My one and only sports car was a new 1971 Porsche 914 that I drove from June 1971 to November 1974 while I was living in the Albany, New York area.
The good part was that it was a genuine sports car that had more civilized features than a ragtop MG, etc. The gal who did my computer programming for the State planning agency was a purist who thought that a true sports car driver had to SUFFER. You know the drill ... rag top, floppy side curtains ... so it was with initial reluctance that she bought a new Datsun 240Z coupe.
The 914 was fun to drive. I liked the low driving position (but would hate it now). A very slight steering wheel movement resulted in a noticeable turn. Not tiring to drive on the several long trips I made in it. The 4 cylinder version had the same gas tank the 914/6 required, so theoretical range approached 600 miles.
Not so fun at first was the very stiff gear shifter. Over time either it loosened or my right arm got stronger.
My car got punished. Someone rear-ended me at slow speed, and the rear trunk lid repair was not thorough -- leaked or wept slightly. On the Thruway heading east from Buffalo once, the windshield took a rock. The replacement's sealing was so-so and the surrounding chrome strip was loose in one corner ... had to screw it down.
A couple of years in, I was in the process of starting the car. Stepped on the clutch and its cable snapped! That's when I discovered that the angled floorboard behind it was made of plywood (I'm not kidding!).
There was an electrical item with cardboard covered tubes that failed somehow in the middle of Illinois and later gave some trouble. If the motor died, a fix was giving the unit a whack.
The fuel pump was located in front of the left rear wheel well. After a winter or two of road salt, its electrical lead corroded through and the car behaved like a vacuum cleaner when its cord gets pulled. Same thing happened a year or so later.
The weight bias toward the rear could be dangerous in winter. On a Delaware County country road with borderline snow/slush, the rear end broke away and I couldn't break its rhythm. Eventually the rear and front traded places. There was incoming traffic, but fortunately the car slid to the right into a snow bank. I decided 914s were not winter-compatible.
By the fall of 1974 the sleeve over the exhaust system that provided heat had rusted through in places. So my defogger only could defog about two inches worth at the bottom of the windshield.
This last was what prompted me to trade it in for a 1974 VW Dasher with front wheel drive for safer snow driving. I had it Zebart rust-proofed and was all set for another Albany winter. A month or so after that, I was hired to work at the Washington State Budget Office's population unit and I went home to Puget Sound county.
Had the timing been slightly different I might have kept the 914 and put some money into restoring it because western Washington is pretty easy on cars unless one lives right by the ocean with its salt spray that can damage the paint.
Cross-posted at Car Style Critic.
The recent comments about your Porsche/VW 914 in Retired Blowhard and Car Style Critic brought back fond memories of my own 914.
ReplyDeleteMy 914 came new in 1972. I thought it lovely and plush for a sport car with roll up side windows. The top stored easily and it had enormous storage space, front and rear. Shifting seemed stiff as you said but now I would describe more as firm with short movement. I liked the variety of colors but chose bright yellow which came with black corduroy upholstery.
Steering was solid and responsive, the ride firm but not hard, you did sit low (flat practically) and it gave a true 109 miles per hour. Road and Track said it would, the speedometer said it did and the mile posts on I-10 in the flat desert of eastern Arizona agreed. I only did it a couple of times but it felt as smooth and solid at 109 as it did at normal highway speeds or city traffic. I thought its handling excellent and never experienced breaking in turns or swapping ends as you but on the other hand I didn't have to deal with snow or ice.
The only quibble I had was the articulated parking brake and their early electronic fuel injection. Curiously, I have more funny and interesting stories related to that car than any other I've owned. I truly miss the car. Wish I still had it.
Earlier I was part of the sport car culture of the 1950s and drove Triumph TRs, the occasional Jaguar XK-140, Porsches of all kinds including the 356 and strangely no MGs except the true and only MG in my mind, the TC series. I almost bought one (twice), don't know why I didn't.
My first sport car was an 1956 Austin-Healey 100M Lemans. I live in the high desert of far, far west Texas and it was an ideal year round car. Never put the top up except for rain or if taking a date to some event requiring arrival with her hair intact. I traveled all over the western U.S. and with the top down the heater functioned very well. When the weather did become cold the tonneau cover over the passenger seat made it comfortable. The side curtains were drafty but tolerable. Your staffer in Albany suffered the conventional wisdom of the times reminding me of the saying about British cars of that era, "one isn't thoroughly comfortable until one is thoroughly uncomfortable". I spent a winter in Dallas with the Healey getting my instrument rating and the weather and freezing rain bothered my flying more than my driving.
Those were great days for driving. Much more fun and so much different than today.
Times do change. You now drive a Toyota RAV4 and I drive a Subaru Forester. Mine has great steering with a tight turning radius. Ride is solid and comfortable, great fuel mileage and my dogs love the spacious aft compartment. Of course they would, I bought it specifically for them and their riding comfort. As I said, times change. Thanks for the memories.