First Flight, my first time behind a 914 wheel Options

[zeppelin71]

Well after a fascinating week of playing 914 archeologist (isn't it amazing what accumulates under car seats?) I finally fired up my new 914 and took her for a spin. Aside from a 5 minute test drive of a 912 ten years ago, this was the first time I had ever driven a Porsche - despite having had a 20 year 'addiction' to anything remotely related to the marque.

What can I say about the experience? Maybe something dumbass like WOW - it is exactly what I hoped for and literally dreamed it would feel like. Actually 1 little spin turned into 6 progressively more adventurous dashes away from home... gaining confidence in my 914's mechanical condition with each one. The car is a total blast! I 'only' have the 1.7 FI but I'm quite happy with the performance... in fact I was rarely all the way to the floor with the gas pedal (partly because it stayed stuck on the floor on one occasion and I hesitated a repeat of that experience). On the other hand, I was frequently near the redline - I find the raspy sound of the engine enjoyable, especially when you lay off the gas a bit and it starts to hum while it's cruising.

While the 1.7's performance was a 'relief' of sorts, what really blew me away was how quickly I had control of the steering and gearbox - for some reason it just seemed to all click. Well .... umph - (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif) - gotta remember about reverse being where I'm accustomed to 1rst being (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

So - thank God - the car seems to be in good mechanical condition, and it continues to clean up nicely (what a drag though... how can someone let a Porsche get into such a poor cosmetic condition ???? It also seems to me 924s commonly suffer a similar fate).

Oh the high idle.... I at least 'partly' solved it by turning a screw near the airbox lol... I just wondered what it did and as I turned it the idle went down. Not sure that was healthy for the car but it seemed to be an idle adjustment. The motor runs fairly well once it has warmed up - but it backfires a lot after starting, and hesitates somewhat when going on the gas (again until I've run it for a while). Good thing the Chiltons is on its way from Pelican - along with new vacuum hoses, fuel lines, the 'restoring 914s' book and a bunch of cosmetic items.

As part of the archeology I discovered the remnants of a tool set in the rear trunk. I'm thinking it might become my first project to reassemble an authentic tool set. It also looks like part of the rear trunk's base has been replaced with new metal... but I'm not sure yet. Oh - in the front trunk there definitely was AC installed... thanks for the tip off on that guys.

Also - ATTENTION GARDENERS! I have bags of high quality top soil available for sale. YES - authentic Porsche topsoil, retrieved from inside my 914!

One question I am curious about - are there any options for a low cost repaint on a 914. I mean something that will last a few years until I figure out what (if any) long term plans I have for the car.

cheers!
Markus