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

[emerygt350]

Jack points are the little raised bits Hanging down just under the longs. Pretty obvious if you look around. There are four of them and they all look the same. Good luck! I think Red Green has a saying like "if they don't find you pretty, at least they will find you useful"? If I were you I wouldn't be shooting for the moon on that one, just clean it up real good and figure out what you got. That motor... Yeah ... Better to focus on the body for a bit and don't let the mechanicals get you down. Those will be far easier and cheaper than the body.

[fiacra]

Jack points are the little raised bits Hanging down just under the longs. Pretty obvious if you look around. There are four of them and they all look the same. Good luck! I think Red Green has a saying like "if they don't find you pretty, at least they will find you useful"? If I were you I wouldn't be shooting for the moon on that one, just clean it up real good and figure out what you got. That motor... Yeah ... Better to focus on the body for a bit and don't let the mechanicals get you down. Those will be far easier and cheaper than the body.

Sage advice. Given what you've found so far I'm sure you're going to find a lot more DAPO "repairs" as you move forward. Really give this car a once over with a very critical eye before making a plan.

I have heard some people say not to jack up the car on the doughnuts (the raised bits emergygt350 is talking about - I'll attach a picture to make it clear) but I think most of us do. That's what I use when I put my car on the lift. In the rear you can also use the engine bar as a jack point. Under no circumstance use the factory jack points until you know the condition of the longs, and even then there are probably only a few people who use them.

[SirAndy]

I have heard some people say not to jack up the car on the doughnuts (the raised bits emergygt350 is talking about - I'll attach a picture to make it clear) but I think most of us do.

The donuts are not jack points, they have no structural support. The front ones literally just sit on the bottom side of the front floorpan and the rear triangle isn't much better.
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[fiacra]

I have heard some people say not to jack up the car on the doughnuts (the raised bits emergygt350 is talking about - I'll attach a picture to make it clear) but I think most of us do.

The donuts are not jack points, they have no structural support. The front ones literally just sit on the bottom side of the front floorpan and the rear triangle isn't much better.
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@SirAndy . All well and good to say that, and to give someone the over top of the glasses librarian look, but not helpful if you don't actually share what jack points you are using/recommending (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[SirAndy]

@SirAndy . All well and good to say that, and to give someone the over top of the glasses librarian look, but not helpful if you don't actually share what jack points you are using/recommending (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

In order:
- Stock jack posts (probably excludes a large number of 914s due to rust)
- Grooved metal/rubber top floor jack under the pinch welds on the longs (probably still excludes a lot of cars)
- Production assembly line "donuts" (who needs a straight floor pan anyways)
- Solid outer motor mounts (yeah yeah, i know)

If you want to jack up both sides either in the front or back, i prefer a piece of wood to spread the load.

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