By Steve Turcotte, republished with permission from the October 2015 issue of Fourteener Motoring Magazine.

When Steve Martin asked me to come up with a permanent name for this column, I kicked around a few ideas and I kept coming back to “Jackstands.” It’s an accepted fact that the vast majority of 914’s are either currently on jackstands, or will be when the flatbed drops them off. It’s been said that there are two types of 914’s, those about to come off jackstands, and those about to go on.

914 owners are pretty good-natured about the natural state of the car being up on jackstands while having some serious body/engine/suspension (take your pick) work being done. And they have gotten very creative regarding the methods of getting their cars off the ground. A floor jack and jackstands are the obvious choice, but there are two and four post lifts, scissor lifts, Rotisserie’s, wooden carts and cribbage, ramps and concrete blocks…not to mention all the other possibilities I haven’t seen or thought of. Actually I should have called the column “2 Post Lift” given how badly I’d like to replace my jackstands with that piece of equipment.

It would be an interesting exercise to try and come up with the percentage of known 914’s that are currently on stands and undergoing some sort of rehab. The truth of the matter is that if you performed the same exercise on any number of 40 year old models, the 914 would probably fair pretty well, given the level of enthusiasm in the community. It seems to me that 914 owners own the car as much to tinker with, as to drive. And the active 914 support community makes owning and tinkering with a 40 year old car much more enjoyable, rewarding, and ultimately successful.

When I bought my first 914, in the mid-80’s in West Palm Beach, the Internet was non-existent, and there were few resources available to a complete newbee like myself. It was easier to make bad decisions, which I did relentlessly, without having a support network to steer you. I really struggled to find the parts and expertise to effectively sort thru the gremlins that continued to pop up, and a big move out of state led to the sale of that 914.

Flash forward to 2012, and the stars aligned for me to acquire another 914. By this point, the Internet had led to the creation of a vibrant forum community, vendors and enthusiasts, dedicated to everything related to the Porsche 914. I’ve already had several opportunities to avail myself of the collected wisdom that can be referenced online and in person.  My car has already spent several stints on jackstands, from trouble shooting a faulty starter, to replacing the clutch cable, valve adjustments and oil changes, new muffler, and the list goes on. For me, and a lot of others, one of the biggest enjoyments of owning the 914, is making it work as intended.

When I peruse the forums online, I consistently find myself gravitating to threads regarding the cars undergoing a restoration, or rehab of specific systems. I know the list of work I need to address at some point on my own car, and seeing someone document how they tackled the job, and any issues that may have come up, is incredibly beneficial and interesting. I get inspiration by seeing someone else tackle a job I know I have to do, and I find myself more confident that I too will be able to successfully get the job done. There are now complete websites dedicated to the restoration of a 914, not to mention all the YouTube video’s that address everything from recovering your door panels, to rebuilding your engine. Fourteener Motoring Magazine is a new contributor to this repository of information, and has already started to add to the how-to database available on the net.

Having access to professional mechanics who work day in and day out on the 914 is an opportunity I could only have dreamed of back in the 80’s. If only I wasn’t so young and stupid back then! I could have done a 6 conversion for a fraction of the cost today. Ah, but that’s water under the bridge, and with my current 914, I’m much more interested in keeping it stock, and trying to find the impossible-to-source parts for the car.

When you think about it, so many 914’s on jackstands is really a good thing. It means that our cars are being cared for, restored, maintained, and loved back to life. When all the newest connected cars are getting hacked, and disabled by an electromagnetic pulse, our 914’s will be out there, tearing up the empty roads, and we will all have the last laugh! Well, that is if we can get them off the jackstands . . . .