1973 Porsche 914 1.7 zambezi green

1973 Porsche 914 Targa Description

This is a 73 914 1.7 in Zambezi Green with brown interior. It's been in a garage safe and dry since acquiring from the back of a shop where it was sitting with another on flats in dirt and leaves. The previous owner had hopes of having the shop swap the 1.7 here for the 2.0 in the other car, but those hopes had seemed to been lost for sometime when in I believe 2013 or 2014 I pulled it out of the dirt and leaves. I was told it ran and drove when I bought it, of course it didn’t. Since then it’s been in my care, never a priority (I have other projects keeping me busy), but we’ve kept it dry and little by little we’ve nursed it back to health.
It’s an honest, mostly complete and original running and driving car. I’d say just a very small amount away from being a fair condition driver (as according to Hagerty descriptions). It’s a car that could be easily enjoyed short term as a #4 car. Depending on your desire and intention, it’s definitely a candidate for restoration to a condition 3,2,1 car with not a huge investment to join that end of the market. I'll do my best to describe the car as it sits.
The paint isn't perfect but buffing brought it back from dead (the last pic here shows what it was when I found it). There are chips, dings and a small bit of clear coat peeling on driver door.Although I can't confirm the paint to be totally original, it seems maybe mostly original with some areas of isolated paint work in places mainly the top of the trunk lid, but there is no evidence inside the jambs, frunk, trunk of a repaint. Where there are chips there aren't layers of paint work...just clear, paint, and metal.
The only items missing from the car are rocker covers, front bumper pad, spare tire, bottom trim for windshield (top and sides are off but with the car) I have some parts presently not on the car that come with it including, new wiper motor, center caps, seat belts, horn and steering wheel horn pad. Comes with the carpet set that was in it, which wasn’t impressive but’s serviceable short term, if so desired.
Tires hold air and have plenty of tread, think they are actually michelins or bf's (will have to look again) I have taken it for rides around the city on them, but they are old and should be replaced. It came with the “Dan Gurney” wheels you see on there. They are straight and polish up very nice.
Electrics, headlights, markers and gauges all work.
Interior is complete, except for the backrest light and speakers. The dashpad has no cracks. There is one very small maybe 1/4 inch split in the corner just above the ash try that is very minor and has not gotten worse in the 6-7 years I’ve owned it.
Seats are in pretty good shape, very comfortable. They have one tear in the bolster and a split in the passenger cushion along the seam, which I think could be repaired if desired. Seats tracks operational, I have an extra set as well.
Car starts up on 3rd/4th crank when sitting for a longer period of time, 1st crank if less than a week. It drives and handles great, it's very tight and smooth over bumps.
It came with aftermarket ansa type exhaust which I haven’t spent much time looking at, because I’m not sure if I like quite how loud it is, but if it's your thing it's pretty sweet.
The car has a slight pop on decel, not sure if it’s a baffled exhaust that is supposed to do that, the fuel air mix is off or there is still a small vacuum leak. Even though, we’ve been through the djet system to sort many of the common problems like bucking, fast idle etc, I don’t have a smoke machine to confirm 100% on vacuum leaks, which I will do if I keep it.
I replaced rear calipers with a set from PMB, any bad lines replaced throughout the system, proportional valve and master cylinder replaced, system was bled and all corners stop as they should.
Other items of note:- stainless heat exchangers on car, I can jack up and snag picture if necessary- electronics board replaced and sourced a proper cover and rain tray for the engine grille- ECU works as should and have others with the car since they can be finicky- fuel injectors and rails have been replaced- many other fuel system parts have been replaced- new battery tray in car, but not welded, just mocked up- push rod tubes replaced- valves adjusted- leak down test performed no issues, would need to look for numbers- spark plugs, distributor and points all replaced- no leaks anywhere- replaced shift linkage and joints, they need to be adjusted slightly as 1st gear is easy to miss from reverse and 2nd, but otherwise shifts nice- air flap for warm up not working, the cable is broken so it is clamped open- missing heater ducts under car that go i believe from the exchangers to cabin, this is an easy fix, but wasn't planning on driving it in the winter- passenger side window regulator works, window goes up and down but is not properly secured to regulator so it's loose
There is rust, it's a 914 man. However, I got to the car and put it in the garage before it became unmanageable. The main areas are the floor pans under drivers seat and passengers, which is why the carpets are out. They are still whole and could be treated with por15 and some seam sealer and be fine to drive around with, but just know it's there and to restore it would definitely need to be replaced with new metal.
There’s a minimal amount of rust in the hell hole, like a dime or nickel sized hole and probably a little brewing underneath the paint around that hole, but definitely seems pretty isolated, from the horror stories I’ve seen and heard.The rear passenger side jack point pushed in. A prior owner had both longitudes patched although not factory looking the work quality is good and definitely serviceable. Also some rust in the frunk and trunk that looks like it can be treated without replacement or cutting.
I reported the mileage wrong at 75k when I impatiently went to the dmv without looking at the odometer, right before I had to travel abroad. I do however think the previous owner had documented wrong too at like 169k. The odometer reads just over 69k and that would seem to be a hard 69k miles but also don’t think the car looks worn enough to have done 169k either, so tough to say for sure. There’s a listing with this car archived online that I can show you as a potential lead to correction, but for now I guess TMU.
I’ve been saving the car for a potential restoration or 6 conversion although as much as I want a 6, I’m very conflicted on cutting this car up. Not in need of selling it, but had some offers, so figured I’d see if there’s any more interest. Good color, right year, and definitely the right amount of fun and potential. If you are interested I’ll try to answers as complete and timely as I can. Good luck.