so you may want to replace any of the hoses that attach to the downstream of the throttle body. The ones that attach to the air filter are not as critical.

When removing any electrical connector do not pull by the wire. The plugs and sockets are likely going to be really stiff. If you slide off the connector and wind up pulling by the wire you will probably break the wire inside the insulator and it will be nasty trying to find it. Treat the whole harness like it was made of thread!

Do a search here for 'grounds' They all should be identified and cleaned up. There are a number of clusters of them.

Oh what the hell - you might as well adopt the position and get 'er up on jack stands - that's the teeners natural state any way. Unless you have a lift it will be a lot easier and more pleasant doing this work with the engine out of the car. First time it will take you maybe an hour to drop it - you will want a buddy during the actual drop. And while it's down you can clean up the rust, powder coat the tin, replace the shift bushings and ..... like I said - welcome to the insanity.

Well shoot SWL. Might as well take every bolt out huh!! HOPEFULLY it wont go that way just yet...Thanks to everyone with their input. I'll probably need more advise before shes driving so I'll be around!

I just pulled the plastic lines in my tunnel to replace them with the SS lines from Chris. I have to admit, they looked like new. Not brittle at all. Oh well. They are out now.

You expect to actually drive it? What a novel concept!

Seriously though - be really careful with anything that is rubber especially between the output of the fuel pump and the pressure regulator.

Put it on jackstands....buy a case of beer.....admire the car while drinking the beer and conversing about what it will look like when you finish it by the end of the year.......... and relive this moment for the next 5-8 years

I think there are 2 or 3 members in the Phoenix Metro area. You may want to search them out for info and local expertise...

Well said Cap'n! In my 35 years ownership of my 914 I've never had a fault with the plastic lines. Never cracked. Never gotten brittle. Never leaked.

Oh yeah - the high pressure rubber dudes have been changed 4 times now, but the plastic endures. I'm with you - it ain't broke & it's factory!
Pat

Cap'n, in the time I've been lurking on this forum, I've observed you argue against changing the plastic lines on several occasions. In the past, I didn't respond, but I will now: I think you're dead wrong about this. Making the claim that the lines are OK because they only turn brittle at the ends is like saying that NASA has never lost a shuttle, except for Challenger and Columbia. It's intellectually dishonest to arbitrarily exempt the failures so that you can then claim a perfect record.

I have only owned one 914. It's probably a safe bet that the majority of people on this forum have owned less than 10. So when you disparage Zach's comment as "indefensible, statistically speaking," you've missed the fact that 10 cars is at least an order of magnitude below what would be a statistically-significant sample. I don't need a statistically-valid sample of 914 fuel fires before I make up my mind about the hazards of these brittle lines -- all I need is common sense. The facts are these -- the plastic lines are 35 years old and they crack. 914s burn. Cracked plastic lines probably contribute to the fires. Replacement lines are cheap and easy to install. In the light of all this, your insistence on keeping the plastic lines seems to me to be the more indefensible position.

I changed my brake fluid last weekend. I did it because the fluid had gotten dark. Would you have me wait until my brakes fail before I do so? Would you also have me wait until my 914 burns before I change the fuel lines? Maybe I should get 100 914s and do a proper statistical burn analysis? Maybe 1000?

And Pat, thank you for the anecdote about your factory-perfect lines. We all respect the effort you put into keeping your 914 factory-pristine and I'm sure most of us envy the condition of your car. But your car rarely gets started, rarely sees an engine heat-cycle, rarely sees inclement weather, rarely gets parked in the sun, rarely gets driven down muddy or wet roads, rarely, in short, gets exposed to the conditions that cause the plastic lines to become brittle. And even if your lines needed replacement, your commitment to absolute adherence to the factory design, good or bad, has compromised your objectivity on the safety of these lines. I don't care about losing concours points. I DO care about losing my car to a fuel fire. You should keep your plastic lines -- they seem to work well for you and the judges. But you should also acknowledge that your 914 is not a representative example and that its perfect condition is not a valid argument for keeping the plastic lines in every other 914.

Here's the final word for the new 914 owner: Change your fuel lines -- if your 914 subsequently burns, it'll be for some other reason than cracked plastic.

I agree with Dave that you don't want to be a statistic. It is about a days work to swap out the fuel lines so it is a reasonably easy job if you are buying pre-bent line.

In deciding which of the two opinions above you are going to hitch your wagon to take into consideration where your fuel pump is. If you have it in the rear then neither of the lines are going to be presurized so they will not have the stresses that might lead to failure. In the front though I would not want to tempt fate (is the factory line in the newer cars still plastic?). 30PSI is the same as you have in your tires. I could see the rupture being sudden and big. Granted the fuel would only be spilling on the road and not in the engine compartment but it could get exciting (visions of Die Harder!)

Regardless of your position on the plastic lines, the Cap't warning about the high pressure hoses in the engine bay must be headed. It would be interesting to run a poll:
If you have had a fuel line fail the results were
1. Plastic line broke - fire
2. Plastic line broke - no fire
3. High pressure line/joint failed in engine bay - fire
4. High pressure line/joint failed in engine bay - no fire
5. Fuel injector failed - fire
6. Fuel injector failed - no fire.

I'm sort of with Dave - statistical relevance is unimportant. I don't care if it is 1 in 100 or 1 in 1000 - I don't want to be the one! That said though it would be interesting to hear if anyone knows of a fire resulting from plastic failure.

Hello, Slim!

Welcome to the world of Porsche! Unfortunately, I don't have any advise (yet) that I can offer you; as you and I are in the same boat! (http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=74456&hl=) However, if I find-out any helpful information, I'll send it your way!

Enjoy!