914 "great" returns to racing

Brad Roberts · 10-01-2002, 09:41 PM

This weekend at Laguna Seca (PCA club race) one of what I consider the great 914 racers will put on the gloves again after a 7 year hiatus.

Rich Bontempi returns to driving his 1.8 914 in the GT5R class (FP in SCCA)

The last PCA club race Rich ran (Thunderhill) he was 4th on grid OVERALL, behind the wing'd RSR's.

This Laguna race should be just as exciting. Rich runs consistant 39's and 40's all day in the little 1.8 car. Looking at previous Porsche events at Laguna, this should put him on grid 10th overall behind the wing'd 911's and GT3 cup cars.

If you plan on attending this weekends event, please stop by and say hello to Rich and I. Rich has been servicing Porsches in the bay area for over 27 years now (primarily 914's). He is one of a few business/driving mentors that I personally support.

B

LateApex · 10-01-2002, 09:43 PM

Oo, I'll be there this weekend anyways. will be working on a red 993 GT2 EVO. look for it and come say hi to the 22 year old chinese kid. hehe. that'll be me. I'll bring out the white 914 on sunday.

Brad Roberts · 10-01-2002, 09:46 PM

Funny,

I'll be wrenching on a 993 Evo and a GT3 cup car... not too mention Rich's 914.

Look for the tall white man with short hair and funny facial hair.

LOL

B

gint · 10-01-2002, 09:52 PM

Cool! Tell Rich I said Hi and wish him luck for me eh?

chrisreale · 10-01-2002, 09:56 PM

Why do you think he runs a 1.8? Isnt this the 914 with the least ammount of power? I realize that these races are much more than speed, but...just curious

Brad Roberts · 10-01-2002, 10:00 PM

No problem Ginter. I'll tell him.

Did I mention Rich runs 1.36's in his bone stock Viper GTS on slicks ??

Full tilt Viper race cars (ALMS GTS class) run the track in 1.25 seconds.

B

LateApex · 10-01-2002, 10:01 PM

WOW! how strange! cause I may or may not be wrenching on a GT3RS too. haha. depends if the car can make it out or not. Hmm, I guess I'll be looking for similar cars sitting together.

Brad Roberts · 10-01-2002, 10:04 PM

Chris,

His 1.8 makes over 185hp at 8600 RPM. The 1.8 class in SCCA is still a 914 competive class (F-production). He ran a 1.8 because of the rules.

You can just about put him up against any 914 you have seen at the track and watch him take the trophy. The man can drive.

Over 50 national SCCA wins covering 5 different SCCA regions. The only win that has eluded him is a SCCA Runoff's title (semi hard to do when the races where held in Atlanta and now Ohio and you live in NorCal)

B

Brad Roberts · 10-01-2002, 10:06 PM

LateApex,

Are you working for RennWorks, SCARGO, or Bucky ??

B

LateApex · 10-01-2002, 10:25 PM

actually for my uncle, Joe Wong. If he got his new trailer, he will be towing down both cars. He runs with SCCA, PCA, POC and NASA very frequently, mainly at Thunderhill. He drives this car below. sorry for the extra large picture.

chrisreale · 10-01-2002, 10:35 PM

185 hp? How is that achived?

Brad Roberts · 10:47 PM

LateApex,

This was Bontempi's parts at the Carlson swap meet:

I was out on the street with my blue crew cab and the white EZup..nevermind the 914 race car that was on the trailer. You should have stopped by and said hello.

I recognize your uncle and his car.

You wanted the cage..

B

Brad Roberts · 10-01-2002, 10:52 PM

Chris,

We even do it with stock size intake and exhaust valves.

Cam... lots of it. Add some compression and Carrillo rods.

We have to run a stock 1.8 crank and stock size valves.

Figure a 914 cam is about .425 lift or something like that.. our camshaft has over .625 lift. .500 is half an inch.

We are also limited too 40mm carbs (Solex's) they flow better than Webers of the same size.

B

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

185 hp? How is that achived?

LOL!!!!

Time and money. Lots and lots and lots of both. Also a whole bunch of knowledge, that doesn't come cheap.

I'm betting--
Probably over $10K in the cylinder heads. Lots of reasearch into the exhaust header system. Serious work on the valve train--I wouldn't be surprised if it is all super-trick ultra-flyweight stuff to live at 8600 RPM. Internal crankcase mods (including rods and crank) to reduce power loss from pushing air around in the case. About sixty bajillion little details to get rid of friction losses and pumping losses and so on. One of which is removing most or all of the fan blades from the cooling fan, and ducting cold air in from the front of the car by way of the "sewer pipe" through the cockpit.

All it takes is time, money, and expertise. Quite easy, really!

--DD

bowlsby · 10-02-2002, 09:04 AM

Long Live Rich B!

Brad Roberts · 10-02-2002, 10:26 AM

Actually Dave,

You would pee your pants with laughter if you cracked one of these engines open:

Stock rockers on stock shafts

maybe 3k in the heads.

Flat top pistons

Mallory dizzy

stock cylinders

Stock Mahle pistons

The key is 15+ years of cam development

We are not even allowed to run a counterweighted crank.

Stock valve covers.

The tricks are in the oiling and cooling.

B

chrisreale · 10-02-2002, 12:12 PM

Brad, so what kind of power could you squeeze out of a 2.0L? How often do you guys have to drop the engine and replace something, say the pistons and cylinders?

Dave at Pelican Parts · Dave at Pelican Parts's Garage

B, that is just plain amazing. Especially the $3K in the heads!! Heh, then again... I wouldn't be that surprised to find out that it costs that to do the heads now that Rich already knows what needs to be done to them. Probably a lot more finding out what it was that needed to be done...

Still, having a Type IV that lives at 8600 is pretty darned impressive, no matter how it's done!!

Chris, the "just talking" estimate I've heard is 195-210 HP out of 1971cc. I'm not sure anyone has gone and built one of them yet.

--DD

Brad Roberts · 10-02-2002, 12:50 PM

The engines last about a year. They dont blow up.. we just pull them apart to check them out and "freshen them"

200hp out of a 2.0

It will have NO torque below 5k rpm and suck up 10 gallons of 110 octane race fuel in 30 minutes.

Our engines (Bontempi engines) will set you back 12-14k.

We make people pay for the experience.

He currently has 4-5 regular engine customers who buy 2 engines a year from him and always have one in process.

These guy's are serious racers. Not your local PCA club guy.

B

pbanders · pbanders's Garage

Brad, correct me if I'm wrong, but that's essentially the same engine Rich used in E Production a long time ago. He told me that the real "trick" to the motor was the work he did on the case to keep it from "grenading" and twisting itself apart at high RPM. Any truth to that? And of course, the cam, the cam, the cam.

So, I'm guessing that much of the $3K in the heads comes from beefing up the spring seat area to handle the stress of the HD valve springs required to run 8600 rpm with the kind of nutso cam that Rich is using - good guess?