Newbie 914/4 owner

[TomTurtle]

Hi all!

I post on the 911 site occasionally but this is my first time here. I've always wanted a 914 and came across a very nice one I bought at Dunkel's.

Its a very clean (no rust that I could find) 1976 49 state 914 (pics attached). It is somewhat of a time capsule with only 40K on the clock. It does need some work since it has not been driven much (dried seals, cracked hoses etc). It came with the stock 5x15 steel wheels (somewhat ugly in my opinion) and now has wheels that look like Empi but I think they are American Racer.

Its in such nice shape I will probably attempt to keep it stock as much as possible. My son wants to turn it into a real autox platform with bigger engine etc. but considering how nice the car is, I'm not going that route now.

However, I am thinking about "updating" it with things that would improve handling/performance that would not be readily apparent to the casual observer and still retain its OE appearance. I'm thinking of a more positive shifter and possibly a somewhat modified suspension. Also I'm leaning toward taking out the a/c and the smog pump (when legal) for lighter weight/more hp. Any suggestions? Has anyone else done this? There are plenty of aftermarket and OE parts out there but would appreicate some member input on what has worked for them. For sure, I'll be asking around at local 914 meets too.

I am also considering going to wider tires/wheels if I decide to occasionally autocross it. What bigger tire/wheel combo will fit without rolling the fenders?

















Thanks!

[jim912928]

excellent purschase!....These things handle really well, put front/rear sway bars on and you'll be amazed!

[Alfred1]

Your car looks nice and straight and the interior is about as nice as I've seen. The Rennshifter can really improve the precision of your shifting - as for the other upgrades, I would recommend buying Grassroots Motorsport's Project 914 back issues collection for lots of great tips on improving the car (including suspension improvements).

[SGB]

Holy Mackeral man!
That car looks showroom stock. T o t a l l y . My car isn't totally stock either, but it would be an enormous exercise to return it to stock configuration. Look at yours. Wow. I would leave it all. Even the smog pump. Leave the suspension alone. Get another one to hot rod and auto-cross. 40 k miles isn't many. Almost every 914 has more'n'at. No one has resisted the urge to... improve. Thats my 2 cents. Good luck- and really, na matter which route you take (or both), you will have a great time! Please compare it to that Boxter for similarities some day and put up a post.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Shifting: Check through the "shifting improvements" tech article in the 914 Tech Articles section.

Wheels and tires: 205s fit under stock fenders on most 914s on the stock wheels. The Empis may or may not allow them. A few 914s cannot fit 205s, however. The rears are where the problems occur, and usually only on one side.

Suspension: A front sway bar (if the car doesn't have one already) will drastically upgrade the handling of the car. More changes are quite possible, of course.

--DD

[TomTurtle]

SGB:

Actually that's my son's 2002 MR2 with a convertible hardtop and Toyota Racing body kit. Will definitely take him on when I get the 914 more prepped. I do know that when I play with him in my 911, he can definitely kick my butt in the turns.

I like your idea of getting another 914 to autocross but I'm already out of garage space and I know the other half would not approve for sure!!

[tod914]

Tom, now you officially have a car that matches your last name!
Only kidding. Car looks beautiful! Love the plaid seats. Can you share some more of the cars details and history with us? Don't change a thing. Enter it in preservation class concours events. Looks like you have a real nice candidate for that. Good luck with it and keep it original!

Tod

[bowlsby]

Keep it stock Tom...or at least do nothing that you can't easily convert back to stock. I see you are in San Jose...

Please be sure to come to our monthly 9:14 breakfast the last Saturday of each month. This month we will be at High Performance House in Redwood City...a more official announcement will be made later this week...

We would love to see your car and meet a new 914 owner...

Jeff

[AZ914]

Tom,

Congrats.. If it is really as nice as those pictures look. Don't change much (engine, etc.). The SWAY bars would improve handling, also popular is upgrading to 930 - TURBO TIE-RODS for increased better steering feel.

[TomTurtle]

All:

Thanks for all your ideas. I will definitely focus on keeping it as orignal as possible and will add sway bars and turbo tie rods. I added both to my 911 and can really tell the difference. I did not know the same mods were possible for the 914.

Dave: Thanks for the tip abut the Tech Articles - a valuable resource and loaded with info!

Todd: Records indicate it was originally purchased in Denver in 1976, driven for a few years and then put in storage for around 9-10 years. The original owner then sold it to a local car CO dealer who freshened it up and sold it to a CA resident who sold it to the PO a year after that. The PO bought it in 1988 for around $7,000 and only put about 8,000 miles on it until I purchased it with just under 40,000 miles. I drove it up from SoCal after replacing the tires and had a interesting time getting used to the shifter and the spongy brakes; turns out I had a small leak in the master cylinder!

Jeff: Thanks for the invite - see you in Redwood City! Your Bumblebee is a beaut! Would love to see that car!

It does need some work because it was not driven too much. I'm taking it to my mech on Friday for more "freshening" and am really looking forward to some spirited driving on the local twisties.

Keep 'em flying,

[bludden]

That is a absolutely beautiful example. You are a lucky guy.

[jamcleod]

i would not recommend removal of the A/C for the following reasons:

1) you will want to do something with the huge hole in the front trunk presently covered over by the condensor (evaporator?... i'm A/C disadvantaged so i don't know which is which. all i know is that the dealers had to cut a huge ugly hole in the bottom of the front trunk)

2) the engine tray on the passengers side of the engine bay is also trimmed to accomodate the compressor, as is the engine cooling tin.

3) there are a number of holes in the body for routing the hoses which you would have to fill in

4) your console, which looks great by the way, is now too short if you remove the blower unit presently mounted under the dash.

5) you would have a really hard time selling the A/C system so it would sit around in your basement taking up valuable space that could otherwise be used to store all those rusty spares that you will start to collect. that's part of the 914 fever

i think your car is pristine enough to keep the A/C, buy another 914 for use in the autocross