Rebuilding a 1.7, Want to rebuild my 1.7, need as much help as I can get Options

[barnfind9141972]

Hi everyone, given how awesome this site is and the wealth of knowledge I’d like to do what seems like the best option for me and that is get my 914 on the road and keep it on the road. Need some help, advice, how to’s, anything that could help me build the motor. I’m mechanically inclined, I’ve built an engine before on a 2.5 Nissan Sentra (i know dark times before) but only did the easy stuff like assemble after a machinist put the crank and rods in. I’ve been restoring in the garage for about a month or so and although the engine “ran” when parked 20 years ago it seems like the right time to rebuild. What parts should I use, any good videos to watch, anything to read, how can an average guy like me split the case open and handle the rebuild step by step while killing time in the garage? Open to suggestions on displacement, fuel delivery, places for machine work, any suggestions and even sarcasm are accepted. Big fan of Ian Karr so have been watching his videos, just waiting for the final release of his engine build for more insight Thanks everyone! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif)

[RestoReese]

So I am in the process of completing a restoration with my teenage son. I too am mechanically inclined by never rebuilt an engine from scratch. These engines are a breeze to dismantle and reassemble, although I didn't break open the case when I learned the engine on my 1971 only had 65k original miles. I know this because I had the alternator and starter motors rebuilt and the alternator was original and the brushes were only 1/2 worn.

I used this as a guide - http://www.ephotomotion.com/914engine/index01.html.

And make sure you take a lot of pictures before of every corner of the car and engine, tranny, etc. Don't think you are taking too many, more is better. Label every part and store them in containers by category or locations (e.g. Funk, Rear lights, etc.). Put the bolts, nuts, washers, parts and label. Label, label , label.

I stripped my car to bare metal looking for any signs of rust. I recommend you get your car sand blasted if you do this, I spent way too much time with a high speed buffer and paint strip attachment which made a pink powdery mess everywhere. Use metal etch prep and epoxy primer immediately or you will be fighting flash rust..that is a curse. One epoxy primed you can then take your time with things like body work, part rebuilding.

Get a cheap sand blast cabinet to strip your parts to metal and then prime and paint - I just learned that Por15 topcoat is cheap compared to powder coating - it's hard as nails. I was trying to stay as true to color everywhere and was using SEM and Wurth paint.

And I would stay with the fuel injection..but I wanted to keep car stock. I have heard differing opinions but the FI from what I have read is amazing when working properly. New fuel lines, vacuum hoses, and rebuilt injectors (google mr injector) and you can be back up and running easily. Also, you can get your relay board rebuilt for ~$150 which will eliminate potential gremlins.

For parts - Stoddard, 914 Rubber, Auto Atlanta, Ebay are great places to find parts. if you remove parts expect to replace rubber items they break or dissolve if they were original. You can find NOS or good used parts if you want to keep car original..just will take time and patience.

[barnfind9141972]

So I am in the process of completing a restoration with my teenage son. I too am mechanically inclined by never rebuilt an engine from scratch. These engines are a breeze to dismantle and reassemble, although I didn't break open the case when I learned the engine on my 1971 only had 65k original miles. I know this because I had the alternator and starter motors rebuilt and the alternator was original and the brushes were only 1/2 worn.

I used this as a guide - http://www.ephotomotion.com/914engine/index01.html.

And make sure you take a lot of pictures before of every corner of the car and engine, tranny, etc. Don't think you are taking too many, more is better. Label every part and store them in containers by category or locations (e.g. Funk, Rear lights, etc.). Put the bolts, nuts, washers, parts and label. Label, label , label.

I stripped my car to bare metal looking for any signs of rust. I recommend you get your car sand blasted if you do this, I spent way too much time with a high speed buffer and paint strip attachment which made a pink powdery mess everywhere. Use metal etch prep and epoxy primer immediately or you will be fighting flash rust..that is a curse. One epoxy primed you can then take your time with things like body work, part rebuilding.

Get a cheap sand blast cabinet to strip your parts to metal and then prime and paint - I just learned that Por15 topcoat is cheap compared to powder coating - it's hard as nails. I was trying to stay as true to color everywhere and was using SEM and Wurth paint.

And I would stay with the fuel injection..but I wanted to keep car stock. I have heard differing opinions but the FI from what I have read is amazing when working properly. New fuel lines, vacuum hoses, and rebuilt injectors (google mr injector) and you can be back up and running easily. Also, you can get your relay board rebuilt for ~$150 which will eliminate potential gremlins.

For parts - Stoddard, 914 Rubber, Auto Atlanta, Ebay are great places to find parts. if you remove parts expect to replace rubber items they break or dissolve if they were original. You can find NOS or good used parts if you want to keep car original..just will take time and patience.

@restoreese thanks for all of the tips, hope yours turns out awesome!

[RestoReese]

@barnfind9141972 happy to answer questions if you have them. The forum here is great and lots of information, but you can also spend a lot of time trying to find exactly what you are looking for as well.

Trick - if you google 914world:[search terms here] google will return your search in the google response. Can be better than using the forum search since a lot of times you will have references to things deep in threads and will get a lot of returns.

Just remember, the more you remove the more you will find you have to replace. I didn't know this since I am a first timer, and so I learned I should have bought the 914 Rubber rubber kit instead of buying piecemeal - would have saved me $500-700 and all the added wait time for shipping.

And also treat every part as if it were crystal. 50 years can take its toll on metal, plastic, vinyl. Try soap and water first when cleaning. Use WD-40, purple power non diluted to remove built-up grease. Use rust remover for things that need it, but know that anything that is Zinc-chromium parts will have the chromium removed if left in there too long..minutes. If you use paint thinner it will not remove it (at least` from what I have seen).

It took me at least a full day to remove 50 years of build up on the tranny alone, and that was with a wire brush, and every possible degreaser you can imagine. I didn't paint it. Gibbs Oil to coat it and protect the metal going forward, and something I will have to do repeatedly. I didn't want to paint things if they weren't painted before trying to keep the car stock.

And I had a "rust free" car. I was lucky, it was 98% rust free but there was some. I had to remove the rear floor and bought a 1/2 pan and welded in a new one - 914 Restoration Design has every body panel you can imagine.

A few other easy things you can do to make a huge improvement - rebuild your own brakes (yes you can). https://www.pmbperformance.com/914brake.html and buy their brake rebuild parts. Cheap and easy just need some time/patience to remove the pistons. Get new bushings for your pedal cluster and transmission linkage - again easy to do. Replace tranny fluid..drain and fill (Swepco 201 Gear Oil, 80/90). Search forum for DrEvil - he is the transmission god on this site and will help.

And have learned one more important lesson over the past few weeks. Many of the parts are shared with VW, so you can search the VW parts sites for similar part numbers and may find them way cheaper (sometimes). If it is bosch originally, there is usually a VW part number that matches.

Last, I figured out my engine start gremlins last night after trying to start for a week. a couple of wires incorrectly plugged into the wrong thing, and an electronic ignition that need to be reset to the proper gap. The FI engine fired within 1 second of trying to start it and idled at 850 almost imediately. Clean your wire harness terminals with contact cleaner (auto parts store), and if the wires are in good shape, and nice hoses (Auto Atlanta sells both vacuum and fuel hose kits), your FI will run like a champ.

Good luck and don't hesitate to PM me. I need to give back to this forum since I took a lot from it.