Cairo's (Michael) 6 - Part 2, 3.2 coming out and '95 3.6 going in... Options

[mepstein]

Michael - Do you have 3 1/2” struts on the car?

[Van914]

Michael beautiful car!

[NARP74]

Bring something to drink. If you really want the full rollercoaster, read Part 1 first. See my signature for the link. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Sounds like a plan!

[Cairo94507]

@Mepstein Yes, 3.5".

[Cairo94507]

Time for an update to this Thread -

The brakes were just not performing up to my expectations. In fact, when John Holleran, (Holleran's Performance, Auburn) drove my car he said it was the worst braking 914 he had ever driven. Mind you, he has a '70 914-6 he has owned since he was 15 years old. He explained when we added the early S front calipers to the equation of the 914-6 GT rear calipers, we screwed up the system and the brake proportioning valve was no longer working like it was intended. He suggested Carrera front calipers, 24mm rotors and a 23mm M/C. He said you will not believe the braking you will have.

So, off came the early S calipers and rotors and on went a set of PMB rebuilt '88 Carrera front calipers and 24mm vented, drilled rotors. At the same time, we deleted the brake proportioning valve. We planned to replace the master cylinder but it was running late in shipping. We buttoned it up and the difference was significant. The 23mm M/C arrived and we installed it yesterday. OMG! What a difference in braking. The pedal is right at the top and the stopping is better than I had ever hoped or dreamed for a 51 year old car. I am beyond pleased with the brake re-do. John was absolutely right.

I had the Rennshifter in my car and it was always problematic, making shifting a chore. It was always tight/stiff. That caused me to actually listen to Jim (Banananose) and consider putting the stock shifter back in the car. That would also have then added bonus of allowing me to have the hand throttle back in the car. Yes, I have a 3.2 with Motronic injection, so the hand throttle was not needed for starting. But it would be kind of a cruise control on the freeway when there was no traffic, right?

John actually looked at the entire shifting mechanism in my car and ended up replacing the rear shift rod with a new one he made, removing one of the joints. He then adjusted the RennShifter and told me to drive the car. It was a world of difference and shifted very nicely now. No tightness or fighting it at all. The problem, I was already wanting the stock shifter back in my car because I now did not like the larger base of the RennShifter for my otherwise pretty stock looking 914-6 interior.

So, I sourced a stock shifter, rebuilt by Brice Stone and in it went. It was then we discovered my pedal cluster had the wrong clutch pivot arm. I had one from a SC instead of a 914-6. So I contacted Bruce Stone and he sent me the correct arm. Installed and problem solved. I drove my car and it was like rowing a canoe- the shifter throw was so long from 1st to 2nd. So I sourced a new Weltmeister short-shift kit for a side-shifter and we installed that. The shifter arm was too short to be comfortable for me. Out it came and we cut the Weltmeister shift lever off and tig-welded the stock arm onto the Weltmeister short-shift kit and back in the car it went. Amazing! Now it looks 100% stock and yet it shifts very nicely with a short throw and I have the hand throttle back in the car. Well worth the effort.

Finally, as I now have about 7K miles on the car since it all went back together, I wanted to get it aligned again to make sure all was right. John recommended MSI in Roseville and said he is an old-school Porsche guy and knows these cars and how to align them correctly. So yesterday it went to Mark Stein, (MSI) and he aligned it. He found it to be a little off at all 4 corners, but not bad. He brought it right to where it needed to be. It now runs straight down the highway with no hands on the wheel and drives a lot better. Well worth doing.

I think I am now ready for WCR at the end of July. The only other item on my list, and it is purely aesthetic, is I am going to pull the Momo steering wheel hub off and shorten it about 1.25" to close the distance between the steering wheel rim and the turn-signal/wiper-arm stalks as I currently have about 3.5"- way too much. At the same time, I will send the 370mm Prototipo off to Dallas Customs to have it double wrapped in their high quality leather and complete that with black stitching and call that done.

OK, that is an update of what has been happening in the background on my car. It continues to run exceptionally well and just sounds amazing with Ben's (MB911) full exhaust system. If you have a 6 in your car and can get your hands on his exhaust, you will never regret it. Everyone comments on the sound when it fires up. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

What is in the pipeline for the future? Well, at the end of fall/early winter, we are probably going to drop the motor to address a rocker arm shaft making a little noise. Nothing alarming, but since we will be doing a valve adjustment, that is the time to address that.

Also, since my transaxle is still leaking about 4 drops when I park it, John is going to pull it apart, check the internals to make sure it is as it should be and then reseal it. He guarantees it will not leak once he puts it together. I hate oil leaks, so that is great.

Thanks for reading and following along on my build. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[tygaboy]

Michael - Thanks for the updates. It's interesting to me how much tweaking it actually takes to make the car "exactly what we want it to be". A worthy effort, to be sure.
I'm looking forward to WCR road-tripping with you!

[Dion]

Great update Michael. Glad the fine tuning went to your satisfaction to get it dialed in. Lots of work. Nice you have a reliable competent mechanic to turn to.
Enjoy !!

[Root_Werks]

Loving the end result! Lots of great pics.

[Cairo94507]

Thanks guys. Yeah, I had to "man-splain" it to my wife. She was like, "I don't understand, the car is brand new. Why is it not perfect?" I told her getting it all rebuilt/restored just got it to the driving/looking pretty stage. The final 10%, is getting it dialed-in for driving now that it is on the road getting shook out.

I did tell her now that the brakes and shifter are sorted, if she wanted to drive it, it is now ready. Of course I will be with her and it will be a deserted area....no curbs, trees, cars, trucks, people, animals, etc. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Thanks again to all who have contributed in any way to this build. I love my car and never take for granted that I am blessed to be able to own and drive her. I so much appreciate all of the camaraderie of this 914World crew and really enjoy getting together and talking with anyone about our passion. I am always blown away by the skills all of you have. We all know I did not build my car personally, but was so very fortunate to have been contacted by Jim to bring the car to him. That would have never happened without 914World.com and my being able to post my Thread about the build of my car. To me, Jim and Kent are Saint Jim and Saint Kent- or maybe they should be Knighted, Sir Jim and Sir Kent? This car would have never happened without them and I will forever be in their debt. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)

[eric9144]

I will send the 370mm Prototipo off to Dallas Customs to have it double wrapped in their high quality leather and complete that with black stitching and call that done.

Before and after pics if you can, interested to see how that comes out (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Glad you got the brakes and shifter sorted, those and the other little details are what make all the difference! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[Lucky9146]

Micheal
Thanks for posting and all the detail for us other 6 guys. Always good to have examples of what works to refer to.
Drive on (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/white914.jpg)

[Cairo94507]

I will post before (brand new 370 mm Prototipo) and after once recovered and returned. First I have to do the hub modification - hopefully, maybe, next week? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Shivers]

There are no appropriate adjectives left. You really have built something special, congratulations. I hope it is as fun as it looks. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[DRPHIL914]

@cairo94507
Michael,
Nice to see you are getting to where you want to be. I do have a question,
do you hvae any pictures of the Weltemister short shift modification, before/during/after?
I know the /4 is different thana /6, i have considered getting the Tangerine racing mod for tightening up the shifting, but a short shift was something i was going to look at as well, and those 2 things together might be the ultimate shifting upgrade for a 914/4 side shift.
Its funny your wife asked that as mine is always like, wait didnt you do that already? or why do you hve to do that or why is that not done i thought it was done ---- i just say they are never done. i am now having thoughts of upgrading from stock to something a bit better, but i really dont need to unless i get serious about doing more mountain driving or AX again.

Anyway if you have some pictures that would be cool!

[Cairo94507]

@DRPHIL914 - Sorry, I don't have any photos of the shifter modification. Not really sure there is a difference in the shift mechanism itself as long as you get the late Weltmeister kit for the side-shifter. We took the stock side-shifter 914 shifter and heated the base so the epoxy holding the shift lever (chrome part) came out. We then took the Weltmeister short shifter that came with the shifter base and cut the arm off at the base. We then tig-welded the stock arm onto the Weltmeister unit. The end result is a stock appearing shifter with the advantage of the Weltmeister short-shift kit. It really is a sweet combination. The stock rubber boot fits as stock. I should have grabbed photos. If you don't want the bulk in your interior of the West unit, which when we finally got it dialed in, was sweet, this is a good solution.

[mepstein]

I wonder why the S calipers didn’t work for you. The early 930’s used an S front and M rear and stopped an almost 3,000 pound car.

Though I’m glad to read that you found a combo that works right for you. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[mb911]

I wonder why the S calipers didn’t work for you. The early 930’s used an S front and M rear and stopped an almost 3,000 pound car.

Though I’m glad to read that you found a combo that works right for you. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

So the interesting thing there is that you should use the 24mm rotors with s calipers or the pistons extension is to far and can cause a soft pedal. ..


I run a 19mm mc, 24mm rotors, later s calipers, bias valve, stock rears and my car brakes very well.

I will say that John knows his stuff..

[Cairo94507]

Yeah, not a clue as I believed the set-up I had was "the set-up" to have great brakes. Regardless of why mine did not work that way, they sure do work now. John knows his stuff for sure.

I know some were concerned about the extra weight of the Carrera calipers and the 24mm disks, but my car is not a track/race car so that was not really a concern for me. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[infraredcalvin]

In the end it’s all about feel, sounds like you’re dialing in the car the way you like it, that’s awesome!

[gereed75]

Congrats Mike on getting things sorted

I did a Weltmiester short shifter with the Tangerine double bearing kit back at the shift console. I think that the Tangerine kit is the best thing you can do to improve shifting (and the driving experience) on the 901. The double bearing set up perfectly controls the motion of the shift shaft and translates it exactly to the motion that the shift actuator needs to shift.

Once thru the 1 -2 gate and into the H, it actually feels pretty precise!

Enjoy and drive safe.