These days, buying a Porsche is not an affordable exercise. Whether you buy a total heap of a project or focus on one of the less desirable entries, there’s not much to choose from unless you happen to stumble upon an epic barn find no one else knows about. That can happen, but if you’re not the patient type, you’re going to have to look at buying one of the few models left that hasn’t exploded in price. That includes the Porsche 914, and the seller of this 1972 example here on eBay is definitely speaking to the crowd that missed out on the air-cooled 911. Would you pay the $6,999 asking price?
The seller amps up the chatter around missed opportunities, and while it’s a bit overdone, he’s not wrong. All of the typically less desirable models have begun to rocket up in price, as you used to be able to buy a 912 for Corrolla money but no longer. Of course, there’s loads of speculation that this is a fragile bubble waiting to burst, and while I do think some prices will come down – particularly for water-cooled models – the days of a cheap long-hood 911 or 356 are long gone. I doubt the 914 will ever truly be out of reach, but I’m sure it will never be any cheaper than it is now. This car looks good on the optional factory alloy wheels and sports a period-correct aftermarket muffler.
The 914 interior seems to be one of those cabins that never looks any worse for the wear, even when it’s a neglected specimen. It’s like the W123 Mercedes, wherein the seating surfaces just hold up incredibly well even when the windows are left down. Fortunately, this 914 is in California and the climate seems to have been pretty kind to it with no major rot holes or destroyed seating surfaces. The door panels look decent as well, and the seller claims the interior is overall fairly tidy. The seller does note the typically rusty “hell hole” is rusty on this car, but in general, corrosion doesn’t seem to be a huge issue. Photos of the underside reveal no major rust or rot holes.
The seller claims they got the 914 to run and that it sounds good, with no odd or alarming noises. Fortunately, you can still find 914s practically everywhere at this point, as there are even junkyards in my neck of the woods here in the northeast that still have rusty 914s in them. The seller’s asking price is fair but I would definitely take them up on the best offer function, as while a rising tide lifts all boats, a truly comprehensive restoration of a 914 is still a bit of a fool’s errand at this point. Would you take on a 914 project like this or keep saving for a 911?
Nothing beats a visual inspection, but from the pics the hell hole (underneath the battery tray) looks pretty crispy among other areas. Those aren’t factory wheels either.
Correct. The wheels are pacific-Italia Carrera Rivera II. However, dealers did carry them. Had them on my ’71.
The exhaust isn’t either. That’s an ANSA exhaust I had one on my 914-6.
I wonder how bad the rust is?? Good starting point for the asking price.
Man, dat’s my kind of driveway!
Years ago, my neighbour, an engineer at an electronic test company traded a desktop computer for a basket-case 914. It was Rusty! The entire floorpan was
rotten, or simply gone. The car was basically in two halves.There were no replacement floor panels available then, so he made some himself, and they looked very close to original style. He spent months of evenings , with his teenage son, grinding, cutting, and welding. Then more months on the body and prep. He painted it silver (OE Porsche colour) in his garage, and it turned out beautifully. Then more months rebuilding the engine and transmission. In total, he probably worked on it for about 3 years (including time searching for parts etc) before it was completely finished. It was a great father-son project, and his son eventually took it over. These days it seems a lot of young people are not interested in old (or, sometimes any) cars. It was nice to see a 14yo boy start by helping his dad, and then begin taking on more of the restoration himself as he grew up, and gained experience.
BTW, these cars handle like slot-cars, and are increasing in value.
The car for sale here looks like a good father/son/daughter project.
It was about as good as any well-restored one gets.
Looks scary to me. I’ve owned many 914s.
It’s not in such bad-a-shape, where’s your sense of adventure? These cars can be tricked out nice too.
No easy restoration here. The rusted out battery box and sub frame rust underneath is going to take some money and time, and the fact that the rear control arm mount is right underneath it usually means replacing that area also. Boxed members under the doors don’t look too hot either. Have rebuilt/restored several of these cars and repairs are labor intensive which translates into cost intensive. Enough to work with here but it would be a lot easier if the buyer had a good welder in the family.
Every 914 on earth has a hell hole. My dad bought one new, never driven in the winter, kept in a garage. I only found out about the hell hole when I pulled the engine a few years back. Not only was there the hell hole, but the floor pan where it met the fire wall had rusted out. It was the tarlike “rustproofing” that actually kept the floor attached to the firewall!
Too bad, because these are fun, zippy cars….
I’m on my second 914 and to anyone looking to buy one, I recommend that you spend as much as you can afford and avoid rusty ones. This guy is going to need a lot of structural work. Of course, with clean ones going for high 20’s and up, 914’s are not the entry-level fun that they once were
These are an unbelievably fun ride, and the 6 cylinder version I drove once back in the day was astounding. But my friend who had restored that very rusty 4 year old example and rebuilt the motor swore if you closed it in the garage and shut off your air compressor you could listen to it rust.
If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 56 years of car ownership, it’s that there’s no such thing as an ‘easy restoration’.
I have had many 914’s and must say that the hell hole in this one is about as GOOD as I have seen! The fact that the rusted battery support is even present is a good sign. Still, will take some repairs in this area for sure, but I have several 914’s in worse condition than this and I plan to restore each one of them. But then, I truly enjoy these cars and enjoy the process. Only now, at least the values have caught up to where it makes more sense when you get done. You hardly ever see one on the road any more and they are SO much fun to drive!
…Oh, also, I was at first impressed because this one appeared to be an original black colored car. You hardly ever see an original black, but then in the Ebay picks it appears to be a brown color? One that I don’t think I have ever seen on the road? So it is possible this is a factory-special-order color?? Any thoughts? I owned a gold colored 72 once that was a special factory-order color.
Porsche needed an entry level vehicle to replace the 356 series and VW needed something to replace their aging Karman Ghia. Hence the 914 collaboration where low cost entry for first time owners was all important. To that goal, in my opinion, several short sighted decisions were made. The most notable was weather proofing the 914s. Who in the world would think that using the same lacquer for the underpan that was used for the body was a long term solution for rust. What could possibly go wrong with that idea? I am an original owner of a 1973 914 (Alaskan Blue Metallic) with 54k miles that I stored in a temp controlled environment for 45 years. I am refreshing the car at the moment and am blessed that it is virtually rust free. I’ve never seen one as pure as this one,,, but how many get stored in a bubble as this one has been? All the comments about 914 rust problems are 100% true and unavoidable given Porsche’s lack of concern for the long term protection of an otherwise innovative design. Potential owners need to accept that rust was a standard factory installed option for the 914 which is more than offset by the way these cars drive as if on a rail. It is vintage sports driving excitment from a car that you love to hate. I’ve been offered ridiculous amounts of money for mine because of its “no rust” condition but still not enough to part with something akin to an old friend. The 914 can become addictive,,, am looking for another as we speak. How stupid can I be,,, oh well !!!
…Oh, also, I was at first impressed because this one appeared to be an original black colored car. You hardly ever see an original black, but then in the Ebay picks it appears to be a brown color? One that I don’t think I have ever seen on the road? So it is possible this is a factory-special-order color?? Any thoughts? I owned a gold colored 72 once that was a special factory-order color.
Too rough for the money.
always liked the low slung look of these…and if i couldn’t afford a flat six to drop in one, a Renegade Hybrids LS swap kit would make it a killer ……
One of the 200hp Type 4 engines would do the same thing. We built a 2 liter with 2.5 pistons and jugs that put out 135 hp. Since then the engine builders have really uped the power.
Absolutely. I had a friend who was a Porsche guy and he knew I was looking around for a 6. He asked ‘why go to the expense’? You can get about the same power from a VW 4 (with some work mentioned above).
Not an easy restoration by the apparent condition. This car needs to be taken completely apart. There will be more rust in structural areas that aren’t visible in the photos. At $7k the buyer will likely be upside down by the time its back on the road. i am thinking $4.5 -$5k.
My brother had a signal orange 914. Even new, it had a mind of it’s own about when to start. Something about the grounding I seem to recall. When it ran it was a joy. When it didn’t…well it was a ’70’s Porsche.
I’ve owned 3. Each had its challenges. The 1974 had rare factory A/C. It was completely useless. The A/C cooled just fine, but it drove the engine temp through the roof. My fav was the 1972. I sold it to a friend whose wife wanted to be in the Porsche Club (for some reason).
For whatever it’s worth, it is my opinion that the front has been hit fairly hard and repaired so-so. The Germans are very particular about fitment and body lines, nowhere more so than at Porsche.
When you have an unhit example, the headlights fit and align perfectly. This sorry mess is anything but. The hood is in bad shape, too. Not to say it can’t or shouldn’t be saved, but rust isn’t the only problem.
Dig in for the long haul, because cleaning out the fuel system and twisting the key on this one won’t get the job done.
RC… Sounds like the aftermarket dealer installed AC was installed in your ’74. The condenser was installed on the vented engine lid and did nothing for cooling the engine.We used the units that had the condenser with ducts installed in the front trunk floor leaving the air intake for the engine completely clear.
Excellent information.
So you say that there was no factory A/C option? It sure did look like it grew there.
Then there were 2 different versions of the installation on top of that?
Wish I had known this back then (it was some 35 years ago). Had I, that little ‘slot car’, to use another’s metaphor, would have been the perfect run around car. I’m hard pressed to remember, but it seemed to me that the engine lid was not obviously vented (not to say it wasn’t).
Thanks again.
BTW – I also had a 911T. My brother had a 911S with the most hideous butterscotch plaid seats. That was the extent of my experience with Porsche, except I had a friend with a 928, that she insisted I drive, when we went anywhere.
I watched a friend who is a very good mechanic go slowly crazy fighting the rust on one of these that looked to be in better shape than the one pictured. Every day revealed a new area rusted beyond repair.