If a 6 was a nine or a 4 was a 6 Options

[RickS]

Had been a fan of 914s since my first ride in my cousin Lisa’s stripper 4 back in 72. The pale blue was so cool, with body color bumpers and chrome hub caps. But what really impressed me was the top which came off. The interior was so spartan it was striking. Not to mention siting practically on the ground. The only option the car had was an AM radio, sans push buttons. She had to twist button to get her stations. Since I was driving a 67 bug, this low slung hidden headlighted beauty with that familiar engine sound right behind my head was immediately filed in the “must own” department. Then she took me for a drive and I was blown away by its supernatural cornering ability. And compared to the bug, the 914 felt so much faster, probably because it was the lowest I had ever sat. In retrospect, even though she drove the car conservatively, it was great fun cornering. The thing was just so much more exciting than the bug would ever be even with big carbs and an extractor.

Fast forward 40 years and I had a 73 911 I picked up in LA for chump change. It had a shot 2nd Gear synchro and numerous problems, like terrible compression. While visiting it at the car hospital after it nearly caught fire, another customer had a 72 914 which was converted to a 6 with a 2.7 RS spec MFI just like the fabled 911 RSs. Had a beautifuly integrated front oil cooler and upgraded race seats a MoMo wheel and 5 lug Fuch conversion. He offered to take me for a drive which would have made me a chump for refusing. It was a gorgeous signal Orange with the rear fenders slightly massaged to fit 7” 15s. The car was stunning. Then he took me for the ride of my life. The 6 took off like it had been torched. With additional mods to the 2.7 it ran to 60 in 5 seconds flat. It just felt fast and with a dual exhaust sport muffler, it sounded intoxicatingly quick. After he gracefully power slid the car through the third corner using the limited slip and shooting out the exit, I HAD TO OWN one of these. It was the most exhilarating ride I had ever had in a German car.

Two years later while a friend of mine was repainting my 73 911 at his house he showed me a silver 71 914 4 converted to a 2.0 by the original owner sitting on his back patio under tarps. He was the second owner. The car was straight and had no rust issues since they had been previously addressed you the original owner, who I didn’t realize, worked as general service manager at the shop who had worked on the 911. He asked me if I would be interested in taking it for a spin since it had been sitting for 6 months and needed some exercise. How could I refuse? After a few pumps to get gas to the twin Webbers it immediately roared to life. We took it out and since it had a tail shifter, shifting was dicey if not black magic to the unaccustomed. After a few missed shifts I made it through all five gears and started enjoying myself. A half hour passed in a blink and we rolled it up to his house. He asked me if I liked it and might be interested in getting it off his patio and into my garage. The clever dude set the hook and reeled me in. Now how to get the wife to accept a second Porsche? He offered, “Tell her you bought it for her! It worked with my wife but she never drives it.” So the deal was done a couple of days later and the silver four was mine, eh... hers.

Brought the surprise home, and she asked what was the deal with the 914. I told her, congrats on her newish 914. I thought she would enjoy a fun summer car which didn’t need a thing. She had a big smile and said, “Fat chance that car is for me, I know you always wanted one is this your lame excuse for buying one. Enjoy Your new car as long as I can drive it from time to time.” And then she smiled.



After driving the 2.0 which owner 1. (Mike) converted from a 1.7 and added four lug Fuchs, for a year and enjoying the car for what it was, I still couldn’t shake the ride I had in the 2.7 RS spec car. So the transformation had to begin. The first thing to change was swapping the 901 tail shifter to a side shift. Real men might drive tail shifters but I wanted the same feel as the 911 which was so direct and predictable. The conversion was done at Redmond European with the former owner, who is one of the nicest guys you would ever meet, looking on. What a huge improvement getting rid of the spoon in the bowl shifter.

I had always like the 5 lug Fuchs look on the 6s and so went for that conversion next. Sourced two 15x6s and already had an extra set of 15x7s, so I was set. Found all the parts needed for the conversion using the WTB section in Pelican and had them refurbished. Then the slippery slope grabbed. Since polybronze was the rage and the suspension was off, I upgraded to Elephant Racing’s complete Street-Track setup. European Autowerk in Fall City did the install of the full suspension kit and 5 lug conversion. But while everything was apart, why not upgrade the brakes with a larger master cylinder and early 911S front calipers? Found a set on the Early 911S Registry that needed a rebuild but had no pitting. So those went on too. Now I had the sheep in wolf’s clothing.



Took the car after that on a PCA fun run and kept up with the newer cars through the corners with no drama. The straights was a whole other matter. One guy in a Boxster asked me during a rest break how I managed to keep up and I remembered saying the twisties were easy since the car felt like it was on rails, but on the straights I had to pedal like he!! since people were asking if the car was a 6 I started feeling like a fraud. After 2 years of pinching pennies, my friend Bernie of European Autowerk said he had a spare 3 liter case a customer just walked away from. I told him it was time for the conversion to put the wolf into the sheep. He built it up stock with the exception for ditching the CIS for new Webbers.




Since he is an expert in 914-6s and owned 2 real ones as well as a real GT, there was no doubt he was the guy. He had the following real 6 parts, heat exchangers, engine tin and oil tank. It took 6 months for the transformation including adding a chassis stiffening kit and what came out what he proclaimed to be “a torque monster” and was he ever right. The car screamed and made the right 911 noises. No more posser and no problem keeping up with my R Gruppe friends 911s, turbos not withstanding.



Added a front oil cooler after the 3 liter was having cooling issues which uses the front grills and a modification to the lower valence for air intake. Also added a GT style double engine grill to aid in cooling. That did the trick. It ran as cool as it looked. On the exterior I blacked out the aftermarket PORSCHE rear panel and added a 914-6 badge sourced from a vendor on World.