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

[anthony]

Some girls do too.

Sorry about forgetting about you gals! You 914 daily drivers get the badge of courage. I love my 914. I drove it almost every day last year but ... I have back up cars and I bought a relative cream puff so I've had to do very little to it. Still I wouldn't have a 30 year old car as my daily driver with no backup. I went that route for 8 years driving a '77 320i - it was a fun car, only broke down twice in 8 years and both times I was able fix it on the side of the road but it was a royal PITA having a car I couldn't rely on 100%.