BUILD-OFF CHALLENGE: New 914 owner...what have I gone and done! Options

[Darren C]

Hi everyone,

I have been looking for a 914 on and off for a couple of years now and late one evening I bid on ebay for a car in Desert Hot Springs CA. A real leap of faith for me as I live in Chichester UK!
My first car was a VW Beetle and I’ve owned quite a few air cooled VWs and always wanted a 914, so now almost 25 years later I finally took the plunge and with sweat on my brow placed a last minute bid on ebay on a car I’d only seen in 4 small photo’s on line.
To my surprise I won the 914.
Problem was it lay 8000 miles away from me here in UK. I got hold of the sellers phone number and gave them a call. The car is a 1974 2.0L one owner from new sold in Palm Springs 914. The seller was the owners daughter. The gentleman passed away several years ago and she’d had it parked up on her driveway for 5 or 6 years. From the description in the listing it had a Salvage title due to sand storm damage on the paintwork. It looked reasonably solid in the few pictures I saw, but very sorry for itself with flat tires and bad paint. It was a gamble, but sometimes these things pay off.
I got the car picked up by a shipping agent and taken to Long Beach for shipping.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i265.photobucket.com-18255-1419606931.1.jpg)

2 months later it arrived in Southampton UK

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i265.photobucket.com-18255-1419606931.2.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i265.photobucket.com-18255-1419606931.3.jpg)

Last week I went down to Southampton and collected my new project just in time for Christmas.
I was recommended this site from another 914 owner and it's a great relief to find such a large active community. 914's were never sold in the UK, so all are personal imports and a rare thing to see on our roads.
I’m pleased to now join you guy’s and post my restoration progress in getting this little car back on the road.

Regards
Darren

[Darren C]

Thanks for your overwhelming support Guy's.

It's been very tough going after the TIA stroke.

My thread is as I said at the beginning of this Challenge, is a couple of months in advance of time. (That's how us Delorean owners roll) ;-)
In all fairness it is a real time thread with each day number indicating the days since the car arrived in UK, and the total time in my ownership here across the pond. I was 1/4 way into the build in October when the challenge started, so decided on the grounds of fairness to all contestants, and have exactly 365 days to start and finish the build, that I would run my thread in real-time but just backdated to meet the October to October duration of the Challenge.

I've had much time in and out of Hospital since the TIA and I am currently back at work. Thanks for your concerns and kind wishes. The story of my recovery will unfold in the next few monthly updates on here.
It was actually in the first few months of this Challenge that I had the TIA Stroke. I actually wrote up some of my earlier posts on here while in Hospital typing with one hand! If you read back through you'll see I have mentioned having brain scans in the MRI machine while thinking about working on my 914! I didn't want to give away what had happened to me or throw in the towel.

The need to get the car finished in 12 months and the need to update this Build-off Challenge thread each month has actually increased my determination and sped up my recovery.

For this I am truly grateful to 914World.