New 914 owner intro and questions

[Brando]

Hi there!

I just recently joined the 914 crowd... I just acquired a 1975 914 with a 1.8L AFC engine. It's metallic blue & rust with black interior. I bought the car from a local mechanic, Jay Ward, engine and running gear are in excellent shape, although interior and exterior need a miracle. I also have a few questions about things i wanted to change, to know if they're viable...

Firstly... How to get more low-end power? I was smog exempted when i registered so i want to maybe put something on the car to get more low-end torque, as i don't get the car above 3400 RPMS.

Second... Brakes. I have disc brakes all around, but i need new pads, I also want to switch over to slotted rotors and composite pads. More than making my car reliable, i want it to have excellent stopping power.

Third... Bodywork. I've noticed some areas have holes rusted through. I've contemplated cutting and welding parts of the body back in place, but would a straight-replacement of the rusted fenders be better? Maybe switching to fiberglass to save weight? I'm looking for the least-expensive alternative, as i dont have a lot of money to play with. I'll also get the car resprayed with the original metallic blue color. Plus a couple layers of clearcoat.

Fourth... Interior. My vinyl is shot to crap and i have a ton of leather lying around. So naturally, i'll redo what i can in leather, stain it black (or use paint for leather). Any tips or should i just buy the vinyl OEM interior pieces? Did they even offer 914s with leather interior?

Fith... Seat padding. The backing of the seat is really starting to cramp on long rides. Is there a way i can split the vinyl open and replace the padding?

Overall, i'm overjoyed with my new daily driver. It's an amazing car and it's got a targa top, which i love. I look forward to your replies and thanks in advance. I love the car and intend to keep it for a while!

[AaronM]

Hate to say it, but for more low-end power you're pretty much looking at finding a 2.0 longblock and swapping engines.

You can make great power with any of the Typ IV engines, but it takes a good bit of work. You might try contacting Jake Raby, he frequents these boards and has done some amazing things with Typ IV engines.

Aaron

[Alfred1]

"There's no replacement for displacement". To get more low-end torque and power I also would suggest going to a bigger motor like a 2.0 from a '73 or '74 914. Restoration Design has most of the metal replacement panels you'll need to restore your car and Pelican sells most of the same parts.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Originally posted by Brando
Firstly... How to get more low-end power?

Pretty much, what they all said. I don't think you'll get more low-end grunt without swapping the motor, or at least throwing out much of the current motor and building over anew.

Second... Brakes. I have disc brakes all around, but i need new pads, I also want to switch over to slotted rotors and composite pads. More than making my car reliable, i want it to have excellent stopping power.

If your current disks are in spec, I wouldn't bother replacing them with slotted ones. You won't see much if any real gain in stopping distances.

I would go with more aggressive pads, and go through the stock brakes to make sure they are in tip-top operating condition. Flush the fluid (i.e., replace all the old with new) and bleed, bleed, bleed everything. Most especially the proportioning valve. If you feel confident in your ability to dial-in the brakes, consider replacing the stock prop valve (which is notoriously hard to get all of the air out of) with an aftermarket adjustable one. Check all the brake lines and calipers to make sure nothing is leaking, and set the rear venting clearance. (I use half the factory figure of 0.008" on my car. I prefer the feel that gives the pedal.)

Third... Bodywork. ... but would a straight-replacement of the rusted fenders be better? Maybe switching to fiberglass to save weight? I'm looking for the least-expensive alternative...

Depends on your level of bodywork skills. And how many spot-weld cutting drill bits you have. (Lots of spot welds to drill out when replacing a fender!) Fiberglass parts almost always require some work to fit correctly--in many cases, a lot of work. And bonding them in is not quite as straightforward as it seems, at least if you want to avoid cracking later on.

Fourth... Interior. ... Did they even offer 914s with leather interior?

Evidently some (very) few 914-6es were delivered with leather seats. I don't think any of the rest of the interior was leather, but I wouldn't put any money on that.

I had my seats redone in leather and cloth (except for the part against the back-pad, which kept the stock vinyl). I like the results.

Fith... Seat padding. The backing of the seat is really starting to cramp on long rides. Is there a way i can split the vinyl open and replace the padding?

No need to split the vinyl! Just remove the bottom seat cushion (lift up the rear part, slide the cushion backwards to release the tab). Then find the rod going across the bottom of the seatback cushion, and pull that down and aft to release it from the hooks which hold it. The entire seatback cushion should swing out at that point. You can put foam in there to your heart's content...


Good luck with your new car!

--DD

[lapuwali]

As for power, learn to shift later. Type IVs are short-stroke revver engines, and you'll find a lot more power above 4000rpm. Mind, that's only wrt the low-end. There's not a lot of power in any stock 914 engine, esp. the 1.8s. As others have said, getting more low-end means more displacement.

If you have rust through on the fenders, I'd worry a lot more about the serious structural areas. Check the area under the battery (esp. all the way down into the lowest corner) and near the jacking points. Then, check the inner suspension "ears" holding on the rear trailing arms. If those areas are shot, don't waste your time with the fenders. The car needs very serious structural surgery before you start on the cosmetic stuff. If you're handy with cutting tools and a welder, and have a lot of time, even this can be fixed. Otherwise, you may really have a parts car on your hands, and what you need is a whole 'nother car.

[Tidybuoy]

As for your Brakes question:

I would reccomend switching the fronts to BMW 320i calipers. This is a very common upgrade to the 914 as the stock 914 brakes are terrible. When I fist got my 914, I spend gobs of money restoring the stock brakes and I was always surprized at how bad they were - especially for a car with 4 wheel disks.

I finally switched to the 320i's & it was like night & day. With your car being a 1975, the 320i callipers have to be machined slightly to fit - this is a very easy step and you can can pick up 320i callipers at a wrecking yard for about $25 - $50

Vern

[Tidybuoy]

Another modification that's not too much trouble (but, I'm not positive on the HP gain) would be to switch out the 1975 heat exchangers to an earlier style.

I believe that the 1975/76 heat exchangers convert two pipes into one and therefore are more restrictive than the earlier styles that are two into two. You can even switch to the 2.0 heat exchangers as long as you also change to a 2.0 muffler and muffler hanger.

I'm pretty sure that the 2.0 setup is the least restrictive of all the stock setups. Switching to headers will do even better but many of the headers eliminate your heater (for me, that's no good).

Vern

[Tidybuoy]

Your comment "as i don't get the car above 3400 RPMS" is a little confusing to me. Do you not go over 3400 rpm by choice or is the engine having trouble getting over 3400?

The engine should have no trouble getting the revs up and if it's struggling, then something is wrong.

The 1.8 has L-Jet fuel injection which can be tricky to tune. Any vaccum leaks will eliminate horse power. I would reccomend getting the stock engine in tune before attempting any mods. You might be surprized how much power you can get from a 1.8.

[Brando]

Sweet, enthusiasts! Thanks for all the input guys

Tidybuoy, in response to the 'not going over 3400' thing... I just dont want to drive the car hard. I'd like to preserve the longetivity on this engine and i keep it under 3400/3500 rpms. Shift @ 3000, etc. I'd like to get as many miles as possible out of this engine before a rebuild and/or larger displacement kit comes to mind

for the BMW 320i brakes, are you talking like... the stopping power of god? I notice (now) that my brakes feel like a strong gust against the car to slow it down, more than a firm grip on the rotors.

Again, thanks for the help!

[Tidybuoy]

As far as the 320i brake upgrade - they stop the car very quickly.

My old brakes felt like they would stop the car but, if a true emergency occurred, I would loose.

The new brakes grip immediately and without tremendous pressure on the pedal. I feel like I can stop in any situation (on a dime).

You may read that many people who have done the switch, also make adjustments to the proportioning valve (this is a valve under the car, behind the driver seat, that proportions the braking power between the front & rear brakes). With the BMW brakes, the fronts stop much more than the backs and sometimes this valve may need adjusting.

On my car, I did nothing to the p-valve. the car stops fine and I don't feel that the valve needs any adjustment at all.

If you go into the pelican tech articles section of this site, there are some good articles about brake upgrades. I believe the benefit of the BMW caliper is that the pads are about 45% larger than the 914 pads.

You can also install them on the rears but you will loose the emergency brake function.

Some people on this board also talk about using Volvo brake calipers, which are even larger than the 320i's - and, they don't need any machining. However, the Volvo's have inputs for dual brake lines and so you have to make a T for our single line setup.

I've also seen that the Volvo brake has a nice flat surface on it - if you wanted to paint the word Porsche on them.

For me, the 320i setup was perfect!

[Scooter311]

Hiya Brando
For the bodywork how about flares?




For brakes how about 911 struts/spindles/wheels?





For power how about a 2056 or 2270?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Originally posted by Brando
for the BMW 320i brakes, are you talking like... the stopping power of god? I notice (now) that my brakes feel like a strong gust against the car to slow it down, more than a firm grip on the rotors.

Sounds like you need to fix the stock brakes... Brad Anders, who sometimes shows up around here, tells me that his 914 with bone-stock brakes (aggressive pads and high-quality fluid) outbrakes some of the M3s at the BMW track days he takes the car to! The stock system, when in perfect working order, works quite well... The problem is in keeping it in perfect working order.

--DD

[AaronM]

Originally posted by Dave at Pelican Parts
Sounds like you need to fix the stock brakes... Brad Anders, who sometimes shows up around here, tells me that his 914 with bone-stock brakes (aggressive pads and high-quality fluid) outbrakes some of the M3s at the BMW track days he takes the car to! The stock system, when in perfect working order, works quite well... The problem is in keeping it in perfect working order.

--DD

I'm going to have to side with Dave here. I was never in doubt about the brakes on my '76. Yes, they required a bit more pedal pressure than I had been used to from the power assisted brakes on my old Accord, but they really did a fine job stopping the 'teener in short order. Heck, I locked up the wheels a couple of times.

Aaron