1973 Porsche 914

Fuel Injected 2.0 L 4-Cylinder

5-Speed Manual

4722919815

1973 Porsche 914 2.0 L32K Phoenix Red 65k Miles, No Reserve, In Atlanta, GA 1973 Porsche 914 2.0 L32K Phoenix Red 65k miles Chassis# 4722919815 Engine#049736 Every great car has a story and this one is no exception. Six or seven years ago, I was in my local British car shop having some XJS malady remedied, when up roared this amazing “Orange” 914…So began a half decade conversation with the owner, who also had a Jaguar in for service. He had the car for 15 years or so, it was locally owned in Atlanta since then, driven sparingly, garaged always, and serviced in a way that 914’s rarely receive. Originally sold in Chattanooga, TN, it was the best 914 I had ever seen. Icing on the cake was that it was a 1973 model, still as original, fuel injected, and had the more desirable 2.0 liter engine. I made him an offer for the car on the spot. Or course, the car was firmly not for sale. After hearing of his Jaguar woes, I tried another angle, I said "Why don’t I take that Jag (XJ6 SIII with a bad transmission) off your hands, and if I make that problem go away, perhaps we can do a package deal?" To this, in theory at least, he seemed amenable. So I bought the Jag, and went about getting it road worthy again, and eventually selling it. Unfortunately, when it came time for me to commence part 2 of my plan, buying the 914, the owner simply couldn’t let it go. OK, that was fine, but if he ever decided to sell it, I had to have first shot at it. Six years later I got the call. “Hello, yep, it’s Tom with the 914.” Oh yeah! How is it?, it’s great, I want you to come get it! So, an hour or so later I drove the six miles to Buckhead where it had lived on what I can only describe as a horse farm in the city for the past two and a half decades. Next to several horse drawn carriages in a barn with glass roll up doors was the 914, on a battery tender, safely under an indoor cover. I know this is going to sound odd, and this has only happened to me a couple times in my life let alone when buying a car, but I literally jumped when I saw it. When he pulled the cover, I was literally startled by the intensity of the color, the orange glow that little gem set off on the pale stone floor in this barn. It was amazing. What ensued was one of the best test drives of my life. Immediate start with a throaty burble that was definitely more Porsche than VW, that’s a nice surprise I thought. At this point I knew I visually liked this car, but I had never driven one. I’d had 911’s, 912’s, and various other cars from all corners, but never a 914. By the way, this was November 2010, leaves falling, glinting sun, and roads that shouldn’t be allowed within the city limits, winding up and down, the sounds of leaves rustling and exhaust. Of course, I bought it. Since then, I’ve had a ball with the 914 driving it about 2000 miles total. I’ve also taken it on some trips, participating in an annual road rally with friends from Athens, GA to St. Mary’s GA. To prepare for this 1000 mile round trip I decided to do a major service, which included a number of enhancements to ensure the car would perform flawlessly, and we wouldn’t be stuck on a rollback… We even fixed the wipers, which ‘worked’ but were extremely slow. Then of course it didn’t rain… All work was performed in Asheville, NC by Scott Spence’s shop German Auto Werks. I’m happy to give you Scott’s number to call and ask about the car. We used all original parts, nothing was modified to ‘make it work’ everything is set up to stock specifications. New Interstate Battery $117.00 New Fuel Pump (this was near unobtainium but we found one) $357.78 New Cold Start Valve $350.00 New Relays New Wheel Bearings New Brake Pads Replaced Spark Plugs New fuel filter New Distributor Cap and Rotor New fuel lines New horn / installation hardware for replacing the original steering wheel Removed and cleaned the fuel tank New Old Stock Windshield Wiper Motor Oil change about 1200 miles ago. Kendall 20w50 Painted Targa top – $550.00 Total was just shy of $3,000.00. Driving a sorted 914 is really a unique experience. The engine in this car revs quickly and freely, there is no hesitation or stumbling at idle. After the addition of the new cold start valve and fuel pump it starts hot or cold any time you’re ready to go. Man I love fuel injection. Timing is set correctly, and it pulls exceptionally well. The transmission shifts well with no grinding, it’s smooth, has good bushings, and the clutch is strong. The headlights pop right up together, heat and the blower fan work, radio plays, all lights and gauges and of course the wipers. We had to remove the fuel tank to fix them using a new old stock motor and mechanism. The odometer works, and I was assured that the mileage figure is correct. As I mentioned I bought it with 63xxx on it, it has 65xxx on it. The previous owner was putting about 200 miles on the car per year, which is one of the reasons he wanted to sell it, but cranking it and letting the oil warm up bi-weekly. By the way, this car did the trip from Athens to St. Mary’s on a single tank of fuel. I calculated this at 34 MPG. Amazing what a set up 40 year old car can do. You can also fit in enough gear for two adults to be on the road for a long weekend. Details: This is an original engine, original 5 speed car with extra appearance group center console gauges and arm rest. The radio was replaced at some point; I do not have the original. I do have a box full of various odds and ends that came with it. This car has had one repaint in the original L32K Phoenix Red roughly 20 years ago. There are no tape-lines, overspray, etc. No chips or major scratches. It’s still very nice, and the color is amazing. The previous owner said it was an $8,000.00 paint job in the early 1990’s sprayed by Porsche’s paint shop here in Atlanta. At the same time the wheels were changed to the painted / polished Fuchs type on it now. Speaking of paint, when I got the car the fiberglass targa top was in rough shape and discolored. I had the fiberglass top repainted in a satin black, this isn’t original, but it sets off the Phoenix Red quite nicely, and really looks great. You could always find another original top with the pebble effect to have both looks, but honestly I’ve never really driven this car with the top on, and it definitely looks good in the boot. Rust- I’ve taken pictures of everything, there’s no rust in the car, or under the battery. Battery tray is original, as are the floor pans. Interior is original, there are a couple small dash cracks, a couple small spots on the seat bolsters, but it’s quite nice overall. The carpet is a newer loop, but could easily be taken back to original. It still looks too good to change I think, unless you’re going to concourse the car. I have two sets of mats for the car, one black with orange dot coco mats, and a set of black mats with Orange Porsche logos. The seats are quite comfortable and move front to back, and tilt. One note, the clock doesn’t tick, it was like that when I got it, and I meant to pull it and send it to N. Hollywood. So, you’ll have one thing to work on when you get it… A couple other notes: When I got the car it had a smaller momo steering on it, I changed it back to the original, and this really made the car come together and drive so much better for road work than before. It’s also now a breeze to turn it around in a small space, like my driveway. This is a car that gets attention everywhere I go. If you don’t like talking to people at gas stations, restaurants, your kid’s school, go for something else. I think the unique color and absolutely stunning presentation of this car make it draw people in like no other. I’ve had Ferraris and Rollers get ignored at a stoplight, not this little 914. I actually got pulled into a commercial photo shoot in my neighborhood. Odd, I know, but those are the things that happen in this little car. It really is a great piece, very unique, and its condition has to put it in the top 1% of them in the country. If you’ve been looking for a highly original survivor ’73 914 2.0 that’s still injected in a great period color that’s never been left out in the rain this is your car. Call me if you want to chat about it. 404.556.1705 _gsrx_vers_468 (GS 6.4 (468))On May-22-12 at 17:32:50 PDT, seller added the following information: I've received several questions regarding the VIN, and whether this car is a 73 or 72, as you can see from the pictures the VIN is 4732907446, a 1973 VIN number not 4722907446 representing a 1972 model. Unfortunately, I mistyped this in the ad once, and then used that number without referencing the car. Please note the pictures with the VIN clearly showing on the chassis, door jam and window that they do match and do reference a 1973 model car. Additionally, all paperwork says 1973. I apologize for this oversight. On May-25-12 at 14:14:51 PDT, seller added the following information:Here is a photo of the engine code. It is clearly a GA code, clearly a 2.0L Engine.