Barn Find?

[docrodg]

Just got my cams for my 911, UPS guy tells me his father has an old 914 sitting at his place collecting dust and would very likely sell it.

I am NOT knowledgeable on 914's. I know nothing about this car yet except that it had rust and he bought new panels etc. but never did anything with it. Car is located near me and close to my friends barn where I could take it (my garage is taken up with my 911 being worked on). It would likely have a seized engine.

If this car is saveable I may think about restoring. Part availbility?

If not saveable, could part out?

What is going rate for a 914 in desperate need and would there be interest in it?

I will find out in next week about it, and then get some pics etc.

[quicksix]

Well if you have a 911 you have a great donor car with a six, so stripping it to make a six would be easy.(green font implied)
Rust rust and rust will be the top three killers of the 914.
He has replacement panels,so it is already a problem.
Whats your diy skill level?
Go give it a look to rule out it being a six.
Probabaly not worth fixing if a 4 cyl, but look at the part out value.

[docrodg]

Take my numbers matching engine out of the 68 911S my uncle gave me, is named after my grandmother, and is baasically an heirloom and put it into a 914? Not gonna happen.

DIY level is high on mechanical, electrical, welding. Can't paint for s**t. Street taggers on crack would paint better than me.

Rust is problem on SWB 911 too, so nothing new there. What rust issues would be death on a 914?

Any parts that crossover with 911s?

[quicksix]

green font means sarcasm.
the front suspension will crossover.
In a 914 the hell hole under the battery is a major spot to rust,repair parts are available.(restoration design)
What repair panels do they have already? this will give a clue as to what needs replaced,then take a screwdriver with you and pull the rocker covers,poke and prod look for involvement in the longs.
Parts are available,used and repo, from a lot of places.
914 World has good resources available.

[docrodg]

Ok, if the front suspension is a cross-over item does that mean the front pan has rust issues like 911?

I need a crash course on 914. Guy called, may get to look at it Saturday.

[quicksix]

The front pan is not that prone,unless it suffered crash damage.
The cars had no protection against rust from the factory,like the early 911s,so they suffer the same fate.
The hellhole,the longs around the jack recieverand floors are where you see most rust.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

No battery boxes up front to really help the front suspension mounts rot away.

The battery is in the engine bay, over the mounting points for the right-rear suspension. That's one of the big potential problems. Dirt tends to get thrown forward from the rear tires and collect around the jack point, so that rusts out as well as the longitudinal member of the body around it.

The sound deadening pad on the firewall does a reasonable job of holding water against the firewall, so that can rust out as well. But it's not as typical as the first two.

The floor pans can rust from water leaking around the windows, and the front floor pan on the driver's side can fall victim to brake fluid leaking from the master cylinder, which will also promote rust.

The rear trunks sometimes leak, and the back of the trunk can rust out. There is foam in the rear trunk bracing, and up above the taillights in the outer corners, and that sometimes holds water in leading to rust. The weatherstripping channel in the front trunk tends to hold water, leading to...

The windshield can leak, and that will lead to the cowl rotting from the inside out.

Sometimes the bottom of the sail panel starts to rust from the underside.

The most common rot, though, is under the battery and along the passenger-side longitudinal.

--DD

[docrodg]

Thanks guys! I think I understand this now.

The longitudinals and suspension points appear to be the real deal-killer then, correct? Rest is mostly sheet-metal, such as floors, and not as critical as the longs or at least can be replaced without serious problems in body alignment?

Cross panels such as firewall are of course critical to stiffness but can be replaced without body alignment issues if done properly (ie, bracing prior to removal)?

This may end up being quite a fun project if it is OK, but not getting hopes up so as to keep me from attempting to restore something that is frankly not restorable.

Can't wait for Saturday to get some pictures and see what it looks like. May be a nice commuter, with better gas mileage than my truck.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I think you've got the general idea.

Note that you can replace the suspension pickups and most of the other parts that rust, as long as you jig everything up to make sure that the final result is in the right place. There are body measurements here and on the 914world site that can help some with that, but the best thing is to be able to jig off of something that is already in the right place.

If you do any work on the longs, it is a Very Good Idea to put good stiff braces across the door openings in place of the doors. I've seen medium-sized tubing with threaded ends and turnbuckle-style adjusters used to hook into the hinge mount and upper seatbelt mount for this purpose.

--DD

[docrodg]

Thanks Dave, I saw some pics of that set-up. It is a better idea than tack-welding steel across.

[80-911SC]

the benefit of the cross bar with the turn buckle on the is so if your car is bent down due to the longs rusting after you cut them out you can use the turnbuckle to push the car back into shape ..if you weld a bar across and cut the longs out if you try to cut and reset your bar the car may snap in half .. there is a picture floating around of a red 914 that the longs finally gave away on it .. the cars windshield top is almost flush to the targa bar and the roof has been shoved back and over hangs the deck lid ... This happened on the road but could do the same in the shop if it is not properly supported ...

[larrym]

going rate - your basic question

- $300 tops for a complete field-find car needing everything

barn found vs found in a field or backyard - - that is the real question - ain't the same

- moving it to your friends barn does not make it a barn-find

count your labor if/when you decide to sell parts off it
.

[DDS]

Check the jack point in each longtitudinal....

If its a 2.0, the heads alone are worth at least a few hundred as cores aren't they?
Core heads original mirrors and door handles in good shape would make it worth $500 I would think...

That said, beware the "cheap" 914 if you intend to restore.....

[larrym]

Dave is right-

i forgot - the first thing you ever want to do with any "found" 914 is put the factory jack in each side and jack it up

if it folds or the door gaps change - walk away - unless ya only want it for parts scavenging

Originally Posted by DDS

in each longtitudinal....

If its a 2.0, the heads alone are worth at least a few hundred as cores aren't they?
Core heads original mirrors and door handles in good shape would make it worth $500 I would think...

That said, beware the "cheap" 914 if you intend to restore.....

[docrodg]

Since it is truly a "field find" (I used barn find only because it is more common and sounds cooler) I intend to check it out thoroughly and consider cost for restore then let the wife drive it. If not restorable then it will be parted. Unfortunately I am still waiting for a call back as Saturday did not happen.

[80-911SC]

some of the most expensive 914's that get finished are the ones that are free or real cheap...

They also are addicting .. I personally know two guys that between them have 12 .. 914 and of the 12 only one runs between the both of there collections ....

guy number 1 has four and none are close to complete ...
guy number 2 has 8 and one is drive-able .. the other seven are in different stages of disrepair or reassembly if your nice about describing them that way ....

They look at it as having a lot of spares ......