Nditiz1's 2nd 914-6 conversion 1974 build thread, Back to work after the Rallye - oil tank is in Options

[nditiz1]

I figured since I finally started shelling out money I would begin a build thread. No set timeline in mind, maybe by the Sept ski roundtop swap meet??? I hate having a pcar down, BUT I have a Rallye and family trips coming up, plus boating season will be starting, just a lot of things going on. I may try to do some vids of the build as those are always helpful to me. Raw footage of me in boxers and flip-flops dropping an engine and trans is always a treat (IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif) ....Ok, enough blabbing on about life, down to the meat and potatoes.

1974 Ivory White 914. Going to assume it was a 1.8, by it not having fog lights. Idk, I just came up with that theory. "You know Nick, some of the 914s in 74 could have had the 2.0 without the appearance package" She's a basic B is what im trying to say. Too high of a vin in case you were wondering Jeff. Bought her off another world member, Don, down in Charlotte. It was sporting a 1.7 dual Carbs setup with 75/76 heat exchangers and a monza muffler. Black Forest racing did some rust repair years ago, back half of the floor pans. Anyway, I bought a one way ticket from Baltimore to Charlotte and drove her home. She made it eventually and I did not baby her.

Once home I began to go over everything. Rocking 8 spoke empi wheels, rear reflector bar, primer spray in some areas, cracked targa. She was a driver, but she was mine. I immediately began formulating what my plans were.

5 lug conversion
GT engine lid
Restore rear trunk to factory look, sorry not a reflector bar guy
Drop the 916 front and rear bumpers, not a 916 guy either
Redo seats
Add more gauges
The list continued

So I started to work on minor things, like a breather setup for the engine. During the trip 3/4 was blowing oil everywhere. Upon further inspection the 1/2 and oil fill were leading to atmosphere, soooooo the ground essentially. The hose on the 3/4 side didn't exist (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif) I upgraded the gauge lights with leds and swapped in a working odometer. I replaced the rear lenses with euro 914rubber ones - which are mediocre fit at best, big gaps. Removed several useless switches and wiring under the dash. If there's one thing im decent at it's the wiring in these old cars. While playing with the shifter in the garage, I lost all the gears. Jack up the rear, shift console cover full of oil - add that fix to the list - the cone screw came out, easy fix, all gears back.

Decided to do a minor tune-up with new plugs, and carb resetting. Don knew it wasn't right and I have tons of jets for webers. I began making adjustments. I did not however check the valves, I did the timing, not the valves, stupid me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) the last voyage I took her on, devastation hit a mile from my house. Kaboom down goes the valve and engine on cyl 3 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/hissyfit.gif)

So i circle the wagons deciding what to do, top end rebuild the 1.7 OR drop in a 6. I have a 3.0 on the test stand currently. That made it less of a challenge, but a lot of work is involved to get everything so that engine can drop in. Money, time, patience. I did it once before and made some mistakes that I hope to not make this time around. So join me on this journey....

The old for sale ad
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=372901

Current state of things:

[nditiz1]

Woot! The tank.

Got 1 of the 2 major hurdles completed - welding in the mount. Only other thing I need to weld is the engine bracket and should go just as well as this did. The other hurdle is cutting holes for the tank. Seems simple enough, but making sure you get it lined up and try not to tear up your $30 hole saw bit. Last time I did this I chose the wrong size so I had a goof hole. It all worked out but it was still an oof.

I almost screwed up welding the mount bracket. I had my wire speed set too low so when I went to fill the plugs it wasn't working correctly. Also I think I had the heat set too high. Anyway, I got it dialed in and things went as well as could be expected. I'm a "melti-glob" welder at best. The plug hole fill makes my novice skills seem somewhat passable, one reason why I like using this version of the mount.