Until recently, with the Porsche craze driving up 911 and 356 prices well into the six figures, the 914 was kind of a backwater of Porsche enthusiasm. Air cooled it was, sure, and the engine was near the back, but the VW connection, divisive design, and VW-bus-derived engine made it the poor relation, with fans limited to diehards like autocross nuts who couldn’t live with an X1/9, and backroad burners who appreciated its mid-engine balance. For a while there, the 914 was pretty cheap, and people were not afraid to bastardize them with engines from various manufacturers, including Subaru, Maserati, Chevrolet, and Oldsmobile. To wit, check out this 1970 Porsche 914 with an Oldsmobile 215 V8 for sale with bidding at $3550 and 16 hours left to go in Eugene, OR.
Rusty But Trusty 