The idea of lavishing every last dollar possible on a tip-top restoration is certainly one we’ve all been tempted by at one time or another. Your dream car comes up for sale, only it’s sitting in a junkyard; your high school ride that’s been in the garage for 30 years is begging for a refresh; or, you simply want to own the nicest Ford Probe ever made. Motivations comes in many forms, and in the case of this 1974 Porsche 914 listed here on Facebook Marketplace, it compelled the caretaker to dump $60,000 on a rotisserie-style restoration, yielding what is likely one of the best cars on the market.
The question, however, becomes very personal when you ask, “Why?” The Porsche 914 is an appreciating classic, as it has lingered at the bottom of the P-car food chain for many years. However, unlike the 911 and 912, the 914 is still cheap as chips when you buy one in project form (relatively speaking.) My barometer for these sorts of things weighs heavily on whether the worst cars start commanding more money, as when that happens, the horse has left the barn. Since the 914 is still pretty affordable when you buy one with rust or missing an engine, I don’t think it has reached elite status yet – though this car certainly appears to be as elite as they come.
When you have a vehicle that has a very accessible bottom end of its marketplace, the inclination to go all-out on a restoration is a very personal decision. In addition, production quantities should factor in as well, as they made a lot of 914s, so there’s always a sense of, “I can buy one in a month or a year from now” if need be. It’s like the C3 or C4 Corvette: there’s always a decent one up for grabs for reasonable money. However, it does seem that someone spent every last dime of that $60K on this car, as the Signal Orange paint is striking and it’s paired with matching seat inserts in the OEM buckets. That three-spoke steering wheel isn’t for decoration, as the powerplant has been substantially upgraded, according to the listing.
The description notes that the 2.0 four-cylinder mill has been beefed up dramatically and now puts out a dyno-tested 154 horsepower and 174 ft. lbs. of torque. That’s some serious scoot in a very light car, and I imagine this 914 is a hoot to drive. The suspension has been lowered on factory wheels and I’m sure the investments included the requisite upgrades to the chassis; everything appears to have been done to a high level. While the money was well spent and it likely deserves every penny, I still wonder if builds like these ever intend to recoup the investment, or it’s a simply an exercise in building what the owner wants, how he wants it. The asking price is $42,914 and thanks to Barn Finds reader T.J. for the find.
Shucks, I can lose that much money on a car without even having to work on it…
Sharp looking 914! I wouldn’t be the one to plunk down the cash to buy this but I’d love to borrow it for a Sunday drive.
How is it possible to do a “frame-off restoration” when there is no frame?
I’d want to see all receipts before I handed over even 2/3 of the investment on a 914. But like Todd J. I’d love to drive this German go-cart.
All I see is reference to rotisserie restoration in both the ad and write up on this site, maybe I’m missing something.
Steve R
“Frame off” is one of those buzz words thrown around and abused so much, and as we know, totally inappropriate here, its use is as meaningless as”barn find” “rat rod” “numbers matching” and on and on it goes in too many situations. But it at least lets us know that the seller is willing to say ANYTHING to promote a sale and when I encounter that, I know I cannot believe anything he says!
A term of endearment that indicates no point was overlooked.
I’m planing a total resto-rod for my 74 Fiat X 1/9. I expect to have three times its value into it but you only get one first new car, one (maybe) honeymoon ride and one chance to relive your youthful years. I cannot immagine investing 60k to do that though. I’m expecting g to be around $30k but that comes with a heart transplant of a K20 engine and 6 speed, modern upgraded brakes and a body kit. The car could be pretty nice with just a respray and freshen up the engine but that dream of more power calls my name.
Yes looks great!! The engine was rebuilt in CA and the seller is in MI, maybe a little more information on that.
I’m torn on this. I grew up with a 914 that we had to get rid of due to the infamous “Hell Hole”. I’d love another, but I’m thinking that it’s probably not going to happen.
On the one hand, it looks beautiful. But I question many details, and for this kind of money, (and I think that this is the “my wife said to sell it” price) I think you have every right to nitpick. Some of the things I noticed make me question the level of attention to detail. Maybe I’m being paranoid, but damn, for this kind of money…
-You have a single exhaust sticking out waaaay past the rear of the car.
-You have a beastly steering wheel, when the original was just perfect.
-The twin carb setup was routinely done on these things when they couldn’t get the fuel injection to work right. It’s like when you see aftermarket mufflers on 1970’s Honda Motorcycles; it was usually cheaper than getting the factory originals.
-I’m pretty sure that the bumpers are from the earlier 914s; IIRC, the 1974 and later models had the big black bumpers. Not that they don’t look great, but again, it ain’t like mother Porsche(Karmann) made it.
The bumpers are correct for ’74. The big black bumpers were from 75 to 76. As for the carbs, the original EFI wouldn’t handle whatever mods were done to increase output to 154 HP.
Bumpers:
67-72 = all chrome, no rubber pads
73 = chrome, rubber pads on front only
74 = chrome, pads on front and back bumpers
75-76 = switch over to the full black rubber bumpers
However, many prefer to change any of these years to the all chrome-no pads as the early years had. Looks cleaner.
a ’67 914?
Correct Mark, shouldn’t be referred to as a pan off restoration? Isn’t this just a fancy Volkswagen?
Seems a little pricey, but maybe I’m behind on this “air-cooled”craze.
Mid- engine, VW is rear engine
Back in about 74 friends bought one of these used…. with rust… had it painted and ignored that the unibody was compromised and that the doors were pinching. Eventually it just collapsed into a V…. and that was it.
Engine cover fit above the right rear taillight looks a little off.
You are a little behind the times. 914s have been on the rise and not just the 6s that can go for north of $ 100,000.A 2 litre 74 is the next most valuable and this colour is one of the most wanted.It was silly to spend that much on this but,if he did and it was done right ,this might be worth the $$.If it has that much power a chassis strengthening kit should have been added and I’d want to inspect the hellhole under the battery.Even the most humble 914s are just great cars to drive and very practical with lot of interiour room, two trunks and a Targa top.I loved mine and I might be in the market for this..offering about $35,000 if it is up to the standard he said..
I can buy a lot of real American iron for this price. USA, USA, USA!!!
But wouldn’t you really rather have a complete automobile?
No much “American Iron” of this vintage, or even modern vintage, handles and gives you the fun factor of a 914.I have had my share of old US cars and Porsches..no comparison in the handling dept.
Unibody car; neat trick to remove from frame.
Unibody car, so “frame-off” is a neat trick.
Where are people seeing frame off???
Jeff accidentally put that in the title but I think he meant rotisserie restoration.
Lovely looking car. Between this and the Porsche 911, I find this the best looking car.