My Rennlist Home Page
(Or)A little bit about me and my passion for 914's
(Or maybe even) Why I call my 914's Black1 and Black2
(Or possibly) Soliciting names for my Teener's
I bought my first 914 in 1992..or so.
I wanted to go racing but also wanted something with a V-8 so I was also in the market for a Firebird (I got over that pretty quick).
Before I bought any car I had read a few resources about the best type of chassis design for racing and 'stuff'.
I remember reading that a midengine design is optimum because of the 50/50 weight distribution. So I searched through the local papers
(this was before the internet became what it is today) and came across a small but succinct ad that had something like:
'1973 Porsche 914 not running complete
plenty of spare parts $900'.
The rest of this story is something very familiar to a lot of people who have ever come across this kind of ad.
Basically it was crack for me.
The car was in Staten Island I was (and still am) in Brooklyn. When I went out there to go see it it was in the guys back yard sitting in about an inch of mud
rusted out rocker panels (not that I could see them at first in the inch of mud
the car was sitting in) non existent battery tray and basically all the standard items for 914's.
At the time I didnt know that the spare parts that came with the car made the price of the car worth it.
Remember this is before the internet became what it is today. I had gotten the original 2.0 engine, there was a 1.7 in it with a single carb.
SS heat exchangers, 2 transmissions, 1 complete the other disassembled and assorted other things. Out of all the time I've owned my first 914 I've probably
only driven it 2-3 years out of those times. The first 3-4 years I spent fixing the longitudinals and other sheetmetal stuff and trying to get it running with FI.
Oh and I had the 2.0 engine sent out to FAT Performance in CA to have them work on the engine.
So far I have owned this car since 04/92 I bought it when I was 19 years old. My first major
road trip in this car was the week after 09/11/01. I decided to go out to New Mexico
and visit my mom and to use the long drive as therapy. The car performed like a champ, which
I think is no small part due to its owner ;-). I decided to leave the car there with mom.
The car could have made it, I didnt know if the pilot could have though.
After my first drive in my first 914 I was hooked, it handled absolutely like
it was on rails. Even with crappy shocks and tires this car was an honest to goodness sports car. It made no excuses about its identity.
Only Porsche and Volkswagen made that mistake and even then the 914 was one of Porsche's best selling cars.
So after I drove my first 914 to the South West I found that life can be pretty dull and boring without a 914, even one that is running ;-).
I decided to tap some of my connections in the Wild West and had one mysterious Greek guy sniff out a solid 914.
Yet another black one, so now I refer to my cars as Black1 and Black2.
I dont have links to photo's for Black1 just yet but all in good time, Black2 has proven to be more photogenic.
There are plenty of other details I've left out about my adventures with Black1,
like the time I rebuilt the 2.0' s top end in 2000 and worked through most of the winter.
Or How the thing handles with bilsteins. Or how the internet and specifically
Pelican Parts and Rennlist have proven to be a most valuable resource in helping me with my car.
Or how some Oklahoman from Texas and I
drove around this country in his 914 and met a bunch of 914 cultists in California and every other point from 'here to there'.
Or how I'm planning yet another cross country tour in my Black2.
If you want to know more you should probably join the 914 rennlist.
Index of non P-car related stuff I picked up from the net
more pictures to come
slavik914??rennlist.com
Created: January 2002.
Updated: Before.
Updated: 02/26/02:Added a short memorial.
Updated: 03/03/02:Added RoundyRound link.
"The reasonable man tries to fit into the world around him, the unreasonable man tries to mold the world to him... therefore, all progress rests with the unreasonable man!" - George Bernard Shaw
"Bullfighting, Mountain-Climbing and Auto-Racing are SPORT, all the rest are merely Games" - Ernest Hemingway