Bought a 914-6 today

86Carrera · 10-04-2003, 01:06 PM

I bought a 914-6 that has been in storage for at least 10 years. Needs lots of work but was 1 owner and came with a thick stack of service records. I'll post some "before" pictures soon.

PO had a surprising amount of work done including a used transmission installed by Westwood Porsche / Audi and a complete overhaul by a place called "Westwood German Imports, Inc.". Overhaul cost $2,321.79 back in 1977 and included new parts like pistons and cylinders.

These guys seem long gone, can't locate them on the web.
If anyone has heard them and can comment on the quality of their work please chime in.

Do you think it's good or bad that the engine was rebuilt 60K miles ago? It has 105K now.

Do you think the used tranny in 1981 at 94K miles is good or bad?

Is it realistic to hope that it'll come back to life and not require another overhaul of the engine and trans?

Look forward to any feedback, thanks.

Pete H.
86 Carrera Coupe
70 914-6 bought today

SGB · SGB's Garage

You bought a one owner six! 105 K miles! WOW! Think I woulld replace fuel lines, filter, oil, filter, charge the battery, turn the key and see what happens! Maybe you should have a fire extinguisher. Oh boy.....

skline · skline's Garage

I agree with SGB, I would bet that if you replace the dry cracked lines and double check everything that it will fire up. Do have an extinguisher handy just in case. As for the companies that rebuilt everything, If you cannot find them, then they were probably bought out by someone else and still around under a different name. Ask someone like Otto who has been around for awhile. He would know if they were up in that area. Good luck with it. Sounds like you found a keeper.

86Carrera · 10-04-2003, 02:06 PM

86Carrera · 10-04-2003, 02:07 PM

86Carrera · 10-04-2003, 02:08 PM

86Carrera · 10-04-2003, 02:09 PM

86Carrera · 10-04-2003, 02:10 PM

86Carrera · 10-04-2003, 02:10 PM

86Carrera · 10-04-2003, 02:11 PM

woodman · 10-04-2003, 02:12 PM

How about a shot of the engine?

86Carrera · 10-04-2003, 02:12 PM

SteveStromberg · 10-04-2003, 02:30 PM

Otto is The 914-6 guy

norustscott · norustscott's Garage

very cool...now the fun begins.

Bleyseng · Bleyseng's Garage

The PO must have beat the living hell out of it to burn up the motor and tranny!

Looks like a great car for a resto!! You are lucky!

If you can afford it, just install a 3.0 or 3.2 in it and forget the 2.0L as they arent too exciting to drive. The carbs could cost you $1500 to rebuild alone.
You can find good runners for $4500-5500 with the FI. Makes for a totally modern car.

Get the brakes (calipers) completely rebuilt by Ottos. Install new brake lines, MC, discs and rebuild the petal cluster. Then the car is safe on the street.

Geoff

ein 6er · 10-04-2003, 02:52 PM

hey congratulations!!!!!!! ..... i think!! (-:

in storage?? under a tree!!

looks like you have your hands full! if it doens't have any terminal rust issues everything else can be fixed.

what do you want to do with it?? restore it or drive it and do restorations as you go?

i don't have any experience with engines that have been sitting. but you will definitely want to go through the fuel system. you should clean and/or seal the tank. good time to clean the leaves out of that fresh air intake too. i'd replace all the rubber fuel lines and maybe the plastic lines through the tunnel. 914s have been known to go up in flames!! mostly the fuel injected ones. new fuel filter and rebuild the carbs hopefully you have the original -6 fuel pump, you won't need a pressure reg. or press gauge. carbs don't look like they have been weeping fuel but i'm sure the bowls need cleaning.

if you aren't familiar with 914s, a few things that you should check before you start driving are the, cables for wear, the clutch tube in the tunnel to see if the weld that holds it has broken, this can lead to bigger problem$. i'm assuming it has the original tail shift tranny, check shift bushings, tail shifters aren't the best even with new bushings. check the speedo angle drive at the trans to see if it is tight. change the fluid. you'll also want to make sure the brakes aren't sticking and dragging and change the brake fluid.

looks like you will need new tires too.

if it's the original 2.0 you probably won't be very impressed with the power. pull it and install a bigger one ..... 3.2!!!

looks like it has a -4 cyl rear valence and an after market exhaust. that's the correct rear bumper, looks like the pads are shot. if it will living outside i'm sure you'll be needing new seal$ all around too!!

congrats and good luck!! keep us posted. these really are fun cars!!

doug waters

86Carrera · 10-04-2003, 03:18 PM

I plan on doing a restoration because there is no rust at all, not even under the battery tray. I vacuumed up the leafs on that side and felt around. It didn't sit out for very long but that sure was a messy tree.

It's going to need new seals everywhere. Having restored an old Mercedes I know how quickly the cost of small parts can add up. I read in the archives somewhere that it's best to make a list of all the parts you need and ask several places to provide bids. Sounds like great advice.

Ray Stevens in Costa Mesa was highly recommended so he will get it up and running for me. Plan to put 2,000 miles or so on it, fix things we missed the first time, then get paint and finally interior.

I had a great guy on the Mercedes do the disassembly to clean, detail, cad plate and get car ready for paint. Then he reassembled everything. Works really great. I won't need to paint the door jams and trunk area because they should clean up like new (no overspray) and I don't plan to change the color.

Big unknown is the engine and trans I hope we will be able to tell from the compression and leak down test how worn things are. Hopefully the guy didn't drive as hard on the 2nd engine and trans!

Ray's a bit far from me so I might have Otto take a look for the final repairs. Will have Brace's auto body do the paint. Would be cool to find a restoration guy with reasonable hourly rates who knows 914-6s to do the R&R, seals, etc.

The Fuchs are 15" which surprised me because I thought 914-6s had 14". Tire size is 185/70HR15 which I understand is no longer available. Ray says to go with 195/60R15 or 205/15. I'd rather keep the stock size so if anyone knows where to get let me know. Anyone running 195/60R15 on 15" wheels? How does it feel?

I thought fog lights were standard on 914-6s but they are not, mine doesn't have. Has anyone added those? Where do I get parts like that, the original rear valance and steering wheel?

Service records show PO had a 911 front sway bar installed, I wonder if I should keep it?

It's all going to be worth it because these cars keep getting better and better looking to me and I hear they're really fun to drive. At my first autocross last year the fastest cars that day were 914s. The guys were always smiling ;-).

I have a 3.2 Carrera and know that engine in this 914 would make it a screamer. I would kill myself in that car. The 2.0L will keep me out of trouble and be competitive in stock class DE and autocross. For concours I'd like to bring it to street level if I could afford it.

If anyone has been through this on a 914 and has any advice at all please chime in. Thanks for the comments.

Pete H.

skline · skline's Garage

Well, I cant tell you about a 914/6 with the 15" wheels but I run a 4 cylinder with 205-60-15's and it handles great. Mine is a fully "S" optioned car so I have the front and rear sway bars. It really makes a huge difference. I love it when it squats in the turns. Ray is one of the best 914 mechanics from what I hear and he did great work on mine.

Zeke · 10-04-2003, 07:35 PM

"I just bought a _______ today." I've seen this movie. Alot of money or a lot of time, or both. I'm on my third, a 911S. Looks remarkably similar to that 914-6. Adn my 914 motor is in a million pieces. A lot of money or a lot of time.........a lot of money or a lot of money..........did I mention time?

mskala · 10-04-2003, 07:52 PM

Pete,
I didn't look at all the pics (modem user) but I can try to give
the general answers to some of your questions.

15" Fuchs were not offered for the /6, you officially had your
choice of stock steel, 14" fuchs, or 15x5.5 Mahle. Later with
the M471 option (flared car) you got 15x6 Fuchs.

Fog lights apparently were an option since I asked the question
a few months ago and got quite a few people who didn't have
them on their /6 and the wiring was not there. However, I know
some original owners of '71s who remember they were standard
and it is shown as standard on invoices.

Original rear valence I wouldn't do, it is too big and people say
it makes the engine run hot, and I think it looks silly compared
to the /4 valence (provided you are running a porsche muffler).
The 911 muffler outlet will fit where the /4 valence cutout is.

Take off the rocker panels and look for rust around the jack
points. Nothing bad in the battery area is very good.

If you are going to autocross the car I would recommend an
adjustable front sway bar.

I don't see how even the hardest driving on this type of engine
is going to do anything to it in that amount of miles (disclaimer
I'm not an engine guru); it's a design that's good for much more
HP and heat than the 'T' spec is making. The things that will kill
it are not doing the maintenance at the right times.