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- Wayback Wheels -
Vintage Car Talk
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- Wayback Wheels
- By Aaron Neilly
- “The Everyman’s Porsche”
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- Hello, and welcome to the second
installment of Wayback Wheels. Now, I realize I closed my last
article with something to the effect of “Next issue, the
Packard,” but that was pretty much a blatant lie.
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- Actually, my source for information
on Packards seems to have disappeared. So, I’m going to
have somewhat of a spin-off from my Volkswagen Beetle article
… the Porsche 914.
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- In the late 60‘s, Volkswagen
and Porsche had a fairly tired lineup. There was talk of replacing
the Porsche 912 (a four-cylinder variant of the 911) and Volkswagen
wanted to add something a bit more exciting and sporty to their
model range in addition to the Karmann Ghia, which although it
looked sporty, was about as performance oriented as the Beetle.
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- To save money, and because Volkswagen
wanted engineering help from Porsche, they used an identical
platform, originally to sell the vehicle in four-cylinder trim
as a Volkswagen and in six-cylinder trim as a Porsche. This setup
ended up being used in Europe, but in North America Porsche decided,
during development, that having Volkswagen and Porsche models
sharing the same body could hurt sales.
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- They convinced Volkswagen to
allow them to sell both versions as Porsches in North America,
while selling the 4 cylinder as a “VW-Porsche” and
the 914/6 as strictly a Porsche in Europe.
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- The car had a unique look to
it, with its removable targa top, pop-up headlights, and large
trunks in the front and rear, due to the mid mounted engine.
The composite roof, which could be removed in 30 seconds, sat
perfectly in the rear trunk on tabs, still allowing for storage
underneath it. The 914’s design was definitely influential
for other mid engined cars, such as the Fiat X1/9, the Toyota
MR-2 and even the Pontiac Fiero.
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- Problems arose after the death
of Volks-wagen's chairman, causing the deal to be renegotiated.
As a result of this, the price of the Porsche’s chassis
increased considerably and the 914/6 ended up costing only slightly
less than the base model 911, which hurt sales quite substantially.
In contrast, the very reasonably priced 914-4 became Porsche's
top seller during its model run with over 118,000 units sold
worldwide.
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- Four-cylinder versions came
with fuel injected 1.7, 1.8 and 2.0 litre flat fours based on
the unit that powered the Volkswagen Type 4. The 914/6 came with
a corroborated 110 hp 2.0 litre flat-six engine, taken from 911T.
German coach builder Karmann (Who also produced the Beetle convertible
and the Karmann Ghia) built the bodies at their own plant, then
either sent them to Porsche if they were destined to become a
914/6 or kept them for fitment of Volkswagen components.
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- Poor sales and high production
costs caused Porsche to discontinue the 914/6 in 1972, after
producing just over 3000 of them. It was replaced by larger version
of the type 4, the 2.0 litre. 914 production ceased in 1975,
although some late-production 1975’s were sold as ‘76
models.
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- The 914s are steadily appreciating
in value, and are still reasonably priced. With their mid-engined
layout, they have nearly perfect weight distribution, making
them a force to be reckoned with in the handling department.
Engine upgrades range from modified type 4 engines, to 911 engines,
even Mazda rotaries and Subaru engines.
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- (I actually rode in a 914 with
a Boxster transaxle and a Chevy LS-1 V8 with about 300 horsepower
this past summer… the word “fast” doesn’t
begin to describe that experience. Think of the feeling you get
when you‘re on a jet plane taking off… it was kind
of like that!)
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- Personally, with a vehicle like
that, I think I’d have my license for about a week.
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- For those looking for a fun
to drive, practical and even fairly reliable classic, the 914
is a great candidate. However, like any 30+ year old car, they
do have their weak points, especially rust … check inside
the engine compartment where rain can gather, the longitudinal
panels underneath the removable rocker panels, the channel where
the rubber seal sits in the front trunk, especially near the
headlights, the “sail panels” (panels which support
the roll bar) and the front fenders at the top rear area closest
to the windshield. Are the panels straight?
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- Do the doors open and close
easily? Check the underside of the trunk lids for evidence of
welding or body filler. Also check to see if the trunk floors
have been patched, and that the serial numbers match.
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- Don't fall in love with a car
just because it looks good. This happens all too often. If you're
in doubt, have it checked by a professional, such as Mike Galloway,
at Mike’s 914s in Colborne, a shop specializing in repair,
restoration and sales of these cars, and other Porsche products.
He can be reached at (905) 355-2703.
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- Well, that’s it for another
edition! I’m not making any promises for what I’ll
write about next time, though. I like to keep my readers in suspense...
(or in the dark, one of the two).
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- Until then, happy motoring.
Note: 914s make excellent Christmas presents.
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