Contracted 914 fever— is this the car to cure it?, What do you think of this ‘73 914 2.0 on Bat— pass or play? Options

[trylon]

Ha! I can see how that picture could be interpreted as a slight but when you zoom out one might get a completely different impression:



The guy who runs the show (Porsches+, by invitation) was specifically searching for 914s to display— and put them with all the early Porsche-designed vehicles in a place of honor.

[trylon]

You are so lucky. I have had mine for over two years and have yet to meet up with another 914. I have a guy near me rebuilding a 914/6 but we haven't been able to meet yet.

I was surprised to see another 914. The owner knows of two others in the state and we hope to get together in some mini gathering sometime!
I was hungry to see how our engines compared, specifically what was missing in mine. Somehow in my excitement I forgot to take a picture of it. It was good to compare— learned a lot.

And, yes, I am very lucky in so many ways.

[trylon]

Check to see if your fuse panel cover is missing under the dash. They seem to go missing often...

Yes, it’s there but looks like its the reverse of what is pictured in the owner’s manual.

[flipb]

Ha! I can see how that picture could be interpreted as a slight but when you zoom out one might get a completely different impression:



The guy who runs the show (Porsches+, by invitation) was specifically searching for 914s to display— and put them with all the early Porsche-designed vehicles in a place of honor.

In some good company there!

Amazing how low a 914 looks even next to a Beetle.

I've been seeing other 914s at Cars & Coffee events around me a little more frequently lately. People are dusting them off and tuning them up as values rise.

[trylon]

Saw in the other 914 in the show that there was a ‘Y’ that attached to the heater blower that permitted attaching a hose to the drivers side and a one to the passenger’s side.

Is that a stock part available somewhere or something I will have to fashion myself?

[emerygt350]

Saw in the other 914 in the show that there was a ‘Y’ that attached to the heater blower that permitted attaching a hose to the drivers side and a one to the passenger’s side.

Is that a stock part available somewhere or something I will have to fashion myself?

They stopped putting that on earlier in the models. By 73 it was just the one pipe on the driver side. It's not even particularly effective only running through one side. The real push comes from the engine fan. You will notice heat is pronounced when at high rpm and not so much below 3k. The fan pressurized one on the driverside helps, marginally, keep your side defrosted. Marginally. I would just hook it to the driver side and leave the passenger sealed.

[emerygt350]

and get yourself a sealed battery.

[emerygt350]

Is your cooling flap hooked up? Can't tell from the picture.

There should be a little wire here pulling on the metal rod.



edit: it kind of looks like it is from an earlier picture.

[wonkipop]

Saw in the other 914 in the show that there was a ‘Y’ that attached to the heater blower that permitted attaching a hose to the drivers side and a one to the passenger’s side.

Is that a stock part available somewhere or something I will have to fashion myself?

pretty sure the twin hose set up on later cars post 73 is either a dealer lash up or some subsequent mod that owners "discovered" in the late 70s 80s.

the y adaptor is a standard VW piece out of the Vw 411/412 variant (squareback).

the earlier set up with twin hoses is just a straight up VW 411 blower fan configuration from the 411 sedans. its whole different blower housing with two outlets either side.

personally i think the single hose fan set up works fine. it demists the windscreen in front of the driver which is i believe its real intended purpose. i don't think porsche or VW were cutting corners when they did it in 73. it is all the tiny cabin of the 914 needs?

just hook up the left hand side blower hose to the fan and be done with it.

besides the y piece is kind of unobtanium i think these days being a VW part for a 412 variant and long gone in terms of finding one. except in a junkyard?

and........i drive a right hand drive 914 with a left hand hose biased heater blower. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
no problems. but i concede australia (north antarctica) ain't exactly cold by north american standards. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

the main thing would be to ensure that the hole through the tin normally hooked up to the blower hose is not open to the car underneath. you don't want heat from either the exhausted cooling air or even via the heat exchangers blowing back into the upper section of the engine bay. type 4 engine relies on total separation of engine bay upper zone from lower zone. esp in a 914 because the engine cooling fan is not relying on a dedicated ducted cooling inlet airflow isolated from exhausted coolant air that has been heated after pushing around the engine itself.

your car would have had a single hose from blower to the left hand side circular hole in the tin from factory. buy some hose and hook it up and enjoy the heat assist. assuming the fan still works of course. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[jhynesrockmtn]

My 74 and my buddies 74 both have double fans as pictured.

[trylon]

Is your cooling flap hooked up? Can't tell from the picture.

There should be a little wire here pulling on the metal rod.



edit: it kind of looks like it is from an earlier picture.

If I have found the spot to which you are referring, I believe that there is no such wire. Will be putting the car on a lift soon, pics to follow— should give us more info concerning the thermostat.

[trylon]

Thanks for all the input on the heater hose.
Will simply attach blower to the one uncovered hole and be done with it.
Interestingly, I did not realize that there might be heat even without the blower. Could certainly use some right about now. Taking the car on a three day mini-excursion starting tomorrow. Not going further than 100 miles round trip but doing one of those each day. Next level stress test… wish me luck!

[Shivers]

Is your cooling flap hooked up? Can't tell from the picture.

There should be a little wire here pulling on the metal rod.



edit: it kind of looks like it is from an earlier picture.

If I have found the spot to which you are referring, I believe that there is no such wire. Will be putting the car on a lift soon, pics to follow— should give us more info concerning the thermostat.

Drivers side of the engine underneath the car.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WFrcKSB-oUM

[bkrantz]

I did the Y-fitting and double blower hoses on mine, cuz why not?

[emerygt350]

Is your cooling flap hooked up? Can't tell from the picture.

There should be a little wire here pulling on the metal rod.



edit: it kind of looks like it is from an earlier picture.

If I have found the spot to which you are referring, I believe that there is no such wire. Will be putting the car on a lift soon, pics to follow— should give us more info concerning the thermostat.

Another very easy, cheap, and important fix. Hopefully they didn't do anything stupid with the flaps inside the tin.

[Porschef]

Another very easy, cheap, and important fix. Hopefully they didn't do anything stupid with the flaps inside the tin.

Very true, especially as real fall driving season is here. You’ll need the thermostat mount, pulley, cable, and the thermostat, which is available from Awesome Powdercoat. Your pulley is probably still in place, which would be a plus (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[trylon]

Remarkable performance from this automobile! Multiple trips, in city, on highway, country roads, it just runs. It is difficult to believe that this is vehicle is a half a century old. Was particularly surprised at its 70mph performance on a 10 mile stretch of interstate. Not my usual venue but it handled it with aplomb.

I will say that I rarely drive my classics at night and on a busy Westchester backroad with SUVs on my tail it felt like the headlights could not keep up with the speed. Pretty much a trial by fire that I will not repeat without further investigation.

On another note: BAT contacted me for a few paragraphs about the car as well as some pics. It may just be SOP but I’ll bite— stay tuned!

[rhodyguy]

If both of the Jtubes are capped and the rest of the heat system is intact there will be plenty of HOT air.

[flipb]

Remarkable performance from this automobile! Multiple trips, in city, on highway, country roads, it just runs. It is difficult to believe that this is vehicle is a half a century old. Was particularly surprised at its 70mph performance on a 10 mile stretch of interstate. Not my usual venue but it handled it with aplomb.

I will say that I rarely drive my classics at night and on a busy Westchester backroad with SUVs on my tail it felt like the headlights could not keep up with the speed. Pretty much a trial by fire that I will not repeat without further investigation.

On another note: BAT contacted me for a few paragraphs about the car as well as some pics. It may just be SOP but I’ll bite— stay tuned!

You got a peach of an example; no wonder that you're having so much fun with it.

As for the headlights, there are LED upgrades that make it more usable at night. Personally, I put in Halogen H4s about a decade ago, and I still don't love driving it at night. I'm probably due for the LED upgrade too.

[trylon]

Another very easy, cheap, and important fix. Hopefully they didn't do anything stupid with the flaps inside the tin.

Very true, especially as real fall driving season is here. You’ll need the thermostat mount, pulley, cable, and the thermostat, which is available from Awesome Powdercoat. Your pulley is probably still in place, which would be a plus (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

I went through all this with the Karmann Ghia as well. Will investigate, thanks.