Adventures of an old 914-6, Keeping it in the family and making memories Options

[vintage914racer]

As a regular lurker, and occasional forum participant (primarily when I find myself in a pickle and need to "phone a friend") I've always enjoyed ongoing build and "keeping them on the road and running" threads. So in an effort to do the same for myself, and perhaps prevent haphazardly ad hoc and disjointed threads for projects and updates, I figured I'd try to pull things together into my own, ongoing thread.

This thread is about "Speedy," my 1970 factory 914-6. The car has spent more time off the road than on, but as of late I've proclaimed it's the year of Speedy and started tackling a long list of updates. Before we get into those details, here's a bit about Speedy...

My memories with Speedy go back the the mid-80's when I was a pudgy four or five year old. Back when safety was more of a suggestion than a requirement, I'd often tag along in the front seat between my mom and dad on backroad blasts and the occasional trip up to Brainerd International Raceway when IMSA used to run up there.

Why the name "Speedy?" Well I suppose because as a kid I saw the 180mph speedy, felt my dad's right foot initiate some speedy acceleration, and perhaps because I distinctly remember my mom, in the passenger seat look up from what she was reading, glance at the speedo and shriek upon the realization that we were doing 120mph. By 1980s perspective, particularly that of a 6 year old, the car was Speedy. By today's standards? I'm not sure. But it sure is fun. And for the record, I'm not typically one to name a car, but apparently I was as a youth. And its stuck.

Here's she is, for reference...



It's worth noting that my Dad bought Speedy after he overcame a horrible battle with blood cancer (where they initially gave him 60 days to live). After paying off some truly excessive hospital bills that piled up during his better part of a year spent in the hospital, Speedy was his "I kicked Cancer's ass" celebratory purchase. He bought it at Carousel Porsche Audi in Golden Valley, MN, and perhaps not by coincidence, when I was a teenager I kicked off 10 years of employment at that very same dealership.

Stay tuned for more about our early years with Speedy and my journey as caretaker...

[vintage914racer]

It seems I've done a poor job updating this post over the last year.

For the most part I've done very little to the car in the last 12 months other than drive it. I managed to put close to 1,000 miles on it over the fair weather months here.

Here are a few snapshots I found on my phone from the summer months here in MN...

First, one of a few trips to the local Ben and Jarry's



And a quick shot in front of the Minneapolis mural adjacent to my office. For a good week or two, before it got too hot here, I drove the 914 to work.



And another shot with my daughter during a trip to the local mini golf spot.



And finally, a shot at home on the lift. I was able to source this vintage license plate frame from Carousel Porsche/Audi. I find the frame cool for two reasons. First, my dad bough the 914 at this dealership in the mid-eighties and this is the frame that they probably would've put on the car at the time (or maybe a bit earlier). It's also cool for me as I spent 10 years working at this dealership, starting when I was 15 years old.




Now with winter among us here in MN, I'm thinking ahead to next spring and running through the things I'd like to do to the car. First and foremost, I need to track down a couple of more oil leaks. Despite fixing a bunch of them, the car still does a very good job of marking its spot. I think the oil return tubes are the biggest offenders for now. Given I don't want to pull the heads, I'll probably try the collapsible spring versions.

Another order of business is replacing the muffler with something more pleasant for longer highway drives. I've been eyeing an achtungkraft muffler with button adjustable flaps, although I have a bit of sticker shock. The ability to choose between a muffled, or more rowdy exhaust note is quite intriguing.

I'm pondering long term plans for the car. I'd like to rebuild the engine at some point. Currently powered by a 1968 aluminum case 911s engine, it has a bit more scoot than stock, but also the engine is tired. I've threatened to tackle the project myself. I have some good phone a friend resources at my disposal, and I think I'm reasonably mechanical.

The other thing on my mind is some of the body rust, namely behind the door handles near the sail panel and on the front windshield cowl. Rust repair is Pandoras box, and while Rick 918-S tackled all of the structural rust 10 or so years ago, I'm worried about sidelining the car and budget for more cosmetic rust repair. Naturally I'd like the car to be fresh and shiny (and adorned with GT flares) - I just need to figure out when and how to pull the trigger.

Big picture, another thought continues to cross my mind -- will I be able to sustain keeping two 914s in tip-top shape and be able to appropriately enjoy both? With buckets of cash and time, sure, but I'm not sure that's the best deployment of my resources. Both cars are expensive to keep up, and despite being able to do a lot myself, there are some things I'm probably best not doing. The race car sees the track three or four weekends out of the year, and absorbs probably requires 2-3 times that many weekends of me prepping it throughout the year. And with its tired, twisted, always been a race car chassis, I see it needing constant mending (when it probably really should be re-tubbed). On the other side of the garage, the blue 914-6 "Speedy" gets driven a bit, but not enough as I'd like. I'd really like to get it in great cosmetic shape and refresh the motor so I can simply enjoy it. So, my hair brained idea that gets tossed around in my head at least once or twice per year is to retire the orange chassis, repurpose its fun drivetrain bits into and fix the blue car up as a shiny, 9146 GT inspired dual sport ripper. Am I nuts?