Should I pull the trigger on a 914?
 

The only non-911 Porsche (well except for a 356 which is out of my price range right now) that I have thought about owning is a 914. I found one for sale locally, 1973 2.0 L which the owner says is pretty rust free, specifically the "hell hole" under the battery box he says has no rust. There is a one inch hole in the rear trunk which will need to be fixed but he says that is the only major rust on the car. Runs and drives, interior looks ok from the pictures. He has put coil over Bilsteins, new brakes and new tires on the car. It needs paint, badly. He apparently started prepping the front end for paint and then quit. So the front decklid is primer gray, the rest of the car is yellow and the driver's side front fender has been sanded so primer is showing through.

He is asking $4k for the car. I am thinking about buying it and sticking it in the garage until next year when I will have the cash to restore it. The plus side is that it is a 73 2.0L which, from what I hear, is the most desirable 4 cylinder model.

Thoughts?

96mm p/c
web 186 cam
dual webers
tangerine racing header
etc

vrooom

$4000 is his asking price. I asked on the pelican 914 forum and got one response that said it was worth at least that IF it is really a low rust car as advertised...

Yes, I think the 73-74 2.0 is the most desirable. If I had the garage space, I'd have a 914 too. The car you describe sounds like it is priced right. Check out www.914club.com though and ask them. How are the longs?

EDIT - Now that I've seen pics, they are asking too much. The paint job alone is $$$.

word to the wise here. it already needs work. if you want a project you will have one. if anything i have learned from restoring old planes cars trucks dirt bikes street bikes, is buy the one that you can afford that needs the LEAST amount of work!

your not buying it to work on it, your buying it to drive it............right! and then the next thing you know you have a to do list a mile long and then an upgrade list 5 miles long and pretty soon your buried! there are plenty out there in great shape that a divorce/death/job loss/boredom whatever elicits sale that are in better shape. its one thing to do it yourself the pride the experience blah blah. but its another to find hidden things that get real spendy that need immediate attention now before you can enjoy it. the older i get the MORE INSTANT GRATIFICATION I WANT!

think about.................wouldnt you rather be driving it???????

Oh, here's the other variable in the equation...

I have a family member who has a 1973 911E coupe which is in excellent condition but does not currently run. Basically the carbs needed fixing about 5 years ago and it he never got the thing running again after that. Currently the carbs are off it and the exhaust is off too. It is sitting under a car cover in his garage. We have talked about me buying it from him off and on for a couple years, a few months ago he seemed more serious about it. Since I am family he said he would sell it to me for a little over what he paid 8 years ago (which is about half what it would sell for on the market). I'm not sure if he's going to go through with it or not, but we discussed my buying it next summer after I move...so that would give me 3 Porsches, two of which would need work.

Too many projects at once?

Hah, found the car for sale over on the Samba website. Here is the link to the ad:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=332830

hell yes too many projects! burn out and a stack of beer cans will be the end result. pick one if your hell bent on restoring something. like i said the entire goal of any vehicle you like is to drive it, not become a POW to it!

i pick my battles wisely now. my 87 which was in outstanding shape and a great price has allowed me to go overboard on handling and safety items, but in the mean time nailed me btwn the eyes on the a/c system(entire system replaced). thats just one component that was spendy. it hasnt gotten to the prisoner point , but it has made me a few times walk away wondering what next am i gonna find wrong. to do a proper restoration on anything involves total teardown and alot of time.................ALOT OF TIME! ive been on my 87 7 months straight now. lots of bucks/time , true arizona sweat/blood(no tears yet) and the goal is to get it on track again as soon as it cools off.

its 19 yrs old going on 20. and with that or any vehicle there IS going to be big time hidden expense when you get to that particular component or components. then you fall into the "dreaded while your in there" trap and the fun becomes zero.

with 113k on my mtr and tranny there is a rebuild in my future coming up. but btwn little jaunts to the mtns to escape the heat and a couple of track days the bugs have mostly been squished killed or discarded.

ask me about my penton 175 jackpiner that is a complete concours ground up restoration that has sat for almost 3 years because i burned out on 30 yr old bike restorations!

Being from PA I've seen some pretty sorry 914s. An easy way to tell if any structural trouble is simply take off the roof, have someone stand inside straddling the console leaning against the targa bar and check your door gaps. Hopefully a San Antonio car will look fine. Not too many PA cars do.

Sounds too expensive. I see [what appears to be] MINT 914 on craigslist for that kind of price. Paint is anything but cheap, unless you are capable of doing all that work yourself.

Yeah, I've been looking on the Samba and it seems like for the amount of paintwork that it needs he is about $1k too high on the price. He seemed pretty firm on the price over the phone, but who knows once I take a look at the car. He might take $3k for it, I don't think I would offer more than that given the paint needs.

Of course the intelligent thing to do would be keep my money in the bank, see whether I can get the 911E next summer and THEN decide if I want a 914. They won't be too much more expensive in a year than they are now.

Been a while since I priced 914's but the money seems high for a car that needs that much work.

Well, I've said it before, but..

A 73-74 914 2.0 could be the most fun of any Porsche I've driven. Mine weighs 1835# with a stock 95hp engine. Not as a daily driver, but my car of choice for canyon dancing, DE and balmy days.

A wheel at each corner, 4cyl, 4 plugs, a removeable HT that fits in trunk, 25+mpg, roomier cockpit than 911, can carry 2 sets of clubs. Funny looking, but it does get around.

Have taken mine on medium trips (LA-SF) and will attempt the run from here to Moab UT for the Red Rocks Classic next month, 750 miles each way.

Advice? $6500 would get you a really nice one. 914club.com has a wealth of info and classified. Grin factor:
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1156276851.jpg

I think I'm attracted to them for two reasons: 1) the possibility of a DE car, I hear 914s rule in DE and I might get into DE stuff after I move 2) more importantly, they are kinda quirky looking. Certainly not the usual "sports car" look. There is something endearing about them.

My biggest problem with them is that I am a little bit of a tight fit at 6'4"...the guy down the street has one that I have driven and I fit...barely.

I am also looking at 914's again, and I think I would opt for a good runner, or at worst one with an engine problem. I will not do body and paint agian.

I suggest spending the 6500 and get a good one.

nathans dad..........im 6'3 200 # and i fit in our 914 2.0 like a glove. they haul ass, cheap on gas, and its concours. white/black interior. love the thing. had the dreaded battery light rusting that since has been fixed a few front hood chips also fixed. all in all a great car. not one thing negative to say except its not a 914/6. check 20thstautoparts.com. they get them time to time in great shape from auctions or check pca zone 8 for listings or azcentral.com for sunday want ads, aside from autotrader here in phx. lots of them buzzing around in various stages of grace and disgrace. we got ours the day before barretts auction a few years back from original owner with only like 13-14k miles on it. he had trailered some other cars down for auction when boss got wind of it. bought off the trailer parked in dezert north of auction site. the secret is to let the OTHER GUY dump wads of cash into it and have to get out from it, thereby YOU dont have to do all the work on it! good luck

I have owned 8 P-cars since 1971. Of all of them I am most nostalgic for the 914 2.0's. I watch the various classifieds every week looking for the Bahia Red '73 2.0 I sold 4 years ago. If it came on the market in the same shape as I sold it, I would find a way to own 2 Porsches.

$4k for that car is way too much money.

Re: Should I pull the trigger on a 914?
 

There's a big difference between doing the necessary stuff and driving it and restoring it. If restoring is your goal you don't want to put the car on the track. If you still insist on restoring it you need to be able to do all the work yourself. Otherwise you could easily spend 10-12, maybe 20K turning this car into a nice 8-10K car.
This car has been for sale for 6 weeks. If it's such a deal how come it's still for sale? Buying this car now and letting it sit for a year or longer doesn't make a lot of sense.
Figure out what your goals are before jumping on this one. ;)

I agree! Bought my car 3 years ago for 5800, fresh engine, trans, decent paint/interior. Since then just normal maintenance, Optima battery, 2 sets of tires (street and track). Knock on wood! 73's came with Bilsteins, sway bars, light bumpers and a few other goodies. Best of the non sixes.

Charles, are you going to RRC ? Several AZ guys coming up.

howard the 914 is a hanger queen and just sleeps in the hanger. very very rare it gets driven. and when it does its to shop and back. its truly that clean and never will be for sale. it hurts my eyes, its so clean. we scored big time on that one. just picture coco mats that smell new!

day after labor day we will be finishing my 911 up w/some tarrett sway bars/elephant rack spacer(tires rub) realign, and finish trading out oem tan leather interior to black leather. my birthday is 9/22 and doing a road trip was supposed to happen back in july w/the colorado guys. but alas too many wear part glitches and one major BFE breakdown, and running out of time didnt allow us that treat. soooooooooooooooo MOAB sounds pretty cool right now. our weekend jaunts after shoveling dead prezidents into 911 have yielded some more lil things on the list but id have to say after sunday's blazing fast run at dawn, up to prescott city limits and back to my house showed no problems or surprises. after a steady diet of cash and new wear parts anything can be fixed. and remember sooner or later everything will be new again and then nothing breaks...................right? come on agree with me on that ......................please! our goal ................pir/firebird raceway late oct. or november.

Re: Should I pull the trigger on a 914?
 

Only if you want an expensive project on a very old Porsche.

Charles, one thing I have learned. There's no substitute for cubic $$$.

While I am a fan of teeners, I'd wait and see if you can get into the '73 911E. To bad it doesn't have the MFI still intact though.

$4000 is to much for that car. Board member teenerted1 bought his virtually pristine example of the same extact car in black on black for only 1K more.

Ok, thanks for all the great input guys. I'm debating whether to even go over and look at it, the rational part of me is winning out and saying that 73 2.0L 914s will still be available in 12 months and I'll be in a MUCH better position financially. I could pull the cash out of savings right now, but our cash flow will be much better in Dallas. After surfing around and looking at ads, I think he has too high of an opinion on the car, as you guys have said he is certainly high on the price and he really sounded against negotiating over the phone...

Re: Re: Should I pull the trigger on a 914?
 

Good point. Restoring is probably the wrong word. What I would like is a nice car which is very presentable but not a trailer queen. Hah, a 914 trailer queen is a bit of an oxymoron, unless it is a 916. Decent paint, decent interior, runs well, looks good but not afraid to hang it out on the track either...

Personally, I think right now, I'd rather have a 914 than my 911.

Eventually, I'd love to have a 914 as a fun car. They just have an odd appeal to them.

I can get a clean teener for $5K? Hmm...

howard...........its been the same drill for everything we have laid our eyes on and bought. lots of hidden issues that even the P.O. doesnt know about. i dont care if its planes trucks bikes cars. btwn the lil 1/2 day to full day runs and the track or in the dez you shake something loose and have to fix it or it leads you to something else. but really if you do allow time and cubic dollars to do the job right, you really to get some amazing memories. its a lot of trial and error. we swear by the simpliest test during the summer. hope in vehicle a/c blasting if it has it, and go sit in traffic. stop and go, then jump on freeway or long straight road to cool down, and if it doesnt overheat or break.................your good to go. the best test is the grade up I-17 to sunset point on way to flag and prescott. that grade will KILL ANYTHING that isnt in proper running order! yes we are on a first name basis w/local CATCH -22 tow company! its rare but it happens and you find out all about what needs fixin! LOL............real quick!

Here's another question for the teener knowledgable ones on the board. Given the condition of the car in the ad and what I know about it, what sort of price do you think would be appropriate? Ballpark?

Funny thing, I took a look on Craiglist and the guy has a primered 944 for sale too, you can see the 914 in the garage in the 944 pics...

It's the right car, and like that he lifted the carpet to show. There are other places of concern (behind soundproofing, etc.) that should be looked at by someone familiar with these cars. If it checks out with a PPI, that's a fair price.

But as Charles knows, 'Cars and anything that floats, fuchs, or flies will cause you grief.'

This might be a better deal. ebay

Howard, I saw that one on e-bay as well. The only thing with that one is that the bidding will START at $6k, plus they add in a $500 documentation fee plus TT&L and I would have to pay shipping which would probably be another $500-750.

You should always try to buy a minty original, or failing that, the car someone else has restored.

Restoring a car yourself hardly ever makes economic sense, unless it is a genuinely valuable car. May make sentimental sense, or maybe you just plain like restoring cars. But not economic sense.

Supposing this car needs minor rust repair, full prep and paint, some interior, general mechanical freshening, no major mechanical components - basically a best-case scenario - you could be looking at $5K I would think. Plus your time, considering your profession it is worth quite a lot, anyway wouldn't you rather be driving than scraping rust?

What would $4K + $5K = $9K get you? I'd think it would get you a beautiful cherry 914 that someone else has dumped $12K into.

If this was a car potentially worth $50K or $100K when restored, that might be different. But it is a 914 and they made bazillions of them.

SHEISS!! Why did I have to open that ebay link? I had a Marathon Blue '73 2.0 back in '76-'77 when I was a senior in HS, it had 28k stewardess-owned miles on it and was tighter than a frog's ass. Seriously felt like it would take 100k miles to properly break in. Torquey motor and handled like a go-cart. That car haunts me in my dreams to this day, no car or bike has ever meant so much to me since.

Sigh.....:(

$495 for a doc fee is highway robbery IMO, but I guess all that matters is the final price. The ebay car has some real value if it checks out, I predict it goes for ~$8k. It looks really original and like it would pass the smell test.

How many guys have replied to this and have never owned a 914? Too many non-914, 914 experts. :rolleyes:

If you want it buy it. Change your mind later, sell it. It's done all the time.

nathan the one howard showed on e-bay is sweet. sure its got some miles on her but its not a nightmare full resto. restos lead to excessive drinking bad credit pissed off g/friends/wives/kids/dogs etc. keep your eyes open you will find one. cannot think of anything better than owning 2 porsches. but right now i have my hands full with one. also check with jim patrick@patrickmotorsports.com hes a 914 NUT! sometimes you give up one for the other. perfect body vs. higher mileage or vs. versa. but bottom line get one you can have some instant gratification. even if you only get to drive it a few times, stuff in shop or your garage and prioritize components to make road worthy. the day i bought mine and todays pics are two totally different beasts and im only 7+months into it. 3000 miles driven vs. what ive dumped into it , do not look good on debit credit fun factor spread sheet. and i got a very nice one that would have been fine putting around town like the previous owner did. but i had greater VISIONS (delusions) OF GRANDEUR! LOL!

Ok, went and looked at it tonight. Overall the car was worse than the pictures show (as usual) and not as nice as he made it sound over the phone:

The Good: It is a 1973 2.0L which started right up, no smoking and not too much oil in the garage after he backed it out. Idled well. I did not take it for a test drive. Interior is very good, seats not too worn, carpet is excellent, dash is intact and not cracked. Center console did have a few spots where the stitching had separated but overall not bad at all. It had 4 matching Fuchs and a matching spare in the front trunk.

The Bad: A bit more rust than he led me to believe over the phone. The rear trunk floor was rusted at the seam where it meets the body panel about 1/4 of the way across. It would need to be replaced. There was also a hole in the driver's front fender at the bottom where it meets the door, might be able to just weld in some new sheet metal, not sure. Also was rust where the sail meets the body on both sides, not rusted through but a pretty deep hole. The entire body had been sanded down and many areas had been sprayed with primer.

Mileage was 113k, which he said was original, speedo works.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that with the seat all the way back I had TONS of room, actually more room than my 911. Very encouraging. Headroom was good too, I bet I could even wear a helmet in there.

Overall, I am more convinced than ever that I want to buy a 914, just not THAT 914. I am not an expert on the 914 market, but from what I have seen out there he should be asking $3000 for the car and selling it for high 2s with the amount of bodywork that is needed. Maybe I'm way off base, like I said I'm not an expert.

So, I will keep my ear to the ground, I'm glad I at least went over to look at it. Thanks for all the help guys, if you see a nice 73 2.0L keep me in mind!!

looks like **** to me... You can get a nice 914 for $4000, look around