Pipedream come true

I've long been on the lookout for a Porsche 914 without an engine and gearbox to give me somewhere to use the big Type 4 motor that I originally built for the Type 34. But apart from taking a gamble and importing a project from the USA into Australia, 914's just don't come up for sale too often over here, and never as a reasonable car without engine and box. 

Sure the odd car comes up from time to time. For example there's an immaculate silver car for sale on Carsales at the moment for $55k, but that's not in my price range, especially if I'm planning to swap out the engine. Occasionally you'll get a basket case project come up, but those are generally LHD imports where there's just too much work. Most likely someone that's been caught out buying a car sight unseen. I was never really interested in taking on another full project. Far too much work. Plus I've got enough projects already. What I yearned for was an immaculate car that had a blown engine and box. A car where I could just fit the engine and box that I have and that'd be it. But I long ago realised that this was little more than a pipedream.

Right Hand Drive

Fast forward to last month and whilst browsing Facebook Marketplace I stumbled across an advert for a 914 in Adelaide that said: Porsche 914. Ready for Engine and Gearbox. Not only that but it was a Right Hand Drive car. Price $20k. The price was a little on the higher side of what I would have liked, but for the right car I'd be into it. The car looked presentable in the photo, so I reached out to the seller. 

Something that I was completely unaware of until I started digging into 914's is the number of RHD cars. I always knew that they were only produced in left hand drive and that all RHD cars are conversions. But what I was not aware of was just how few cars were actually converted to RHD. It appears that back in the early 70's Crayfords in the UK did a number of RHD conversions, which were predominantly for export to Australia. If you are a classic Ford nut in the UK you would be very familiar with the Crayford name as they were responsible for the Cortina convertible, as well as a number of convertible conversions for other marques. It is believed that there were 12 cars converted and exported by Crayfords to Australia.

Later on in the 80's / 90's, there were some additional 15 or so 914's imported by a local company who undertook RHD conversions using the Crayford dash molds and similar conversion methodology. Additional cars have also been converted by their owners. Even putting all of these numbers together, you start to see that there were very few RHD 914's to start off with. Which explains their relative scarcity

Too much of a project?

So after speaking with the owner and obtaining more photos it became apparent that the car was a little bit more of a project than the advert suggested. The car was the subject of an older restoration by a Porsche specialist back in the 90's when the car was imported and converted to right hand drive. It appears that the owner ran out of funds and the car was retained by the garage in lieu of unpaid bills. The car was then sold to a fellow Adelaidian, who instructed them to continue on with the restoration, but after three years and no progress the car was found stored outside with the targa top off and many of the parts had been pilfered, so it was brought back to Adelaide in its current state. Dismayed by the ordeal, the car was put in storage where is remained until it was later sold on to the fella I purchased it from.

The result of being stored outside with the roof off has resulted in rust in the front pan section as well as lower door skins. The paint, which was fresh some 20 years ago had also taken a bit of bashing from the elements with rust bubbles coming through here and there. It is a shame that the car was treated this way as the original work and repaint was done to a relatively high standard. 

The rest of the shell is pretty good, the hell-hole and battery tray, a common rust trap, are good with no corrosion at all and the rest of the car is presentable. The RHD conversion still needs to have the fuel tank modified but the rest of the work appears to be mostly complete. The seats are in great condition apart from one small tear, but the door cards ideally need replacing. 

With all of the work required, it was far more of a project than I was ready to take on right now, especially as I'm right in the middle of a self build, so without wanting to insult the owner I decided to pass on it, leaving the owner with an offer to mull over should they really want to tempt me. I was about half way home when I received a call with a counter offer. A little over what I would consider a bargain, but a reasonable price given the state of the car. So I slept on it and somehow managed to persuade myself that this might be the last opportunity to own a 914 before prices go skywards, a trend that is already apparent with 914-6 prices. 

The good, the bad and the ugly

So I went and collected the car the next day, loaded it up and brought it home. I've still got to take full check of the car but the most readily apparent things are as follows...

The Good: 

- It's a 914 :) 
- It's RHD
- Hell hole and usual rust has been taken care of
- Relatively complete with a bunch of new parts
- It's silver (originally yellow)
- No engine and trans
- Should be relatively easy to get back together and on the road

The Bad:

- Poor storage has allowed rain into the interior causing rust in the pan and doors
- Older paint job is showing signs of neglect
- Missing carpets
- Something funky going on with rear nearside wheel offset
- Cracked windscreen
- Door cards need replacing

The Ugly: 

- Targa top is badly crazed
- Bumper trim is not great
- Generally untidy / neglected.

What's Next?

So, until I've finished the build I have little time for car projects, so the 914 will have to sit and wait in line behind the lowlight, my '55 panel, the Speedster and probably at some point the Type 34. I also need to get the car port erected so that I can get things under cover. This is the next job after I finish the kitchen.

Whilst there's no physical work going to happen for a while, I can still do some parts hunting. High on the list is to get the 915 gearbox conversion figured out. This normally involves changing out the nose cone style shift rod to a side shifter. A kit is available for this but that runs to well over AU$10K, which definitely puts it out of reach. My plan B is to try and make a cable shifter for it, which will allow me to retain the stock nosecone style shift setup. Aftermarket cable shift systems are commonplace nowadays and there are already systems available for the 915 in a 911, but not for a 915 into a 914. 

Converting the wheel PCD to 5x130 is also high on the list. This is partially a requirement of running the 915 box, as it uses the larger 930 CV joints, so I will need to swap out the stubs, but also as I just happen to have a brand new set of repro early Fuchs that will suit the car perfectly. I'm hoping that in amongst the heap of Porsche brake stuff that I have, I already have some drive flanges that will suit, so at some point I need to go have a rummage.

I also need to get a bit of a wish list together so I know what to keep a lookout for. Lots to do.