Which 914 to buy?, Looking for a 914, which yr is best? Options

[Doug73/2.0]

Need advice. I learned to drive on my uncles 914...(I was 12 back then) and have wanted one ever since but the 914's i've seen here in the north east are all basket cases. I've seen so many discusions on rusted out hulks, poor shifting, underpowered, engines not running well and lousy brakes that I wounder if it is insane to buy a 30 year old 914. I remember doing a lot of repairs with my uncle when his was only a few years old. Sounds like these have been troublesome direct from the factory.

There are several on ebay each week. I hear "side shifter" worked better than the cable. What year and engine combination did that appear on? I've been told that 73 side shifter with 2.0 engine was probably the best of the 4 cycliners. The sixes are out of my price range. I'd like to spend around 3k.

Any thoughts...Thanks Doug

[Queenie]

No one here has regrets about owning a 914, but everyone has felt the pinch of repairs and maintenance.

This is particularly true if your 914 is a daily driver. When they're properly set up and maintained they can be very reliable, but regular maintenance isn't cheap unless you're prepared to do all the labor yourself. And even then you end up paying, maybe not in cash but in time and effort and skinned knuckles and sometimes a whole hell of a lot of frustration.

But all things considered? I'd own three of them if I could.