Why did you choose the 914 instead of some other car?
 

This being my first 914 and first car to restore. I've since wondered why I didn't choose a camaro or firebird ... You know, something with HORSEPOWER! I chose the car because the styling appealed to me and it 's a car that sticks out of the crowd. It has personality.

Why did you choose the 914?

ALWAYS WANTED ONE
 

Intended as a joint venture with my 15 yr old son . So far he keeps working on the car and I haven't strangled him. YET
My nieghbor asked me why I would let my boy drive a Porsche as a first car? My repy was " would it be better to let him get a BUG? Sure he said. I then sowed him the 4 wheel disk brakes the so called roll bar. little bitty motor, a few articles of people who survived pretty bad crashes. and the haineious amount of cool points these cars have and well now he is looking at his beat up Maxima in a different light.
P.S. Thanks to Sweater914 I can show him how not to drive his car. Hey buddy spinning 5 grand in that focus around my nieghbors was not cool.

When I was younger!
 

When I was a young man of 20 (1997), I bought a 1972 1.7 from my girlfriend's stepfather. Tangerine, chrome wheels and bumpers, and dual delortos. It was the first 914 I remember seeing. I fell in love. Then I got married. I was forced (by circumstance) to sell the car. Ever after, I lusted for another. Then I found my 73 2.0 and all was right again. I'm reliving my youth every day.

prattrc.
You are not reliving your youth. At age 24, you are experiencing it. You are entering your best years, don't blow it!

At 40, I am hitting mid-life crisis head on with a 914 and loud Bursch exhaust.

I chose the 914 because of its uniqueness, low price, and ease to work on. The feel of driving is what makes the choice for me. the 914 just feels like a fun car to drive.

Because it is as odd looking as I am...Actually, I am a sucker for the underdog. Aside from the driving experience, the car can't help but attract stares and questions at the local car events...It is just a fun car...for less than 10 grand.

oops, sorry joe, honestly i kept it at the posted limit, 4 grand in first gear, didn't do anything stupid, my neighbors ***** too, they see me zoom to the posted limit or a little over and think i'm doing 70mph in 500feet, i'm sure your neighbors give the same attention to your 928 at 2 grand

as far as the car, kind of hard to turn down a gift, i must admit though before it was given to me i was enthralled with the car, the shape was different, driving it made me a believer, the sitting position and that big tach did it for me

Honestly, it was sheer luck in my case. I was looking for a fun & unique car to drive and play around with a bit whilst restoring my 911 (which took 2 years and an obscene amount of time and money).

I almost bought a 951 (944 turbo) when I stumbled on the 914 and bought one on a whim. I knew next to zero about the teener at that point. I had been planning to tinker a bit and then sell it in 6 months, but you know how that goes. 2 1/2 years so far.

Now here I am..."my name is Chris and I'm an addict" :cool:

'cuz the engine is in the middle.

At age 37 I was investigating Lotus Europas and joking about planning a mid-life crisis. The thought of both scared my wife, especially the Lotus. Exasperated, she said "Why don't you just get a Porsche". Not one to miss an opportunity, I did.

Six months into the out-of-control totally fanatical restoration, wie and I conceived twins. Te celebrate I bought the Europa anyway.
Three young kids, two sports cars no garage.

This is a scary thread, as it is so timely. My wife and I have a beautiful '73 911T which, notwithstanding a cold start issue (turned out to be a bad cold start valve), just runs and runs, is a blast to drive, turns heads like all old 911's do, just needs routine maintenance, etc., etc., etc...We also have a '73 914 which suffered an engine compartment fire before we bought it, has a bus 2 liter in it, is apart in pieces on the garage floor, needs every upgrade done to it that I could find in the tech articles, needs new upholstery, carpet, some (relatively, for a 914) minor rust repair work done to it, new paint, yada yada yada...My wife is being medically retired from her job which means that our funny money is going to drop about 30 to 40% after tax. Some of the toys have to go...So why am I selling the 911 to keep a car that will be, probably, months before it even runs again, 2 years in the making before its anywhere near what the 911 already is, never mind what I'd like it (the 914) to be?
When we bought the car, it was sitting in a field with about a half a dozen other 914's - they all ran, of course. Only this one wasn't running. I bought it from a friend of mine, and try as he might to guide me toward one of the working cars, this car kept dragging me back. So, maybe, as I think somebody has said about cats (and earlier, about 914s) you don't choose them, they choose you. Am I, like I think its Jeff - "a sucker for a lost cause?"
Or, maybe like Chris - "My name's Greg, and I'm a caroholic?"
Or maybe, what I want to do with the 914 just seems more achievable than a lot of the stuff I thought about doing with/to the 911. I'm sure it will wind up costing a bunch either way, but to me, there's just something more approachable about the 914. I'm also pretty certain that, in the end, it will outhandle the 911, but we won't say that where too many guys can hear it! No flames, please.
Well, I've got to go to work and won't be back to the board till after midnight MST. Thanks for the opportunity to get all of this out!

I'm feeling better all the time.......

Guys,
I Was In High School 12th Grade,Had To
Have A Porsche,Bought A 1971 914-4,
Still Have That Car Today 25years Later
I've Owned Many Cars,But Still Have It
My Only Regret That I Wish I Bought
The 914-6 Back Then!!
Alan

my 914
 

I originally bought mine to be different, friends have Muscle cars , nice but all the same. Wife thought it was a ridiculous car for a fat 63 yr. old man to buy, Well then I new I just had to to prove her wrong. $50.00 bet once got in it I Couldn't get out without help. I WON !!!! but I was hooked before that anyway.



+ It was Black , the only color god intended a car to be... Dave

I was grocery shopping...
 

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I liked the 914 when I saw my first one, probably around 1971. It was at a gas station, and I was walking by on my way to buy beer to sneak back into the dorm. I looked inside and was surprised to see how much room there was (no console) and the shape of it was somehow very intriguing. A few years later, out of college, married, and working a night shift while my first wife taught gradeschool, I got a wild hair and stopped at the dealership on my way to buy groceries. I sat down with the salesman and placed an order for an '74 1.8 in Ivory. Didn't even sit in the car on the showroom floor, much less take one for a drive. To my pleasant surprise, the bank OKed the loan, and a week later I drove a new 914 out onto the road. New car smell, completely foreign(to me) shift pattern, no leaks, did I mention the new car smell?
In a few weeks I became familiar enough with the gears and clutch that I was able to chirp the tires in second and third, and that took me back to the dealership with an odd sounding clunk. The motor mounts were covered by warranty, but a year or so later, when the clutch needed replacing, no warranty, and I decided to become a Porsche mechanic.
I lost that car in an accident in '79, and drove mostly forgettable vehicles for almost 20 years. In '97 I picked up my present 914, a '75 2.0 that originally hailed from somewhere on the west coast. It still sports a 'Peninsula Porsche -- Monterey" license plate frame and an oil change sticker on the door frame from a Chevron station in Hawaii. It has seen a lot more country than I ever have....or will.
My present wife (three is it? my, how the years do fly by) also owns a teener, black and gold '73 2.0 with Empi's, and it needs to be de-riced just a little bit.
These are both daily drivers, and both dependable. While it is nice to think, and read, about 2.27 liter engines and 140 lb. springs and Koni shocks and sway bars, I love my cars just the way they are. I simply don't want to drive anything else.

Ed

A friend of mine bought one for his son on his 16th birthday. He let me drive it first and I fell in love. I love the mid-engine, the 2 trunks and the looks I get from people. Here in Michigan they are VERY RARE to say the least. When I'm in my car and someone doesn't stare at it, I know they just don't get it ;-) . I bought it 2 years ago with 123000 miles and the only things I've done to it were get new tires and drop in a CD player (Blaupunkt, of course). It still runs great.

I bought my first 914 in 1976. It was a 73 1.7, black. I was 21 years old. I would hop in that car on friday evenings and take a thousand mile trip on the weekend. I did that numerous times, sometimes with a buddy, and sometimes alone. I loved that car! One night someone stole my CB radio (they were really popular back then) and I made the fatal mistake of filing a claim with my insurance company. They paid the claim and also informed me that they would not renew my policy because it was a "high performance sports car". I couldn't find another company for less than $1000.00 per year so I had to sell it. Ten years later I finally find another 73. This time a 2.0 and its black also. Kept this one till about 1996 when day the left rear tire starts rubbing the body. The suspension console was rusted and falling apart. Took it to Automobile Atlanta after a phone call to the "Doctor" who told me they could repair it for $600.00. Two weeks later they told me it would be more like $6500.00, just to get the body solid. So, I find a 75 at my local repair shop. Car is pretty solid, and it runs fine. A 1.8 all stock, and I buy it for $3500.00. Another trip to Atlanta to pick up my rust bucket and a shopping list in hand for the small items I know I need. I believe all those horror stories about AA. I was very dissappointed with the service and especially the attitude of everyone that I spoke to will in their establishment. Anyway, now I got 2 914's. The 1.8 is a dog, and the 2.0 is tired. So I have the 2.0 pulled out and completely rebuilt and installed in the new car (thanks Stuttgart Motors, Lex. Ky.) That was about the time I discovered the internet and that there are others out there just like me. And I found Pelican parts (a godsend). 914's are very rare in this part of the country. It is not uncommon for me to not see another on the highways for a year or two and I drive alot. To me, that is one of the most satisfying things about driving a 914, it is - Unique.http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/smileys/ar15.gif

love at first bite, of traction
 

well it was long, long ago i was 21 (1993) and in the navy, a guy on my boat gave me a ride from the barracks to the boat

well the first turn at 30 mph did it for me i was hooked, but Burt did not like pushing me to my side of the car

well now i have a black on black 75 1.8 that will never see a real mechanic and i am an electrician, some problems wont be problems

but there is the clogged injectors, rusty tank, ruined afc meter( which i did ), the blowing of lots of oil out the pipe on the way home when i bought it, rusty exchangers, broken door handle, bad seals, grinding second, sagged springs, loose rear window, battery tray just let loose, and some rust

oh this is supposed to be why DID buy one

Dad had a '71 914-6, bought it from our neighbor who had been transferred out of state in '76. I was in 2nd grade. I'll never forget riding in that car around Orange and Newport. It was the lighter orange color, and to this day no high dollar stereo comes close to the mixture of that 6 cylinder exhaust note combined with "Benny and the Jets" that was coming out of its 8 track player.
Great memories...

He sold it to a business associate in '82 when we moved to Colorado. It was totaled in '83.

Ok, I'm just a little different. I'm building a homebuilt airplane and found the 74 2.0 wrecked at a charity auction and thought I could use the engine for the plane. Well, the car chose me like someone else mentioned. I saw that it ran and I had seen several at a local pickapart and decided to restore it instead of parting it out. Got it for $100.00 but now have $2400+ in it and counting. It's the best handling car I've ever driven! Now I need a new engine and need to fix the standard rust spots but it looks great and is a blast to drive, not to mention the looks I get when I'm on the road.

Tom Kilgore
Las Vegas, NV
Yellow 74 2.0

In the early 70's I would almost drool when I saw a 914.. I just loved the "new" body style. And I even tried on a couple for size. But the income wasn't all that great and I just couldn't see buying a new car.

I have since acquired a couple of Healey's and larger passenger car but still loved the looks of the 914. One day I was visiting a car dealer friend and started across the lot to look at his '36 Chevy project car. Suddenly I spotted a white 914 sitting off to the side from the normal display. "Whoa! Let's look at this one!" He said it was off to the side because it wasn't his, belonged to a friend who'd had it in storage about 10 years and asked him to put it on the lot for sale. The price, I thought, was right... $1500. After getting it home I found I had a car with many faults and much work ahead of me. But I finally had a 914!

That was 3 years ago and much has been done with more to go. I drive the car but not hard. And get lots of admiration from teenagers over this coooool car.

Track car of course. Having run 911's and a 930 on driving events and on the track I decided it would be cheaper to have a 914 to run on the track rather than the 930. I. E. missed shift = rebuild the engine etc. (of course by now I'm in the 914 as much a rebuild would have been on the 930.) Ran this car both on the street and on the track for years, finally 3 years ago it went totally on the track only. As it is still stock fenders and has a 1.7 badge on it, it really puzzles a lot of other cars on the track when they get passed. Current project is another track car, almost a tube frame 914 with a 6. You just can't beat them for handling. :D

My reasons were all competition oriented. I currently race SCCA, in Improved Touring. I wanted something different from the Sentra I had raced the past four years. In looking through the IT spec book, I noticed the 1.7 and 1.8 914s were legal in ITB. If I used a cutoff date of 1972, I could race the 914 in SCCA, in PCA and in some vintage events, depending on the acceptability to the specific vintage organizations.

Plus, I remember seeing Ginther's orange Porsches race in SCCA races thirty years ago.

Why did I choose the 914? Easy, some unfinished business.

I had one back in '75. I was young then, scraping buy, about to get married and couldn't really afford it. But I got it anyway and loved it, pampered it, and had a lot of good memories... until, early '77. One night, I let my parents drive it and it caught on fire and burned up. (Pesky fuel lines).

A few years ago, I was haveing a conversation with a friend about great cars we'd owned and I brought up my 914. Then I thought, "I'm a big successful boy now, I can afford one now, I want one again."

That night I went home and told my wife that I wanted a 26 year old. When she found out that it was a car, everything was cool. (It also helps that she is very understanding and also loved the old car as well.)

Well, to make a long story short, I searched high and low for car and found out the sorry state that most of them are in now. I was lucky enough to find one locally that was virtually rust free and have been working on it ever since. Of course my assumptions of affording it now may have been hubris. (Anyone priced a gearshift knob lately?)

But it keeps me busy and is a great toy for the middle age crazies.

Why did I buy my 914? My wife made me do it!!! HONEST!! I had found this car (73 1.7) sitting in a field and the owner told me he wanted $300.00 for it. I looked at it and decided it would be too much work to fix (his kids had used it as a go cart on the farm for about 3 years). A week later I slipped and told her about it and she made me take her to look at it........and we ended up bringing it home that night. Now it is in the garage, on a rotisserie, with parts everywhere! Hope to start putting it back together this spring. I was looking around for a parts car that had already been cut on, and found the second 914 (76 2.0). A week later and it was in the driveway. Never got to drive the first one, but have driven the second. I LOVE it so far. Besides.....being in the Texas Panhandle(between Amarillo & Lubbock), it's not too often that you see a 914 around here!!!

Started with a 911 but...
 

Let's see...father left mother at early age but son got to visit. Dad worked on Porsche's and owned a 69 911E so father is god. Son remembers how cool it was to ride on the floorboard under the dash and how hot and dry the heat from an air-cooled car was... Son tries to get closer to dad by owning German cars and working on them in father's shop (69 Squareback, 71 Bus, 72, 74, 75 Mercedes 220 and 240D's, 79 300 TD, 82 300 TD, 85 500 SEL, 87 300D). Son nearly bankrupts himself and wife with his therapy substitutes then decides that the only solution is a 911 restoration with father - the "last car". Wife reluctantly agrees and even buys it for him - father sells son rusty 73 911T for $3000 with understanding that he will get the car painted and restored by one of his suppliers at cost. Son buys $3000 worth of parts while waiting for car to be painted, and he waits, and he waits for 2 years. Father doesn't deliver, son realizes he's been getting ripped off by father for years (where did nearly all of those cars come from? father's shop). Son tells father to piss off, picks up 911 and parts, sells everything in pieces for $3500 and buys 73 914 2.0 on ebay from guy in Texas. Even when 914 turns out to be 1.7 son is happy that he's on his own now driving in the moonlight and stars with the top off, dreaming of how much his son is going to enjoy his 914...

Rich,
I am not a therapist but I think there might be some paternal issues there!!!

Happy ending
 

So far the story has a happy ending. Although the 914 may have challenges in terms of horsepower, the sense of empowerment that I get from it more than makes up for it :).

I started out with 9elebens.......NICE cars, but something was missing.....I don't want to analyze this too closely, but it is prolly the "rabble without a clue" syndrome, a hold over from my hot rod days.

To me, the 914 is the most "modifiable"(?) , light weight sport car around, just waiting to be "improved".

Then again I may just be "nuts".:rolleyes:

Because I always wanted to learn how to weld.

When I was 20 yo and could afford to buy my first car I had the choice between a 914 and a 1975 Honda Civic. I remember it was in October so I bought the Honda wich is a bit more practical over here in Montreal in the Winter. That was it, I then bought 2 more Hondas and even raced them. Then i got a house, a wife, a few kids ( maybe not in that order ) and forgot about cars. 20 years later I was looking for a 911 and test driven a few of them but wasn't realy hooked up on them. I was looking for something closer to my old race car. Then by chance I took a drive in a 74 1.8 914 for sale. That was it, I bought it right away. I probably should have take a closer look under it but I have no regret, yet.

Because it was a free car.....
 

I didn't pick the 914, it picked me !!!

Seriously, the only reason I got into the 914s was because mine was free since the PO didn't want it anymore. (blown motor)

I'm on my third 914 now (second one was free also, I didn't want it and gave it to Malmz)

914-6 for me
 

Though I own several other Porsches, my re-aquisition of my 914-6 brought a big smile to my face! There is nothing like a 6 when it comes to carving up tight canyon roads. The polar moment and response from a well tuned suspension is hard to beat. Granted the styling is not for everyone (my S.O. thinks the lil box looks like it goes backwards and forwards just a well) but there is no denying how much fun and control you can have at the limit. My silver 2.0 4 cylinder was just as much fun on the track, too.

I always had a thing for aircooled motors, but couldn't afford a 911. Had a few VW bugs, and was always impressed by the torque of those little motors. Happened upon a '75 914 in the classifieds, and had to have it. The wife thought I was "Nuts", but since she always has, I didn't let that stop me. I took that first ride, and was hooked! Never drove a car that handled so well, or sat so low. Bought a '73 (rust-free) a year ago, and parked the '75 for parts. Taking my time and doing this one right. Should be a bad little go-kart when I drop it off the jack stands this Spring. (hopefully!!)

Always loved the style and mid engine reinforced (boxed) rear layout genius of these cars. I also have my original 1985 1/2 Honda Prelude Si, which is much quicker and way more refined, but it is no fun to work on and lacks the character of my 74 2.0L

So I was turning 40 and something just clicked. First a lady on an airplane (Flying Southwest) to see her dad who had cancer. She was marveling at her good fortune to have cheap flights from Baltimore to Columbus OH and would see him every two weeks this way. Then I read a funny ralley story from Peter Egan from Road and Track (about a ralley in a toasted blue mini) and he talked about life being too short... about saying screw the ralley and enjoying old friends... So I came to this conclusion...

"Enjoy what you have while your searching for what you want."

The 914 was certainly 1/10 the cost of a Boxster and well... Life is too short to not enjoy this. I have an son that is almost 9 and he works on the car and learns the fundamentalsof tools and cursing with me... Priceless! I get out of my office to dismantle, paint, weld, etc.

The best three features of the 914...
3. You can work on it yourself and get results
2. With a header, loose sound pad and loose rear window, the sound keeps me from playing the radio
1. No cup holders

E N J O Y !

Joe http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/...sun_smiley.gif

I don't remember seeing a 914 until I was drafted and sent to Germany in 1972.There were many 911s, 356s, and these great new mid-engined 914s.Prior to this, I was into American muscle cars.Came home in 1974 and participated in the custom van fad for a few years.The bug hit me in 1979 and I bought my first 914, a 1974 2.0, florescent green, slightly rusty, one owner car.I should have known better about the rust, but I was blind to any thing other than it was a Porsche.It was a great running,fun car that the wife and I took on vacations to the beach. But the rust kept spreading. I spent a thousand dollars on body work and anew white paint job. It looked great for about 6 months then the rust started appearing again. In 1983 I sold it for what I had bought it for.I bought a new T-bird Turbo Coupe,kept it for 5 years,then bought a new Probe GT. Fast forward to Feb94,I need German engineering.A Guards Red,1982 911 coupe becomes part of a life long dream.The 911 is great,but I still continue to look at anything relating to 914s.Scannig E-bay auctions in Oct00, I came across a rust free 1970 914/6 thirty miles from my recently paid off house. The 914/6 now sits beside the 911 in the garage. Most who have seen these two cars together prefer the 911,but every day I like the 914 more. The 914 will be my drivers ed car and I expect it will surprise a few people at the track.
:)

It was between a 914 and a 2002 BMW- went for the 914 as it was a real sports car. That was 1970 and I still have the '71 silver 914-4. Very modified over the years and now my kids love it and it will never leave the family. Bought a '71 914-6 in 1976, sold it a few years later, and recently bought it back from a friend. It won't leave the family either. Have had many other Porsches (every model but a 928) over the years but always gravitate back to the 914. Must admit I also drive a BMW now too, with a new M3 on the way. A committed German car fan, with the Audi quattro for the winter months!