She's here... finally

[kellzey]

Well finally... my 914 arrived from Arizona. Thanks to Gerard Rodriquez (3D914) for checking her out for me.

Guys! There REALLY are rust-free 914s out there. Dust free is another story. 12 years in Phoenix has provided for a fairly dusty interior.

So... my saga begins... for the fourth time.

This time I will probably actually complete the saga and do the six conversion that I've always dreamed of... My plan as of now is to do a 914-6-GT/Street style car. Here's what I have in mind.

The nice thing is that it already has a Carrera front end on it. Rears have adapters on them, so that needs to get corrected.

Swaybar up front. Coilovers and Bilsteins.

Backdate '75 bumpers to chrome (just found a nice deal on a pair for $200)

Chassis stiffening kit.

Delete front turn signals

Flared rockers

Prepare engine bay for oil tank and engine mount (your mount of course).

Plump for front oil cooler. I want to do the front mount oil cooler and notch the bumper for the air inlet and get the matching valence panel with the other half of the oil cooler inlet in it (flared to match the fenders of course).

Steel flares.

Install harness mounting brackets on the interior firewall and the floor for seatbelt harness.

Determine mounting scheme for racing seats (I may consider just redoing the existing seats with higher bolsters. but that may disqualify me from serious racing if I ever do that. But of course, racing isn't the plan so I'll have to see.

At this point I should be able to do the repaint of the exterior, interior, engine bay and anything else.

I'm talking with my local Porsche/Racing shop about engine options. He likes carbs and I may just go that route, but I'm still deciding. He has his hands on a fresh 2.5L short stroke which might be a fun motor.

Factory oil tank and lines.

Headers (not concerned about heat here in Florida) - jethot coated of course.

Still exploring muffler options. I like Patrick Motorsport's twin stainless muffflers...

Rebuilt tranny and probably install a limited slip while I'm in there.

Larger wheels 8x16 and 7x16 to fill the fenders

904-style triple gauge

930 S steering wheel

I know this is going to be expensive. Probably $20K to $30K to get to this point. Some work I will do myself, other stuff I will farm out.

But this is the plan to date.

[Kevin Powers]

happy , happy, joy, joy. me too

[SummerSledSix]

How about some "before" pix? And of course, some "work in progress" pix, and finally some "after" pix?

[kellzey]

Here are some before pics...

[kellzey]

Another pic...

[kellzey]

Let's try this again..

[rockaria]

Man, DON'T DO IT!!!!!

That car is so very beautiful and nice, don't hack in a six and wide fenders. Coming from the owner of another Yellow 1975 914 1.8 I needed to try and set you straight!!! And come on, Don't Ya think those Bumpers are so much better than the chrome ones? I know a lot of people don't but I really really do!

That is one of the finest looking 914s I have seen. The underside and everything is so nice. I thought I found the perfect car a few months ago when I bought mine in Burbank, but man that one is too fine as well.

But if you have to hack it... I'll take that engine, those heat exchangers, the bumpers, and oh yeah, Those seats! For starters!!!

Just a sec, you probably need the seats! Where is my head? That car is just to nice I got a little crazy!

[Will98D]

don't answer if you don't want to, but what does a perfect-looking 914 like that cost?

[SummerSledSix]

NICE CATCH! and your PO gave you a head start on the conversion! And you found the perfect color - everyone knows that Yellow Porsches Are Faster! Rockaria is right, that car is almost too beautiful to touch.

A couple of "BTDT" suggestions - looks like your PO went to all the trouble of putting a Carrera front end in, and neglected to put turbo tie rods on it (see that bolt head peaking out from under the bellows)? BTW, the bellows should be sealed to the tie rod end, not just sitting there; don't worry, you get new ones when you do the upgrade. Noticeable improvement in steering stability when you do.

Like you, when I started my own conversion project, I wanted to lose those big bumpers, and backdate to the chromies. After living with them for awhile, and seeing how strong they are compared to the earlier ones, and realizing with my new found horsepower how much faster (and more often) I'd be going, I decided the strength was a good thing if I ever had a close encounter of the sheet metal kind. Also, I figured a way to modify the bumper skirt (see photo) and valance for the oil cooler. Very stealthy, you don't see it unless you're roadkill.

Have a blast man, your conversion should be all wrench and no sander.

BTW, what size tires did the PO put on those phone dials???

[URY914]

That front anti roll bar is an under-the-car-non-adjustable-model. You need to get the thru-the-body-type.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I wouldn't. Changing the sway-bar type means cutting off the U-tabs from the A-arms and welding on a new set. Not worth the hassle, IMHO.

I'd like to see a "gravel pan" or "rack guard" in place underneath the steering rack. Hopefully the sway bar will not interfere with the stock gravel pan.

--DD

[anthony]

I'd stick with the Carrera bar too.

I just bought an '86 Carrera suspension and I think the stock 22mm Carrera bar will be a great upgrade. I don't think I'd want a bigger sway bar on the front.