New 914 owner..what have I gone and done!

[Darren C]

Hi everyone,

I have been looking for a 914 on and off for a couple of years now and late one evening I bid on ebay for a car in Desert Hot Springs CA. A real leap of faith for me as I live in Chichester UK!
My first car was a VW Beetle and I’ve owned quite a few air cooled VWs and always wanted a 914, so now almost 25 years later I finally took the plunge and with sweat on my brow placed a last minute bid on ebay on a car I’d only seen in 4 small photo’s on line.
To my surprise I won the 914.
Problem was it lay 8000 miles away from me here in UK. I got hold of the sellers phone number and gave them a call. The car is a 1974 2.0L one owner from new sold in Palm Springs 914. The seller was the owners daughter. The gentleman passed away several years ago and she’d had it parked up on her driveway for 5 or 6 years. From the description in the listing it had a Salvage title due to sand storm damage on the paintwork. It looked reasonably solid in the few pictures I saw, but very sorry for itself with flat tires and bad paint. It was a gamble, but sometimes these things pay off.
I got the car picked up by a shipping agent and taken to Long Beach for shipping.



2 months later it arrived in Southampton UK





Last week I went down to Southampton and collected my new project just in time for Christmas.
I have been visiting this very informative website for the last few months while the car was being shipped and have found it very interesting and helpful.
I’m pleased to now join you guy’s and post my restoration progress in getting this little car bad on the road.

Regards
Darren

[beatnavy]

Congratulations, Darren! Best of luck. I hope this little teener has many smiles in store for you. I've enjoyed my experiences with them tremendously. Let us know how the car looks once you get a chance to assess! And Merry Christmas!

[The Glademister]

If anyone were to store a 914 out doors for an extended time - Palm Springs would be a good place to do it. Practically zero humidity there year around. UV damage to the vinyl and rubber seals may be a little more extensive however. Generally one would be replacing all that anyway (depending on the level of restoration). Good find and congratulations

[Cairo94507]

Looks like a solid little 914. I think you may have bought well. Post up a lot more pictures once you get it home and spend some time with it. Welcome to the club. Another site you might find fun is 914world.com. Between Pelican and that you will be good to go.

[Darren C]

Thanks for the kind words of encouragement, I'll check out the other site too (there's very little following in UK as the 914 was never sold here). I got a look over the car last weekend and hope to work on it tomorrow. From what I have seen it’s a very solid little car. Having not run for 6 years or so the car was laid up with the presence of mind to overfill the motor with fresh oil, so once drained and set to the correct level the internals should be free from rust. That said I haven’t found anything much at all on the car. The sound proofing pad had fallen off the bulkhead onto the engine so I carefully lifted it out and had a good look in what you guy’s call the “Hell Holes” in both bottom forward corners of the engine bay. They were full of desert sand so I gave them a good vacuum out and the rest of the bay. The good news is ZERO rust in these area’s, only a tiny amount on the corner of the battery tray about the size of a UK penny or a US dime. The metal is really solid so after a good clean I plan to repaint it before the sound proofing pad gets put back in. The paint seems really thin and white primer is showing through on the raised surfaces, bends and edges, plus it looks like they never lacquer clear coated the engine bay when built as its very matt finish. Maybe someone with more knowledge than me can confirm this?

Having a look around the motor it looks like the previous owner removed the thermostat, cable, flaps and linkages from the fan housing (possibly an attempt to give more cooling in Palm Springs?)
In UK it’s much colder so I plan to strip out the Fuel injection, remove the tin ware and re fit the flap assembly back to stock. I started to take off some rubber breather and fuel hoses and they are very brittle and snap clean in two if you try and bend them so these will all need replacing. I suppose that’s the price you pay in return for no rust in a Desert car!
The shopping list gets bigger each day, but I was prepared for it and the car was real cheap in the scheme of things.
Apart from the paint which I knew from the start needed a full respray, the rubber trims running along the top of both front and rear bumpers are completely shot, as are all the window and roof seals. What’s puzzling is the seats, console, and dash are all in real good shape compared to some I looked at on ebay that all seemed to have splits and tears? They just need a good clean. I think I’m gonna have a fair few more vacuum cleaner bags full of Desert sand to come!

[Cairo94507]

I would strongly suggest you keep the stock FI - but definitely should replace all hoses and belts. Anything rubber is likely toast. Also, when you get into your brakes, check out PMB Performance in Utah http://www.pmbperformance.com/catalog.html. Eric Shea is the man when it comes to all things brakes on these cars. He is a wealth of information on these cars when it comes to about anything.

[TheCabinetmaker]

that insulation pad you speak of is a water and debris trap, I would remove it and not put it back, specially since your in a rainy place now. early cars did not have this pad. I have had many 914's and each that had the pad had rust issues caused by it, the early cars I have owned with no pad had zero rust issues in that location. the pad can also fall down and block the cooling fan intake!!! besides the pad often looks like crap in my opinion

get the fuel hoses fixed, replace them all with lined hoses that will outlast the originals, do not forget about the hoses under the gas tank. I would not park the car inside until them hoses are checked because of the danger of a fuel leak inside.

the thermostat is needed, even in palm springs, only an idiot would remove them in an attempt to cool the motor. the flaps actually help direct the air correctly, removal of them will worsen the cooling situation! the thermostat is needed for proper warm up. I doubt thinking folks would advocate running a water cooled Ford or Toyota with no thermostat, the air cooled motor is no different in this regard, it needs to rapidly warm up for best economy and engine life

the battery you choose to use is also important, get a sealed leak proof one, the older types will often vent acid residue, that collects on top of the battery, then rain or wash water washes the acid down to the "hell hole" or even better still on to the nylon fuel lines, which rapidly deteriorate in the presence of sulfuric acid. the factory even had a recall over this fire issue, and supplied a battery cover to keep water from running on to it. the ultimate solution is a sealed battery such as an optima or similar brand. that is what I use.

have fun!

PS the rubber seals for the top are critical for leak proofing, but they are pricey, however if they leak you don't have much choice, you got to spring for new top seals
the one over the top of the widow frame is very pricey, if you cant afford it now, but will park in the rain, then mask the seal off with some tape and add a bead of black silicon rubber RTV over the seam, using the tape as a mask . don't take much to seal the front of the top. of course if you remove the top the seal is broken, but for the rainy season this is an option, and will keep water out to save you from rust issues

[Darren C]

Thanks for the advice guy's.

Today I spent another 12 hours in the engine bay. Finally got the top tinware off. The cooling flaps are completely missing as suspected.

I got the rear tin over the gearbox off and the two side tins over the cylinders off, but can't see how to get the front tin off. The motor is in the car still as I have no easy way of getting it out of the car where its currently stored.
Can the front tinware come off while the motor is in the car? I'd like to get them cleaned up and re-painted while I sort out the cooling flaps.

I also drilled out the spot welds on the battery tray this afternoon and took it out. It has a small hole in the corner so I plan on replacing it. The metal below was fine and I got yet another bucket of sand out of it when the tray was out!

Getting the tinware out was interesting. There are so many cables and stuff passing through it that caused me trouble. Particularly the reverse/back up light switch. It looks like the loom is fitted permanently into the switch with no plug, just a rubber boot? This cant be right can it?

Over to you guys.......

[Darren C]

One other job I've noticed is the rubber seal at the base of the rear window that runs along the top of the bulkhead is rock hard and cracked every 2" or 3" and shrunk.
Does the glass have to come out to replace it?

[beatnavy]

I believe the answer is "no," but it's a LOT easier to do it with the glass out. And it's good maintenance. I'm looking for a link that describes the step-by-step for reinstalling the rear window....

EDIT: Ha! Found it: Rear Window Install

I did this, and it's not hard. If your seal is in bad shape (which most are at this point if they are still original), then it's good to do.

[TheCabinetmaker]

to do the window correctly it needs to come out. might want to wait until you paint the car to fix it.

for the engine, you might find it easier to pull the motor to do all the work. I don't like leaning over the car trying to work inside the engine bay much. The engine drops out from under the car very easy, it can be dropped as a unit with transmission and exhaust, like a power pack! Four bolts, some wires and a few hoses.

just a thought.

besure all the rubber seals surrounding the engine tin are leak free, it is important, else the cooling fan sucks in hot air that it just cooled the motor with! Replace the seals as needed, easiest with the engine out, or tin removed.



besure to check tranny oil level before driving this beast, or towing it!

[911buff]

CabinetMaker, to piggy-back on your comment about the thermostat, are they available anywhere? Or is there a way to refurbish the original? My bellows/thermostat will not hold the flaps closed when cold. It just expands/stretches and allows the flaps to open to full cooling position. I have toyed with the idea of a manual lever but not sure I would know when to open the flaps depending on ambient temp, etc. Any thoughts? Thanks!

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

There is a guy on The Samba (TheSamba.com :: Volkswagen Classifieds, photos, shows, forums, and information) that sells refurbished ones.

--DD

[beatnavy]

I think this might be the guy to whom Dave's referring: Awesome Powdercoat

I bought the whole assembly (bellows, bracket, cable) from him last year and am happy with it. I think he does these in batches, so it may take a couple of weeks. Don't get the "new" style that's for sale out there which is not fail-safe apparently (fails in the closed position rather than the open position like OEM).

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

That's the one--I couldn't remember the name.

--DD

[porschetub]

Noticed that seller myself ,although expensive this is a critical part regardless of the climate...many people get that wrong,in a colder climate (UK) the engine won't warm up quickly without a t/stat,the result is increased engine wear and sludge build-up in the engine.
Beatnavy is talking about the wax cartridge type ....they get very bad press for sure.
I understand you can modify the Type 1 t/stat to work ,there a DIY I have seen in the past on the net,make sure your cable roller pulley is free and not too worn as this can hang up the cable.
Anyway welcome to 914 ownership your car looks to be a good one,keep us all in the loop as you go
My 914 has been repainted but if I was in your position I would get all you need done on the car drive it and enjoy till you are ready to repaint.

[11and14]

Congrats on the 914 and welcome to the insanity.

My two cents worth on a few of your questions/comments:

Thermostat - Agree that Awesome Powdercoat provides a quality thermostat replacement.

Engine Tins - Remove the engine, can be done in a few hours with some help. I manage to do it with the rear wheels on ramps, thus the car doesn't have to very high up. Here's one way of doing it:

Pelican Technical Article: 914 Engine Removal Made Easy

Fuel Injection - If you are keeping the engine stock, keep the FI as a cam replacement is necessary to run well with carbs.

Based on photos on descriptions, it appears that you found a good 914 to bring back to running order - big item is no rust. Take care to keep it that way in your moist climate.

[malcolm2]

ON THE T-Stat: awesome powdercoat has lots of info, not just sales stuff. But the Type 4 stat operates at a different temp than the type 1. I will give 2 thumbs up for Clark at AwesomePowdercoat.com. Everyone is right, the t-stat does not seem like a critical part, but for the longevity, fuel economy and all round good health it is very important to install and maintain.

You can see what it is doing from the top side where it controls the flaps, so make sure it is moving. Jeff Bowlsby has a picture on his site of "flaps open" and "flaps closed". 914/4 Tech Notebook Scroll half way down and see the t-stat then the naked engine shots of the flaps.

Lots of awesome info on his site too.