How did you get into 914's? Options

[Jgilliam914]

In 1980 being a college student and the owner of a 1968 Impala SS with a 427 4 speed and 4.11 rear end and gas being a whopping $1.50 I couldn't handle the 8 mpg I got just limping it around town. So I traded a friend even up for a 1972 1.7 that had a tricked out motor w 100mm pistons and counter weighted crank and dual webers and much much more.
I had always wanted a Porsche ever since I saw the Steve McQueen movie " LeMans" at age 9
Well at age 19 I fulfilled that dream.
Many years of upgrades and changes I still have her. In 2002 I threw a rod and it sat for 2 years.I decided to buy a motor off of ebay and once I got into that project I decided to go all out and tear it down to the bare metal fixed a few minor rust issues. With those fixed and the 911 Front suspension installed with 993 brakes on all four corners I am contemplating a 3.6 conversion.
With my kids grown and having a lot more time on my hands and money too for some odd reason? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) I feel it is time to get it back on the street.
I have never questioned my desire to trade that day, the thought of having both cars again does make me smile

[flash914]

Blame Joe Sharp we are Cousins. Joe showed up to say good bye to my mother 18 months ago in Beauty. I was driving my 1970 MG B. I remember one of my coworkers talking about have a 914 in his yard with a broke engine. Two weeks later I had the pink slip and the start on me having the sickness.

[OU8AVW]

My old man ran a Dodge dealership in Memphis. When i was 14 in 1986 he showed up with a 1972 Ghia that was a trade in, he knew i liked Porsches. I bought it, fixed it up and sold it for a profit. Next came a 63 fastback, a 72 Fastback a 63 Beetle ragtop that i cal looked and got in Hot VWs, a 71 Ghia vert, a 71 Ghia coupe, a 69 Ghia coupe, an 84 Jetta, a 84 944 (at this point i'm 18) a 72 Westphalia, a 67 Bug, a 73 Bug, a 75 Bug, a 79 Westphalia, an 86.5 Scirocco 16v, an 86 Jetta, a Passat, a 71 911, a 64 Bug, another 71 Ghia vert and coup, an 87 944, and a bunch of cars i'm forgetting. I always wanted a 914 but only just got mine a few years ago. I restored allot of the cars above, flipped a few of them and drove a couple all over the country. This 914 is about the most complex restoration i've atempted.
At heart i'm a VW guy so the teener is a good fit.

[B2524]

when I got out of college I moved to Redondo Beach and worked in aerospace. I used to go running back then and my usual run would go past Vasek Polak Porsche on PCH.
One night I noticed they had two 914-6's on the show room. The orange one was modified and had rolled fender lips. The Adriatic blue one was all stock.
I bought the blue one. First Porsche.
fast forward to present day, some 40 Porsche's later. I decided to buy another 914 and make it an auto-x car my son and I can run together.
see my thread on the Garage forum for our progress.

[ThePaintedMan]

I grew up at the 12 Hours of Sebring and vividly remember watching the historic races on Sunday morning after the race with my dad. I saw my first 914 there on the hill with him and asked him "Dad, what was that, and why does it look backward?" Over time I guess I just began to appreciate the styling of the car and eventually the engineering and sheer simplicity/practicality. I ran across one in high school that I wanted bad, but the guy thought it was worth more than it was (he tried to track me down a couple years later in college to beg me to buy it off of him, but the ship had sailed). Last year I found my car on CL as a heap of rust but still running. I remembered my Sebring childhood and decided if I didn't buy it then, it would be years before I would, if ever get a 914. But the reason I still have mine is you guys and the support you have given me!

[Bullethead]

Like most kids of the '50-'60s, I love cars. My dad was a hotrodder, my older brother built a mid-engined jalopy out of a '56 Chrysler 300 before leaving for Viet Nam. My first automotive experience was around age 6 when I was given a scraper, goggles, a scarf over my nose & mouth and plopped onto a creeper underneath an old Willys. I went through go-karts and dirt bikes, slot cars and soapbox derby. Pretty typical gearhead foundation.

In highschool I was into Fords, my first car was a Mustang KGT prepped by Holman & Moody... an ex-SCCA car from an engineer where my dad worked. The school parking lot was filled with cool stuff... some of my friends had Beetles or buses so I got to know those engines, helping out with mechanical stuff. By 1973 I was into all things British but a couple of those VW friends had moved on to 911s, and another had a BMW 2002. Riding in and driving those cars was a revelation! Each had qualities beyond any Britcar or American iron... except for a Lotus Europa I loved but barely fit in. I appreciated the handling of mid-engine but clearly needed more interior space. Having read so much about the 914 I went to the dealership to look at one close for the first time. Test drive almost hooked me, but I wanted a 6. Also checked out 911s... the prices weren't something I wanted to make payments on so that was that. Lots of classics were cheap then, so that's what I bought, owned, fixed up and sold. Big Healeys, Jags, even a Packard(!)... later there were BMW and Mercedes, but throughout the '70s and '80s it was Porsche that had my attention as a racing fan.

In Tallahassee during the mid '70s, I needed cheap efficient transport and bought a '62 VW Bus. Loved that car... it was confirmation of an affinity for air-cooled engines. I owned a couple of different VWs after that, and started making a pretty good living. Moved up to classic BMWs (several E9 coupes, still own 2) and Mercedes (W111 coupes, 113 SL). Added another 21 Deluxe bus and a 356S to the garage in '94... by that time we had 8 classic cars (4 air-cooled), but still always got something new every other year for professional reasons: Range Rovers, BMWs, Mercedes, Audis. In 2004, the lease on an Audi A8L was ending, and my wife said she wanted to only drive our old cars. She wasn't "getting anything" from the luxo rides, she wanted to ENJOY driving. That Christmas I bought her a '68 911 Targa. After a year she made the argument that since my BD is 9/11 and aircooled was definately me, I needed my own 911 and we found a 46,000 mile '67 S. Then another. Also raced a '68R through 2009, but still hankered for a 914-6. Bought a clean project from KJ at Gunnar that year, and that's when I came here. So I'm a relative newbie to the 914, but my attraction to them goes back to when they were new.

We currently rotate seven cars from my shop to home so everything gets regular exercise. Hoping to add the 914-6 into the mix in 2013.

[turk22]

In the mid 80's in West Palm Beach, FL, I had a friend who was into cars and restoring an old El Camino. Somehow he came to own 2 914's at the same time, one was an Alaska Blue Metallic 1973 2.0L. I ended up buying it from him, and we shared a workshop/garage space and helped each other fix and restore his El Camino and my 914.

I think I did everything wrong with that car... Removed the original FI, and replaced with single carb, and spent lots of money on what I thought were cool cosmetic enhancements.

Unfortantely there was no internet community to turn to (I don't think I even had a computer then). I loved the car, but it was very unreliable, and a move to Cincinnati forced me to sell it.

I've been jonesing for second chance all these years, and now I have it. I hope to do a better job this time around.

Turk

[turk22]

This is a great thread that I apparently killed 5 years ago...Lots of great stories in here, and some very low member numbers....
Bumping it for the newer guys..
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon_bump.gif)

[Gatornapper]

Pretty much told my story on my Newbie thread, but it is unusual and doesn't fit any of the options on the intro.

I drive an incredible 2011 Cayman S, one of the best handling cars in the world - my 2nd one - base model underpowered. This one will do 0-60 in 4.2 and 173mph, but the main thing is its handling in the twisties. So I'm both a Porsche nut and a mid-engine nut - but only when they are together.

So about a month ago a good friend about 30+ miles from me (we both live in the country) mentions another friend of his has been storing a 914 in his barn for 10 years and he wants it out of the barn but the owner has no place to put it. Owner says he wants to sell it but has done nothing to do so. I am told car is in very good condition.

I've always had a very disdainful opinion of 914's for all the well-known reasons: It's really an ugly rust-bucket Karmen-Ghia made by Volkswagen. Why in the world would a driver of a modern Cayman S ever want a 914 with half the horsepower-to-weight ratio?

Well, I had to go look at it simply because the price was cheap and it was said to be in good condition - well, we will see. Took a classic car nut friend with me who has his own collection with him telling me a 914 is the LAST car he would ever own.

Well, the car is in far better condition that we could have imagined, the price is cheap, and my car friend says, "GET IT!" Just what I need - another resto project. And where do I put it? My 4 car garage is full - of motorcycles - mostly early '70's Triumph's.

Ok, my Cayman sits in a bay with a 10,000 lb. lift. So I can put the 914 on the lift and park the Cayman beneath it, pulling the Cayman out when I want to work on the 914. A good winter project.

If you've been following my intro thread, you know the 914 continues to surprise me with what incredible condition it is and how rust-free it is. Should have the engine running (need to rebuild Weber's put on by local Porsche dealer and have tank cleaned/re-lined from 10 years of ethanol sitting in them).

If the engine is in as good a shape as the rest of the car (60k actual miles - a California car), and it is as much fun to drive as everyone says, I just may keep it instead of flipping it.

GN

[Front yard mechanic]

Wanted a cheap porsche (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) my 911 engine parts are already around 12k (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sheeplove.gif)

[DM_2000]

In 1980 being a college student and the owner of a 1968 Impala SS with a 427 4 speed and 4.11 rear end and gas being a whopping $1.50

That $ 1.50 would be $ 4.45 today.

https://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm

[DM_2000]

I've always had a very disdainful opinion of 914's for all the well-known reasons: It's really an ugly rust-bucket Karmen-Ghia made by Volkswagen.

A few corrections here:

Karmann is a German company that builds car bodies.

Ghia is a Italian design house

Karmann-Ghia , A VW built from 55 to 74 on a VW Bug floor pan. Think 356 with some actual style applied rather than steel stretched over mechanicals like a car cover. There was also an early version on a Type 3 pan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Karmann_Ghia

Karmann built early 911 bodies and a whole raft of other cars ( Like Triumph TR-6 which styled the car by the way. ) so I'd expect them to have rust issues as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karmann

The 914 was a joint effort by VW and Porsche to offer an entry level sporty car.

[Gatornapper]

Thanks for the correction! I actually knew all that but was in a hurry typing - thought of correcting, but didn't think it significant......and I was trying to be brief.......

GN

I've always had a very disdainful opinion of 914's for all the well-known reasons: It's really an ugly rust-bucket Karmen-Ghia made by Volkswagen.

A few corrections here:

Karmann is a German company that builds car bodies.

Ghia is a Italian design house

Karmann-Ghia , A VW built from 55 to 74 on a VW Bug floor pan. Think 356 with some actual style applied rather than steel stretched over mechanicals like a car cover. There was also an early version on a Type 3 pan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Karmann_Ghia

Karmann built early 911 bodies and a whole raft of other cars ( Like Triumph TR-6 which styled the car by the way. ) so I'd expect them to have rust issues as well. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karmann

The 914 was a joint effort by VW and Porsche to offer an entry level sporty car.

[oakdalecurtis]

When I was in High School, I started dating my wife of 39 years. My car was a Ford Pinto, and even then we called it the "blow up car", knowing that if we were ever rear ended, the cars were known to become roman candles. I was mowing my neighbor's lawn one afternoon, and he approached me and asked if I was going to the school prom soon with my girlfriend. When I told him I was, he informed me that it just wasn't right to take her on this big date in a 'Pinto'. He had just purchased a new silver 914 and he offered it to me to use to take her to the dance! I couldn't believe it, and neither could she when I pulled up in this racy little Porsche to take her out for the big night!. My generous neighbor continued to let me use the 914 whenever I had a significant date night, and I will be forever grateful to him. After we were married, my wife and I always said that whenever we had a little extra coin someday, we would pick up a 914. We finally made it financially, and my wife and son went out and bought a nice yellow teener and surprised me with it! When I told my friends that my wife bought my 914 for me, they asked where they could get one. I said "A car like this?". And they said "No, we can get the car anywhere, we want to know where to get a wife that will buy us a sports car!". Good luck, she's pretty special. I'm not so sure I would lend out my 914 today to some punk 16 year old kid like I was then! My neighbor was one of my heroes!