Finding a Good 914
 

I am new to this board, but I have been actively involved on the PCA Potomac bulletin board. I was told to direct my question here, in hopes that you may be of some more help. I am writing in hopes of some opinions here. I have loved 914s since I was a kid, my grandfather had one while I was growing up and since he sold his I have vowed to have my own. The question I am presenting to you is, just how hard is it to find a really nice one at a reasonable cost? I am talking around 6k dollars. From research I have done and opinions I have collected so far, I have come to the conclusion that I should try and get 73 because it was lighter than the years after, and if you were lucky you find one with a 2.0 engine. In everyone elses opinion is there a model that is desired more than others, besides the 916 of course? How much do they usually cost to maintain? How hard are they to work on yourself? Etc.....
Thanks for the help,
Chris

there have been hundreds of posts here about the "best" one to get so just review all the old posts. also, buy the current copy of excellence magazine, bruce anderson has a column on market values of porsches and the current model is the 914. since you are on the east coast, i think to get a really nice 914 you need to be able to get to the west coast to look. i think you will be able to make choices there.

Also check the 914 FAQ and the "how to buy a 914" articles available on the main Pelican page. They will answer most of your questions, I think.

--DD

Darn...you are out east... this advice probably applies to both coasts but more so out here on the left coast where there are more cars to choose from.

Apart from some of the great advice on the Pelican FAQ list.... (pay special attention to anything they say about where to look for rust), the best education you can get is going out and looking at lots of 914's, especially those for sale. It is very hard to tell from ads or even web photos' what the condition of a 914 is that is up for sale. After you have looked at 5 - 10 of the cars you see in ads, you will start to get a good idea of what you can get for your money and you will be able to better recognize a good deal when you see it. Sure it takes time, but so does any type of education.... there is no dollar value in being a dumb consumer of anything.... especially used cars.

My first car was a steal of sorts, it was advertised for $600 with no title from a VW dealer. I went and offered them $500 for it, put a new battery in it and drove it up to 5000 ft in the mountains. It needed some rust resto in the passenger cabin and still needs some minor body work... but was a deal for the price. A few visits to DMV and I had a clear title in my name.

When I went looking for a 2nd 914, I hunted around and spent a lot of time looking at junk and more junk... I finally found a 73, with some 911 suspension, brakes and 5-bolt wheel upgrades already done to it. Body very good and 1.7 engine running O.K. Picked it up for $2400 and was happy with the deal considering what I got.

I have also during my education phases, passed up some deals I wish I would have scooped up. I let go a "junker" 73, full of leaves and debris from sitting, that had a 2.0 engine in it and 4 spoke Fuch alloys... the guy wanted $300 if I would haul it away for him.... I don't like to think about that one... but that was part of my education... It would have been a fantastic parts car. I could have made the money back on selling the wheels and a few other items and then had a 2.0 engine.

Most recently I had someone that occasionaly posts to this list, give me a roller because they had to get rid of it. It was an education to take it apart... (I am big on picking up an education about things).

In lieu of the time consuming education, take someone with you who is already a 914 expert and willing to "waste" some time with you. Or alternatively have some one like Mike Zois, MikeZ on this list I believe, look for a car for you. Mike has probably spent as much time with tikering and buying/selling VW and Porsche type cars and parts as anyone on this list and can be an invaluable source of information and direction in finding a car. He has done this as a side business for a while. I picked his brain and he put up with my stinky little $ budget as he pointed me to cars he thought would fit my requirements. I believe that Pelican also has a service of finding cars for people. If I did not want to spend the time becoming an expert at this, I would go to one of the experts for help... Well I guess in my case I have tried to do both... Again there is no dollar savings in being stupid.

You are going to learn alot about 914's anyway when you have one. Why not start early and get as much expertise going before you buy a car.

My 2 cents.

Dave,
Thanks for the reply. I am realizing that there are alot of cars on the west coast as compared to the east coast. But I can also say I have seen some very nice cars through the local PCA regions over here. My grandfather is basically one of the experts you speak of. He had one for a long time that started out as a meager rusted street car and turned into one hell of club racer. I was fortunate to be around for the whole process, but unfortuntately too young to really pay close attention. Anyway, he sold it and since then I have always wanted one. So now he is gonna help me find one. I appreciate all of the advice.

Chris

There are "some" nice east coast 914s....but when they do go up for sale, be prepared to pay big bucks as well as an arm and a kidney to get it....

The west coast 914s are realtively cheap, especially if you are looking for a roller that you want to finish. In most cases, even figuring in shipping, you can get them cheaper out here, without the dreaded rust demons....just my $.02.

Okay, I gotta pipe up now since I'm a rust belt inhabitant. If your looking for a rust free 914 anywhere on the east coast, it will need to be shipped from Cal. Its almost impossible to find one. I got my '73 914 for free http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/smile.gif as a bonus for good work at my job. I havn't put it up for sale, but I've had offers up to 8000 for it. This is the condition it was in (now its getting a make over, new engine, yada yada yada). Good running stock 2.0L. Lots of lateral rust and no battery tray. Rear end in a major crash, I didn't notice until I put some bigger tires on and saw it was misaligned a little. Front end kinda smashed in slightly. Now 8000 was the high end, and 4 was the low. So go figure, I've had 6 offers on it in 2 years.

Good luck looking for one. When you find it, make sure it has your time to devote to it. These are not "purchase and play". Okay bad computer joke http://www.pelicanparts.com/ultimate/frown.gif

Caution on the word "Nice", it does not mean the same for everyone. I have seen numerous 914's described as "nice" in the 7k-8k range
which I would consider a "fixer-upper". We all know that you can easily spend over 20k to restore a 914 and not be concourse. In Denver, these cars are rare and I have declined valid offers of 15k twice this year
for my "nice" 2.0 http://www.geocities.com/sys_engin/

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mikez:
[B]There are "some" nice east coast 914s....but when they do go up for sale, be prepared to pay big bucks as well as an arm and a kidney to get it....

The west coast 914s are relatively cheap, especially if you are looking for a roller that you want to finish. In most cases, even figuring in shipping, you can get them cheaper out here, without the dreaded rust demons....just my $.02...

BTW, I have been known to find 914s for others...if I can help, let me know...

I have a 75 914 that I paid 2k for in '96. It was my first toy. I don't know where it came from, but I doubt it was a CA car. It's now a complete waste, even though it looks quite nice. Rust has destroyed any hope of resurrecting the car.
I discovered this when I first tried to use one of the jack points. Being a newbie, I never thought or a moment about what I was doing. I jacked and jacked, and the car didn't move, then I looked down and noted that the jack had bent the underside of the door since the jack tube was merely bending up.
From there it just got worse. No, it doesn't bow you when sit in it, and yes, you can open and close the doors with 180lb person in it, but I see no reason to bother with this car now.
All I can say is Rust ruined my poor 914 and every 914 except for a few I've seen has serious rust damage (unless they dumped $$). The availability of worthwhile 914s will drop incredibly over the next few years as people like me junk the hopeless ones.
My advice: Get a 70s 911! People just aren't as inclined to leave a 911 out in the elements with a window open for 8 years, as they often to did with 914s...




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Kurt B
1984 911 Carrera Cabriolet
75 914 1.8