Porsche 914 Speedster

[stevedee]

My first post, and no doubt will get me in trouble with some 914 purists.

I'm from San Diego and am looking to get a 914. I've had a couple before, but sold all when I moved from Iowa to San Diego. Now I want another one.

So I drive up to LA and check up on two that are for sale, a 75 2.0 and a 76 2.0. The 75 ran excellent, but the paint job was nasty and lots of dings. The 76 had better paint, but seemed to hesitate over 4K and the interior was awful. By tomorrow, they'll both be on ebay.

Disappointed, I drive back to San Diego to look at a "custom" 74 914 advertised in the local paper. The car is beautiful, the paint is near perfect and just a tiny bit of rust where the battery tray used to be. The area behind the seats (pillars??) that used to hold the back of the top is gone; in its place is a ragtop. There are air ducts behind the doors in the rear panels. The engine, a 2.0, seems easier to get to.

It's called a Speedster and I've never heard of them. And it's absolutely gorgeous! But the 914 purist in me says this should not be. But I want it!

Any thoughts?

Torn in San Diego.

[bowlsby]

Welcome to the BBS Tom. Is the car black? There was a black 74 ragtop FS a couple years ago by a guy named Alex Claytor, I think he was from Bakersfield or somewhere near there.

The ragtop looks ultra cool and is definitely a show stopper, they are all custom. Wilco converted them or sold the kit. I would look more at the overall condition of the car as more important the ragtop issue.

Hey buy that car and join us for the West Coast Classic in June! Click the link in my signature!

[mike95125]

Welcome Steve. Your in luck, we have a big group down here in SD. I am definetly not a purist (ask around). I would just recomend thinking about the price of ownership of such a fine auto. Tricked out can equal $$ in maintenance. Also, dont be distracted by the bells and whistles-scrutinize, scrutinize, scrutinize. If you need parts or restoration help drop me a line and I can hook you up.
Mike

[stevedee]

Mike - it's nice to know there's a group in San Diego. Let me know if the group ever gets together.

As far as I can tell, the car is ALL Porsche except from the tops of the doors on up (and the air ducts, which I don't know if they're just for looks or if they serve any purpose). The windshield has been modified (tilted down even more) to "accept" the ragtop, which hooks into the top of the windshield with cotter pins. The battery has been moved to the rear trunk (great idea, IMO - since you won't need the trunk for the top any more). This car is relatively the same price as a "normal" 914 in this good condition.

But the car won't start. I wasn't able to drive it yesterday. The owner says the car runs great (engine rebuilt 20K miles ago). I asked if the tranny grinds going into 1st or 2nd - she said no. But the battery goes dead in a week, and she was unable to get it charged for my visit. I said it's either the battery, alternator or the voltage regulator.

Any thoughts?

Steve in San Diego

[914helo]

I haven't seen a ragtop version before. Do you know what car/model the top is from?
Kent

[mike95125]

Something is drawing power while the car is sitting. You need to hook up a voltage/amp meter from the battery to the cable and then start pulling fuses till the draw stops. Then figure out what system is on that fuse....etc. I'll be available to help after April, 17 if you need it.
Mike

[John Rogers]

As far as costs go, I'd say get the one that runs the best, shifts the best and brakes the best. Then take it to Tijuana to Garage Los Ponchos as I and several other members have done, including James' 911 (which was a window remove paint job)! Dent removal and painting will be well less that what you'd expect. The paint job on my race car is 3 years old now and still is good, except for lots of stone chips. Good luck

[mikester]

If it is that same convertible that was on ebay - we had a big question of where the cooling came from as the engine access lid was covered but the rag top.

There are no factory convertibles.

[stevedee]

I bought it today. There's a picture on carsoup.com (see URL below). I paid a lot less than asking price due to starting problem, which I hope my 20 years electronics experience will have fixed by the weekend.

Yes, the ragtop covers the engine, so the side ducts are for cooling.

Steve

http://www.carsoup.com/used/detail.asp?usedVehicleID=1249812&minYear=1970&maxYear=1976&searchID=1&CDSID=&vehicleTypeID=1&dealerID=

[red-beard]

Don't worry, we'll help.

We have engine guys, tranny guys, welding guys and, if you need body work, we have shops in TJ that do great work cheap.

San Diego is 914 friendly

Now if only some of those guys would help me stick the 6 back in the blond!

[mike95125]

After the 17th

[TEKWS01]

Hey red beard, I'm thinking about using this shop in tj.. I have seen you mention them several times.. May I take a moment of your time and ask you some questions? do they speak english, do they have a quarantee,, have you needed them to fix any mistakes and if so how did they handle it.. do they color sand and polish .. and do you have pics of your paint job you can post. and should we get special insurance while our cars are there?

Thanks in advance for any info you can offer.

[3D914]

Congrats Steve & welcome back!

I couldn't find the car in the link you provided, but I have seen a couple of topless 914's. What you're describing sounds similar to one that I saw on a trailer heading east a couple years back. It had the side vent that was functional fresh air intake.

Get us some pics of yours to druel over. I think they look cool.
Here's some pics I've collected, and a link to a site that makes em.

http://www.reddawgracing.com/

Pic1


Pic2


Pic3 -


Enjoy!

[stevedee]

Thanks, Gerard. I got my new 30 year old baby up and running last night. It had been sitting for a year and the starter was stuck (can you say "hammer"?). Wow, it's been at least five years for me! Drove it around town illegally all day (seller had let the registration expire and I won't get the tags until Thursday next week). OK, I'll stop playing with the smilies!

I uploaded the pic from the ad to the PP gallery. Hopefully the URL will show up in the signature.

[3D914]

Ohhh Yeh - that looks nice!

I know what you mean about being away from them. It was fifteen years from my first 914 to my current one. Way tooo long!
I drove this one around for two weeks with a noisy muffler and oil leaks before I could garage it for months to rebuild.

I missed it every day.

Enjoy!