Olympic Blue / Silver metallic 1972 US Import 1.7L

[LMR]

Thank you!

[LMR]

Tis the season to be hanging out in a cold workshop dreaming of warmer weather!

I am still waiting on some parts to arrive, so am doing what I can.

Heat guard above exhaust as removed;



Powder coated



I have fitted riv nuts and will be using bolts rather than spot welds

I also collected the engine tins from the powder coaters



And I have been working on some sub assemblies. Before



Some plating and new spacer later



And I have added a modification.





I know these won't be to everyone's taste, but I wanted to try them. I have retained the original mounting points in case I want to revert to the factory set up.

Merry Christmas everyone.

[chief]

Happy Chritmas our Phil
You are so on the enjoyable part of this build now!

[KAS.750]

Nice work Phil.I always enjoy your updates on this.

[LMR]

Thanks KAS, always appreciate feedback, especially when it is positive!!

[LMR]

Whilst waiting for BT not to turn up (fourth appointment they have buggered up...) I got on with the stuff that I could whilst still waiting for parts to arrive.

As with all cars that have been imported from overseas, mine was fitted with left hand drive headlamps, and they were the original seal units. The headlamp carriers were rusty as well



So, I stripped everything, had the large stuff powder coated, adjuster screws etc plated, new headlamps, new plastic adjusters from 914 rubber, a coat of dinitrol, and I have another sub assembly ready to refit





Does anyone have any recommendations for headlamp bulbs or upgrades? How are the standard lights?

[Darren C]

Looking good

I have H4 Halogens in mine. Have converted other H4's to LED in the past, but while they give a brighter white light, they don't seem to throw as far as Halogen do, so its not a good all round mod.
If I were you, get it back together and stay H4 first (as its a no cost option) and see how you feel when you've driven it.

[LMR]

I gave up with trying to get my old wiper motor working and bought a boxster motor. I know someone suggested a LHD one would work best, but I got a RHD one very cheaply. I thought it was a simple remedy, until I realised it doesn't fit into the car! I could have sourced another motor, but instead re-drilled the mounting bracket to suit.

I took my existing, and very rusty mechanism......



de-rusted it and had the parts plated





Reassembled, and then bench tested it

https://youtu.be/WLbVg7DWvOw

I still need to modify the rubber that steadies the mechanism to the bulkhead, but that is pretty much ready to install

[RichardJ]

Hi, I'm new on here as I've just started my first Porsche project, a '75 914. So far I've dismantled it and started separating all the small parts for refinishing. I have a blasting cabinet, and regularly have parts plated and powder coated for my work, so I'll be slipping various 914 parts in with those orders over the next couple of years while working on the body restoration. My headlights are completely dismantled ready, and the wiper mechanism will be coming apart soon. They'll be undergoing pretty much the exact same rebuild work as you've just done. Thanks for the inspiration.
I've also been planning to come up with something else for the rubber bobbin mount on the wipers - probably spacers on a shorter, more 'off the shelf' mount to make it as long as the original.

[LMR]

Richard

Thanks for the kind words. I have become slightly addicted to plating - I have been amazed at how good some of the parts have come up, especially when on first inspected they looked beyond hope.

[RichardJ]

I have thrown parts from friends restoration projects in with my plating orders (which usually consist of new parts) before now, and they have been blown away when they come back looking just like new.

Have you seen zinc castings which have been bead blasted, then zinc plated (to get a shiny, smooth surface over the dull bead blasted finish), the yellow / gold passivated? They come out looking just like new too. I have only ever seen the process on Youtube and discussed on amateur plating forums, but the results are impressive. I have only come across a couple of 914 applications so far (front indicators, boot lock). I mentioned this process to the main man at my plating company I use, and I don't think he really got it. I'm going to try to persuade him to have a go for me. The examples I have seen online were all done DIY, using hexavalent chrome passivation liquids, some with no protective gear at all. That's insane, as it's carcinogenic (they toxin in the Erin Brockovich film). I'm amazed amateurs can buy it, but they can, apparently. There is no way I'd even consider messing with it myself, but I'm all for bead blasting a scrap zinc part and giving it to my (professional!) plating man to experiment with.

Along similar lines, I have been experimenting with rust removal using citric acid, Unlike the above, this it totally safe to do DIY (it's a food product), and the results are similarly impressive. it also strips zinc plating off nicely - ideal if you need to weld to zinc plated fasteners, etc.

[LMR]

Judging by the increase in updates this week, it seems everyone is emerging from their hibernation!

I am pleased to share that I now have a running engine!





And some video

ticking over https://youtu.be/ozchI6e_p9Q

cam burn https://youtu.be/O_BIGcSx1kA

[LMR]

I had great intentions of building my own engine. When I sat back and though about it, I realised the last time I carried out a full engine build was 1998. Back then I had a full head of hair, no cash and unlimited energy. I am now a tired, balding bloke who has enough other stuff going on. Also, as I think most people are aware, my workshop is very close to the Zuffenhaus workshop. Contrary to what has been written elsewhere, they are not carrying out the restoration work, but I do pop in for a chat when I pass. I have been watching with interest some of the engine builds going on there, and realised my time would be better spent elsewhere and leave the engine build with a professional.

I have no intention of selling - my heart and soul is in this car - but if I ever hit hard times, I figured the car would be easier to sell on with an engine build by a professional rather than me in my shed.

The other change of direction I have taken is going with carbs rather than fuel injection. I am not a big fan of carbs, but I want to be driving my car this summer, and after seeing another 914 running on carbs I decided this was the way forward. I will go with fuel injection in the future.

In brief, the spec is as follows;

New Heads
New 96 mm pistons and barrels, taking the engine from 1700cc to 1911cc
New rods
New cam, bearings, seals etc

The bottom end of the engine was in excellent condition so no machining required.

Also I have had a new clutch and release bearing, the latter is remarkably expensive.....

[LMR]

Real life, and more frequently weather, seem to be getting in the way of this project. The latter is I guess frustrating for all of us - it was so cold that I needed to borrow a blowtorch to unfreeze a lock and get into my workshop.

My thanks to Three Two and the team at Zuffenhaus for taking pity on me and letting me use their ramp to make this the following happen



I would have included more pics of the car being pushed around, engine fitted and being pushed back, but it was snowing, and the professionals work so much faster than me! The engine went in pretty easily once I fitted the engine support bar the right way around and the right way up.

Still plenty to do, but this was a major step. Now, if the weather would just warm up, I might actually get this car finished.

[LMR]

The problem with having such shiny paint is I now want everything else to look as good as it can, and therefore refitting stuff means I end up cleaning, painting, plating etc.

I stripped the relay board as the resin was looking pretty rubbish



It cleaned up pretty well



After doing a continuity and resistance test - I re-soldered some of the joints, and finally added new resin



The rear light units had seen better days, with a cracked casing and the reflectors had lost most of their reflection!



so after some fettling