Re-Living My Youth! 914 - style!

[haycait911]

(I posted this on the Canuck forum but a few guys suggested I put it here so the first posts are catch-up.)



I bought my first 'Porsche' in 1985. a '73 914 2.0. put a crapload of miles on it and had a lot of fun with my girlfriend, then we got married in it. kids rode in it belted to the center pad ( I know, I know ) had it for twenty years and finally sold it to buy my first 911.

it went to a local pelican so I see it all the time. he's in mid-resto on it and despite my fairly broad hints he hasn't sold it back to me. so I lately I began looking for another one.

go ahead. try and find a fairly rust-free '73 or '74 2.0 914.......... I dare ya

was hoping to find something in BC to save import and inspection hassles but it wasn't looking good. then a buddy called to tell me about a 914 he saw outside a repair shop in Kelowna.

he had owned it in the late eighties then sold it to a dentist. it was then sold to a guy that drove it two summers, then parked it. this year he pulled it out and towed it to the shop to get it re-commissioned. it sat there for a couple of months while I bugged the shop owner to give my name to the owner. shop guy didn't want to lose a gravy job so that wasn't happening. I finally stopped by last friday to talk to him. score! the shop owner was away and the kid let me look over the car while looking around I saw a box with a name and address. memorized it in the three seconds I had to see it. thanked the kid and left. back in my car I googled the name and address and called the guy. yup, he was the owner, and yup, he wants to sell it

went back on monday to have a better look, this time with the owner's blessing. very decent car. went over to the owner's house and made a deal. called the tow truck and away we go!

my daughter and I gave it a wash when it got to the shop and I'm feeling pretty good. tuesday I installed the fuel pump ( it was out to re-locate to the front ) and some new gas lines. Strudelwagon stopped by just in time for me to hit the key. it started

and puked out a pile of seeds, hamster kibble, and mouse crap. not bad for sitting since 1991. drove it home tuesday. running pretty rough. wednesday played with it, put it on the hoist and cleaned it some more. very rust free.

went over to Strudelwagon's house last night. he generously loaned me a couple of distributors, some injectors, and a few other bits to get started. I can see he's going to be a big help. he's completely restored a '74 2.0 and knows the injection system inside-out and sideways.

today I went to the FLAPS and picked up plugs, points, plug wires, coil, cap, rotor, and a Haynes manual, all in-stock ..... for $150!! can't do that with a 911

back at the shop I did a full tune-up and now it runs much better. compression is low-ish but very even. no smoke but a fairly decent oil leak.

gotta say I'm having a lot of fun. lots of memories and a funky ride. best of all my wife really likes it! guys, trust me, that's more than half the battle right there.

making a 'parts needed' list and looking for some tires. couldn't be much happier

[haycait911]

painted the top and sails and fixed a few more bits.

my 16 year-old drove it today. second time in a standard. went pretty well, they really are an easy car to drive.




and her first ( she claims un-intentional ) burnout. it's not much but she'll get better with practice. she makes her daddy proud

[haycait911]

body is looking very good. but I'm a realist. I know there's always rust. not finding it just means you aren't looking hard enough




on another note. I had a bit of an epiphany tonight.

this is my mid-life crisis!

the way I figure it, waddya do for one when you've had a boatload of 911's and they're not that special anymore??

you buy a 914 just like the one you had when you were twenty-one

( well, it's white, not red. but I never liked the red anyway )

[haycait911]

put new tires on it. been having some fuel supply problems, and the filter was a bit dirty. so I pulled the tank to check it.

WARNING: what you are about to see may be disturbing!









FWIW that filter screen is twice as long as what you see in the pic. a local pelican hooked me up with a tank and I installed it yesterday. all good now.

had Strudelwagon take it for a spin yesterday cuz he has a beautiful '74 2.0 and knows what it's supposed to run like. he pronounced it's running condition 'OK'.

I'll good with that! a week after rescuing it from a 23 year coma, and it's running/driving. still leaks oil like a sieve but that can wait till winter.

[haycait911]

put in a fuel pressure gauge, permanently mounted the requisite fire extinguisher, and mounted a potentiometer to the head temp sensor trying to nail down the value for a custom in-line resistor so I can use one of the available ones in a '73.







had a one-owner Carrera in for a cleaning so I took the opportunity for a photo op.







and here's something to make you think................................









ps. I would really like a baseball bat and 5 minutes alone in a room with the guy that came up with the idea for wheel bolts instead of studs and lug nuts.




.

[al lkosmal]

Don,
Nice teener. We think alike................

regards,
al

[Cairo94507]

Outstanding detective work! That is the way to find the car you want and get it. I love the story.....but not sure about the burnout one....

[haycait911]

Originally Posted by Cairo94507

Outstanding detective work! That is the way to find the car you want and get it. I love the story.....but not sure about the burnout one....

thanks. yeah, sometimes it's taken me years to get a car. you gotta be patient.

as for the 'burnout'. the quarter-century-old tires were hard as rocks. it was more of a funny accident.

[porschetub]

Nice car and good to see you ditched those horrible domed wheel centre caps, makes the world of difference IMO.
SMC have the correct ones if you need them but no decals.
Hope you have a great time with it,I remember buying a car with bad tyres and smoked them up but don't remember it clearly and wouldn't do it now .

[Travis Neff]

Great story and great looking 914! There's not a lot of traffic on the 914 bbs here, you may want to check out 914world.com