Teach me about the 914

In reply to kanaric:

Yeah, X1/9's totally suck.

my 914 was a lot of fun right up until the time some drunk guy got out of his truck and jumped feet first through my windshield

I've had two 914s. A 1.8 and 2.0. both were/are a blast to drive (I still have the 2.0lt). The fuel injection gets an undeserved bad rap. After fixing the ravages of time, it is a good system preferable to carbs. My 2.0 has carbs (never had FI cause it was modified to 2.5lt early in it's life by original owner)and it doesn't run as smooth as FI and they can be tricky to get them jetted and balanced just right.

Ok, the body: Rust was standard equipment on 914s thanks to the battery location/design. Whatever you do, buy a perfect body. You will become a 914 hater if you buy a bad one.

turboswede wrote:

nicksta43 wrote: Italy > Germany > Japan. mr2 does absolutely nothing for me.

Fixed that for you.

I admit the 914 can be a lot or a hate it look.. especially from some angles. It is definitely more of a Functional than pretty car.

The X 1/9 is simply brilliant in packaging, looks, and handling. It really should have had the bigger twin cam engine from the factory.

As much as I like the MR2, it's looks have always seemed derivative of the mid-engined cars that went before. 1st gen looks a lot like the Exxe, 2nd gen is more ferrariesque, and the 3rd gen apes the boxster

Hmmm, Gearin makes a good point. These are the only air-cooled Porsches that haven't become stupidly expensive. What's that going to tell you?

I'm on my second 914. The first was the yellow one with a 916 front and rear end. Before I put it on the road I put it up on stands, removed the interior and replaced the floor pan from door to door, firewall to pedals. Parts are readily available from Pelican Parts or Tweeks.

I don't recall why I sold it, something shiny probably turned my head. I bought a very nice Fiat X-1/9, actually Bertone. Two tone, red leather and AC, my wife never really bonded with it so it went down the road. Replaced that with a 1966 Datsun Roadster. Nice little car, but it's a Japanese copy of a British car; sure it's reliable but it's kinda British. You and the passenger will bang shoulders often! Which why I went back to the 914.

Sit in one, there's lots of room inside compared to other "sports" cars. BTW, get used to laying on the trunk and wrenching with one hand.

I bought the blue one below from the original owner. He bought it through a girl he was dating in 1974, picked it up himself at the port in NYC, no stealership involved. It is a 2.0 litre fuel injected 5 speed with 57,000 miles on it; I paid $3500.

Rust is not a concern on this one as it always slept inside and was only rained on five times that the PO recalled. The rear trunk lid is helped by torsion springs, even rust free mine were twisting the attachment points off the car. They were replaced with pistons that lay on each side of the lid (Pelican Parts).

Perhaps mine is a Unicorn, but I wouldn't be afraid of any 914. Like any other brand, get to know your enemy and don't be shy about walking away from anything you're not comfortable with.

Poke around the 914World site, good info there; very GRM type people.

I bought the Datsun from a guy in Texas, I live in upstate NY. I bought it sight unseen and spent $700 to ship it here. I know I would have spent more than $700 on bondo, beer and aggrevation trying to chase rust. It's money well spent to snag one from the left coast.

If you have specific questions feel free to shoot me a PM. Contact the GRM office and buy the back issues of Margie's green 914, it had an awful lot of upgrades.

Dan

A few comments as I've had versions of each, and multiple of the X and MR2. Beyond their layouts, they are all different as night and day. The X1/9 is the drivers car of the bunch. It just "feels" the best. Except for the hp (which can be helped with the right mods), everything about it is "right." I ran my '74 with a 1500, cam and dual webers at the time in D Mod, and would regularly beat a 914 with a 13B rotary. In fact, it was usually a contender for FTD even with it's full interior and road gear. And Hoelscher's old DSP X is still the best autocross car I've ever driven.

By comparison, the MR2 feels heavy. It's definitely stronger out of the box, and the right engine mods can turn it into a rocket, but it's like a sledgehammer to the X1/9's scalpel. I ran MR2's for years and won a few local and regional championships in DS with an '86 model, before building an ITA car out of it. My last autocross ironically was in Hoelscher's DP MR2, which I can only describe as violent. Long term, the MR2 probably makes more sense in practicality and running costs, but a mid engine car is not about practicality.

This brings us the 914. The interior of the 914 the best of the 3 in my opinion, and it has the best torque curve if you stick to the 2.0. It also has nice steering feel. I rate it between the X and MR2 in terms of driver's appeal. I don't even think they look all that bad. Rust is the real weak point. They rust everywhere, and in many places you can't see, and those spots can be game changers. It's the cars only real weak point, at least for me. If you can find a rust free one buy it. If not, it needs an inspection from someone that knows what they are looking for. Nothing else about the car is all that difficult, but the rust can be expensive to repair.

As for ratings, I place the X1/9 first, 914 second, and MR2 third. However, if I were shopping for one, I would need to determine what it's purpose in life was going to be, as that would change the order. For a track and autocross mule, I would rate the MR2 first, X1/9 second, and 914 third. For an investment, easy. 914 first, X1/9 second, and MR2 third. That's no contest really, as I think the 914 is the only one that will ever be worth much, and then probably the 2 liter and 914/6 versions only.

I have nothing to add, except HHHHHHHHNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!

I actually like the 914's looks, at least for the most part. The roof looks a bit awkward with the targa top in place but with it off it's pretty decent looking. The Exxie's sharp edges are overall more appealing from every angle, though; even the later big bumper cars pulled it off pretty well. The MR2 1st gen styling is nice but kinda gets lost in the crowd,, the 2nd gen is suh-weet (make mine a red slicktop, please) and I just could never warm up to the 3rd gen, to me it's bugeyed and the various body panels are like a bunch of kids on the playground that don't really like each other but are forced to play together.

When I test drove a 914 when they first came out, I was impressed with how well it handled and how solid it felt. When I drove one again a few years ago, I was impressed with how dated it seemed! How your point of view changes over the years!

Of course they were never a Porsche anywhere but North America, they were a VW, and they are pretty slow with anything but the 6 in them, but if you can find a solid car that hasn't rotted away, they can still offer a lot of fun, and you can always upgrade engines (had a ride in a 2.4 engine car that was pretty spiffy!)

I have had two 914's. I consider this to be the father or grand father of the inexpensive mid mounted motor cars. Sure Ferrari did it first, but it was way pricey. I loved both 914's. They were the 1.7 liter 4 banger, but they pulled hard, handled well and the amount of upgrade parts available is phenomenal.
What you can do, and this is a short list because there is more. 1. Big Bore Cylinder and Piston kits to jump from 1.7, 1.8, 2.0 all the way to 2.7 liter 4 cyl.
2. Swap in a 911 6 cyl. go from 2.0 liter to what you want.
3. Swap in Buick V6 or Chevy v-8. Any power upgrades will need to have the rear control arms boxed for rigidity but they have kits for that. Yes check the rocker panels and Battery tray. These are crucial areas for rust, but any old car will have rust issues, unless already fixed by previous owners.

The 914's are lightweights. A well prepared car can be brought down to under 2000lbs. I think my last one was 2200 but it had a full interior.

Just my two cents on this one. Mike Kirby

TargaToy wrote: Hard for me to be unbiased because I'm a 914 nut. People are still using them for daily drivers. I, for one, intend to keep mine well away from all sources of precip once i finish replacing all rusty structural and body members. Fun to drive and great handling. Most parts are available used or aftermarket. There's a pretty strong support network should you be interested in tech info or parts. I'm not sure if it's cool to post other site links here but do a google search and a couple major 914 forums will pop up. But speaking of rust, 3 rusty ones have already donated vital organs so that mine can live.

What i got out of this is that if you want one to run, you must buy four.

Come on Swank Force. What Targa Toy is saying. Is that he is stock piling for the car apocalypse. Just like all of us with our favorite toys. LOL

Mike Kirby

Swank Force One wrote:

TargaToy wrote: Hard for me to be unbiased because I'm a 914 nut. People are still using them for daily drivers. I, for one, intend to keep mine well away from all sources of precip once i finish replacing all rusty structural and body members. Fun to drive and great handling. Most parts are available used or aftermarket. There's a pretty strong support network should you be interested in tech info or parts. I'm not sure if it's cool to post other site links here but do a google search and a couple major 914 forums will pop up. But speaking of rust, 3 rusty ones have already donated vital organs so that mine can live.

What i got out of this is that if you want one to run, you must buy four.

You're telling me you aren't supposed to do this for every car?

93EXCivic wrote:

Swank Force One wrote:

TargaToy wrote: Hard for me to be unbiased because I'm a 914 nut. People are still using them for daily drivers. I, for one, intend to keep mine well away from all sources of precip once i finish replacing all rusty structural and body members. Fun to drive and great handling. Most parts are available used or aftermarket. There's a pretty strong support network should you be interested in tech info or parts. I'm not sure if it's cool to post other site links here but do a google search and a couple major 914 forums will pop up. But speaking of rust, 3 rusty ones have already donated vital organs so that mine can live.

What i got out of this is that if you want one to run, you must buy four.

You're telling me you aren't supposed to do this for every car?

With a Yugo though, that's what...a $1.20?

Just find a 912 or 912e. Porsche looks and VW power ?