What have I gotten myself into, New old 914 Options

[Rick H.]

Evening everyone,

I'm new to Porsche but have always liked the look of the 914. Drove one a few times just enough to realize the shift pattern was not what I was used to. I've been looking around for a project car and found several MG and Triumph models but they were all either rust buckets, a project someone started but dropped or stupid expensive. Besides, who wants to deal with British electrical systems from the 60's? Not me. Fortunately I have decent mechanical skills and once built a 350 4 bolt Chevy in my kitchen. I was single and what else was I going to do with a kitchen? Worked out well. Last week on Facebook for sale I found a 914, looked at the photos, lost my mind and bought it. It's a mess. Stored inside or at least under a roof for 20 something years. The guy that bought the property found it and a lot of other stuff in one of the barns and finally decided to get rid of it. He pulled it out and it rained immediately. The paint is dead and the interior is awful but I found no signs of rust, just some surface corrosion. It's a '74, not sure which engine but not a 6 cylinder. Looks like most of that is there, all the dash instruments are there. No sign of rodent infestation damage. Tires are toast of course but I should be able to get it on a trailer to get it home. All four wheels turn, no lock ups. Headlights and bumpers are missing but I suspect they are in a storage building with a lot of other stuff. I'll need a flashlight and a shotgun to root around in there but the rattle snakes haven't started moving yet. The seller thinks everything is here, just not all in the same place. I'll post a few photos of my latest nightmare, I mean project, when I get it home. Should be next week. I've found quite a few videos on YouTube that have been worth watching and there's a place in Atlanta that does a lot of work with the 914. I also found this place thank goodness. I'll need to learn who the parts sources are for these cars and a whole lot more. For now I'll settle for learning what to look for and what questions to ask. First question: is there a decent shop manual for the 914? Back in the pre internet days someone produced a series of very basic shop manuals for nearly any kind of car but I don't know what's out there now. I've done resto work on a 68 Mustang and a 79 Z-28 and what I learned from those is how to figure things out and how many things the previous owner did wrong. Anyway it's nice to be here and I hope to get underway on this car soon.

Rick H

[burton73]

That battery tray is the top of a marine battery tray. Looks like it is just bolted on the wall and that should come out very easy. I got and old 914 that the PO made a battery out of wood.
I just want to shoot this out to you since you have experience in doing GM V8s, just an idea that maybe you drop a small block Chevy in this thing as you do have the trans there. There are adapters around. If you look on 914World you will se what a bunch of people have done. There have been a lot of different water cooled conversions done with different brands of engines, some that are very impressive and you could end up spending less money that rebuilding you old 4. I had a 283 SBC in a 74 in 1979 and it was a lot of fun and I made a lot of money when I finished it. I was 25 then and it was easy for me to do it right on the side of the house. You do need to find out what factory VW T4 eng you have, It may be a 1.8 or a 2.0 just so you know where you are at.

You are into a big adventure now, have fun with it and try not to go broke.
You are at the right place,

Best Bob B

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