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914World.com _ 914World Garage _ PMB Performance - Mike Krieger Build
Posted by: Eric_Shea Dec 7 2013, 11:01 AM
Hey Gang,
We've been working on this one for a while now and I thought you'd like to follow along. It has a lot of "914" issues to sort through and can be a good piece to show how and why to fix things properly, especially with the value of these cars climbing and the money invested in a car of this quality.
Mike came to us last year after finding us here for a PPI. In this case it was a "Post Purchase Inspection". The car was sold as a rust free (yes, enter your comments here) 3.2 six conversion. It turns out it was anything but. Regardless, Mike was in for the long haul and, he was determined to do things properly. He expressed interest in making the car a wide-body and fixing what needed to be fixed at the time.
Off the tub went to be stripped and prepped for flares and paint work. Here you can see the "after" shot with the flares on and glass panels being fitted:
There was a lot of metal work needed as indeed... the rust was free on this one. Before flares could go on, a new quarter panel was needed and various stiffening kits (factory and 914LTD) added to ensure minimal twist with an impending 3.6 install. The car was then painted "Signal Orange" and given back to Mike for some detail installments.
Fast forward to present day. We picked the car up from Mike and began ticking off items on his wish list. Install driving lights, front turn signal buckets, hood lights, hood pins, sway bar, get turn signals working, various trim pieces etc.
Here's how it it sat when we got'er in the shop:
Then the "inevitable" happened. It began to act like any other DAPO 914. She began to show some of her true colors. I actually think the car was talking to us and letting us know about the problems before she burned to the ground in a heap of smoke and flames.
Let's start with wiring because we basically had to re-wire the car. What started as a simple request to "get the rear light buckets working" brought us to a few swapped wires on the install post paint and then... funny smells and blown fuses. When we looked at the fuse block we saw this:
Yes, the blown fuse was also a 16a!! Needless to say, this was one of the first things we did...
We also found some previous melted wires that could have been catastrophic:
This caused us to start at the front and completely go over all of the wiring. Fix and replace with proper factory colored wires from a donor harness and wrap everything back up with the early cloth tape loom.
The factory driving light harness was cut and crimp on ends were all that existed in the apron. We went into the harness and soldiered in new leads and used factory sheathing to bring them through the grommets in the front apron. Mike wanted these PIAA lights so we then soldiered the PIAA ends on the factory wires and inserted them back into the connectors for a clean, clip-on installation:
Next we did the same thing while repairing the horn leads. Removed the crappy blue crimp on connectors and went full factory with the protective sheath. We also ran a second lead over for dual tone horns.
Here's a shot of Mike's new harness:
Posted by: 396 Dec 7 2013, 11:07 AM
Thanks for the inspiration. 3.6-
... A 964 or 993 install? If I had to guess, 964 ..oh wait. 993 with webers -!
Posted by: toolguy Dec 7 2013, 12:22 PM
Eric. . pm sent. . Dave
Posted by: bigkensteele Dec 7 2013, 12:28 PM
Nice work as usual, Eric.
Will the 3.2 be for sale? Please PM me if so.
Posted by: shoguneagle Dec 7 2013, 01:29 PM
Very nice, indeed! One for great enjoyment.
Steve
Posted by: rudedude Dec 7 2013, 01:57 PM
Eric,
Very nice indeed! Keep us posted.
Jule
Posted by: gothspeed Dec 7 2013, 02:16 PM
Awesome!!
Posted by: JamesM Dec 7 2013, 02:32 PM
Is this the car that rear quarter from my place went to? I felt a little bad about cutting that one up given how solid the longs were, but if this is the result of its sacrifice then it was totally worth it. Looks awesome!
Posted by: old dog Dec 7 2013, 06:09 PM
Very nice !
Posted by: scotty b Dec 7 2013, 06:14 PM
Tell Brown E he does wonderful work
Posted by: Eric_Shea Dec 7 2013, 06:32 PM
Thanks guys.
PM not received Dave.
3.2 is probably sold already.
James, it is indeed your quarter panel. If that car hs good longs you can always put a complete QRS kit on it! 
(more on that in our next build thread). Thanks for the good metal!!
We seriously had to dig into the wiring on this. Front and rear harness and most of the dash. We even did all of the harness behind the fuel tank and fresh air box. Anywhere we found "crimp-ons".
Here's David "assuming the 914 position". 
Making progress...
David checking the lights.
The rear harness was so brittle it was falling apart in our hands. Here's one of those 914 "tips". Do the wiring right and... to do that, one of the best things to get is an old harness out of a sawzall project. We pulled the rear harness apart from the engine compartment to the light housings. We then found the license plate leads were seriously so hard they were breaking like a twig. A few things can do this, heat and elements. We pulled the proper color and gauge wires from our donor harness and "soldiered" the factory ends on them and heat shrinked the ends. Do it right... IT ONLY TAKES A FEW MINUTES! And, wiring is one of those things that can come back to bite you time and time again.
We installed the lights in the fiberglass bumper and hooked it up!
Guess what? Turn signals are still goofy. Switch! Guess what? More crimp-ons! We're pretty sure the melted wire came from a bad switch. We found the turn signal switch all metled. Time for a new switch but... NO MORE CRIMPS!!
The hot lead pulled off in our hands and the horn ground was broken and frayed.
We pulled the switch and tore into the 12-pin connector. Unsoldiered the factory pins and soldiered them on to the new switch. The worst part will be getting the cover back on.
Posted by: rick 918-S Dec 7 2013, 06:38 PM
Wiring can be so time consuming. Nice car!
Posted by: Eric_Shea Dec 7 2013, 06:40 PM
Rear hood tie-downs in place:
Hood pins are going on so we had to weld in new plates for the front trunk corners:
Tarett install...
Posted by: Mike Bellis Dec 7 2013, 06:43 PM
Eric, I think your just taking pics of your car. 
Posted by: rdauenhauer Dec 7 2013, 07:22 PM
Posted by: JRust Dec 7 2013, 07:46 PM
is up with those front brakes man 
. Those fronts do not look like PMB work 
. Get your rebuilt calipers on & a nice fresh rotor bud. Thats just embarrassing
Posted by: Eric_Shea Dec 8 2013, 08:43 AM
Brakes are further down the list right now. That's a Carrera front end bolted on. 
Too much rotor, too heavy. The idea is to find a nice set of S-Calipers and 20mm rotors and remove the odd "front" bias valve. Phase 2. 
Posted by: PanelBilly Dec 8 2013, 10:56 AM
Are you putting anything on the metal tabs that hold the wire in place? I used heat shrink tubing and it worked great. Doesn't have the deep black color. More like dark grey, but it does a nice job.
Posted by: MDG Dec 8 2013, 12:57 PM
Brakes are further down the list right now. That's a Carrera front end bolted on.
Too much rotor, too heavy. The idea is to find a nice set of S-Calipers and 20mm rotors and remove the odd "front" bias valve. Phase 2. I've got some wide-A's you can have for free.
Posted by: mikesmith Dec 8 2013, 01:37 PM
Not to rag on a lovely looking job, or on the idea of fixing wiring, but using a sealed connector (even something cheap like a WeatherPack) there would be good.
Otherwise, it's going to get wet (assuming this is a driver and not a museum piece) and in a few years it'll be corroded and someone else will be cursing the DAPO. 8)
Posted by: Maltese Falcon Dec 8 2013, 10:05 PM
Brakes are further down the list right now. That's a Carrera front end bolted on.
Too much rotor, too heavy. The idea is to find a nice set of S-Calipers and 20mm rotors and remove the odd "front" bias valve. Phase 2. Eric...I still have a nice set of 911s light alloy calipers if you need !
Marty
Posted by: JamesM Dec 9 2013, 09:59 PM
James, it is indeed your quarter panel. If that car hs good longs you can always put a complete QRS kit on it!
(more on that in our next build thread). Thanks for the good metal!!Longs were solid front to rear, cut them out in one piece and they went to Guy to patch up his -6 project. The problem with that car was the floor pan (and shoddy PO repair of it along with a lot of other hidden gems) More work then it was worth it to me and I came across that donor chassis that is now the purple car to replace it.
Original windshield was cleanly removed and then broken a month later by me when I forgot I stored it under my autox car *DOH*
The 1.7 and side shift got cleaned up and went in the purple car for my wife.
Wish I had known about your wiring issues, I managed to pull the entire harness out of that car in one piece. This is all that was left when I threw it on the back of someones pickup truck for scrap.
You better get started on another project soon, I only have one more car left to get rid of!
Posted by: Eric_Shea Dec 24 2013, 10:41 AM
Help! 
Posted by: MDG Dec 24 2013, 10:48 AM
Help!
Did you try a good quality hand scrub and a nail file?
Posted by: Eric_Shea Dec 24 2013, 10:49 AM
Wiring harnesses built and run for the Cibie hood lights. The harness was wrapped and put through grommets and run down to the hinge plates.
Hard to see in this crappy photo but, the harness feeds into a couple of disconnect plugs so the owner can swap hoods. These will run to an additional factory fog light switch and a relay with a hot lead directly off the battery.
Off come the 4-cylinder mounts to make way for the custom hardlines.
Did someone say custom hard lines? These were straight because Mike has a set of 914ltd longitudinal kits with no jack posts.
New stainless steel hardlines run through the tunnel as nature intended! The PO had both the fuel lines and the oil lines bolted to the floorboards running under the car... 
Posted by: Krieger Dec 24 2013, 11:53 AM
Looking good!
Posted by: sixnotfour Dec 24 2013, 01:05 PM
SC cruise control, and 80's Mercedes also 1970 914 turn signal switch to body harness plug..
Help!
Posted by: rdauenhauer Dec 25 2013, 11:34 PM
Attached image(s)
Posted by: JamesM Dec 26 2013, 12:58 AM
Help!
Didn't want to text you as its almost midnight! When you said early I thought you meant pre 73, but just finished going through that spare 72 harness and that piece you need does not exist there. Looking at parts catalogs it seems that 70-71 had a different turn signal switch
looks like the switch side of that connector is 91161212202 but I can not find any part number for the chassis side. I think you are on a hunt for a pretty odd ball part here. I can bring by a later harness if you want to convert to the more common switch.
Posted by: sixnotfour Dec 26 2013, 05:47 AM
female on the main harness , male on the turn signal switch ..1970-914
Posted by: mharmon Dec 26 2013, 09:54 AM
Eric,
Would you mind showing a pic of how to ran the wires for the hood lights from the hinge to the lights? I'm planning on doing the same thing and I'm thinking of going through the hood itself, but not sure if its worth the trouble.
Thanks for your help.
Mike
Posted by: Eric_Shea Dec 26 2013, 01:58 PM
Hey Mike,
If you look at post #26 the first picture is the grommet where the hood lights will mount. The second picture is the grommet where it exits by the hinge.
Posted by: Eric_Shea Jan 8 2014, 11:19 AM
Rich saves the day and the 12-pin connector is back and working like a champ. We have turn signals, low beams, high beams and parking lights. It was a good day but, like many things on old sports cars... it took about a month just to source the right parts for the needed job!
Hood pin time:
Posted by: ConeDodger Jan 8 2014, 01:15 PM
Eric, are you going to sell the hood pin pads? I need them too...
Posted by: ChrisNPDrider Jan 8 2014, 08:17 PM
Eric, are you going to sell the hood pin pads? I need them too...
Posted by: r_towle Jan 8 2014, 11:16 PM
Eric should sell a hood pin idiot light.
Posted by: ConeDodger Jan 9 2014, 08:26 AM
Eric should sell a hood pin idiot light.
Ohhhhh!
that's just wrong!But kinda funny..
Posted by: rick 918-S Jan 9 2014, 09:39 AM
Eric should sell a hood pin idiot light.
Ohhhhh!
that's just wrong!But kinda funny..
Ya with a loud buzzer. Louder than the engine.
Posted by: ClayPerrine Jan 9 2014, 11:12 AM
Hood Pins = Nipple Rings for Cars.
This is some nice work!
Posted by: Eric_Shea Jan 9 2014, 01:02 PM
Eric should sell a hood pin idiot light.
ouch
Posted by: rgalla9146 Jan 9 2014, 07:12 PM
Eric should sell a hood pin idiot light.
ouch
Had a Baja Bug with only hood pins for the front hood, no safety catch..... easy to forget
hood flew over the roof...... twice......
Could this tragedy have happened to someone here ?
just askin'
Posted by: Eric_Shea Jan 29 2014, 01:23 PM
We finished off the pins but I've neglected this thread a tad so, here's a few updated shots:
Pins through:
Prepping the plates:
Rivets ready:
Installed:
Holes adjusted for final fit and pins in place:
Posted by: Eric_Shea Jan 29 2014, 01:53 PM
Next, out comes the 3.2 and we get ready to finish off the engine compartment and trunks.
We begin with a little prep work. They installed the BB heat exchangers but retained the longer studs. The studs harden with the heat cycle and can become a real bear, especially with the extra length. W'ell probably install all short studs on the 3.6 before putting it in.
All of the cables, wiring, hoses and linkage is being prepped and removed:
...and, out it comes:
Now to prep the engine compartment:
Posted by: Eric_Shea Jan 29 2014, 01:58 PM
Next is the hard line install. If you recall, the car had it's oil lines (and fuel lines) running under the floor pan. We weren't too keen on either so, factory style hard lines and SS fuel lines in the proper places were the answer.
Drilling out mouse holes:
Perfect fit for the line placement:
We have a little work to do with the heater tube before we mount these up but, so far we're "very" happy with the placement.
Posted by: r_towle Jan 29 2014, 03:09 PM
Very nice.
Is that a 914LTD long plate of steel on there, or custom?
Can you please post how the oil lines go all the way up front...for those of us that need heat and defrost
Posted by: Eric_Shea Jan 29 2014, 03:38 PM
914ltd kit.
Regarding the lines; not there yet with this build (where I think you're asking about) but once it goes off to the body shop, we'll hit the J-Tube with acetylene and use a large drift to do this:
It's a factory mod we gleaned from looking at a GT with heat.
Posted by: bulitt Jan 29 2014, 03:59 PM
Methinks you have outgrown your shop already?
Posted by: r_towle Jan 29 2014, 06:21 PM
914ltd kit.
Regarding the lines; not there yet with this build (where I think you're asking about) but once it goes off to the body shop, we'll hit the J-Tube with acetylene and use a large drift to do this:
It's a factory mod we gleaned from looking at a GT with heat.
yup, that is a big part of the question.
The rest, I will wait and see,
Not a fan of hot oil in the passenger compartment, so I will be patient to see what you do....I think I know.
Do you make the oil lines for this application?
Rich
Posted by: Eric_Shea Jan 30 2014, 11:41 AM
I have about 2,000 miles on my car and I can't say as I've noticed the oil lines in the passengers compartment, unless you're talking about a safety issue. We have an order in for a couple 916 steel covers.
Jeff makes these lines. These are steel lines with zinc coating. They are custom made for the application (914ltd kit and no jack posts to worry about). Hard to come by because he has a rather demanding day job.
Posted by: r_towle Jan 30 2014, 03:30 PM
I have about 2,000 miles on my car and I can't say as I've noticed the oil lines in the passengers compartment, unless you're talking about a safety issue. We have an order in for a couple 916 steel covers.
Jeff makes these lines. These are steel lines with zinc coating. They are custom made for the application (914ltd kit and no jack posts to worry about). Hard to come by because he has a rather demanding day job.
cool, and its not that I would notice them, its a safety issue.
A cover would be nice to see, should not be to hard to fabricate one.
Your pics are of the drivers side??
Rich
Posted by: Eric_Shea Jan 30 2014, 05:41 PM
Drivers side... yes.
When I said "notice" I meant heat. Some say they can heat up the interior. Car hasn't gotten much over 180 anywhoo so... hard to say.
Posted by: r_towle Jan 30 2014, 07:32 PM
Gotcha....
Why not run them like a 911?
Mine (1984) are all under, then up inside the fender to the cooler.
Makes placing the jacks hard, but can be done.
Posted by: bulitt Feb 17 2014, 07:49 PM
914ltd kit.
Regarding the lines; not there yet with this build (where I think you're asking about) but once it goes off to the body shop, we'll hit the J-Tube with acetylene and use a large drift to do this:
It's a factory mod we gleaned from looking at a GT with heat.
Eric- does this weaken the area? Do you weld in something to compensate?
How do you keep the water out?
Posted by: Eric_Shea Mar 30 2014, 08:00 PM
No. No. and... Clay
Looks like we have a little time to make up here. The decision has changed a bit. Now the mission is to get the 3.6 in and get the car running. Phase II will be to paint and clean up the trunks and do some final welding work. For now, the race is on to get the 3.6 in and sort through the wiring harness (which on this car can be a challenge). We're hoping to have the engine in place this week.
The induction was taken off and the engine basically stripped to a long block. We ran a compression test and repaired a number of valve cover threads. These covers were torqued way beyond spec to (assuming) stop a leak. 
Fuel rails and various bits were replated and cleaned up. The entire engine was detailed giving us a good look at any areas needing attention:
The dual intake tubes had to be cut apart and trimmed so the intake manifold could be turned down to fit in the 914 engine compartment.
Little problem here:
Leakdown was spot on across the board. We had one exhaust valve that gave us an issue but when we tapped on it, it settled in. Just a little carbon buildup.
Everything all cleaned up and repaired. Valve covers going back on:
We opted for new lower valve covers as the previous mechanic put some sort of RTV all over these and it would have been hours to get them clean. Hours that would equate to the cost of a new pair of correct covers.
Getting there...
Steve Weiner worked his magic on the twin plug dizzy. It basically needed everything:
The next challenge was getting the sheet metal to fit up. Lots of custom work on the left rear corner:
The 914 tin needed to be modified for the lower plug wires:
Almost there. This one needed a new fan as corrosion literally split and almost took off a blade:
A new Centerforce clutch is now hiding under a new pressure plate and to bearing:
Some other goodies arrived last week as well! Time to wrap up the wiring for these puppies:
Posted by: Eric_Shea Mar 30 2014, 08:13 PM
Speaking of wiring...
This is one of my pet peeves. This car had the Home Depot corrugated plastic sheathing all over the harness, front to rear. It also had a wrap on the loom as it went through the center tunnel. That usually means they have something to cover-up... no?
Here's one of my favorites... a bread tie! Not just "a" bread tie, a bunch-o-bread-ties. One was even punched through the carpet on the passengers side to hold one of these up. Ironically, it was a hot lead to the fuel pump that went back to the 14 pin so it could attach to a wire in the loom that went back up to the fuse panel. Following this? They ran a fuel pump up front and ran the wire to the back to hook it up to a wire that went to the front again. 
The final phase is in the works. The tunnel and the engine compartment will be buttoned up this week. Yuk!
I love throwing this stuff in the trash! 
The 3.6 harness will be run inside the factory harness and everything will be re-wrapped in the cloth tape. Stay tuned.
Posted by: 396 Mar 30 2014, 08:59 PM
I like your table top. Was considering working one of my SC case for that same thing.
Keep up the great work / update.
Posted by: Eric_Shea Mar 30 2014, 10:39 PM
Yeah... that's one of those 2.4 7R cases that everybody's after! 
Posted by: Larmo63 Mar 30 2014, 11:08 PM
I wanna see those Cibies mounted! Are they going on the hood, 911 rally style?
Posted by: Eric_Shea Mar 30 2014, 11:12 PM
Indeed they will. See post #26 where we already ran the wires to bring the juice to them.
Posted by: bulitt Mar 31 2014, 06:04 AM
You seriously need more shop space! And several more Eric's.
Posted by: r_towle Mar 31 2014, 06:29 AM
Just when you think Eric has left the building and is only talking with the 911 crowd....he appears with not one, but two 914 projects....
Nice to see.
Posted by: Eric_Shea Mar 31 2014, 08:40 AM
True, true.
Nice to see.
We have one of those going on right now too!
Posted by: nsyr Apr 1 2014, 11:20 AM
What piaa lights are those?
Posted by: Eric_Shea Apr 30 2014, 06:57 AM
So much has been done but so little to show! I guess the engine and tranny in place make for a good start. Hood lights and pin retainers on. Roughed in the ride height. Massive rubber fits!!
It looks like we'll still need to adjust the lights a bit but, they are on and wired. The lights themselves are extremely impressive. The wiring inside them was not. Very short with with inexpensive bullet plugs that would pop out at will. We went through and fixed all of that...
The engine and tranny are in (as mentioned) and only a bit of harness work to be performed. This is a test fit which allowed us to cinch up the oil hard and soft lines and resolve the intake and other various fitment issues. You can see the purchased 14-pin engine harness connector laying on the top. Only 5 of the pins in this "purchased" harness were correct. Reverse lights were missing and the low oil indicator was going to the hand lever for the heater blower switch! We had to go in and add the reverse wires and change (quite) a few things around. In the end... just purchase a few 14-pin ends and do it yourself.
All of the fuel lines and hoses have been run. Just a little tidying up to do there and it should be good to go.
The engine will come back out one more time as we have the front tin being finalized and, we want to get back in the engine compartment to clean up and re-tape the main harness.
I'd have to say, wiring on this car ate up the most hours but, I'm crazy about that stuff. Nothing worse than chasing a short in an unknown harness with crimp on connectors. With the engine and DME install, this will be the last bit of harness to clean up. Everything will be wrapped in a factory cloth tape.
We installed a nice system for the hood pins (and yes, buttheads... we installed a set on my car as well) 
We also set a preliminary ride height with the motor and trans in. Hard to believe but, it looks as though the massive rubber will fit!
Posted by: Eric_Shea Apr 30 2014, 07:04 AM
(the taildragger project is coming along swimmingly as well... fresh coat of Glasurit on the topside is all buffed out now and assembly begins)
"Back to your regularly scheduled program!"
Posted by: CptTripps Apr 30 2014, 10:10 AM
Wouldn't it make more sense to install the tab like this, so the cable doesn't scratch the paint?
Attached image(s)
Posted by: bulitt Apr 30 2014, 10:14 AM
Sorta thought the same thing.
Posted by: Larmo63 Apr 30 2014, 11:51 AM
Tough room here......
Posted by: SirAndy Apr 30 2014, 11:54 AM
Please convince him to ditch that ugly ass front bumper. 
Pretty please ...
PS: Yes, mine is coming off too, just in case you were wondering.
Posted by: Eric_Shea Apr 30 2014, 12:41 PM
I love posting on 914world.
Posted by: SirAndy Apr 30 2014, 01:24 PM
I love posting on 914world.
Hey, if you don't want "feedback" lock the thread ...
Posted by: 396 Apr 30 2014, 01:37 PM
Nice, keep them coming.
Posted by: worn Apr 30 2014, 02:03 PM
The wiring inside them was not. Very short with with inexpensive bullet plugs that would pop out at will. We went through and fixed all of that...
You can see the purchased 14-pin engine harness connector laying on the top. Only 5 of the pins in this "purchased" harness were correct. Reverse lights were missing and the low oil indicator was going to the hand lever for the heater blower switch!
We had to go in and add the reverse wires and change (quite) a few things around. In the end... just purchase a few 14-pin ends and do it yourself.Very impressive. I have bullet connections in the British cars. Work fine if they are the right ones and done properly. Not a favorite though.
My big question is: why stay with the 14 pin plug at all. Seems like so many of the circuits don't belong together in the first place, but were convenient when the relay board was being used. I was thinking about some of the weatherproof multipin connectors you can find at Jegs etc.. Maybe one for lighting another for starting and running the engine, etc.
Posted by: Eric_Shea Apr 30 2014, 05:08 PM
Good idea.
I think Mike is softening on the bumpers. He mentioned he'll entertain changing them after his first track "altercation".
Posted by: mharmon Apr 30 2014, 05:42 PM
Eric,
Would you mind posting a pic with the headlights down? I'm torn between adding the hood lights or not.
My 3 year+ build is finally nearing completion, and I can't decide what to do about the hood lights.
Thanks.
Mike
Posted by: JamesM Apr 30 2014, 05:59 PM
Please convince him to ditch that ugly ass front bumper.
Pretty please ...
PS: Yes, mine is coming off too, just in case you were wondering.
Liked the look when i was 19, but think mine will be coming off soon as well in favor of fiberglass GT bumpers
Posted by: bigkensteele Apr 30 2014, 09:46 PM
Eric, do you have any more of the large (20 and 22mm) braided hose pictured in post 65? If so, I may need to get some from you when I order all my suspension stuff in the near future.
Oh, yeah, nice work! I agree on rotating the cable retainer for the hood pins around to save the paint. That 911 looks fantastic!
Posted by: speed metal army Apr 30 2014, 09:49 PM
Its nice Eric!
Posted by: Larmo63 Apr 30 2014, 10:57 PM
Rear bumper = okay
front bumper = yikes!!!
Posted by: Cairo94507 May 1 2014, 06:31 AM
Mike- Your car is looking beautiful. I look forward to seeing more photos soon.
Michael
Posted by: puffinator May 1 2014, 06:49 AM
Hey Gang,
We've been working on this one for a while now and I thought you'd like to follow along. It has a lot of "914" issues to sort through and can be a good piece to show how and why to fix things properly, especially with the value of these cars climbing and the money invested in a car of this quality.
Mike came to us last year after finding us here for a PPI. In this case it was a "Post Purchase Inspection". The car was sold as a rust free (yes, enter your comments here) 3.2 six conversion. It turns out it was anything but. Regardless, Mike was in for the long haul and, he was determined to do things properly. He expressed interest in making the car a wide-body and fixing what needed to be fixed at the time.
Off the tub went to be stripped and prepped for flares and paint work. Here you can see the "after" shot with the flares on and glass panels being fitted:
There was a lot of metal work needed as indeed... the rust was free on this one. Before flares could go on, a new quarter panel was needed and various stiffening kits (factory and 914LTD) added to ensure minimal twist with an impending 3.6 install. The car was then painted "Signal Orange" and given back to Mike for some detail installments.
Fast forward to present day. We picked the car up from Mike and began ticking off items on his wish list. Install driving lights, front turn signal buckets, hood lights, hood pins, sway bar, get turn signals working, various trim pieces etc.
Here's how it it sat when we got'er in the shop:
Then the "inevitable" happened. It began to act like any other DAPO 914. She began to show some of her true colors. I actually think the car was talking to us and letting us know about the problems before she burned to the ground in a heap of smoke and flames.
Let's start with wiring because we basically had to re-wire the car. What started as a simple request to "get the rear light buckets working" brought us to a few swapped wires on the install post paint and then... funny smells and blown fuses. When we looked at the fuse block we saw this:
Yes, the blown fuse was also a 16a!! Needless to say, this was one of the first things we did...
We also found some previous melted wires that could have been catastrophic:
This caused us to start at the front and completely go over all of the wiring. Fix and replace with proper factory colored wires from a donor harness and wrap everything back up with the early cloth tape loom.
The factory driving light harness was cut and crimp on ends were all that existed in the apron. We went into the harness and soldiered in new leads and used factory sheathing to bring them through the grommets in the front apron. Mike wanted these PIAA lights so we then soldiered the PIAA ends on the factory wires and inserted them back into the connectors for a clean, clip-on installation:
Next we did the same thing while repairing the horn leads. Removed the crappy blue crimp on connectors and went full factory with the protective sheath. We also ran a second lead over for dual tone horns.
Here's a shot of Mike's new harness:
Is someone making replacement harnesses?
Posted by: 914mikee100 May 1 2014, 04:13 PM
The 916/rally split personality is due to the length of time the project has taken. Eric has done a great job and has taken years off of the build time, but I am afraid that my vision for the project has changed over time and the leftovers from prior versions remain. Once I get it running and can enjoy it for the summer I intend to go full rally and put on period correct front bumpers, wheels and tires and raise it a little. For now, it will look like a crossbreed.
Posted by: Larmo63 May 7 2014, 03:17 PM
We're just jealous, it's a bitchin car!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Elliot Cannon May 7 2014, 07:56 PM
We're just jealous, it's a bitchen car!!!!!!!!!!
If you mean a really great car, the correct spelling is bichen.
I had to point that out to my English teacher in 1962. Posted by: Larmo63 May 7 2014, 08:02 PM
We spell it "bitchin" in California, make that southern California.....
Posted by: pete000 May 7 2014, 09:33 PM
Eric,
Would you mind posting a pic with the headlights down? I'm torn between adding the hood lights or not.
My 3 year+ build is finally nearing completion, and I can't decide what to do about the hood lights.
Thanks.
Mike
I am in the same boat, I love the look with the head lamps up, but when retracted not so sure. I was only able to find a few shots of 914 GTs with the hood lamps and the head lamps in the closed position.
Posted by: Scott S May 8 2014, 02:40 PM
Bitchen.
I have a question on the front bumper. Was it reshaped in the area right in the middle of the car/hood, or was that the way it came? I used to always get on my soap box about how the top of the 916 bumper should be the exact same dimension all the way across the nose of the car (see purple dots in pic). However, anymore it seems like on 99% of the cars that have theses bumpers, they all are narrowed in the center. Was just curious if this was how they were installed or how they were now being molded.
Awsome build.
Attached image(s)
Posted by: sixnotfour May 8 2014, 08:07 PM
your late to the party, brought up a long time ago..
Posted by: 914six Jun 1 2014, 02:08 PM
Eric,
What flywheel bolts did you use on the patrick 3.6 flywheel and
centerforce clutch..?
thanks,
harry
Posted by: SirAndy Jun 1 2014, 02:17 PM
Only the real 916 bumpers have the same width across the top.
I have never seen a reproduction that got it right, they all narrow in the middle.
Posted by: Eric_Shea Jun 1 2014, 04:07 PM
Harry, I believe Mike had the bolts when we received the engine. Perhaps he can shed some more light on the subject.
She came to life Wednesday. What's amazing about these more modern DME motronic beasts is... Two cranks and she was breathing fire. Once the hydraulic lifter came back to life the motor quieted down and ran like a champ.
Wednesday afternoon it was back out getting the chain housing covers resealed. No more drip, drip, drip. We had it ready to go back in by end of day Friday. With the lift and the new engine tranny table, extraction is a 1 hour job.
Posted by: Eric_Shea Aug 10 2014, 11:21 AM
All done. Back to Mike and off to run at Miller Motorsports Park tomorrow.
Still looking to sort out a window solution for the full Lexan panes.
The car ended up eating another turn signal switch and that was the last straw. The dash harness was the last stronghold of "interesting" wiring. We bit the bullet and went all in. From left to right across the dash. All switches, all gauges... everything was sorted and put back to factory condition. A few melted wires in the big rats nest appear to be the culprits.
We took a few pictures before we gave her back. Enjoy. 
Posted by: Larmo63 Aug 10 2014, 11:50 AM
Porsche 914 porn!!! Great looking cars, guys!!!
Bravo!!!!!!
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