Doug_B_928

Hi Guys. My first car was (is) a 73 914. Attached pic was taken in 1986. I bought it in 85. I drove it as a summer car from 85-95. It has been parked since 95 and hasn't been started since 2000. It was always garaged/in a shed with a concrete floor but not heated. I know, shame on me, but I had too much other stuff going on. I can't take it just sitting there, but I'm not sure about how to approach getting it back into shape. I don't want to spend a fortune on the car. I'm a newbie mechanic, and have just started doing work on my 79 928. The 914 is stored a couple of hours drive away from my location and I don't have space for it at my house.

I don't have any pics of its current condition, but will take them next time I'm there and post. In terms of known problems, when I last drove the car, when driving on a gravel road dust would bellow in from under the dash. I never had any incident with it, but a previous owner had been hit on the left rear corner. The rear left wheel always had a little wobble to it. I would want to correct that. I also had the fuel pump moved to the front to prevent vapor lock, and that's the only problem I ever had with the car. IIRC, it has a 1.8L. I have the original side mirror and the original wheels. Had the tire with a slow leak pumped up last fall and the tire guy said that, based on the codes on the tires, they were the original tires that came on the car. The still have lots of tread left.

Just wondering if you had any advice on how to approach making the car road worthy again.

racer

Well.. Not sure I would drive on 30+ year old tires.. I also didn't tire date codes were introduced until the about year 2000 Explorer/Firestone issue but I could be mistaken.

You would want to address safety items
1) Fuel lines - old and brittle will cause a fire
2) Brake (lines, fluid, pads) - old and brittle will cause a crash
3) Plugs, points, condensor, timing, FI trigger points etc
4) Gas - if old gas in the tank, might be best to drain, replace the sock and make sure there is no rust in there.
5) Battery

6) General condition - paying attention to rust (floors, trunks, battery box etc); rubber items - inspect for damage and dry rot.

Hope you can get it back up and running so you can enjoy it! be sure to share some "recent" pictures too.

Doug_B_928

I wasn't present when the fellow was there, but he relayed having looked something up and thinking they are original. I'll definitely change them before any serious driving.

Are these all fairly easy to do on a 914?

Where's the best place from which to get 914 parts?

Me too! Will do about the pics.

What would you ball park for parts for getting it up and running (not including any body work needed)? And, what do you guess it would cost to have a pro mechanic do the work?

racer

Some are easier than others. Just from sitting I would be worried about calipers that have stuck together and need rebuilding. I'd be worried about old gas and its affects on old plastic and rubber fuel lines.

The 914 boards (914 world and 914 club) have lots of info.
on my '76, I bought some stainless "thru the tunnel" fuel lines from Chris Foley at Tangerine Racing. I bought engine compartment fuel lines from Auto Atlanta (they had them in a "kit" so I didn't have to guess the various diameters). Pelican parts also has a wealth of 914 parts and information. Eric Shea is a name bantered about when it comes to 914 brakes. In fact, I think my dad sent his 914-6 rear brakes to him for service.

Ask questions here and on the other boards. Lots of people love these little cars and want to see them enjoyed.

Mechanics can be hard to judge. Not sure what local shop rates are near you. Sadly, it seems, the amount of people truly familiar with these cars are declining. Most mechanics who remember these cars are 50 years old. Considering they are 35+ years old.. and in many areas not seen to often since maybe the mid 1990s, finding folks who know there stuff is harder.

That said, folks familar with old Beetles/Buses might be able to help, given the commonality of the mechanical parts.

Doug_B_928

Thanks very much for the info and advice!

Peter Zimmermann

Long storage? Read this thread...

https://rennlist.com/forums/914-914-...-74-1-8-a.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/914-914-...listen-up.html

https://rennlist.com/forums/914-914-...ay-or-not.html

FYI: I'm a professional Porsche mechanic, owned my own shop for a couple months shy of 25 years, and I've got about 110 hours in the project...

Doug_B_928

Wow, that is awesome!!! You've done excellent work there. It took all of those hours for someone with your skills.......makes me think I should look into the cost of having a 914 restorer do it.

Peter Zimmermann

It was fun, but in reality it should have been a parts car. But now it's a driver, shifts great, smooth clutch, smooth linkages, fair brakes (still have to reseal the front calipers), and that walloping 68 hp just scares the daylights out of me! The repair time builds quickly when you have to recondition every system in the car, as well as dealing with severely overtightened hardware (CV bolts, shift linkage pin bolts, etc.), that have been stripped, cross-threaded, etc. As you have read, I was also forced to chase down a number of electrical gremlins, and recondition the w/wiper system, which you probably won't have to deal with. Even my sun visors were installed by Billy the Butcher!

I would guess you should probably budget half of what I spent on my car (at about $100/hr), with perhaps a smaller secondary bill following a few shake-down runs. One thing for sure, it won't be cheap.

Doug_B_928

As promised, here are some pics of my 914 in its current condition. There are a couple of rust spots (shown in the close-up pics) and the interior needs a serious cleaning and de-mousing, but overall it doesn't look too bad. Given the pics, any further thoughts on the feasibility of fixing her up?

Jay Gratton

That is a car worth saving. Thanks for posting pictures. Keep us posted and ask questions.