suspension upgrade!!!!

[KID914]

I would like to up grade my suspension on my 73 914, to that of a 911. Just not 100% sure what donor year and model is best for this set up.
Any recomendations?????

[rfuerst911sc]

How far do you want to go ? You can replace everything in the front end including brakes , A-arms and torsion bars by purchasing a complete front end from any Porsche 911 from 1968 - 1988. If that is the route you want to go there are two basic designs. There are the early style strut housings ( 68-73 ish ) that have the 3 inch brake mounting ears, this is the spacing between the holes. After 1974 ( roughly ) they are 3.5 inch spacing. This may or may not change which year you want to look for based on what brakes you want to run.
Another way to go is keep your existing A-arms and torsion bars and just add the 911 strut housings. This sometimes will keep the cost down depending on what the purchase price is for the struts. I assume you are wanting the 5 lug conversion that's why your doing this ? Don't forget to do the rear also. This is just a quick summary as you have to also think about the " while I'm in there " syndrome. If you are tearing everything out and replacing you also have to think about suspension bushings, brake lines,wheel bearings,brake pads etc. etc. it adds up quick. If you are going larger brakes you may have to go with a 19mm master cylinder and remember you have to upgrade the rear to stay in balance when it comes to brakes. Good luck.

[KID914]

Wow that was very helpful rfuerst911sc. I was planning on converting to a 5 lug and larger brakes. Have no fears, both front AND rear will be done.
Thanks for the 2 options.

[rfuerst911sc]

Here's what I did on my 1975 GT clone.
911 3 inch strut housings with Boge inserts.
Kept the 914 A-arms and torsion bars.
911 M calipers on all four corners with 911 E-brake.
19MM adjustable front sway bar no rear bar.
Elephant Racing polybronze bushings all the way around.
Lemfoerder turbo tie rod ends.
Koni rear shocks with 140 lb. springs. Will do Bilsteins in the future with adjustable spring perches.
19mm master cylinder.
Had the car aligned and corner balanced and she's a go kart.
I have metal flares with 7 + 8 inch Fuchs with 205/55 + 245/45 tires all being pushed by a 911SC 3.0 with Weber carbs.........2100 lbs. of fun .

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Note that the rear suspension is totally different, so you can't really use any 911 parts on the rear.

--DD

[mikea100]

So, the front suspension is pretty straight forward - 911 from 1968 - 1988. What do you do for the rear suspension/hubs/calipers/E-brake?

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Springs and shocks. Maybe an aftermarket sway bar if you feel the need; most of us deal with rear roll stiffness using the springs. Have the hubs drilled in the five-bolt pattern and studs pressed in so you can run five-bolt wheels all around, assuming you want with 911 struts and hubs up front. That's about it; some people put larger brakes on the rear, but the fronts do most of the braking so I don't think that is a necessary upgrade.

--DD

[KID914]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

Here's what I did on my 1975 GT clone.
911 3 inch strut housings with Boge inserts.
Kept the 914 A-arms and torsion bars.
911 M calipers on all four corners with 911 E-brake.
19MM adjustable front sway bar no rear bar.
Elephant Racing polybronze bushings all the way around.
Lemfoerder turbo tie rod ends.
Koni rear shocks with 140 lb. springs. Will do Bilsteins in the future with adjustable spring perches.
19mm master cylinder.
Had the car aligned and corner balanced and she's a go kart.
I have metal flares with 7 + 8 inch Fuchs with 205/55 + 245/45 tires all being pushed by a 911SC 3.0 with Weber carbs.........2100 lbs. of fun .

May i ask. what was your donor, for your project.
What would be the tire,rim width with off set for a gt set up with a 5 bolt with standard 7'' and 9'' fenders. So i can look for rims...while my project keeps moving along.

I thank you for all your help and know-how.

[rfuerst911sc]

I did not have a donor car to strip parts from. I just kept my eye on Pelican and 914world classifieds and purchased parts as I found them. There are some good deals out there you just need to watch and be ready to buy. I think I payed 200.00 for the front struts with good Boge inserts. Payed 200.00 for all four M brake calipers. For wheels between my 911SC and the GT clone I have four sets of wheels. Two sets of Fuchs in 16x7 + 16x8 and a set of BBS in the same size. I'm going on memory but the offset is 23 for the front and 12 for the rear. With 205/55 + 245/45 no fitment issues. The 245/45 is getting hard to find so my next set of tires will probably be 225/50. The last set of wheels are some boat anchor Borbet 17x7.5 + 17x9. I have not tried these on the 914 but they fit perfect on the SC with the fender lips rolled. 225/45 + 255/50 on those wheels. I suspect they would fit the 914 also. The Borbet wheels have the same offset as the Fuchs so no adapters/spacers needed. Not all 17 inch wheels have the correct offset to be used without spacers. Hope that helps.

[KID914]

Thanks for all the helpful info i got from everyone.

[rollercoaster]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

I did not have a donor car to strip parts from. I just kept my eye on Pelican and 914world classifieds and purchased parts as I found them. There are some good deals out there you just need to watch and be ready to buy. I think I payed 200.00 for the front struts with good Boge inserts. Payed 200.00 for all four M brake calipers. For wheels between my 911SC and the GT clone I have four sets of wheels. Two sets of Fuchs in 16x7 + 16x8 and a set of BBS in the same size. I'm going on memory but the offset is 23 for the front and 12 for the rear. With 205/55 + 245/45 no fitment issues. The 245/45 is getting hard to find so my next set of tires will probably be 225/50. The last set of wheels are some boat anchor Borbet 17x7.5 + 17x9. I have not tried these on the 914 but they fit perfect on the SC with the fender lips rolled. 225/45 + 255/50 on those wheels. I suspect they would fit the 914 also. The Borbet wheels have the same offset as the Fuchs so no adapters/spacers needed. Not all 17 inch wheels have the correct offset to be used without spacers. Hope that helps.

You speak of the different wheels you've used.. what about the rear hub conversion to go 5 lug?

Any info on where to purchase, or where to have a set converted to 5 lug to fit a set of Fuchs?

Thanks

[Bleyseng]

GPR used to do it but now only Eric Shea http://www.pmbperformance.com does it now.
You can use the 914 rear calipers and have them spaced for vented 911 rear discs so that they match the front vented discs. The improvement when going to larger rears is minimal unless you are using a high hp 911 motor and track the car. A 914 stops with the front brakes....

[rollercoaster]

Thanks for the input, that's exactly who I've contacted..

[rfuerst911sc]

Eric Shea converted my rear hubs to 5 lug. Great work and great guy to deal with.