newbie to 914 looking at 72 this afternoon

[rosenfe]

owner says no rust,serviced regularly by indy,rebuilt trans.unsure of actual mileage.shift linkage and brakes redone recently.he wants 6500.i read 73 is more desireable,but this sounds like a good candidate,price seems high.he lives 2 miles from me.color yellow.all original fuel injection

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The shifting in the 73+ cars will likely be a little better. All of the 72 (and earlier) cars should have 1.7 liter engines with fuel injection.

Lots of things affect the value of a 914. Condition especially--the structural rot can hide under a shiny coat of paint. "No rust" is almost always an incorrect statement. These cars rusted coming here from Germany; there are probably only a handful around that truly have zero rust. And most of those are just rolling out of the paint booth today. And some of them will have rust tomorrow. Look under the battery at the area where the main longitudinal chassis members bend, water likes to gather there and rust away. Also check the jack points, and hopefully you get the chance to look behind the rocker panel covers. (They have screws at the bottom you can remove to tilt them out and look.) Dirt gets trapped there and rusts.

Cars that are from the south or southwest will tend to have less rust than East Coast or Midwest cars, but there are always exceptions. 914s that are in one piece are more common out west than in the Midwest or in the rust belt, so they tend to be a bit less expensive here.

Could be worth that price, or it could be overpriced. Depends on too many things to really say here.

--DD

[funk]

I've a 71 and now after a few years of grinding down into second and first now mostly into first i've come across so many sites where people with 71, 72 put 73-76 tranny in thiers cause of the side gear set up vs. the end gear set up much smoother shifting in the 73 onward stock 914s or so I've read yet you do get used to the ole sloppy one and even get to like it but i'd still if on the course situation presents itself rather have that 73-76 side shift tranny too boot I bought my 914 for 2000 bucks out here in spokane if you look hard enough hint porsche club site specific you may find a great deal just a few quirks to work out or a literal nightmare either way you learn and learn !!

[ClausGraf]

Unless its made out of stainless steel, it's going to have rust.

Remove the battery and check for rust. Also, lift the carpet that cover the longitudinals.

Good Luck!

[steve rush]

Had 2 or 3 and 2 had rust in left side rear trunk at tail light area and headlight area
If you ever want to sell a 2.0 litre seems to raise resale value
Smaller bumpers non '75-76 also seem more popular
I always check heat exchangers / and mufflers ...money to replace
With just room for you and your date and a ham sandwich the center console is a nice add
and place for a couple of real gauges in the future