PMB Coachwerks #009, The Orange Beast Options

[Eric_Shea]

Meet PMB Coachwerks #009. Kelly Thorson’s 3.2 Twin Plug “Animal”. A beast refined yet, untamed. Kelly came to us with a dream and a vision of the 914-6 he always wanted. Today, he took the keys to the finished product.





Again, an owners vision creates the masterpiece. It’s easy to think “all 914’s are the same” especially when you stick a later model big six in a wide body chassis but, it’s the little things, the details, that really make a build and, they tend to make an awesome “dream car”.





So what do we have here? Excess, that’s what. Where do you want to start? How about the engine? That’s the heart of the matter and the embodiment of “excess”. When the car came to us it basically had a stock 3.2 Carrera motor. It had its issues and, when we finally got it apart, it was just in the nick of time. A rocker arm shaft nut was laying in the head. Off to the Professor it went. Twin Plug, Mod 906 Cams, High Compression Pistons, all topped off with a state of the art Rasant fuel injection system feeding PMO throttle bodies. She breaths through a modified set of M&B Specialties stainless heat exchangers that have been opened up to 3” throughout. The sound is intoxicating.





A 914/901 transmission with a Rennshift console, balsa wood knob and CFR shift linkage make it really precise and notchie. No wheelies allowed in first gear with this motor but, 2nd, 3rd and 4th are simply heaven (5th is the period at the end of the sentence as you watch another victim disappear in the rear view mirror).

Boxster brakes, Porterfield pads, Tarett Sway bar, Elephant bushings and Bilstein shocks and inserts down below. 7&8” Fuchs with a 944 offset in the rear. Love that combo.

Wide body metal flares, custom GT cooler opening in a chromed steel front bumper. Getty GT front hood and positive stripes but... our favorite feature is the new rear valance with dual 3” sport tips exiting through the valance for a subtle touch reminiscent of the original 914-6.








Inside Kelly selected custom leather GT seats with embroidered orange 914 silhouette’s. The same silhouettes adorn the custom 10k tach. Radio delete because the symphony is 6” behind your seat! A leather dash and full on 914-6 left hand key and steering column will leave the purists running to the VIN to do a double take.









Some of the more dramatic touches reside where most wont see them. Jaws drop when he opens the trunks. Custom diamond pleated covers adorn both trunks with, of course, orange stitching to match the classic Signal Orange paint. Dig deeper and you’ll find the custom oil cooler shroud that Mark DeBernardi developed when Kelly first got the car.













We feel truly blessed to have been able to put this one together for one of the nicest guys on the planet. Kelly’s been a 914 guy through and through for decades and this is the culmination of his dreams over the years. Gorgeous? Yes! Handles like a dream? Yep. Fast? Ummmmm... hell yeah!

[Craigers17]

A huge thanks to Eric and Sam and the team at PMB for making this happen.

Thanks also for all of the kind words about the car!

As far as the question with the fiberglass hood and stock latch mechanism. I drove it at high speeds through heavy winds and had zero issues, of course the fitment on this is everything, I can imagine if the hood did not fit well it could catch some air and have an issue.

It’s was a great adventure to drive this thing 1500 miles across the Southwest. I highly recommend a long drive in these cars.

Wow! Beautiful Car! If that first picture was a poster, I would definitely buy one!

[siverson]

Sweet! Nice work.

-Steve

[campbellcj]

The Getty lids I have - which are fantastic - can be seen visibly flexing on the track at-speed. Other drivers have even commented about it.

[veltror]

Absolutely spiffing sir !

[Eric_Shea]

Very nice Eric!

I also think that this front oil cooler ducting is absolutely the most elegant, best looking, best executed and functional method out there. Very “factory” looking (assuming you have no desire to replicate the quick and dirty factory GT race car method)

Bravo!

Gonna do a kit?

100% agree, I was going to do a rear cooler in my conversion but I'd do this one in a flash if it were a kit at a reasonable price.
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We do have a kit for the GT hood prop. Those are $379.00

We will not have a kit for McMarks oil cooler setup. This unit has gone through some changes over the years and, is "extremely" expensive to build out properly. It is a true work of art and a key defining feature of this build. I still get goosebumps when I peel back that trunk board. It originally had a small Setrab cooler installed that was being taxed by the 3.2 twin plug motor. It also had four fans in the exits which actually impeded the hot air escape a little. Our latest rendition tried to stay true to Marks masterpiece while adding a larger cooler and improving the flow.

Please don't do a rear cooler.

Thanks for all of the comments. Kelly, those pictures are epic 914 gold! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

[ValcoOscar]

Just exceptional work!!!! Congrats to Kelly, and the entire build team at PMB.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/drunk.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drunk.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/drunk.gif)

Absolute stunner (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Oscar