Re-Conversion of a '70 914, Patching that Big V8 radiator cutout pt. 1 Options

[76-914]

Now remove the cradle from the car and place it upon the motor mounts. Be sure you have all the weld joints on the motor mounts completed at this stage. Place the cross member on the motor mount pieces and check that the cradle is parallel from to back with the engine. Once the cradle is leveled go-ahead and weld it to the motor mounts. It should look something like this once removed from the car.











Next up is the transmission carrier. To be continued...................

[flmont]

Man...That is so perfect !!

[76-914]

Man...That is so perfect !!

You jinxed me Frank! JK, I made a dumb assed mistake and corrections were in order so hence the hiatus. I left off thinking only the trans hanger was left to do. WRONG!
As I installed the clutch after placing the engine in the cradle I discovered the engine was not centered upon the cradle. I had also placed the reinforcement plate on the backside of the mount which would have acted as a scoop for dirt and grime. It should have been placed on the front side AND NOT welded to the tube on the bottom. That would have collected water and led to rust eventually (IMG:style_emoticons/default/WTF.gif) How in the Hell did I manage that. It was 1.5" off center. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) Quien es el burro? So I cut off the mounts to made new ones and I'm glad that I did. I had varied from my original design and encountered a mounting problem as a result. By mounting the U shaped saddles more closely together I took away the length needed for the slot required. The slot allows for the angle of the mounting bolt on the OEM motor mount . I could have mounted the rubber OEM mount on the cradle first then attached the OEM mount to the engine but since I was making another set I now placed the U saddles far enough apart to allow for the lengthening of the slot. In doing so I reduced the process for fabricating the saddles. If you've already cut the U saddles per my earlier description your alright. You just need to mount the OEM mount to the cradle before mounting the engine.
Looking at the pics below you will see that one 4x4 plate gives you all 4 saddles less cutting and end up being the correct length needed. It also gives a little more material for welding to the tube towards the top of the U.









Welded in place.



The brace correctly positioned facing the front and with a gap that will allow water/sludge to drain and not collect.








Braces in place.




Since we can't see inside the tube I added another element to avoid rusting on the inside. The Schroeder valve allowed me to air test my welds. If air can't seep out moisture cannot seep in. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) You'll need to drill 2 small hole in each arm where the cross brace welds to it in order to get a test on the entire cradle. The Schroeder valve will be removed and plugged later. I thought it could act as an "air tank" but there isn't enough volume to inflate a tire. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) Now back to where I left off before I discovered my (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sheeplove.gif) up. To be continued.................

[76-914]

And then there was this Heatwave........There went 3 weeks (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) . On the bright side the cradle is finished sans 2 weld joints and paint. I changed this cradle up a tiny wee bit. If you saw my other build thread you saw that I needed to make a cover in the trunk in order to cover the starter and the clutch slave cylinder. Well, not the entire slave just the actuator arm and the bleed screw. This is the cover on the black conversion.



After talking to Bob aka @BIGKAT83 I discovered there is another Subaru starter that is clocked differently thus avoiding a trunk cut for the starter solenoid. Order a starter for a 2002 Outback w/ the 4 cylinder and standard transmission. Thx Bob. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) I also decided to slide the engine forward 1" giving myself the needed clearance for the slave cylinder. I was dead set on the output flanges being centered with the wheel centers on the first conversion. But truthfully the 1" offset is not noticeable. As with the other conversion I cut the top off the actuator arm where the return spring clips on. It's not needed and gives a little more vertical clearance.

This pic show the clearance between the trunk floor and the starter.



One showing the clearance between the trunk and bleeder screw on the slave cylinder. Look closely and you'll see an 1/8" hole drilled into the trunk floor. This is to help locate a 1" access hole that I'll drill. It will receive a snap in plug to cover and allow me to bleed the slave w/o getting beneath the car.



These two show the arm cut down and the clearance.





There is a "whatchamacallit" that holds the steel tubing and Banjo bolt at the slave cylinder. I remove this and straighten the tube a bit. Then loosen the nut and flip it over the top of the transmission so that the flare nut is on the passenger side looking down. Anywhere in this general vicinity is good as it will tie into an AN-3 flex hose.





Roll up a paper towel and twist it into the transmission fill tube. It keeps crap out and shows you where to drill the "access hole". At some point I'll get lazy and abbreviate this as an "A Hole".



And later you have a place for the dipstick to easily pass through the trunk floor. A very small slit at the edge of the carpet is all that is needed. This pic is from the '73 914 conversion but as you can see there is room to relocate the hole 1" forward. Possibly avoiding a slit on the edge of the carpet. No big deal either way.

[76-914]

Oops. I didn't show any pics of the final cradle part. Not much to it but here it is. Just a 3" x 12" 3/16" plate with a stiffer welded to it and 3/4" .095 chromolly tubes holding it to the main cradle. Its just spot welded on the tubes but I'll finish those two welds before painting it. To be continued...................

[euro911]

Since you drilled holes for the Schroeder valves, you can pop them out & still shoot some Eastwood Internal Frame Coating in there (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-9964-1596391631.jpeg)

[914forme]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) or other coating of your choice.

Fluid Film or Boeing T9 would be my choice. But even paint would go a long way. I had a buddy who used to restore Sunbeam Tigers, Doug Jennings. He would take his left over epoxy primer before it setup, and just poor it into every hole he could find on the body, and then rotate it around slowly to make sure everything was covered.

Floor of his shop had a nice coverage of epoxy primer also, but he achieved the goal.

Or you can take the easy way out and if it holds pressurized air, it will hold vacuum, draw it down with a vacuum pump and never worry about it again, or at least as long as you have it. Depending on wall thickness, I doubt you would see significant internal rust that would cause a larger issue.

[ValcoOscar]

Kent-

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

I'm here for you if you decide to bead blast, epoxy paint or powdercoat. I can even stress relieve to ensure it doesn't twist over time.

LMK...

Oscar

[76-914]

Kent-

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

I'm here for you if you decide to bead blast, epoxy paint or powdercoat. I can even stress relieve to ensure it doesn't twist over time.

LMK...

Oscar

Thx Oscar. I just got back from Tractor supply with a qt of black. Wish I'd known about your ability to stress relive professionally. I relieved the weld joints w/ Oxy/Acy; the poor boy's way. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[76-914]

Since you drilled holes for the Schroeder valves, you can pop them out & still shoot some Eastwood Internal Frame Coating in there (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/post-9964-1596391631.jpeg)

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) or other coating of your choice.

Fluid Film or Boeing T9 would be my choice. But even paint would go a long way. I had a buddy who used to restore Sunbeam Tigers, Doug Jennings. He would take his left over epoxy primer before it setup, and just poor it into every hole he could find on the body, and then rotate it around slowly to make sure everything was covered.

Floor of his shop had a nice coverage of epoxy primer also, but he achieved the goal.

Or you can take the easy way out and if it holds pressurized air, it will hold vacuum, draw it down with a vacuum pump and never worry about it again, or at least as long as you have it. Depending on wall thickness, I doubt you would see significant internal rust that would cause a larger issue.

Good suggestions from the both of you. Here in this climate I should be OK au natural. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[76-914]

I did get it in primer this morning. Hopefully I can shoot a little paint before it becomes too hot tomorrow. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[76-914]

Dressed her up with a new coat this morning. I'll let it bake in the Sun for a few days before I saddle it back up.

[808 WRX]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif) Looking good! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[76-914]

Thx, They're like women."They all look good when you ain't feeding 'em"! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) Now back to our irregular non-scheduled program.

While Lady Drivetrain sits patiently in the corner awaiting her shiny cradle:



I wanted to get a better shot of the slave cylinder line that is straightened and moved to the psg side.



And this is the removed part that I referred to earlier as a Whatchamacallit.



Ans speaking to the transmission: If you plan to use a neutral safety switch, this is the one you'll need. Remove the old one which is N/O in neutral and replace it with this one which is N/C in neutral. Install it in series with the ground on the starter relay. I'll get into that later.



Also, I wanted some real numbers on how much gear oil is needed after converting the TY75 to front wheel drive. I'd heard 1 xtra qt but I'm going to find out. I took a 1 gal can, opened it up and sat the center differential some bearings and washers (which you can't see) on the bottom and this one short shaft with it's bearing then filled the can with used motor oil to a mark on the inside of the can. It is roughly the height of the center differential.











Then let it sit a few minutes so the bearings and other crevices could fill with oil.Next I removed the parts and let them begin to drip the oil back into the container.




Tomorrow AM I will measure how much additional oil it takes to fill it to that line. Then add the one shaft (pictured below) I couldn't fit with the other parts and add oil to another mark which I'll add above the old one. Once I've determined the additional volume that was required I'll measure the amount the nose cone held and subtract that amount. I'll probably discover that it is 1 qt. indeed and that I've managed to piss off a hour ,once again. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[76-914]

So, before the afternoon heat crept in I was able to knock out a few more items. First the pedal assembly was removed and I installed the adapter plate and MC on it.Much more to do on this later. I'll also get into a little more detail on the adapter plate.





Won't be needing this anymore.



Nor this.





After removing the mechanical clutch cable I inserted the AN3 Aeroquip hose, for the hydraulic clutch, in the clutch cable's old tube. To be continued................

[rmarx]

Great thread! Thank you for posting all the details. I am doing an EZ30d® and WRX 5 speed conversion
myself. What are you going to use for CV joints and half shafts?

Thank you.

Bob Marx

[76-914]

Sorry I'm late getting back to you @rmarx . Just got back yesterday from a 2000 mile trip to CO and back. I'll be using the 914 shafts with one 914 CV joint and one Subaru CV on each shaft. I cut the shaft down to the length I want then send them to Dutchman Axle (503-257-6604) to have the cut end re-splined for the Subaru CV. I should be detailing that sometime next week.

Now back to the pedal cluster conversion. First remove the roll pin from the clutch pedal.
Then slide the shaft out and remove the return spring from the shaft. It is on the opposite end of the shaft from the roll pin. Now reassemble the shaft and re-insert the roll pin.



This is where I differ from the last build. I am using the OEM fork and clip that previously attached to the clutch cable. Pictured below is the bolt I welded to the Honda master cylinder push rod. I determined where to cut the push rod by threading the bolt into the fork leaving myself room to adjust to or fro.I them drilled a very shallow hole in the head of the bolt and inserted the cut end of the push rod.













Next I cut the spot welds on the 2 bolts that are attached to the cluster which the brake master cylinder bolts to. They are too short once the adapter plate is added. There are 2 spot welds on each bolt. Using a Dremel tool you only need to cut the the better part of one spot weld on each bolt.



Then place an old socket over the bolt head and squeeze it in a vise until the other spot weld pops. Sometimes you can hammer them out but it's easier with a vise. Replace the old ones with new bolts that are 12-14mm longer than the old ones.






Finally you need to trim the accelerator pivot arm for clearance. See pic below.

[Steve]

Impressive skills Kent!! As Ferdinand said "nobody made the sports car I wanted, so I made it myself" or something like that....

[rnellums]

Great work Kent. When I rebuilt my pedal assembly I also added a new return spring for the clutch pedal to return it to upright.

Century spring PN TO-1026. I have about 10 spares. If your interested in one I’ll drop it in the mail!

[euro911]

You master fabricator, you (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)