Here's my story:
I purchased this vehicle from a fellow Tampa Bay 914 owner, Eric. Eric had been trying to restore this vehicle for several years. The kicker was, the car had been repainted RED.... I have been in the process of restoring/reburishing several 914s, mostly '74 for several years now. Eric finally decided that he wanted to own a 914 that he could drive. He found a 914 in Georgia. He bought it and he and a friend of his drove to GA and returned with the car in Aug 2006. In Sept 2006 I again organized a TBB (Tampa Bay Breakfast) and Eric brought his new car. During the breakfast I inquired about his other car, the red one. He kept it in the garage, but was looking to get rid of it so that he could park his new car there. I asked him if he'd sell me just the doors, but he said I could have the whole car for $300. I told him I'm always looking for parts cars, but I didn't have a way to pick it up. He had a co-worker that had a trailer and he could deliver it. Well, in Oct 2006 he and his co-worker delivered the car to my 'shop' at my in-laws. I didn't have any covered storage, but put a tarp over it and stored it outside. The other part of the deal was that Eric was going to keep the engine and tranny. Fast forward to Feb 2008. It was a slow day at work so I decided to review Jeff's web-site, again. He mentions on his site that he hadn't found either a Black or Ivory built car between mid-February and early April that wasn't an LE. This got me thinking about my cars. On my website, I always list the VIN and the body color. After reviewing this information I thought that the car I bought from Eric might be an LE. I checked the car over again one weekend and noticed that there were no bumpers, rocker panels, Mahle wheels or valances. But I noticed that there wasn't any lower targa trim holes. At this point I'm fairly certain it's an LE, but I still don't have any evidence, so, I decided to request a COA from PCNA. In the mean time, Eric called and told me he had the front floor pan that he purchased and wondered if I could use it on the car. Eric had removed the floor pan and had done some extensive restoration before he sold it to me. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I made arrangements to pick this floor pan up. When I got there, he sold me the floor pan, but also gave me the only rocker panel he had. The rocker panel was painted black, but when I turned it over, there was RED paint on it. At this point I'm really excited that I found an LE that I've owned for the last 1 1/2 years. Also, that same weekend, I asked Eric if he had the engine. He said that he had sent the engine to Jake to have it bored for a larger engine kit that he was going to install in his new car. A week after the engine was shipped to Jake, Jake never recieved it. Evidently
I have already contacted Jeff Bowlsby. Besides the above information, I also sent him the following:
Jeff, I just wanted to thank you for your website. Without it I probably would have used this car for parts. But, since this is one of the LE I'm planning to get it back roadworthy. Currently I've just finished a '74 2.0 Bahia Red that I'll be selling soon and I have another '74 2.0 Bahia Red that I'm finishing up. It's also a special 914 because the VIN is 4742905914, the last digits are 914..... Anyway, once I get these cars sold I'm planning to work on the LE next. This just goes to prove that these cars are still out there, but you have to be educated about their existance.
Here's a link to my website showing the LE...
When the time comes, I'll start posting the complete restoration of this car.
Here's the COA...
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If Eric sees this post, I'm hoping he can add any extra information regarding this car...
Here's the car's current condition, except it has it's own storage shed now...
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As you can see, this car is camouflaged very well...
-- Rob
that's a great find!
Andy
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