My first 914

[sundevil64]

Well I just agreed to buy a 71 914. I should have it tomorrow. Not running and been sitting for years. Seems pretty clean. I normally troll around on the 911 and 930 forums, but I've kinda secretly wanted a 914 for some time. I'm somewhat excited!

I look forward to learning on this side of the forum as I have on the others.

John

[TheCabinetmaker]

GREAT........

Post a photo of your new car!!!!!!

914!!!!!

[David McLaughlin]

It's all down hill from here.

[daiberl]

Good choice, Teeners are great cars, pictures please!

[sundevil64]

Here is it on it's way home. I had to borrow some wheels and tires. The motor cranks, but it hasn't been run in at least 8 years. Is the fuel pump mechanical or elec? I'm gonna start on the fuel side, then move to ignition. Any way of testing the d jetronic?

[TheCabinetmaker]

I like the original green color, very cool.

She should have an electric pump, should be able to hear her run for a couple seconds after each twist of the key to the ignition on position, after a couple seconds the pump turns off unless the rotation of the motor (distributor) is detected.
the pump is located under the car below the battery, up aginst the fire wall under the car. the relay that controls the pump is located on the relay plate that is in the engine bay behind the drivers seat. (note some folks do move the pump to the front trunk, later cars had it in the front trunk. I have never found a reaosn to move my pump.)
The main relay must be triggered also to get the pump relay to trigger (ie the pump relay is triggered from the ecu, which must be tunred on via the main relay. both main and pump relay are located together on the relay board along with a relay for the heater fan, and an optional relay for the rear window defroster. (3 or 4 relays total on the relay board)

these fuel pumps have been known to leak if allowed to dry out, then put in use again. the seals shrink then no longer seal, so please avoid parking her inside until you have made certain there are no fuel leaks.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The D-jet bible can be found here:

Brad's '70 914 2.0L

Brad Anders has done a thorough analysis of what makes it all tick, and has written up just about everything that is known about D-jetronic fuel injection in that website.

--DD

[stinkindiesel]

Congratulations. I seriously thought about checking this car out, but you beat me to it.

Gary

[sundevil64]

Thanks Gary. There is a decent amount of work. It does crank and I do have spark. I need to get some tires and brake lines. I may need an MC which I have. There is a decent amount of rust in the rear floor pan and seat attachment areas. The front and back half of car aren't too bad though. Would make a good fun car with a little welding and interior work.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

A "decent amount of rust" on the floorpan almost always means that the rear suspension attachment points are rusted, and the longitudinal members of the chassis are rusted as well. Check carefully--don't be afraid to poke apparently solid metal with a screwdriver...

--DD

[sundevil64]

Dave,

I'll look again, but a friend (he has a 914 and very knowledgable) looked at a lot of body today. The floor pans are shot at the rear. The seat mounting metal is gone like feta cheese at a Greek festival, but the longitudenals seem some what intact. The forward fender is bubbling. I'm sure there is more to it.

I'll look again, but the rear suspension seemed okay. Speaking of, this car is fairly, blah in terms of options, but the rear dampers are Koni's with oversize springs.


There must have been a party, because the gates to the hell hole are wide open!

[cshogen]

Looks like it used to be Willow Green. Great color...

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

You can see that the top of the long has been compromised, there is a hole through it in the "hell hole" picture. The inside of the long has also been rusting, though it may not have any holes in it yet. Poke at it with a screwdriver, especially around the jack point. (Check the driver's side, too.)

The inner ear for the rear suspension mount (the "suspension console") is made up of a couple of layers. It tends to rust from the inside out. Chances are pretty decent that other metal being this far gone means that the console is in a bad way as well. Again, screwdriver time.

Bubbles in the cowl are usually from rust that has started under the windshield or in the seam between the cowl and fender, and propagated under the paint. Correcting it frequently means cutting out many layers of compromised metal...

Unfortunately, with our cars rust is almost always worse than it looks. It can be fixed--anything can be fixed if you put enough time and money into it. But it's best to get a realistic idea of the extent of the damage before you start--unless you like unpleasant surprises.

--DD

[sundevil64]

Well Dave that's not good. I am so used to living in AZ for a good portion of my life that rust really was never an issue even in "wet years" when we got 8" of rain...

I'm gonna put a carb on the car to assess the condition of the motor. I would love to have a subi motor in one of these if it is not a "clean" car. I'm not a purist, but why ruin it for others.

I should have the carb in the next day or so.

Question Dave,

If there is spark does that indicate the d jetronic is functioning? I have not jumped into the link you posted earlier. Thank you for that link btw.

John

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The ignition circuit is separate from the injection circuits. So you can have spark with a completely dead D-jet FI system. That's why it can be useful to put the injectors into jars or cans and have someone crank the starter. You can see if fuel comes out that way.

The pump should prime for about 1.5 seconds when the key goes from "off" to "on", and then run again while the starter is cranking. It is usually audible as a buzz, though a running engine usually drowns that out.

--DD

[totle]

John, congratulation on your 914.
My 914 arrived in Norway on Wednesday in a container from California.
Great to see more 930 owners wants this car :-)

[Cairo94507]

Congratulations on your purchase. The original color of your car is very nice. Before trying to get the engine running I would fully investigate the rust issues and determine if they are significant enough to require the engine to come out to repair them or minor enough (doubtful) that you can ignore them for now and get the engine running and possibly drive the car.

These cars can be a slippery slope so it is best to proceed once fully informed and with a solid plan.

[sundevil64]

Cairo94507,

Good advice, but I wanted to see if the motor was any good before spending any more time on it. Although, I did do some serious research poking on the car prior to working on the motor. A friend helped me to get it to run. I pulled all the EFI stuff, in lieu of a progressive carb to simplify getting it started. My friend a very good 912 guy determined the distributor was shot. He brought another over and it fired right up. Actually for not running for at least 8 years it ran well. Next will be to to look at the brakes. I'm not looking forward to that though. It's a little more tedious. I think the MC is shot. I think I have another from a 911 that should be the same.

Hey totle! How are ya. You sold your 78? When did you do that?

In addition to getting it running, I media blasted the wheels to do an rsr kind of look



Power washed some paint off to see what lies beneath. I did three panels and the motor in about 30m. It could be quicker if I focused and didn't play around. It wouldn't take much to rough and primer it. hmmm...Need to focus on getting it drivable.

[sck007]

Originally Posted by totle

Great to see more 930 owners wants this car :-)

+1,

[sundevil64] Not to hijack....but I bought my teener 3 weeks before I got the 930 2 years ago from the original owner who was in the military. He owned other 914's but wanted the last year's model. My nephew did a job at his house and told me about it.

She was covered in dust and was being used as a storage table. Paint is rough but the interior is perfect. I know all 914's have rust but she must hide it extremely well....He even had the dealer install AC in it.

Anyway, I just got inspired by the thread.....

Congratulations!

[PCA7GGR]

Plan on cleaning/replacing everything from the fuel tank through the FI/carbs. Buy several fuel filters and change them often.