A few things to know before stealing my 914 • Hacker News Board

Re: A few things to know before stealing my 914

#401

Post by CRConrad » Sat, Apr 02, 2022, 12:01 PM UTC

lastofthemojito wrote: post #84

linksnapzz wrote: post #43

Oh this is lovely. As someone who has spent time inside a Karmann-Ghia convertible, I can smell the burning oil now....

Smell is the thing that gets me a lot of the time with classic cars too. I appreciate the design from another era - mechanical simplicity from when folks weren't concerned about maximizing efficiency, thin window frames and door pillars that would fare embarrassingly in a modern crash test, etc. Sure, it doesn't fit the standards of today, but that's why these older cars are so different - they're literally from a di…

> mechanical simplicity from when folks weren't concerned about maximizing efficiency, thin window frames and door pillars that would fare embarrassingly in a modern crash test, etc.

Immensely better for visibility, though. Which was actually a plus for safety compared to now, when a pedestrian can well be entirely hidden by your own windscreen pillar.

Re: A few things to know before stealing my 914

#402

Post by zeckalpha » Sat, Apr 02, 2022, 12:55 PM UTC

colburnmh wrote: post #317

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father had one of these just sort of gathering dust in the garage when I was growing up, utterly shocked when I turned 16 and he handed me the keys. I still like to casually drop "oh yeah, I used to have a Porsche back when I was 16." Although I must say it was in immeasurably better shape than this one :D I still dream of finding an old 914 and giving it an electric conversion… I'd have to do something about that…

It's really a weird Volkswagen/Porsche frankenstein, despite what the badge says. Porsche designed it, Volkswagen built it. Outside the US, the Volkswagon version is 914/4, and the Porsche version being a 914/6. (The last digit references the number of cylinders). In the US market both versions were branded as Porsche because US buyers were deemed unable to understand that two different car brands used the same body…

The Suburban was sold as both a Chevrolet and GMC starting in 1937.

Re: A few things to know before stealing my 914

#403

Post by mdoms » Sat, Apr 02, 2022, 1:11 PM UTC

avgcorrection wrote: post #380

mdoms wrote: post #238

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, this is automotive journalism from a company that also sells automotive insurance. They are an excellent automotive journalism outfit. If you had any actual interest in cars you would know this. If you don't - maybe move on and read something else.

Am I not allowed to read a piece on something which I am not sufficiently interested in? Like I guess many others, the “how to steal my car” (implying that it would be arduous) piqued my interest. Even though I am not interested in cars.

You can read anything you want, but you left an ignorant comment.

Re: A few things to know before stealing my 914

#404

Post by js2 » Sat, Apr 02, 2022, 1:24 PM UTC

FDSGSG wrote: post #397

js2 wrote: post #75

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes there is, it varies by state. Author is in NC, same as me. There is a state-wide safety inspection but vehicles older than 30 years are exempt: https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/title-registration/emissions-safet... There's also an emissions inspection that varies by county, but vehicles older than 20 years are exempt. https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/title-registration/emissions-safet... Does it make any sense to exempt older…

> Author is in NC, same as me This hardly matters though because you don't need to register the vehicle in the state you're living in.

Every state I have lived in requires you to register the vehicle in that state:

NC: Within 60 days of establishing a permanent residence in North Carolina, new residents who plan to operate a motor vehicle must get a North Carolina driver license and title and register their vehicles with the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles.

https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/help/moving/Pages/new-residents.as...

GA: If you own or lease a vehicle in Georgia, you must register it with the state. [...] New residents should register their vehicle no more than 30 days from the date they move to Georgia.

https://georgia.gov/register-vehicle

FL: When you move to Florida and become a resident you have 10 days to register your out of state vehicle.

https://www.dmvflorida.org/vehicles/out-of-state-car-registr...

CA: Once you officially establish residency in California, you will have 20 days to register your vehicle with the DMV to avoid late fees.

https://frontdoor.ucdavis.edu/relocation/car

Re: A few things to know before stealing my 914

#405

Post by michaelcampbell » Sat, Apr 02, 2022, 2:33 PM UTC

quadrifoliate wrote: post #24

> Depress the clutch as you would in any car, and pull the knob from its secure location out of first gear. Now you will become adrift in the zone known to early Porsche owners as “Neverland” and your quest will be to find second gear. Prepare yourself for a ten-second-or-so adventure. Do not go straight forward with the shift knob, as you will only find Reverse waiting there to mock you with a shriek of high-speed g…

I had a 3 speed + R transmission in a 1970 Ford. It was originally a column shift but the original owner converted it to a standard floor shift. I don't know if that was the reason for the weird shift pattern it had (nor do I know the original shift pattern), but by the time I got it, it was:

1 2

R 3

Re: A few things to know before stealing my 914

#406

Post by myself248 » Sat, Apr 02, 2022, 2:52 PM UTC

zrm wrote: post #382

EastSmith wrote: post #147

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is the electric conversion still a thing? I want an eclectic car with no monitors, no software updates, no surveillance (none of the new electric car offers that - they are calling home for updates and god knows why way too often, and they have bigger monitors than my 14" work laptop).

Is anybody doing surveillance conversions? Like take a stock Tesla, throw out the computer it comes with and replace it with one that doesn't spy on you. Keep everything else. Probably easier than doing the reverse, isn't it?

That's a brilliant idea, and I think I might be well-positioned to offer it.

Not with Teslas specifically; I think surveillance is woven so deep into the fabric of the vehicle, it'd be a lot of work to get it out. But with most other makes, it's just a telematics unit that's easy enough to remove or bypass, and most of the other functionality just keeps working.

How would one price such a service? Often the research is 99% of the work, and the actual labor is just pulling a connector or two, perhaps fabricating a short bypass harness.

Re: A few things to know before stealing my 914

#407

Post by FDSGSG » Sat, Apr 02, 2022, 3:17 PM UTC

js2 wrote: post #404

FDSGSG wrote: post #397

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Author is in NC, same as me This hardly matters though because you don't need to register the vehicle in the state you're living in.

Every state I have lived in requires you to register the vehicle in that state: NC: Within 60 days of establishing a permanent residence in North Carolina, new residents who plan to operate a motor vehicle must get a North Carolina driver license and title and register their vehicles with the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles. https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/help/moving/Pages/new-residents.as... GA: If you own or lease a veh…

The trick is to have your vehicles belong to a LLC, Montana is/was popular.

Might be illegal in some cases. Too risky to be worth it? Not at all. Just look at where most supercars are registered.

Just don't name your company $firstname $lastname LLC.

Re: A few things to know before stealing my 914

#408

Post by zrm » Sat, Apr 02, 2022, 3:21 PM UTC

myself248 wrote: post #406

zrm wrote: post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is anybody doing surveillance conversions? Like take a stock Tesla, throw out the computer it comes with and replace it with one that doesn't spy on you. Keep everything else. Probably easier than doing the reverse, isn't it?

That's a brilliant idea, and I think I might be well-positioned to offer it. Not with Teslas specifically; I think surveillance is woven so deep into the fabric of the vehicle, it'd be a lot of work to get it out. But with most other makes, it's just a telematics unit that's easy enough to remove or bypass, and most of the other functionality just keeps working. How would one price such a service? Often the research…

Depends how big you think the market is.

Re: A few things to know before stealing my 914

#409

Post by pinkythepig » Sat, Apr 02, 2022, 3:47 PM UTC

EastSmith wrote: post #147

Eric_WVGG wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My father had one of these just sort of gathering dust in the garage when I was growing up, utterly shocked when I turned 16 and he handed me the keys. I still like to casually drop "oh yeah, I used to have a Porsche back when I was 16." Although I must say it was in immeasurably better shape than this one :D I still dream of finding an old 914 and giving it an electric conversion… I'd have to do something about that…

Is the electric conversion still a thing? I want an eclectic car with no monitors, no software updates, no surveillance (none of the new electric car offers that - they are calling home for updates and god knows why way too often, and they have bigger monitors than my 14" work laptop).

Surprisingly enough, you can get that from the BMW i3.

- The monitor is necessary but it is not a touch screen and it comes with a nice clicky knob to control it. Plus you can make shortcuts to go to certain screens with the radio station buttons.

- 2014 - 2017? all shipped with a 3g module that is now unsupported and not working.

- You can get access to munros teardown report for $10(1), and if you know where to look ;) you can find the service tech training manuals and their repair instructions for free which are all very detailed.

- realoem.com has exploded parts diagrams with part numbers for everything.

The only negatives really is:

- buying OEM parts comes with that BMW price premium and the dealer will 100% rip you off if you ever take it to them for repairs.

- The OEM tires, the only kind that fit on the OEM wheels, have terrible tread life.

(1)https://munrolive.com/support-%2F-store/ols/products/bmw-i3-...

Re: A few things to know before stealing my 914

#410

Post by js2 » Sat, Apr 02, 2022, 6:34 PM UTC

FDSGSG wrote: post #407

js2 wrote: post #404

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Every state I have lived in requires you to register the vehicle in that state: NC: Within 60 days of establishing a permanent residence in North Carolina, new residents who plan to operate a motor vehicle must get a North Carolina driver license and title and register their vehicles with the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles. https://www.ncdot.gov/dmv/help/moving/Pages/new-residents.as... GA: If you own or lease a veh…

The trick is to have your vehicles belong to a LLC, Montana is/was popular. Might be illegal in some cases. Too risky to be worth it? Not at all. Just look at where most supercars are registered. Just don't name your company $firstname $lastname LLC.

Top of this thread questions whether there are mandatory safety inspections. There are in most states for most vehicles, including NC, where the author lives and where this vehicle is very likely registered. Due to the age of the vehicle, it is exempt from inspections.

You went off on a tangent saying that you don't have to register a vehicle in the state you're in. You do in NC, as well as other states I'm familiar with.

You're now suggesting ways to evade the registration requirement, which may be illegal. This is in no way a rebuttal to the registration and safety inspection requirements that were being asked about at the top of this thread. Exploiting a loophole - including potentially breaking the law - to avoid a requirement doesn’t get rid of the requirement.