Just picked up a 914

[Rodsrsr]

Originally Posted by bowlsby

If you ever think about painting the car back to its original color, as a '75 its probably Palma Green Metallic, an excellent color for 914s.

BTW All your engine photos depict D-Jet, standard for 1975 2.0L 914s, not L-Jet which was for the 1.8L cars.

Yes it was originally Green but that's definitely a much more involved project. In looking at the interior when I reupholstered the door panels it looks like it may have had a tan interior as well. So with newly upholstered seats and panels I think the originality ship may have sailed. Aside from the color it will remain mostly factory with a few very minor mods but a nice representation of a mostly stock 914.

Very familiar with the D-Jet and I've pretty much gone through the entire system. Cold starts right up and idles at 1000 nice and smooth.

[Brookshire my]

Besides Pelican what are your go to places for general parts?

[Rodsrsr]

Originally Posted by Brookshire my

Besides Pelican what are your go to places for general parts?

New member I see. Welcome to the forum. Post some pics of your car. What year is it, what engine, and what parts specifically are you looking for that Pelican doesn't have?

[Brookshire my]

My 914 is supposed to arrive in two days and just asking general questions. Already own a 2014 911 4S and a 1964 356 SC.

[Brookshire my]

Also some non Porsche I’ve rebuilt over the years.

[Tobra]

Like the wheels on the white 914, is that a Nash Metropolitan next to the Isetta?

[Brookshire my]

Yes, The car you can barely see in the photo to the right of the Isetta is a Nash Metropolitan.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I think the wheels on the 914 are made by Revolution wheels? Not sure they're made any more, but they were one way to get 4x130mm wheels with reasonable offsets in the 90s and early 2000s. I seem to recall they were on the heavier side, though.

--DD

[Rodsrsr]

So I removed the fuel tank this weekend to replace the fuel pump and lines and decided that while it was out I would install a front sway bar.

I did some research and learned that the 911 and 914 take the same bar, so if your looking for a factory 15mm front sway bar for the 914 it may be extremely hard to find, but if you expand your search to include 911 you may get lucky. I stumbled across a really nice factory 15mm bar that was completely restored and included all new bushings, drop links etc. for an early 911. I can tell you that 100% the bars are the same.

I ended up going with the Brad Mayeur reinforcement kit since it doesn't require cutting into the inside rail. Just a bit of aligning and welding, fairly straightforward. I also had to install the u-tabs on the a-arms, which I used a single bolt to secure and welded around.

[Rodsrsr]

Update: So I'm going in another direction with the car. Mechanically its 100%. Runs and drives like a new 914. Unfortunately I had to pull the gearbox one last time to replace the rear main seal. I didn't replace the flywheel when I had the engine out because it was in great shape but the sealing surface on the back side was compromised which caused the first seal to leak. New flywheel, reset endplay (got 0.004 this time) and now bone dry.

I never liked the appearance package console and always preferred the simple clean look of the early cars so I went ahead and deleted it but mounted the gauges below the knee pad. I'll need a replacement center carpet piece but for now this is going to do.



Next was a respray. I chose the same color only single stage this time. Going back and forth, I really think the single stage just feels right on these 70's cars. Obviously I took it completely apart for the respray and I opened Pandora's box when I removed the bumpers. First thing I noticed is that these are basically boat anchors. At least 50 lbs a piece! Second the car will just look so much better with the early style units. Here it is with no bumpers but you get the idea. What I dont want to do is cut the car at all so i opted for a set of fiberglass bumpers which do not require cutting. This way I retain all of the original parts that can be easily reinstalled. I'll post some pics when the bumpers are on.

[mepstein]

Great looking car. 2.0 Fuchs always look right on these cars and they are fairly light wheels - about 12.5 lbs.
The later bumpers weigh 38lbs and 42lbs respectively. That includes the bumper shock absorber mounts. Use a lighter battery and you've knocked off 100lbs from the car. The later exhaust is heavy and not very good. SSI's make a difference when you have less than 100 hp to work with. 1.7/1.8 or 2.0 will work equally as well. same diameter pipes. You just have to have the matching muffler and muffler hanger.

[Rodsrsr]

Thanks! I've been wondering how the SSI compares. I'm up here in Nor Cal and am going to see how well the heat system works this winter. If it works well I'll go SSI, if it doesn't I may just add headers.

This motors in great shape but I have another 2.0 I'll be rebuilding into a 2056, with a better cam and some EMPI heads. That's a next year project though. One thing for sure is this will definitely remain a 4 cylinder car as tempting as it is. I really like the simplicity and characteristics of the type4 and it feels rightly balanced in this car. If I could squeak out 125hp & 130-135 torque that would make a huge difference.

[TRP]

Hello @rodsrsr, the car is looking great! I'm also a new 914 owner, working through many of the same projects as yours. I bit the bullet and backdated the bumpers on mine.

Where in Northern California are you located. Im in the SF bay area.

[Rodsrsr]

Thanks! Hopefully some of the info I posted comes in handy. They're fairly simple cars for the most part once you get to know them. The fuel injection can be a little bit tricky, but once its sorted the car should run perfect.

Happy to help out if I can, I'm just north of Sacramento. What year is your car BTW?

[TRP]

I am working on a 1975, 1.8. It's a pretty solid car. I have just about knocked all the ugly off of it. Somewhere along the line, someone put a funky fiberglass spoiler on the rear and did some very questionable 'touch ups' on the Laguna Blue paint. Once I get it back from the painter I will shift gears and replace the plastic fuel lines, swap out the MC for one thats not bleeding down, and upgrade the shift linkage. While im under the fuel tank, I might as well install the factory sway bar. Im torn between keeping the 14" fuchs or moving up to 15s. You know how these things go...

I grew up in Chico, so I'm pretty familiar with Northern California. You're living in a great area.

Take care,
Ted

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Note that the car would have originally come with four-bolt wheels in 15" diameter. There were no 14" four-bolt wheels on 914s at any time. There were 5.5x14 five-bolt Fuchs available on the 914-6 as an option, though.

--DD

[Rodsrsr]

Both bumpers installed. The fit was near perfect aside from some minor trimming on the front where the bumper meets the hood. I went with Rennspeed because I've used them before and the fit is always very close along with the bumpers themselves being very thick and sturdy. The benefit to fiberglass is that I didn't have to cut anything on the car, in fact the extra metal lip actually helps align and secure the bumper, so if at some point in the future I want to convert it back to the 75 bumpers it'll be a bolt on job.



I'll probably add fog lights at some point, and decided to run the original plates which helps break-up the solid black. I was debating on wrapping the lower portion of the bumper with chrome wrap but I actually prefer the solid black. I also had to raise the spoiler to meet the new bumper.

[TRP]

@Dave- my car was converted to 5 lug with the 14" fuchs by a previous owner.

@Rod - the glass bumpers look great. I should have considered those, but went all in on the stainless units.