Why aren't 914's worth more $$$? Options

[74porsche914]

Just been wondering why 914's aren't worth more moolah. In my opinion there a lot more practical then british sport cars and other sports cars from the period. Is it because there always in the shadow of the 911? Really I'm grateful there affordable or I would not own one!

[Laura-4-Lyfe]

Summer, 1998

I am 19 and I am bored with my 280z. We had been together for three years at this point and I was young and restless. I needed something new. The search began. After a month, which is an interminable amount of time when you are at this age, I narrow my choices down to three.

First up is a 1974 914. It is orange and looking back on it now a bit of a hack job. In my eyes she is beautiful. She is the German princess bringing giant steins of beer which I have been dreaming about since I was 15. Sun faded orange paint wrapped around a cracked desert interior. I could see all the businessmen I remember from growing up in LA driving this car. I wanted to be one of them.

Choice two is a 1965 El Camino. This is Detroit Steel at its finest. She is sporting a 350 with a three speed transmission. The shifter is on the column and I have to dig the owner’s manual out of the glove box to figure out where the gears are. It was a test drive for the ages. This is the kind of car my dad would be proud of.

The third runner up was a slightly younger girl from the UK. She was a 1980 British racing green Triumph TR7. I could only imagine all of the pretty rich girls flocking to me as I pulled up to school in this beauty. She had a tan convertible top and a tan interior. Everything looked mint. I could only hope a fraction of the British class this car offered would rub off on me. I wanted to be James Bond.

Each of these cars were for sale for the same princely sum of 3000 hard earned American dollars. After an agonizing week of beach volleyball and booze I came to a decision. I took my money and I purchased the El Camino.

Looking back on everything now this was the right decision. There was no way I would have been able to keep either of the other cars on the road through college. The El Camino not only made it through college but is still with me to this day. How this happened? I can not say. I was not very nice to the poor girl. But I regretted not purchasing that 914. It haunted my dreams. The few I would see on the road would taunt me. I swear their drivers would sneer at me. They knew what I had given up.

Fast forward to October of last year. The stars aligned and almost 14 years later I purchased a 1971 914 - 4. I still walk into my garage and I am surprised it is there. This has been my dream car since I let that one go back in 1998. I do not care how much it is worth.