The seller of this very affordable 1974 Porsche 914 claims he used it for a 200-mile round trip commute – daily – for several years. First of all, my hat is off to this gentleman for using a vintage Porsche like any other highway conveyance. He probably had a much bigger grin on his face on the way to the office than I ever do. Find this 914 with the rare center stack gauge cluster here on eBay with bidding just over $2K.
The seller notes there are some minor rust spots but no major rot-through to contend with; the arrid New Mexico climate has likely helped in this regard. The 914 has been stored inside for the last 13 years, as it was retired following its commuting duties. The seller says that while it doesn’t currently run, the engine spins freely and it ran well prior to being parked. It features a matching 1.8L mill with twin Dellorto carbs and stainless steel heat exchangers.
The interior is noted to be the weakest link in this project-grade 914, but my eyes are drawn to the rare gauge cluster in the center stack. Also worth noting is this is a factory original yellow example or someone performed an invasive respray. Regarding the interior, the seller notes “…the back pad and seats have rips and tears, but are recoverable, the dashboard has the standard 914 cracks, the gauges are all present and work, although the temperature gauge is not connected.”
The interior damage is attributed to rodent intrusion, which was to the point that the carpet was gutted. So while you have a mostly rust-free example (check out that dry floorpan), there is a fair amount of recommissioning needed to get the 914 running/driving and also eliminate any left-over signs of previous critter inhabitants. Bidding is quite low at the moment and the seller has it listed at no reserve; is this 914 honest enough to take a chance on?
Beware snipers in the bidding process. O and hanta virus too.
Love the idea of solid floor boards, battery trays and frames on these. Cool color.
I had two 914’s, both 1971 models. They were marketed as Volkswagons in Europe, mine had a metal interior manufacturer plate that said it was made in the Karmann-Gia (sorry if a mis-spell on that) plant. They had the same pancake 1.7 liter 4 cylinder engine that the VW squareback station wagon had, then later upgraded to a fire-prone (cracking plastic fuel T) 1.8 and then onto a 2.0. It handled like an oversized go-kart and was the funnest car to drive I ever had (the rack and pinion steering was hyped and I still do not know what that was to this day). Replace the 165 tires to 185/70’s… man, you had some happening tires then! But a problem was top speed… it took me a minute and a half on the freeway to very slowly reach a dazzling 100 mph top speed for the 1.7 liter year motor. In these days of 300+ hp vehicles somewhat being the norm, you still cannot take away the fun of putting the top in the trunk, going forever on a tank of gas and pretending you had a real Porsche (now, if only people knew how to pronounce that word… POR-SHA, not PORSH! But I guess it deserved that insult, because a real Porsche it was not. (the 914-6 was another matter altogether). God I loved driving my 914’s but I always envied those who had that center gauge cluster. Many owners put carbs on theirs, some even smallblock V-8’s. And I liked the feeling that two (including the driver) was company and three was a crowd.
‘The guages are all present and work, although the temperature guage is not connected.’ How do they know that if the motor will not run?
If I could get my 914 running again I would drive it to work every day, with the top in the trunk!
Caution on this one: At first, it looks nearly rust-free, and it certainly is better than a lot of them. But if you look closely, there is rust in the low area to the rear of the doors. There has been some repair work to the “hellhole” (area beneath the battery tray. One general rule about old cars, especially Porsches and Volkswagens, is that there is always more rust than what you see. And to see those critical areas would require some different camera angles as well as up close inspection. Good car to restore, just know what you’re getting into.
Nearly got killed in a 1973, 914. I fell asleep at the wheel, the left turn single light of the 1973 Cadillac woke me up. The gas tank in front of the driver in a 914 is not a pleasant thought.
It was a signal light.
I had a Black 914 2.0 in 73. Best handling car ever! Sounded great with a 4 pipe Abarth exhaust! Those were the days…
NLA, although it doesn’t say sold. Perhaps seller pulled it