thoughts on restoring dad's 914-6?
 

backstory:
my father, while he was in college, had a 914-6, he did the local auto-x, drove down to Daytona to watch the races (said he'd line the front with trashbags, put ice in there, and that would keep the cool stuff cold, then the engine in the rear would keep the hot stuff hot), and all that fun stuff

one day he had it at a local shop to get some work done to it, not sure what the work was, but the guy doing it was using a torch (so i'm assuming bodywork), well the idiot cut a fuel line and ignited the car

after they had doused it in extinguisher, the engine was done, and the carbs were turned into trash by how caustic the extinguisher was (corroded and destroyed)
he took the car home and started disassembling it to get it repaired

shortly after that the owner of the shop shut down the shop and skipped town, everyone who had a car or parts in there got screwed because the owners of the building he was renting ended up auctioning everything off to pay for the building's mortgage
they couldn't or wouldn't figure out who belonged to what, some people got just the bodies of the cars back, some lost their engines, it was a big ole FUBAR situation, so dad never got his car paid for to get it repaired


fast forward a couple decades and i become a gearhead (more into classic Mustangs than Porsche's, but i can appreciate anything), and i'm in a position where i can give dad a pretty good christmas present
he has the transaxle and the case of the engine, but beyond that i'm not sure what he has (other than the chassis)


i was thinking of buying him an engine if it was a possibility, only i have no clue where to start looking, or what my price range would be (i should have a couple grand to allot to this, although that's somewhat fluid)

does anyone have any thoughts on where i should start? get an engine? do something else?

if it matters, i'm currently stationed just outside of LA at Port Hueneme, ca, but dad and the car are back in Florida (to which i shall be returning in the spring) i have a truck so picking something up and transporting it is no real issue

I'll gladly help you out. I've been a 914 owner for the past 35 years. I currently have a 914-6 and a 914-4 and I live in Florida. Feel free to contact me whenever it is convenient for you.

Regards,
Steve
813-978-3433

cali is a good place to start their is a few people parting out 914's their. since it had a fire my guess is that it needs complete interior, and paint?
before everything i would take car of any rust issues.
then would make sure you have the original 6 engine. and see what a builder can do.


good luck!

thanks for the contact info, as of now though, i really don't have any clue what i need to look for, that's the main thing i'm hoping to find, a direction to start
i'd really like to find an engine that's either low miles, or rebuildable, or something along those lines
from what i remember, 911 engines are what make these fun, the "-6" at the end of 914-6
so can i just look for one of those? i know there are a few linkage issues, but what other than that?

yeah, interior and paint are necessary, he's kept it covered with tarps (tented so air can pass through, keep the water out and let it evaporate), so hopefully it won't be too cancerous

as for the engine, he only has the case, so i'm gonna need cylinders, rotating assembly, heads, all that fun stuff
since the carbs got boned without lube, i'm also gonna need something to deliver fuel, i hear a lot of talk about MegaSquirt on the Mustang forum i'm on, has anyone fabbed up a system for a 914-6? i assume you'd need a full intake, wiring harness, and all that fun stuff unless something else could be adapted?

are there any Porsche graveyards out here?

Megasquirt: See the most recent (or one previous to that) issue of Excellence magazine for a setup on a 911 engine.

911 engine: Yes, up through 2.7 liters they should bolt right up, if you use the 914-6 exhaust, and oil cooler, and flywheel. The 3.0 and larger engines require different flywheels to work, and some engine tin modification may be required.

IIRC, you can use 2.2L parts to bump your displacement up to that, but going larger and keeping your original crankcase require more significant work.


...What direction do you want to go in? Originality? Wild show car? Stripped-down racer? Fun non-original toy street car? Other?

--DD

i'll try and track that issue down, i mentioned it to dad and his thoughts were that figuring out carb Vs injection was too far down the road to actually put some real thought into, he sounds more concerned with getting an actual engine, and getting everything reworked so that it's sound

are there any year engines that are more desirable? is there a guide somewhere where the years, power ratings, possible issues, and other items that are good to know are broken down?
i don't really have too much time to check around on my own or i'd be browsing and reading up, using a communal computer area for now until i can go find a decent laptop (hopefully in a couple weeks)

as for what direction, more a weekend play toy that is reliable enough to be driven daily, or across the state if need be
dad used to drive it daily, and when he talks about driving it around, and the fun he had in it, i just want him to be able to enjoy it again, he spends too much time doing things that need to be done that he doesn't really have any time to do things he wants to do, so i want to get a little bit of that back to him, eventually get to the point where he can just jump in it and cruise around for a little while

and yes, it does need an interior, glass, weatherstripping, a harness (does Painless Wiring, or some other company make a replacement wiring harness?), and all of the other bits that can be damaged by a fire

We have a 911 FAQ available here:
http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/haidt08/haidt08_index.html

It talks at least a bit about some of the differences between the various 911 engines in stock form.


EDIT: I don't think Painless, or anybody else, makes ready-to-go 914-6 wiring harnesses. It is likely that the best you can get is an NOS one. I know that there have been some of those around in the past...

Andy Schmidt (Sir Andy) has a thead with photos detailing wiring harness replacement in an early chassis. Check in the "classic threads" section on the 914world.com website.

--DD

Need help, let me know....