Well unfortunately it looks like my newly aquired 914 was not quite as "cherry" as i'd originally thought. Though its no hunk of junk and has lots of potentential, i feel it may be a bit more than i'd like to tackle. I had posted earlier in the week that i was heavily into VWs and i do pretty well with them.a list of the bad-- i was out tinkering with it yesterday taking pics and removing carpet seat and such and saw some things i didnt want to see. Of course the drivers side floor pan has issues!!! water leaks from everywhere it seems!The gas pedal moves side to side. the interior need to be totally redone. the car was originally white and now its black (earl scheib i'm sure). it has some surface rust spots around the windshield, one of the headlights, and around the tail light panel no rust through just surface stuff. looks like the valve covers leak (oh it doesnt leak a drop of oil!). the shifter is sloppy but works.someone installed a starter button which i'm sure an ignition switch will cure. i'm sure theres more but i'll stop at that. the good-- it starts up (with button) every time. with a few pats on the gas it calms down and idles and runs on its own. it has a backfire when i let off the gas but i'm sure its an easy fix with tune up, timing, new gas, or any combination of these. its a heck of alot of fun to drive. it stops. it has 5 american racing wheels in excellent condition though they are not to MY liking. the tires appear safe. the engine seems to have much more power than the stock VWs. the lights work heck even the dealer installed FM transistor radio (i have the manual) works out of the right side. all the glass is there the windows roll up and down. the wipers work. i have the owners manual and lots of maintenance records. So to sum this up i have a pretty good amount of cash tied up in this thing as would like a fair assessment of what i'd be looking for if i were to sell it. I've checked samba and ebay along with 914 world and the variations in prices seem to different from car to car. i will try to attach some photos and any input would be greatly apperciated.

more pics

You just described 90% of the drivable 914s out there.... including mine! The interior definitely needs help, but other than that, some minor fixes and tuning and you've got a decent car. I don't want to tell you what to do, but the only two ways you're gonna get a nicer 914 than that are to open your wallet really wide for one that someone has completely gone through, or dive in and start fixing things.... Hell, it took me almost a year just to get my 914 on the road after I bought it. Just my $.02
Mark D.

I don't know how much money you have tied up in your car, but a NICE 914 is not usually an inexpensive proposition, relatively speaking. The newest o 914s are 32 years old and when new, they weren't of the highest quality, so most cars will need some TLC and $$$. Most 914 people I know view their car(s) as multi-year projects, buying needed parts when they find a bargin, doing most of the work themselves (or with friends from 914World!) or saving up the funds to have the work done. You will pay dearly to buy a near perfect car (in 914 terms). However, if you choose to proceed with your "project", you have an invaluable resource in this forum. Why do we do what we do? The payoff is in seeing the progress, however slow or fast it may be and driving the car. Yes .......driving the car, ..ahhh ........ that's what makes it worth it. This is my current project.

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Amen, brother.

Many people on these forums started out with 914s as rough or worse than yours. I started out with a "cherry" (so I thought) car when I bought it and still have poured thousands upon thousands of dollars into it - a mix of performance modification and keeping it on the road. To me this is a normal part of 914 ownership.

On the flip side two very close friends of mine drove awful beaters around for YEARS and they were totally awesome, reasonably reliable, and FUN FUN FUN. If you don't sweat the small stuff you can have a lot of fun with that pile of parts you have there.

You could just freshen 'er up a little mechanically and have a blast. Then save up your duckets for a nicer version or to fix that one. In the meantime you'll have some fun and you'll get time to decide which might be the best way to go.

Like every other 35 year old car purchase, you should always buy the best example you can afford. It does pay off to spend more money on a nicer car. Otherwise, if you want to get in cheap, be prepared to roll up your sleeves and spend the money over time.

Without any additional details (detailed pics and description of other rust areas, motor, etc...) I'd say you've got a $1.5-2.5k 914 there.

i guess one of my main problems is the floors. i am not a welder and it seems all of my friends who can weld seem to never be around when i need them! i guess i should view this as more of a challenge. the parts are more expensive and not nearly as easy to find so far as the vws i'm use to. i just had my elbow reconstructed 2 weeks ago and this probably wasnt a good time to buy a car!! i cant pick up anything heavier than a glass for at least another month. where do you guys buy floor pans from? i'm going to post some more pics of the underside of the car as soon as a friend puts it up on the ramps.

Where are you in SC? From the couple of pictures that you posted, car doesn't look to be in horrible shape, but you didn't post pictures of the longs or the floor pans.

1st 914 I bought, was a total dog (still have it), it was an ebay car and therefore a gamble from the get-go, but it was a reasonable risk for me. 2nd one was a tub that I was going to combine with the 1st one to get a decent car, but it still needed a bit of work to it and I ended up selling it when I bought my 3rd 914 . Third time's a charm I guess as this one's a keeper. My point in this long rambling. I don't know.... don't sell it and have fun with it.

The elbow will heal and you'll be back in action before you know it. You can spend a bucket of money on these things, but you can also do some things on the cheap and not offend anybody but the CW crowd.

Sloppy shifting is probably shift linkage bushings.... cheap.
Starter Button.... either live with it (really cheap) or replace the starter switch.

I'm in the Lake Wylie area, so let me know if you are anywhere close.

-Mike

Im right between columbia and charleston. give or take a few $$ i have about $2300-2500 in this. How bad am i doing so far??

Honestly hard to say without seeing the longs/floor pans/hell hole. If they are total swiss cheese, you are in for a bit of work... and money for replacement sheet metal. Depends on what your goals for the car are.

But with what you have shown so far, I don't think you are doing too bad for 2300-2500. IMHO.

Mike

I haven't used this place yet, but they have several sheet metal parts:
http://www.restoration-design.com/

I've used them. About 8 years ago. Quality, price and service was good.

Others have said it... the most important areas to look at are under the rocker covers, the area around and below the battery tray and the suspension ears.

Jack up your car, use good jackstands. Take the rockers off. Take the rear wheels off. Inspect. Use an ice pick to check rust areas. The condition of these areas should factor heavily in your decisions.

-Rusty

I'm sorry, I wasn't really able to answer the question that you asked, and I kinda took this thread in a different direction. I can't really speak to what these things are actually selling for, as I'm not constantly swapping cars (no funds for that). I just hate to see someone dump a 914 just because there's some work required, because you can get a perfectly restored 914 and not two months later have things that need to be done to it. It's just the nature of these old cars. Plus, you're never gonna get what you put into it as far as money goes. Also, and I think I'm kinda old school this way, it's just way cooler if you do the work yourself. It makes driving the thing so much more enjoyable.
I think the above question is the best one to be asked right now. What are your goals for the car? Figure that out, figure out what it'll take to get there, and then decide if it's worth keeping or worth selling.... It's a give and take situation either way. Playing with cars is always a hole to throw money into. The question is whether you'll get what you really want for your money. Whatever your goals are, there are people here who will help you reach them. Nobody knows how to do everything,(though some people think the do) and that's why the community is important. SOMEONE will have the knowhow to get done what you need to get done.
Again, sorry to misdirect your thread. If you want to know what 914s in your condition are selling for, I'd say your best bet is to look on The Samba, Ebay, Kraigs List, 914 World Classifieds, 914 Club classifieds, ect, and just make your best guess. Hope we were able to help today.
Mark D.

I see black targa trim....was originaly white.....CREAMSICLE! Well you never know. Whats the VIN# and year? Looks like a 72 .

Steve

The car was originally white for sure. VIN# 4722908367. Where do i find out info about the vin?

A 72 was not a year for the Creamsicle

Yes, parts are more expensive than a vw, but a 914 feels better at 100 than a vw, stops better than a vw, and handles better than a vw. Either can be very quick but so can an '82 mustang.
You're paying more but you're getting more too.
The cold idling is inherent to carbs. Most dual carb setups for these cars don't have any choke and like any car with no cold start enrichment it will run crappy until it's warm.
99.9% of 914's have rust.
Either it's been fixed or it will be fixed, you just haven't paid for it yet. If you'd spent over 10K for the car I would expect that the rust would have been fixed already.
Oil leaks are pretty par for the course. I'm not aware of any '70's cars that have absolutely dry engines. My 02 Subaru has an absolutely dry engine but I've never seen a 20something year old or 30something year old Porsche that is truly dry.
Valve cover gaskets are cheap and the valves should probably be adjusted anyway.