buying a 914

[BK911]

Hello!

I am in the market for a 914. I am a little familar with 911's, but not 914's. I am going to look at a 73 next weekend. What should I look for? What are the problem areas for rust? How do you identify the type of fuel injection/carbs? Is one prefered over another? Any advice will be appreciated!

Thanks!
BK

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Go back to the main page of this site. Look under "914" on the left-hand side; you'll see a link entitled "How to buy a 914". Check there, and also check the "Tech articles" link, and then scroll down to "Dave Darling's 914 FAQ".

Those should answer most of your questions, and give you much more info to think about...

--DD

[BK911]

Thanks Dave, that's exactly what I was looking for!

[Tidybuoy]

Carbs vs. Fuel Injection is just a matter of preference.

My car is all stock with FI and it's very reliable. Once I learned how to tune, it became very easy.

I might try carb some day. I think you can get more horse power out of a carbed (correctly) engine.

If you are used to 911's - the FI 914 will seem slow, but it handles like a go-cart.

Vern

[Alfred1]

If you buy a teener, invest in one of these. It'll improve the shifting greatly (after you make sure the rest of the shift linkage is in good shape).

[BK911]

Here's a 73 I may go look at. I have a few questions I was hoping somebody could answer.

1. What kind of wheels are those? What size? Material?
2. How can you tell if it's a 1.7 or 2.0?
3. What color is the roll bar supposed to be?
4. What kind of numbers should I expect with a compression test?
5. What color is this? Could it be stock? How can I tell?
6. If she checks out ok, what's a fair offer?
7. Any thing else?

Thanks!
BK

[Alfred1]

1) Those are Fuchs wheels but they could also be replicas. Original Fuchs have this VW logo on the back. They are 5.5" x 15" and aluminum, I believe.

2) A 2.0 will have only three studs, in a triangular pattern, holding the intake manifold to the head and a 1.7 will have four intake studs. A 2.0L should also have a case number (near the oil filler neck) starting with "GA" and a 1.7 case number will begin with a "W" or "EA" or possibly "EB".

4) See here

7) See also this thread

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Originally posted by BK911
1. What kind of wheels are those? What size? Material?

As Alfred said, those are Fuchs alloys. 5.5x15, forged aluminum. The lightest stock four-bolt wheels you can get.

3. What color is the roll bar supposed to be?

Either body color, or covered by black vinyl.

4. What kind of numbers should I expect with a compression test?

At sea level, ~145 PSI is about as much as you'll usually see. 100-110 PSI is generally considered the wear limit. Note that aggressive cam grinds will typically result in lower compression numbers than the stock mild-mild-mild cam.

5. What color is this? Could it be stock? How can I tell?

Looks to be close to Olympic Blue (like my car!) but not quite. Then again, telling colors from an on-line photo is notoriously unreliable. Look in the forward part of the driver's door jamb for the "Karmann plate"; it will have a bunch of German words. One box will say "Kunstharzlack" (or something similar; apologies if I have really butchered the word!) and it will list a paint code like L51B. You can decode the paint codes here:
http://members.rennlist.com/chuxter/914Colors.htm
or here:
http://homepage.mac.com/markd/914/colors.html

6. If she checks out ok, what's a fair offer?

Good question... Depends on a ton of factors. There are a bunch of modifications from stock (the blue rocker panels, very possibly the blue bumpers, the crappy single-Weber carb setup, etc.) which may very well detract from the value. It also looks less than entirely complete or at least not together all the way.

If it's a 1.7, I wouldn't pay more than about $2500 for it in the condition pictured--and that's if there is no trace of rust in the usual areas!! The single-carb setup is OK as a paperweight, but it's about the worst possible way of getting air and fuel into the engine. So you're gonna have to spend $500+ instantly on a pair of good dual carbs just to get it to run. (Or find and buy the fuel injection parts and get that sorted out--assuming the engine is completely stock.) And there's more work to do...

I would probably pay up to $3500 or maybe $4K for a perfect 2.0 that has been modified the way this one has. Again, that assumes absolutely no rust.

Different people in different areas of the country will pay more (or less) for similar cars, though. Folks in the Rust Belt will likely value them higher than I would, at least if the car is not rusty.

--DD

[smooth_eddy]

I think in the long run you are far better off to pay more up front for a nice rust free 914. It cost a ton of money to repair/rebuild the cars. A stock car is worth way more then a modified one. Fuel injection will add a lot of value as a carbed car tends to drop the price quite a bit. A 2 liter will always be more sought after then a 1.7 or 1.8.

An excellent buyers guide is Auto Atlanta's How to buy a 914 ( Pelican's competitor). By Geo Hussey. I would start there. It is well worth the 20 bucks. It will give you confidence in what you are buying and you will probably know more about the car then the seller does. Good luck. Eddy

[BK911]

Thanks guys, excellent info. The seller wants $2700 for this one, but I haven't started negotiating yet. Maybe I offer him $2200?

The more I look around, the more I am willing to spend on a nicer car. I am just looking for a beater to drive to and from work for a while.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

If you're looking for a project--and there is no rust in the car. I cannot stress that last point strongly enough; rust is the enemy for our cars. Triple check everything, and then check again. With luck, a 914-experienced person can take a look with you.

If you're not looking for a project, or if the car has rot, walk away.

--DD