The seller of this 1971 Porsche 914 tells us that he has a lot of familiarity with 914’s and this particular car “is one of my favorite cars & one of the best original survivors I have seen“. Since we’ve had quite a few discussions here on Barn Finds regarding survivors, and what comprises one, let’s look this Porsche over closely and see if it fits the various definitions being bandied about. This 914 is located in Kansas City, Missouri and is available, here on eBay for a current bid of $10,200, reserve not yet met.
The 914 was essentially the successor to the Porsche 912. Offered between 1969 and 1976, it filled the marketing slot for an “entry-level” four-cylinder model but this time without the panache of typical Porsche-looking lines. Things were different with the 914, however, as it had a mid-engined layout as opposed to a rear-engined arrangement. Where some, back in the day, mocked the 914 as a gussied up VW, there is no denying the sharp, flat handling that the 914’s mid-engined platform delivered. Motor Trend bestowed their “Import Car of the Year” award upon Porsche in 1970 and approximately 119K buyers brought a 914 home in its eight model years of production.
This 914 has been in the seller’s possession for about two years and it presents well. He states, ” It has had the lower rocker panels replaced with fiberglass ones as the previous owner said that they had rust on them so he purchased the fiberglass rockers but never installed them. Longs look good. This car, like old VW and old Porsches’, marks its territory, not bad, it’s normal“. Based on the images, it’s hard to nit-pick; black is unforgiving as far as showing imperfections but the numerous exterior images don’t fly any red flags. Black, however, isn’t this car’s born-with hue, it was originally silver but was repainted in the ’70s. Nevertheless, it still qualifies as an aged finish. The seller adds, “it looks nice but is showing its age“. The removable Targa roof panel, however, doesn’t look its age, it’s in excellent condition!
Having been parked from 1984 until 2019, this Porsche has only been driven a documented 39K miles though the odometer shows a reading of 2K miles. When the speedo was rebuilt, the odometer was reset to zero. The previous owner ditched the original fuel injection system and converted this 914 to carburetors but the 80 HP, 1.7 liter, flat-four has been converted back to F.I. with the original parts. The seller claims, “The whole fuel injection has been gone through” whatever “gone-through” means but I gather that this car performs well as the seller adds, “it runs great and goes good on the highway plus it gets great gas mileage“. The listing details an extensive number of repairs that have been facilitated, it’s worth one’s time to go through it all though the listing meanders a bit.
The first glance of the interior shows a tidy, pleasant environment though the seller suggests, “Now for some of the bad items. The seats, carpet & dash are not perfect (some cracks). They are the original items and look good, are usable, but this is not a concourse car. Weatherstrip is good, some could use replacing & some has already been replaced“. OK, but again, it all looks pretty good and if you are looking for a fun, presentable driver, the interior of this Porsche fits the bill.
While I have some experience with a Porsche 912, limited as it is, I know little about 914’s and will admit that they never caught my fancy. That said, this example looks like a well-cared-for/maintained two-seater with enjoyable road manners – and it’s well documented! It can be an advantage to own a car like this that is not concourse material – there’s a lot less to worry about. So back to the original question, a survivor? In the strictest sense of the word, probably not but this Porsche is in very nice, original-style condition. It would be great to hear from past or current 914 owners, are there any stories or experiences that you can share?
Our first of two 914s was a repaint to silver over purple. Didn’t mind that at all but I’m not sure I’d of put black over the original silver. This car looks in good condition and they are great weekend fun. I’ve mentioned before that they are also good long run highway cars with good speed and great gas mileage. Just don’t take the dog along on a cross country like we did.
“Just don’t take the dog along on a cross country like we did”
Sounds like great advice!
JO
A friend had a 914 back in the early ’80s, and I got to take a few rides in the car. My “Audi 914” attitude quickly vanished with my first drive as I realized what a well-balanced, fun ride this sports car was. The looks have grown on me since the ’70s, as they have for many cars I once found odd.
Ad says the Hell hole is fine, so it must be good! But, make sure we don’t put an actual picture up of it in the ad. Trust me, its fine.
A good hell hole (area below the battery, notorious for corrosion and very difficult to repair) on a 914 is worth many times more than that signed letter from Ferry Porsche. Even if the letter came with his writing hand, pen and cufflink!
cheers,
BT
That’s because they took these pictures from our listing. And did not include them all.
If you’ve got a good pic of the Hell hole, I’m pretty sure BF will put it up for you. You seem to know these cars well, so you should be expecting folks need to see it.
cheers,
BT
Reading the ad I still don’t see any hell hole pictures. Only a reference to possible metal and fiberglass repairs on this ‘original’ car.
I remember driving a couple of these while valet parking at the airport in the mid-70s (the airport was a mile away – woohoo!). With the gum-scraping low stance, the mid engine placement and the wheels out there on the corners….the handling was phenomenal, if I remember right after all these years.
I love my ’74.
When compared with a same era 911, these cars are lower, wider, have a longer wheelbase, shorter overhangs, and are better balanced. If they had the same motors, the 911 would see nothing but taillights.
and they did in the GTU series! too bad Porsche didnt bring it all in house- but I think the 914-6 was about the same cost as a 911 and sales were not were they needed to be
Still have my ’70 914. Getting ready to put her back on the road after 25 years in storage. Best handling “old” car that I’ve ever driven. All manual, all the time. Excellent slow car to drive fast.
Surprised it still has the passenger footrest. Those Pedrini wheels look great.
Repaint and color change, fiberglass rocker panels, FI-to-carb-to-FI, and it’s “one of the best original survivors” the seller has seen? He really needs to get out more, because he apparently hasn’t seen much.
The “gussied up VW” image isn’t exactly unfair. After all, these wore VW-Porsche emblems outside of the US.
Go read the full listing before you jump to conclusions.
Big Len… Our second 914, a ’74, had and still has a 3.0 911 engine in it. Along with the suspension modifications it does a good job of taking on most of the 911s on the road today. The fun of having all that horsepower in a light weight well handling car can’t be properly described.
The lead image, apparently taken from a tree, made me think it was a pedal car. Yeah, I know- I need a new hobby.
The only 914 I would like more is the rare six cylinder model, relatively rare but a great engine with 911 performance. Also a great transplant for old VW vans, gives a better power to weight ratio.
With a 1968 912 and a 56 356A Outlaw in the garage I still lust after a nice, early, bare bones 914 like this..just dont have the room for it. I had a humble 1970 1.7 914 and put over 100,000 wonderful fun miles on it. It once returned 42 mpg on a run from Palm Beach, Fla to Key West and back and then made an effortless trek accross the country to Ca with surfboards and two full trunks. Take off the top, wind up the windows and crank up the heat on a chilly morning..nothing is more fun. Those that mocked the 914, and some who still do, have never driven one or they would “get it”.
I once drove from Buffalo, NY to Chicago IL on a single tank of gas in my ’73 1.7. Highly underrated car given the low price new and decent build quality. Slow, but that was the malaise era.