A few things to know before stealing my 914.
If you every owned a 914, hopped up Beatle, Carmen Ghia, MGB or Midget, Fiat 850 or X1/9, Alfa Romeo Spyder, Triumph Spitfire, etc from the late 60’s to early 70’s…you will relate to this story. My early sports cars all featured heaters that required you to pack a blanket from December through March. All had comprimised convertible tops with drafts in the winter and leaks in the warmer months. They all featured electronics that never worked, or were ever expected to. Defrosters that never defrosted and windshield wipers that were only effective as a poor man’s metronome that sped up when you raced he engine for a drum solo like the B side of In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida or Bonham’s solo in ‘Moby Dick’. Not that it mattered, I couldn’t hear anything anyway through the aftermarket Jensen coaxial speakers screwed into the doors while driving because I also had the aftermarket, crackle black. leaky and rotted-out Monza Italian performance exhaust system. It sounded good for the first 500 miles, then it leaked so bad it forced me to roll down a window or pass out, that is, before it ripped on a rail road crossing or a speed bump.
I left off the Jansen Healy and the TR7-because they NEVER really ran at all so some of the advice on shifting a motor car while running, is not applicable.
Remember, the 914 was more dependable than any English or Italian sports car in it’s time and there wasn’t yet a Datsun 240 Z. Click the link below to read the entire story
