FS: Uber Rare 914-6 Rear Calipers, CSOB's cover your eyes... Options

[Eric_Shea]

For sale is a pair of rare 914-6 calipers completely restored to their preeminent glory.

For those looking these days, it was probably six months before I stumbled upon these. They have become rarer than hens teeth as of late. What you get with a 914-6 caliper is:

* A slightly larger caliper that bolts on to any standard 914 rear arm.
* A larger 911 rear pad size.
* A pair of larger 38mm pistons (again, same as the 911 rear through 1983).
* A caliper that will allow you to run a larger front caliper and retain proper brake bias.
* A caliper that can easily be spaced to become the uber, uber rare 914-6/GT caliper... all with factory parts (inquire within).
* A caliper that uses stock handbrake cables.
* A true solution for those who want a little more brake in their 914.

As mentioned above, these have become quite rare lately. Part of the reason is the Ferrari rear caliper market has gone through the roof as well, dragging this caliper along with it. If you've been wanting a pair for your project or, or your original 6 calipers have gone missing... these are for you. Asking $1,595.00 plus $10.50 shipping to U.S. destinations. $26.55 shipping to Canad and Mexico. $43.23 to Europe and Asia.

[stugray]

Eric,

Very interesting.....

When I purchased my 914, I got a box of calipers.
One pair of fronts look as nice as that set, but have 38mm pistons in them.

I assumed that they were from a 911 and the PO was going to upgrade.
Perhaps I was wrong.....
Any distinguishing numbers or ways to identify them as 911 or 914-6?
I will send pictures once i get home.

I sent the pics to you once before, but the quality was poor.

Stu

[ewdysar]

Eric,

Very interesting.....

When I purchased my 914, I got a box of calipers.
One pair of fronts look as nice as that set, but have 38mm pistons in them.

I assumed that they were from a 911 and the PO was going to upgrade.
Perhaps I was wrong.....
Any distinguishing numbers or ways to identify them as 911 or 914-6?
I will send pictures once i get home.

I sent the pics to you once before, but the quality was poor.

Stu

If your loose calipers have 38mm pistons, they are most likely 911 rears, probably M calipers.

The stock 914 calipers had 42mm pistons in the front and 33mm pistons in the back. The piston areas were 1385 sq mm and 855 sq mm respectively. This gave the brakes a natural 61/39 bias towards the front brakes, that's 56% more power to the fronts than the backs.

The 914/6 and 911s had 48mm fronts and 38mm backs with areas of 1809 sq mm and 1134 sq mm. That worked out to a natural 61/39 bias towards the front brakes, weird huh. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

If you use 48mm fronts (911) with 33mm backs (stock 914) your brake bias shifts to 68/32 which puts 112% more stopping power to the fronts compared to the backs. That makes the rears largely ineffective. This matches what 914 owners have observed ever since they started upgrading their brakes.

So if you want to use the better 911 48mm front brakes, your best bet is to find 38mm rears. If you want to retain your stock e-brake setup, that narrows your choices to 914-6 (non-vented) or 914-6GT (vented). You can also do slight modifications to Ferrari 308 rears (also vented) and they'll work the same. The regular 914-6 calipers can be spaced for vented rotors

The problem is that all of these 38mm rear calipers with cable e-brakes are almost impossible to find. But wait, there is beautifully restored set available right now, right in this thread.

So if you're thinking about 911 fronts, well balanced brakes and keeping your 914 style e-brake, now is your chance. These opportunities only come up a couple of times a year.