It seems to me that it is only a matter of time before someone decides that a true Kit Car should be made to resemble the 914, the big questions are:

Will people buy the kits?
Will the Kits and components be true to the original design? (Mid-engine, ind. suspension, 4 whl disc brakes, etc, etc)
What kind of chassis will the Kit be built on?
1) A used or damaged 914 chassis?
2) VW Bug chassis
3) Tube frame (like a Cobra or Lotus 7 kit)
4) Glued up chassis using honeycomb composites?

Would you buy one???

Everyone drools over the cobras, the 550 spyders, heck in Europe there is even a Kit Car based on the 911 which uses multiple different watercooled powerplants if one wants to go that route.

A tube kit that incorporated a roll bar hidden under the body panels would be interesting. Most of the basic pieces are already available in FG (hoods, engin lid, fenders, door skins and targa bar), altho some would need to be expanded into full items to make it work.

Interesting to see "how much"

The cockpit is crutial in my opinion. I absolutely love the cabin of the 914.

Oh, and the 'thick' doors...remind me of the Mach 5 Something about thick doors, I can only remember seeing them on sports cars -- yeah yeah, I'm sure some geek will find a 'common' car and prove me wrong but let me live the boyhood memories, m'kay?

A little too much egg-nog, huh Mueller!

Was this post influenced by the auction for an all fiberglass 911 styled kit car that is currently on ebay?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...item=2450321662

Charles Navarro
LN Engineering
http://www.LNengineering.com
Aircooled Precision Performance

I buy a lottery ticket every week just for this. About a 100k to finish

Merry Christmas...............Bob

http://www.ultimasports.co.uk/

people buy exotic kit replicars because they can do so for 10 per cent of the buy-in for 'the real thing' and it can be operated and insured comensurately.

i wouldn't buy one - i have the real thing. when the street price of a 914 reaches $250,000, you will see $25,000 kits. since a nice original 914 can be had in the $5000-$7500 range, i don't think anyone will be making $500 kits.

aircooled VW Bug chassis? the upright fan presents packaging challenges, and the chassis have been out of (US) distribution for many years now. New Beetle? maybe, but even with the spiffy turbo models, i'm certainly not ready for the front-engine front-wheel-drive, water-cooled 914 experience. tube frame seems like a low-margin possibility.

replicars typially track exotic prototype cars - or niche cars like the Caterham (Lotus 7) or early MG. okay, i suppose the 914 meets those criteria. still seems to me to be a tough sale when there are so many originals available...

(original) Cobras and 550's are $200,000+ cars.

I'd love one!

My preference would be a tubeframe (although a glued honeycomb construction would be nice, I think it would get too expensive)
Keep it as true to the original 914 as possible, just take out some of the quirks we have to live with

Either in a form to which you can bolt up all your existing 914 suspension parts, or maybe one with a more trick double wishbone suspension, but one that would still allow us to bolt up stock porsche parts for brakes etc.

I'd like one for next years xmas

cheers,

Jeroen

My idea is to have a carbon fiber tub, molded to be like a 914 chassis, and hang customized body panels to give customers the look they want from the "factory".
It would reverse the trend of making cheap copies of an exotic, into making exotic copies of a cheap sports car.

we expect no less from a welder who lives in Bolt-on CT !

Merry Christmas to you !

For a long time, I said that my next car would be a 550 replica (Thunder Ranch or Vintage, because Beck doesn't offer a /6 cylinder chassis option). But... alas... I've changed my mind. I think a nice 914/4 or a HD would be better for me. Heck, I could have both for the cost of completing a 550).

How is this not OT? Because I'm about tired of projects. Maybe once I'm less transient, I'll feel differently. But for now... The Bee needs some minor work (who's car doesn't). That, and keeping the 914/6 maintained is enough projects for me.

-Rusty

Call me when there are no more 914s left on the market. Then, a kit car becomes attractive (like the 550).

I think that a "Kit" car or a high quality replica 914 would go over very well here in the Mid-west...especially if it had the "no rust" look. Additionally, it would certainly add to the appreciation ($$) of the existing true 914's. Maybe a distinctive marking package to make this new 914 recognized on the road...Shelby Mustangs had three different motor options...can this be offered with maybe one -4 or -6 ...BTW how would PCA view this for competition...a class of it's own?...if so...then a true boost in 914 recognition...for everyone...

not sure how you figure the availablilty of a new-construction replicar 914 would increase value of the originals. by contemporary standards, the original 'entry-level' 914 doesn't come off well in most comparisons except to those of us enchanted by its quirks. do you suppose the marketing folks at Cartier cheer when QVC introduces a knockoff at a fraction of the price "Oh Boy! our concept has been validated! watch our sales soar now!" (i'm sorry - that was excessively sarcastic, but i just don't see how availability of a superior product at competitive pricing will do anything to increase the value of the originals...)

Shelby Mustang? pure marketing ploy... (the Cobra is a dfferent concept completely...) however, any 914 replicar made now would surely have provisions for a contemporary watercooled inline OHC turbo 4, Subaru turbo flat-4 and 6, Porsche flat-6 (with actual plumbing designed for the front-mounted oil coolers they require), and small-block V8.

PCA? "Well, let's just check out its certificate of authenticity ..."

they don't recognise Speedster replicars, they don't recognize 904 replicas, and they'd probably prefer not to recognize 914 originals given the chance, but that decision was made (amidst CONSIDERABLE hue and cry) 30 years ago so they're stuck with it.

Ahem... Cayenne?

-Rusty

yup - it's a '70's flashback for sure, yet another Porsche-VW joint venture, more yelling and screaming about whether or not they should be let into the club. eventually, they decided yes, citing the same "Porsche calls it a Porsche..." logic (and God forbid PCA National should do anything Porsche doesn't like (much)).

last year there were 2 Cayennes entered in the Parade Concours (and they both won - different classes ...). there were Cayennes entered in the Autocross, and posted some pretty respectable times. (we have yet to see one on its roof at a Parade event, but i bet it's a special challenge to course designers now ...)

you -can- get a certificate of Authenticity on a Cayenne, and it says Porsche and everything. it's in.

Great idea Mueller, 1/24th scale...
CCLINREVELLTOWN

Well, now there are two cars at which 914 snobs can turn their noses up. 924s, cause they just plain suck, and the PepperVagen. I guess I'm a 914 snob then.

-Rusty

P.S. Wow, we really hijacked Mueller's thread, huh? heheheheh

Since I am new to 914's...please forgive me but what exactly does the certificate have to indicate about this car? Is it a VIN number?... I have read that it is a Porsche powered by a Porsche motor...but beyond that...inquiring minds want to know...
only because I think it is an interesting concept...and please...I'm not a spy for the PCA...not even a member...

Just like the cars....but the what if's are very interesting to me.

I'm with Bob on this one. I've been drooling over one of these for a couple of years now.

This essentially IS a kit car 914.

It even comes in Signal Orange!

basically, it's everything the Porsche factory knows about the car. the exact date of manufacture, the color, the optional equipment list, the VIN for sure, the motor number probably. (record-keeping in the early days was quite spotty, and especially now that the cost of obtaining a CoA (formerly called a 'Kardex') has skyrocketed, i wonder just how much information is going to be available about my '53 ...)

basically, PCA membership is available to owners (or lessees) of Porsche vehicles, as interpreted by PCA National. the "VW-Porsche 914" was the subject of considerable debate when it was introduced in the early '70's (especially since they were marketed as VW's in RoW, and Porsches only in North America). less so in the late '70's with the 924. and again now with the VW-Porsche Cayenne[-Tuareg].

a sidebar - the bylaws of my former Region specifically state ownership is available to owners of Porsche CARS - not 'vehicles' - but i think they may eventually update the bylaws...

i -am- a PCA member, on the Executive Board of the Riesentöter Region in ZOne Two. i've been a PCA member since 1975. i recommend it. (some people have issues with PCA and don't like being members. that's cool too. i suggest you spend the $46, join for a year, and if it's not your cup of tea, drop it in an informed decision after trying it.)

did that answer your question ?

Might as well toss in the pic.

thats freakin awesome! its in Pounds (how much $ is that)

Bux ($)x1.65 or 1.7 Depends. You'd have to check the current exchange rate. But that's ballpark for the time being.

im in love

I would br interested in a 550 kit for the 914 chassis. You would get the best of 2 worlds

Bernie

Thanks Rich,

AFA the PCA...I will think about it...

the certificate still makes me think... but since it's something the PCA requires (I guess) and it is their ballpark... then I guess if you wish to play in their park you have to play their game by their rules...

Do the racing guys have to provide one of these certificates when they sign up for a PCA race? How would a totally rebuilt 914...let's say with a tube chassis, FG all the way around and a different VIN number motor compete? Or, do they offer a class unto it's own for this type of car?...I am just interested in the concept...of how this works.

okay - i've given you the wrong impression about the CoA, and i have to apologize for that.

while it -is- the final authority on when and how a particular car was built, very few people have them, or need them. only if you have a particular need or desire about your car, or if you think it may have an unusual history, or if you're trying to accurately restore an older car that may have no trace of its original color.

the point i was -trying- to make earlier was - if it wasn't made by Porsche, PCA isn't going to recognise it for -anything-. (the story may be, and often is, different at the individual Region level, where replicars are frequently welcome to display in an "exhibition" category - i recall one (either a Beck Spyder or a Speedster) that took home a 'People's Choice' award at a concours. you're not getting one into a competitive event at the Porsche Parade (PCA's National Convention). and they may indeed be very nice cars, but they're not Porsches, so they're not getting in.)

at the Club Race level - i just don't know if a tube frame car has to have "come from" a car with a VIN or not. there's a wealth of information about the Club Race requirements on the PCA website (www.PCA.org) which i'd invite you to check out to further research the issue.

most PCA events require AT MOST a current title or registration showing manufacturer, or a VIN that is clearly traceable to Porsche manufacture.

i'll some day have to go spring for a CoA for my 356, because i have no idea what color or engine type it had originally. i don't know that it'll return to either specification any time soon, but i'd like to know ...

PCA now allows our tube frame cars IF we can prove they where built prior to 1999 (SCCA logbook prior to 99) They run us in the GTP class (which is where 962's would run if they showed up).

Tube frame cars dont sell. Already been there done that in 1995. Look how long the car in AZ was for sale. Unless you sell them turnkey (which takes an enormous amount of time to pull off) people dont want to assemble them. 17 full tube chassis 914's where sold. I have seen 2 on the track, one for sale..

As long as we have tubs.. there wont be a need.



B

I still want a super seven kit car. One day, I will get one to build and put my choice of engine in there (supercharged S2000 )

Ahh.... 1500lbs + 340hp =

Whatever drugs you may be on, I suggest flushing them and
getting a fresh batch

Let's face it, there were a small amount of people who liked
the looks of the 914 when new, an even smaller amount now,
and like everyone said you can get the real thing anyway if
you like it. Kit cars are about looks first, am I right?

I can't think of another mid-engine chassis where it would be
reasonable to make it into a pseudo-914.

Mmmmm Lotus 7. High on my list. One more bay of garage space...


914 kit car? I don't think so. Have a nuther shot of Bailey's and call me in the morning.

Beck Spyder: don't write then off too quick. I know a guy who just picked one up that's got a 160HP TI engine. He's having a ball with that car. Runs class X in the local PCA AX. The POC would let 'em run as well.

As somewhat a newbie to the 914 and with somewhat of an outside view... I think that if I had originally had an opportunity to purchase a "complete" high quality kit 914...without all the associated headaches...I probably would have gone down that road....now saying that I still like my own "original" project teener...but it will be a long while before I get it on the road...I accept that fact because this is a project that I wanted to do myself.... but a kit would have made my life alot easier.

I didn't start out my 914 project with PCA in mind...or racing the car... I started out with one objective...drive this car for fun and to keep me busy (semi-retired)....and that's all.

One would think so, but most come out looking terrible.

This Bradley is a perfect example of a blind person designing a car....



True to a point, but why are 356 kits popular, even ugly ones like this one (overall the car is very nice, but the flares F up the lines of the car so bad, that nothing can help it look "correct" ever again, short of removing them)

because quality tubs are -not- readily available. the cars are older and had even more rust issues than ours.

and unlike our cars, most of which came with VW engines to start with, 356's had engines with very expensive, long out of production parts.

the advantage of the 'Speedster' kits is that you can take a tired T-I Bug, freshen the engine for reasonable money, and have something that looks like and probably outperforms the original.

it keeps coming back to looks and performance. people have always liked the looks of the Speedster, and a modern VW engine and transaxle are more powerful and reliable than the 50-year-old prototype cars.

in very broad strokes, the Speedster -is- a hotrodded VW. both rear-engine concept cars. to re-use another existing floor pan for a 914 kit you'd use what ? X-1/9? MR-2? Honda del Sol ?

we're not normal, here. nobody nowadays would build a car that looked like a 914 on purpose :-) ...

Ha, you're right about the bradley gt, that's for sure. But then
don't parents of ugly babies think they're cute, too?

Were you talking about a complete carbonfiber chassis?
Now that would be a great thing. Super lite, super stiff, no rust... aluminum skeleton for suspension/cage?
Hmmm, got me thinking dammit. Is there a website that explains how F1 cars are built??

On a practical note, it would give us something to do with all the extra 4-lug suspensions.

Hi. My name is Chris and I suffer from ADTP.
(Another Damn Teener Project)

completely unrepairable for crash damage ...

just don't wreck it!