PPI in Detroit Area, 914 Inspection Options

[warrenoliver]

Hi,

I am considering a 914 I found on ebay. It did not meet the reserve price, so I contacted the seller. He will let it go for $6500. I do not care for the color and I don't like the stripes, but if it is in good shape, I am interested. It is only about 300 miles from me, so I can pick it up myself.
Is anybody in the Detroit area willing to do a PPI for me? Does anyone have a recommendation for a good unbiased shop in the Dearborn Michigan area that can do an inspection?
The ebay link: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1973-PORSCH...1QQcmdZViewItem

Thanks.


Warrenoliver

[groot]

Warren,

I just saw and drove the car. Overall, seems like a very solid car. Lots of original stuff that still works.

Body-Orange.... it's an early 70s color..... I think it's pretty cool, but you have to make the call on that. Stripes are vinyl, but have been there a while... could be removed, but there's probably a good chance the paint under the vinyl is a slightly different color than the rest of the body due to the natural aging of exposed paint. Right front fender appears to have been replaced at some time... there's s seam up near the turn signal. There are nicks and scratches in the paint, but none that indicate abuse or anything like that. Some rust bubbles under the sail panel vinyl on the passenger side. Driver's side vinyl has a tear at the bottom. Driver's door opened reasonably with the stock mechanism. Hood, trunk and engine lid all opened well with the stock mechanism.

Chassis-Rear bar car... nice. Rear dampers are white. Maybe some aftermarket crap.....never seen white before.... maybe they're KYBs. All suspension mounting points look strong and unmolested (those that I could see). There's some minor surface rust discoloration.... like orange dust on some parts.... wouldn't stop me, but you should know about it.

Engine bay-EVERYTHING SEEMS LIKE IT'S THERE AND WORKING!!! This was a new experience for me. It has 2.0L heads. The hell hole looks like it was cleaned out fairly recently, but I couldn't see any major damage down there with the flash light. Battery was in place. Typical oil leak under the car......

Interior-Very nice..... maybe the best part of the car. Rubber seals, while not new, may actually seal out some of the water.

Driving experience-The car was driven over to my house, so I don't know how it starts cold. But, it restarted easily. Right rear brake disc has major roughness issues... maybe because it hasn't been driven enough or the disc and/or pads need to be replaced. It shifts as well as any 914 I've driven. It hits all gears and doesn't pop out of gear (at least it didn't on my short trip). It accelerates well, but nothing amazing. No missing, idles well, revs up to 5500 no problem. Seems like it could use a bit more timing for some more pull at the higher RPMs.... but I haven't driven an injected stock-ish motor in many years. Dynamically, it seems great. The dampers are doing their jobs, steering is nice.

I don't know what this would be worth to you or how much you value your dollar, but I think this is a pretty solid car. Other than the rear brakes, I don't think it needs any major work at this time.