Hello everyone my name is Jerry also known to some as (newbie hoser scammer ) I recently within the past few days purchased our first 914 . I immediately fell in love with the car at first sight along with my two sons age 9 and 18. I was very nervous about purchasing a car that I knew nothing about, with that said the car arrived today and I had already prepared myself for disappointment because in the past every time I bought a project car it turns out to be way worse than I thought. I'm pleased to say this car did not disappoint me. I immediately started looking the car over expecting to find rotted floors and rockers , quarters or something. I pulled the trunk carpets out and no visible rust. I poked around with a screw driver and nothing. I scraped under coating off in the wheel well and corners thinking I'll definitely find rust there but nothing. I haven't pulled the rocker covers off yet so there is still a chance. The only place with rust was below the battery which didn't even look that bad, the dreaded hell hole was the only spot I could find so far and didn't look as bad as I thought.

Click to view attachment

I removed the carpets in the trunk to check condition of the floor and corners and everything is solid and no sign of previous repair or collision , the car came with a brand-new carpet kit so I think I'll clean the trunk up and install new carpet.

I removed most of the stuff in the forward trunk and again to my surprise no rust!!!!!!

I'm trying to figure out how to post more pictures but it says they are to big or reached my limit. Sorry

I'm still trying to learn how this stuff works

So far look very GOOD. Let's see some pics of the hell hole.

I'm trying to figure out how to post more pictures. I'm not very good with computers and electronics

Nice looking car... Nice purchase.

Thank you, I'm very proud of it. I'm trying to figure out how to post more pictures

Here is the spot under the battery

It's in the FAQ, nailed thread:

Need Help? FAQ, Rules, Tech Articles, it's all here!
Links to all the important parts of the 914world site
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=94568


2nd link in first post ...

This is on the very bottom of car directly beneath the battery. The worst spot on the entire car that I have found so far. Question is it safe to pick up with my two post lift.

Bingo...... jackpot!

I believe this would be a side shift transmission. The car is stuck in third gear, the shifter moves freely. I tried to lay under car and shift it but the shaft coming out moves with hardly any effort. This has me worried

The forward trunk appears to be rust free. I poked around with a screw driver and everything is solid even in all the corners

Looks like it has a small oil leak. But everything is surprisingly pretty clean

The previous owner had this 2.0 bus motor built and said it has a slightly larger cam. Not sure how to confirm that. So the down side no fuel injection . I would like to make this a good example of a original 914. "Question" should I try to put it back to original fuel injection and motor or should I leave it alone , or upgrade to dual carbs. What would be best for this car? I feel like putting it back to fuel injection is going to be a huge challenge, I'm not even sure where to start.

Every project I had ever built has had some form of suspension upgrade. Is there anything available for this car that would improve handling without compromising the car or is leaving it stock the best option.

The car came with a pile of Haynes manuals and several books on the car, also detailed electrical schematics and order catalogue. Also included was a new in box clutch and pressure plate, four new brake rotors and pads , original tach, carpets kit. New tires, two spare matching wheels, no telling what else is in the boxes

The rubber bumper pads are starting to crack a little along with some or the rubber gaskets and seals for Windows and trunks. Are these still available new?

Looks like you found your rust. There will be more in that area, what you see is always just the tip of the rust berg.

Not sure about the lift, i wouldn't chance it, i think i can see the inside of your long in that pic.

The car looks nice otherwise.

This should be mandatory reading for anyone:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=16748

As mentioned don't lift on there,clean car but looks like a battery acid victim...pretty normal.
The carb you have is a good carb but not on a T4,you have very long intake runners and no pre-heat,they are just ok but no better than much really.
If you have a bus motor you need to supply engine number so folks know what you have,I strongly suspect it may be unsuited to carbs and could be a D-jet or later L-jet, don't think carbs on 2.0 motors were around in that era in the US but certainly in Europe.

Yes they are.

Looks like a pretty clean 914 you got there. Nice way to start off. Source some stock later front and rear sway bars to add to your 914.

Car looks surprisingly clean except for that jack point. That can be welded up easily assuming there's good metal nearby.

It's not a big deal to put fuel injection back on -- but since the PO put a different cam in there, I wouldn't do it. Not many cams play nice with FI. Probably better to plan on ditching that bus motor at some point and find something fresh with build details someone is selling here on the World.

On the suspension side, there are definitely upgrades available (adjustable Konis, etc.), but a fresh and properly tuned stock suspension is pretty strong too.

Welcome to the madness.

You have a great starting point. Most people find lots more rust than that.


Build a 2056 with D-Jet and install it. That is the most bang for the buck in the Type IV builds.

The transmission probably sheared the roll pin on the side shifter console. It happened to us years ago. Easy fix, but you have to drain the gear oil and pull the shift console.

Suspension upgrades would be a set of sway bars, new springs and shocks. and some wider tires.

The rest of the car looks great. Wonderful find!

.
What's your thoughts on the steel fender flares, I want to keep the car as original as possible but my son likes the flares and sportier look. Would doing that take away from the car?

What I always say is "You have to live with the car. Do what you like to it." I have flares on my 914-6 conversion, my wife doesn't have them on her 914 1.8L. Our six is original, and is not flared.

If you add the flares, you need wider tires and rims. That means bigger brakes. And that means a 5 lug conversion. Be careful... its a slippery slope. I should know......

If your son had to pay for the flared look (and all that goes with it), the narrow body would be just fine. Detail only the parts price list and show it to him. Then drop 'by the way, the car has to be taken apart for the COMPLETE paint job'.

yes the car looks very good, too good to be abused by a single carb!! (LOL)

You found some nearly antique parts catalogs, too - Tweeks hasn't been around for a LONG time....

Fix the rusted out longitudinal, get the transmission shifting, and get all safety items (brakes, seatbelts, electrical) fixed BEFORE you consider flares.

You have a lot to learn, and a ways to go before you do radical surgery to a seemingly nice survivor car.

And..........

^^^^^^
Excellent coaching, get it sorted and drive it for awhile before doing anything like that.

I noticed this in your post, that’s a good two decade smile for a future ownership. This 914 found its home!

Click to view attachment

Thanks for the kind welcome, I totally agree with you on things to do first. My 18 yr old son was the one wanting to do the flares, I think the car is in too good of shape to start doing big mods like that. I like the thought of keeping as close to original as possible while making it safe and reliable at the same time. I already know that my son will end up with this car because I saw the look in his eyes

Yes sir that's my 18yr old son. He is in love with this car as is his little brother and myself.

I think all of the above is sound advice.

I love that color (looks like Tangerine). If it were me I’d get The car operational first and then make a list of projects to tackle. I agree with Clay that the roll pin inside the trans is your most likely culprit. An easy job. Pull the long shift rod at the firewall and at the transmission. Drain the transmission. But make sure you can loosen the top trans fill plug before you loosen and drain the trans fluid. More than a few of us have pulled the bottom plug on the trans to drain it only to realize that they could t get the top plug off, leaving them no way to refill the transmission with fluid. Once the transmission is drained pull the shift console. I believe it’s just two 10mm or two 13mm bolts holding it in. The shift rod on that console that goes into the transmission has a ‘finger’ on it that engages the gears. The finger is held onto that shift rod inside the transmission with a small roll pin that goes through the rod and the finger. If it’s all in one piece you can tilt the whole console to get it out. If the shift finger has sheared the pin the console will come out pretty easily and the finger should fall out after it. Hopefully the pin parts fall out, too.

Inspect and see what’s needed. There are some seals to replace while you’re in there to help prevent leaks. I’d also check the bushings that the long shift rod rides in on the shifter console and replace. Cheap part but helps shift feel. Also there are bushings at the front of the shift rod. I’m assuming that since you have a side shifter trans that the front of the shift rod has the late style shift knuckle. That can be disassembled and the bushings replaces (search the site of how to do this without breaking the aluminum cage). Then go for a short drive...you’ll get a feel for what needs to get repaired. But get those rusted areas repaired quickly. Lots of help here and probably several people in your area here on the board willing to lend a hand.

On a side note the 914 is incredibly blessed on the amount of parts that are available. Very, very few parts are unavailable. For instance you asked about the rubber bumper tops being available. The guy that replied that yes they were? Yeah, he’s the guy that makes them...and about a million other parts for the 914. You can visit his site (www.914rubber.com) but prepare your wallet to be decimated in short order.

Thank you for the information about the shifter, my two sons are excited about getting to work on the car this weekend. My oldest son came home today from work and started taking the seats out to check the floor boards and replace the carpet . My youngest son is excited about getting to ride in it with the top off . I came home today and started trying to get an idea of what pieces I need to fix the hell hole, I really want to put the car up on the lift but I'm worried about bending the body or something , I have some 6"i-beams that I bought to build a frame table for my son's 36 Chevy, I thought about using them to make a table to put the car on and lift that . I plan on removing the rocker covers tomorrow to inspect underneath. Thanks for your help

Try looking here at some threads on 914s that people have done chassis/longitudinal repairs.

There are plenty of builds here that will lay out for you what is involved. I would say that your damage isn't as bad as some cars that have been resurrected from dead/junkyard status.

If you can weld and fabricate, so much the better. Go look at Restoration Design too.

http://www.restoration-design.com/store/category/914

Good luck!!!!

Mikey is just being modest. 914rubber.com he has listed in the signature section of his post has tons of (previously)very hard to find parts for our cars.