911 front calipers on 914

[DK914]

I'm contemplating a brake upgrade on my '74 914 2.0, and I've already read the excellent PP tech piece on the 320i calipers. Is it possible, though, to fit 911 calipers of the same year while retaining the stock 4-bolt hubs/rotors? Were the front discs of a 1974 911 vented? (If they were, that answers my question!) Tired of pushing really hard on the pedal and not having much happen!

[oredith]

i can't really speak for the 911 calipers, since i've only had one occasion to try them out, and that was on a car that was pretty much a 911 stuffed into a 914 body.. big engine, flares, tires and all..

for myself.. with the 320i conversion, it wasn't too bad on the wallet, and if you're running anywhere near stock size tires, or anything below 205 for that matter.. you're going to be able to lock up the tires pretty easily. that, to me, is a pretty good cue that i've got more braking power than i need..

the BMW conversion would include all the goodies like 19mm MC and braided lines, of course..

and no.. no way to retain the 4 lug with the 911 setup.. at least as far as i'm aware..

my 0.02,

Jeff

[This message has been edited by oredith (edited 03-02-2000).]

[DonNewton]

Believe you need to upgrade (probably not the most correct terminology to use on this board) to the 911 front suspension to get the correct pick-up points for the calipers. . .otherwise, you got to do a lot of cutting and welding to make this work. Unless you want to start down that slippery slope of throwing money into a hole, go with the BMW 320 conversion! Believe me, I started this in 1988 with my 914, and I think I've finally got a high horsepower 911 stuffed into a 914 body. Like the Energizer Bunny, it just keeps going, and going, . . .

[Joe Bob]

Jeff's reference to 911 brakes on a 914 was about my ride...he drove it for a brief period at a 914 get together. The 911 brake setups are nice, but pricey.

Before I went nuts with the conversion and such, I had a 2.0 and the five lug conversion with the 320i upgrade. It worked out very nice. But just doing the 320i upgrade will not suffice. You need to change out the 30 year old brake lines, I went with braided s/s, btw....and the 19mm master cylinder. Do not forget to swap out the brake fluid....use a good brand like ATE Super Blue. The MOST noticeable change was with the brake lines....old lines will bulge with the pressure, this translates to loss of braking pressure....

BTW
The old front end, ie the five lug converted with 320i brakes and such is sitting in a garage not being used. If you live somewhere on the So Cal/west coast you could go by and look, the guy would probably sell it. He has not used it in the year that he has had it....something like $200 for the whole thing.

[JP Noonan]

Not sure but I've heard that you CAN put the 911 spindles and calipers on the 914 A-arms, but for about the same price you could jsut buy (in fact to get the spindles you may NEED to buy) the whole front 911 setup. That way you get the vented rotors, 19mm torsion bars (different spine then the 914) and 5-lug.

Maybe...you could put a 911 front on and have a machine shop drill out the rotors to accept the 4-lug pattern, sort of a "retro-upgrade" Don;t know if it's possible though.

[mike mueller]

Yes, the rotors are vented and thicker on the 911's, I'm not sure about the diameter differance between the early 911 and 914's.
That would make a differance as well. You'd want to make sure the new pads are 100% on the rotor and not hanging off towards the O.D. of the caliper.

------------------
Mike Mueller
Antioch, CA
1970 1.8

[DK914]

Thanks a lot for the info, fellow 'Teeners. Since I want to keep the original 4-lug Mahles, I think I'll go the 320i caliper route, with the 19-mm master cyl and new flex lines.