My 914-6 came with the VW-Porsche badge, like shmark's, but said it was assembled by Porsche, not Karmann. Back in those days, the 911 guys hated seeing a 914 in their mirrors that they couldn't get away from... I left the badge as-is and was happy to pass them in my VW ! And yes- the 928 IS a real Porsche.

+1 on the watch! ....sorry about the Pantera..

 

Joe,

Glad you were able to share those with him...can't believe he still has questions about the status of the 928!

Be cool Joe...I remember sending one of the DVD's out to you now!

 

Let me amend my statement. It's worth more than damn near ALL 928s except maybe a couple sold by Wilhoit. Got any pics?

 

No Mark, I don't know why I've never taken any pictures of Bob'cars. But I'll get some and post them ASAP. To me the thing about having a collector car is being able to enjoy, and have some fun driving it. His sit in the garage covered up all the time. Hell, I drive mine when ever I get the chance. I wouldn't trade my 928 for a 914-6 ever, i really think that in the future our 928's will become a great investment. When you put the "Shark" next to the Panamera, the timeless styling of the 928 really becomes apperant,IMHO.

 

Mark is correct. In addition, the 914-4's were assembled by VW. The cars destined to be 914-6's had their chassis shipped to Porsche where the suspension and running gear were added. So, if the car is an original 914-6 then it is indeed a "real" Porsche, with different steering, suspension, brakes, engine, and transaxle than a 914-4. A 914-4 is not as much of a "real" Porsche, but they are still very fun cars. They weigh less than 2000 lbs and are very cheap to upgrade.

Porsche also made a couple prototype 914-8's with the engine from the 908 race car, but that model never went into production.

 

Thanks for this info, I went to the Ventura Show and for the first time noticed all the 914s with VW badges on the back. And there were a lot of them. I casually tried to figure out which ones had the VW badges and why, but it wasn't apparent to me. There were a fair number of 914-6s too, but how "real" they were I have no idea.

How safe are these cars? Friend of mine had one in her 20's and wants to get another one. They look like they'd fold like a lawn chair in an accident.

 

The ROW "VW-914" logo has become something of a badge of honor among the 914 crowd of late. Embracing the mixed heritage of the cars I guess.

The main thing to watch out for with a 914 is rust - they are incredibly rust-prone. You have to watch out for the "hell hole" (caused by the battery eating through the engine compartment, and into the rear suspension pick-up points) and severe rocker panel rust. 914 sites like 914club are full of information about this stuff. Rennlist's 914 section is a ghost town.

 

"Porsche also made a couple prototype 914-8's with the engine from the 908 race car, but that model never went into production."

Any idea what happened to them?


tino

 

One of them is here:
http://www.motortrend.com/classic/fe.../photo_18.html

This one was a one-off gift to Ferry Porsche. Supposedly he didn't like it much.

The other one was built on an earlier non-production prototype chassis (that looked different from the production car), and was probably crushed or dismantled.

 

Well that depends. They are a small lightweight car designed in the 60's without rust protection. So not as safe as a new car, and if the tinworm has gotten to them even less so...yes bad ones can break in half like the pic earlier. You look in the well under the battery tray and sills to be sure - removing the jack point covers and looking behind the rocker covers for more rust are the places to check.

That said they are incredibly strong for their size and weight, and a good one with a cage is a very safe track car. However I was driving the red car in the pic up GA400 one day, running in the fast lane at something over the speed limit, when I got behind a Ford Excursion. This behemoth, factory stock, had its trailer hitch right at my eye level. That makes you think.

 

Are they real Porsches? Well, I own both. I want to keep them forever. Both of them. Drive either of them and tell me they are not real Porsches. That's what a dealer friend who could drive any Porsche he wanted to drive told me when I laughed at him saying he drove a 928. I ate my words after I drove one and soon bought the one I now own. And why did Ferry Porsche drive one until he died? Could he not drive any Porsche he wanted to drive and yet chose a 928?

The 914/6 is a different car from the 914/4. And it is about the most fun of all Porsches I know on a limited budget. I can take my engine and transmission out and reinstall it in one and one half hours, and have many times. It is light, nimble and fast. It shakes your teeth loose and your face will crack from the ear to ear grin. But watch out for the wrong combination of shocks and springs because you may find yourself spinning like a top. And yes, mine is an original six. Lots of parts no longer available so that's a sign of what to expect for 928s too. PIA if you ask me. Forget the radio in the 914/6; you can only hear it when you're stopped at a light. Six throats sucking behind your ear is a symphony, combined with the sound of the oil system gurgling and the cooling fan, it is almost too good to be legal. Not even close to the comfort level of the 928 but a street legal go kart if set up properly. It has two trunks and has served as my camp-mobile many times. It is a little flexible though and needs to be reinforced in the longitudinals and at the rear suspension points, if you have anything larger than a stock 2.0L because it will tear itself apart at the seams. What car usually wins top time of day at the Parade autocross even today? You guessed it: a 914/6 is always a threat to beat all comers.
Just a lowly VW right? Wrong!!!

 

One for Ferry, one for Ferdinand Piëch if my sources were right.

Ferry's model is this one:


I suppose it is the other one on display on the Porsche museum.

 

Is it an optical illusion or does it look like the V8's extra weight causes the rear to squat in that pic?

tino