How did you get into 914's? Options

[moparrob]

One day, when I was 19, my best friend showed up with this strange bright yellow car with two trunks, a targa top and an obnoxious glass pack exhaust. It was love at first sight.

Within a few months I had my first 914 (1971) which I wrecked and had rebuilt. Sold that and the next year my dad got a '73 for us to 'share' which my mom didn't care for - so it got sold.

The year after that a childhood friend drove a teener from Philly to California to visit and I ended up buying it from him. That was this '74.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i954.photobucket.com-11663-1301019124.1.jpg)

Sold that in '82 and didn't own another one until last year. The romance continues.

[Silver72]

My Dad had a 1973 1.7 914-4. Silver with appearance package. He had it in the garage in the 70's and I used to play in it as a kid. Loved them ever since. That is the reason I ended up with a silver 914-4 of my own. It is a 72. I still remember the day he brought it home...

[Nie Zu Alt]

Back in 1976 I dated a girl who had received a used 914 from her parents as a graduation present from high school. She really didn't like driving it, so I got to. It was love at first drive (the car, not the girl!) She went off to med school and there went the car. I bought a tired 356C two years later and the rest was a downhill slippery slope.

[speed metal army]

When I was 5,our Doctor had a Bumblebee.I loved it!He actually let me steer the car around the parking lot at the clinic while my mom ran the foot controls.(I sat on her lap)First car I ever "drove"I will always remember that.

A year ago, I told my wife,"I want a car I think. For fun."Started looking around,saw a 914 in a driveway, and was reminded...That was it for me.

[socalstuttgart]

I learned to drive on a 914. I owned a bug when I was 13, the funds came from my paper route, which I cleaned up and flipped. My dad would drive me around in it but I never got to drive it. Back then I wanted to put a V8 in everything. I would draw pictures of my bug with a 350 hanging out the back. Then I bought a bus to fix up. It was a 1978 so it had a type IV. People started telling me it had a “Porsche engine” in it and I was like "what, really"? Then it was like... I should put a bus' "Porsche engine" in a bug. Around the same time I was looking at a Fiat X/19 for sale and I kept getting it confused with 914's that I saw. I'd be like "is that one?"
"No that's a Porsche, the one that has the same engine as your bus"!
Then it happened... I told my dad that I wanted a Porsche engine to put in a bug. I told him that I'm going to go to a wrecking yard and buy a 914 engine and put it in a bug....then he said, "Why don't you buy a Porsche. It's as light as a VW and it's designed for that engine. BAM! I was in a frenzy... Can I afford a Porsche? Where would I get one? How much harder are they to work on then bugs?
I started buying books like "Excellence was Expected" and magazines like "Excellence" and "VW/Porsche". I started combing through the want ads for 914's. I had a paper route so every morning I would finger down the classified past the trucks for sale to the autos for sale, then down past Pontiac to Porsche. There would always be at least a couple of Porsches and every once in a while a 914. I decided I wanted a 2.0 and at the time I liked the 75-76 bumpers because they looked modern.
One day a forest green metallic '75 came up. 2 liter, no rust, good paint it just couldn’t pass smog. So I got it for $2600. The day we picked it up my dad took me out to a private road in the country and taught me to drive a stick. It was bliss for me. I have been hooked ever since. I still feel the same way whenever I drive one!

[patssle]

I was going to buy a classic Beetle with the intention to convert it to an electric car. Done ton of research on the subject, thought it would be cool to do as an engineering feat.

My dad showed me the 914 and suggested to buy one of these instead - you can still do an electric conversion on them.

And here I am, 2 years later, building a sports car with a /6 instead of an electric motor because it's too damn fun to drive.

[netbanshee]

Towards the beginning of high school, my father decided to get back into old VWs. He had one during high school and liked to tinker with them. He also wanted me to get a broader understanding of how a car actually functioned before I would find myself in one.

He found a '69 Beetle that was in pretty terrific shape and had a good price. So it began. After driving it around a bit, he talked about resurrecting another one and selling off this '69. He's quite into the process of rebuilding things and since the current one didn't need anything more than upkeep, he was missing out on the full experience.

Next came a '66 Beetle in rough shape he scooped up for $125, then a '62 in similar or worse shape for $25. By this time, I was getting into college, but I did help out a little bit and got to see the ins-and-outs of an aircooled motor, trouble spots for rust, etc.

While old VWs appealed to me, I developed a healthy obsession with the 911 (993 Turbo especially) and encountered a friend's, uncle's oddball green Porsche, a 914. I had seen one in a parking lot some time ago, but didn't know much about them. I got to sit in it and noted the dogleg shift pattern, the spartan look of the car, and the removable targa top.

Throughout college and afterwards, I could never afford a project car of my own, so I put it out of my mind. In the meantime, my father restored a '50s Single-Cab bus pick-up and an old Willy's Jeep. He also fixed up and maintained some more "modern" 80s and 90s cars for the family to use as reliable transportation.

A few years ago, I brought up the idea of finding a 914 in the $2-3 range to fix up. I figured that between all of the Beetles and the Bus, we should be able to tackle something like this. He was game, so we started looking.

I found a '73 1.7l across the state on eBay, purchased it and picked it up. It wasn't running at the time so we had to flatbed it back to his garage. By mid-day the next day, he had the motor idling. It needed a lot of body work and a new paint job, but it was pretty mechanically sound. We took it down to bare metal and had it primed for paint in about 2mos time.

I got a call during a weekday night that the garage it was in, along with all of my father's tools he acquired over the years burned up in a fire that evening. Thankfully everyone was safe and we had garage and car insured. It was a hell of a setback, but my father kept it together and started getting things figured out for the garage rebuild.

After the garage was back up and running, I started looking around for another 914. Since we did a rebuild already, I was looking for a more complete car this time. I found a '70 914 1.7l going for a reasonable price and it looked to be in pretty fantastic shape. I won the auction and had it delivered to my Dad's garage.

I had purchased the car from an original owner who kept the car in the family the whole time. He had also had the car fully restored and repainted the original color about 7 years earlier. He spent about 2x as much restoring the car as I did buying it. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I've driven her a decent amount over the last two summers and don't see me letting the car go any time soon. We're addressing issues that crop up (addressing a leaky seal / OPRVs, post oil galley plug blow) and enjoying it when we can.

We also picked up a rusty '63 Ghia convertible last year that we're close to finishing. Looks to be a fun summer.

914:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/netbanshee/sets/1076179/

Ghia:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/netbanshee/sets/1522079/

[sclarke7171]

Hi guys,

I happened to be at a car action for storm damaged cars, i was buying a Volvo 850R as a toy, when as i was reading the catalog of the cars, i spotted the 914, i went and had a quick look at it just before it went up for auction and bought it.... price was right and it was 99% complete...

So i came home with 2 cars.....lol

Since then (month ago) i have got it running, drove it today and loved it.... so i'll slowly fix it up and use it as a toy on the warmer weekends..

So now i own 13 cars...... Such a sad life....lol

Seems i have a facination for Odd cars.... Austin 1800 Utility, 1977 T-bird, Volvo 242GT, Landrovers, Holden commodore Ute 2010 model.... plus odd chev's and plymouths...

Clarkie
Australia

[JMKnight]

In 1973 I test drove and attempted to buy a yellow 1970 914 that was brought over from Germany by a G.I. I really loved those cars and driving one just made it worse. I was in college and couldn't afford the 914 so I languished for a few years until my Gremlin was stolen and wrecked. The insurance money was all I needed to buy my first 914 ( which I still own today) A 1973 1.7. I did not know very much about the models of the 914 or else I would have bought a 6 back then. I was too busy with the 1.7 and the ladies who would ride in it.

In 2008 or 2007 I heard that a good friend of mine was disillusioned with his 914-6. He had owned the 6 for decades, and threated it like a newborn baby and I drooled over it, watching it like a hawk for over 20 years, waiting for my chance. Finally it came. Hearing through friends that he was tired of the 6 , I posed the question. He said yes, that it wasn't running as well as it used to that the rear right disk was getting hot, that he just had it worked on and it ran like crap. Spent 7k and all. Unfortunately his biggest mistake was to take it to a friend of his who specialized in GM products for some work on the brakes?!?!? not his usual Porsche mechanic. This shadetree mechanic failed to adjust the rear calpiers properly and so the hand brake bound. I kept my mouth shut. He wanted 14k for the 6, but took 12 and a couple guitars that I had. I fixed the problem quickly, ( after making it look quite serious) and now it is fine, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif) sorry

,

[scotty b]

Open drivers door and stand inbetween the open door and the door jamb facing the front of the car. Simultaniously raise your right leg, begin squatting, and using your left leg, slowly move your now unstable body to the right and down. Continue these motions until you are hovering above the drivers seat. At this time gravity and lack of balance will want to take over so you will need to extend your right arm out and down to support your weight on some internal part of the car as gravity plops your pesterior into the seat. At thispoint some owners like to grab the windshiled frame for support, and to lessen their bank accounts by a fairly hefty sum ( approximately 500.00 ) Once firmly butt planted in the seat, raise your left foot and leg and bring them into the cockpit ( stop laughing Dave (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif) ) with the rest of your person. Now place your feet on the desired pedals,( typically the right foot on the gas and the left either on the brake or clutch, but this is really a matter of preference and nationality) Now reach out with your left arm and grab the door handle. Pull the door towards the car untill the door latch makes contact with the door stricker making certain to use enough momentum to fully engage the latching mechanism.

CONGRATULATIONS !! You have now gotten into your 914 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[porbmw]

Audio imprinting

Way back in 1961, when I was 6, my dad (NOT a car guy) bought a 60 beetle. Best car he ever owned.

On longer trips, I made it a practise to scrunch up in the luggage area behind the rear seat.....needed to hear that reassuring sound of an air cooled right behind me.

914 said come home to mama....

[avidfanjpl]

1973 - Steve Gaglione gets a 2.0L, and he torments me for 3 years while still in undergrad Seton Hall.

1976 - I get out of Villanova Grad School and succumb to my first in a long line of 73 2.0L's. Oly blue and tan interior. The best exhaust I ever had. 4 pipe SuperSprint.

(I would buy a good working SuperSprint for a lot of dough. I would even buy one that needs rebuilding. Nothing ever sounded like a SuperSprint 2.0L at 3,500 - 5,000 rpm.)

No one ever developed a vaccine for this German disease.

I am in late stage 4. I need at least 2 more before I disintegrate.

No rest for the 914 wicked.

J

[SCV]

I've wanted a 914 since I was six, after seeing one that belonged to a family friend and asking (a lot of) questions. The owner was patient, especially considering my age, and once I had a grasp of what makes them different from the average car (this was during the early '80s); IE: mid-engine, rack and pinion steering, four wheel discs, no power steering, no power brakes, etc., I was sold.

In 2009, the dream was realized, and despite the cost in dollars, I'd do it again without hesitation. Life in-general and a nagging conscience telling me (wrongly) that I couldn't possibly afford one kept me from owning a 914 sooner. Having owned two other classic vehicles (First was a '41 Plymouth, second was a '52 Chevrolet), I'm all too aware of the costs, monetary and otherwise, of owning a classic vehicle, but assumed that a Porsche would eat me alive. Occasionally, I miss my old American cars, but know all the while that I made the right choice in selling those attractive, but lumbering behemoths. It would be a mistake I'd surely regret for the rest of my days if I sold the 914, or failed to replace it if something happened to it (insert superstitious gesture here).

-S

[carguy914]

My brother had a new71 Karmann Ghia coupe that had the nose backed into (like many) so into the dealer he went for a repair estimate and came home in a 72 914, it's only options, Silver paint, tinted glass and AM/FM radio....I was hooked (love at first sight/drive) my car at that time was an MGB.

Went on to race a 914 in E Production in the late 70's....bought a new 76 914 as a birthday present and restored a few through the years.

I've owned 911's, 944 Turbo's and Boxster's but I always come back to 914's.

My brother now drives a 2010 Carrera S and I recently found a 75 2.0 California car that had been sitting in a garage covered for 12 yrs....working on getting it up and running, then 914 6 GT look and been thinking of a Boxster/Cayman S drivetrain conversion/update (as opposed to the Sube' conversions of the 914 world) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[mrholland2]

I wish there had been a thing that said "Pop up headlights are COOOOOOOOOL"

[RSrocket]

I started off in '86 with a '69 VW bug. Somewhere around that time my bro-in-law had a 73 2.0L that I got to drive it for a weekend end. From that day I totally fell in love with the 914 and someday knew I would own one.

Not to long after that he gave me a '75 "roller" project car and I though now its on, my very own 914 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) Little did I know that at 17 years old, not only could I not afford to build this car, I was the only guy wrenching on a car when guys my age where hitting on girls...LOL. That project ended sooner than it began (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (meaning, high school is over, time to enter the "real" world)

Now I'm back (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) thanks again, to my bro-in-law who gifted me a 914 track car project. And thanks to all here on the forum, one day my teener will turn a wheel on the track again (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

Sorry for the long post

[JawjaPorsche]

During the summer before my senior year in college, I worked at a bank in Atlanta. Every day during my lunch hour, I would walk down the street to the Porsche dealership and sit in the cars and dream. After graduation, I purchased my 73 1.7 and I still have it.

[DBCooper]

It wasn't love at first sight. I was putting T4 motors into VW bugs, needed a core so bought a 2.0 914 with rebuilt heads and slight fire damage at an auction. Pulled the engine and sold the car, but that got me thinking and onto 914Club. Bought another nice car with a bad engine as a mechanic's lien (too expensive for the owner to have the engine rebuilt, so he abandoned the car). My son built a hot T4 motor and drove the 914 for a while, then pulled that engine for his autocross Ghia so I could put in a V8 into the teener.

The Ghia with the 2270 914 engine:

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1343620372.1.jpg)

Ended up with a Subaru motor instead of a V8, best decision I've made in a while, light, fast and fun.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i379.photobucket.com-2618-1343620461.1.jpg)

[bembry]

I was on a little league soccer team in the mid-late 70s, and the Coach had one. The coach was a real douchebag, but I liked the car. He had it all tricked out in typical 70s style. It was a copper color 75 or 76, with a big decal that said "PORSCHE" across the top of the windshield, Negative Porsche side stripes in black, Riverias, and a big Alpine stereo.
Later, in high school, I read the article in Car and Driver (around 1987) where a younger reporter had bought Csaba Csere's 73 2.0 and road tested in and did an article. That got me hooked again. I used to eyeball a little red one in central Bakersfield until the owner sold it. In college, I scored one right after the internet got big, and I started searching for them. Got mine in 1995, then it mostly sat, with a few interruptions, until 2010 when McMark rebuilt the engine and some other stuff to make it drivable.

[rohar]

I was so hard up at the time that I gave myself rupies and went to a bar just to see what'd happen. I woke up in my shop with my pants around my knees and this red car grinning at me. She's been pretty much in control ever since.

What? You asked!