Hi, all. My name’s Ryan. I've cruised these forums for years but recently figured it was time to actually register as a member and hopefully begin engaging more with the 914 community.
This '73 2.0 became my very first car in 2005.
Per the original window sticker, it was imported through Chicago and made its way a few hours south to Howard Hembrough Porsche+Audi in Springfield, Ill. As you all probably know, the paint option seen below was not from factory and is how the car looks currently. The gentleman who bought it off the lot had it done in 1976 — covering the car's actual factory option of Delphi Green Metallic.
That same owner eventually gave it to his brother, a local dentist, who lived in Canton, Mo., where the car then lived in his garage for the better part of 25 years — mostly as a grocery-getter or occasional weekend driver, accumulating only 53,000 miles by the time I picked it up 15 years ago.
But the first time I saw this car — or any 914, for that matter — was maybe around 1999 when I was 10 years old. My uncle’s a mechanic in Canton and had gotten to know the car and its owner over the years. During a family visit, my uncle took me to see it and we were able to go for a short drive. Love at first site. I started saving as much birthday, Christmas and lawn-mowing money as I could in the years following. My folks had made me a deal that if I saved up a majority of the cash for a vehicle purchase, they’d help cover up to a small difference when I turned 16. We would chat generally about what kind of car I hoped to have, and I kept coming back to a 914 — not specifically this one, but a 914, nonetheless.
I later found out that not long after that first drive with my uncle, my parents worked with him to help find a 914 that would serve as a surprise on my 16th birthday. I think he initially found a ’74 1.8 in decent shape and began restoring it. That endeavor lasted up until a tornado ripped through the shop it was in and destroyed it — just after receiving new paint.
A few months later, the dentist friend contacted my uncle, saying he was looking to sell the ’73. My uncle called my parents and convinced them that this was an even better opportunity to pick up where things left off after the ’74’s demise. Fastforward a year or two later, my folks sent me on a scavenger hunt for my 16th birthday with clues that ultimately led me to the keys of this 914 that I have today.
It was my daily in high school and first year or so of college before I transferred to another school a couple of hours away in 2012. My mom gave me her old Toyota Camry as a parting gift — something she felt would be a little safer as it offered more than just a seat belt and roll bar. I left the 914 with them and would go home as often as I could to drive it. But school picked up. I graduated. I started working and decided to pursue grad school. The time I had to get home and keep the 914 running reliably had long passed.
I ended up selling the Camry after several years and picked up a 2001 Trans Am WS6 to entertain myself. This was actually my best friend’s fault as he bought a Camaro Z28 of the same year and one thing led to another. But we had a hell of a time taking those cars to the drag strip just outside town and dragging a few of the local frat bros in their brand new Chargers and Challengers in the quarter mile.
That WS6 is what led me to a shop a few years ago, where I found a mechanic who had a side hustle working on classic Porsches with an older gentleman who’s been doing so for nearly 50 years. The 914 was in need of some professional help at that point, and that’s where it went. I trailered it down to their private shop last year and was able to drive it a couple of months back for the first time since 2013. All it really needed was a new fuel pump and it started right up. I went back a couple of weeks ago to put some more miles on it and clean out more cob webs. Now looking to help out around the shop as much as I can as the year progresses and get it ready for the Rolex 24 in 2021.
Fuel tank, pump and lines were cleaned and replaced as needed. The wonderful folks at PMB helped us with the brakes and its system's parts. Suspension, tires and a Scart Super Sound muffler are next on the to-do list. Then, in no particular order: quick-release MOMO Prototipo Wheel while reupholstering the original; get rid of the two side mirrors and go back to the factory driver-side single; pick up a new rear bumper top seal; and,
maybe, repaint to the original Delphi Green Metallic — or something found in between Bahama and Signal Yellow with some very minimal cream-colored striping running down over the hood and trunk just off center.
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