Another 914-6 GT Tribute Project Options

[Tom1394racing]

After having enjoyed several 911’s over the past 40 years, I decided about a year ago that my next project would be a 914-6 GT Tribute car. I had been thinking for some time about a mid-engine open car but the Boxster is just not my cup of tea. I am more of a 70’s air cooled hot rod type and I love my ’73 Signal Orange 911 RSR tribute car. So a 914-6 GT seemed like an obvious choice. It ticked all my boxes and I have always admired the ‘70’s GT race cars.

My friends at Auto Associates in Canton, CT knew I was considering a 914-6 GT project so when a customer’s ’73 914 2.0 became available there last fall we put it up on their lift, took a close look and deemed it an acceptable starting point. The project plan is to follow the same process I have used on my RSR and my ‘70E restoration projects. I strip the car in my home shop, send the shell to Auto Associates for the metal work, chassis stiffening and paint. The painted shell comes back to me and I do the mechanical work and reassembly.

My plan is not to do a 100% accurate GT tribute but rather to build a car that looks, sounds and drives like a street friendly GT. I am not planning on any serious track or autocross but more of a fun spirited street hot rod. I know there is a ton of expertise and experience on this forum so I will be looking for some sage advice as I document the build in this thread. So here are my thoughts:

Exterior
GT flares front and rear. I will likely leave the decision of metal vs FG to Auto Associates. I would like the car to be as light as is practical. I have FG flares on my RSR and they have held up very well over the 15 years since the original restoration. I am also planning to do the lightweight, balsa reinforced front and rear trunk lids. I also would like to do the GT style double grill engine cover. Not sure if anyone makes these or if I will have Auto Associates fabricate one from my existing cover. I will go with the hood pins front and bungees rear for lid closure. Not sure whether to go with the motor operated headlights or if the cable operated system is reliable enough. I do not plan to do a lot of night driving. For wheels, I am thinking Minilites on the rear and Fuchs on the front. I also want to keep the removable top as open air driving is one of my key objectives. I am liking Mexico Blue for the color.

Interior
I plan to go with a 911 steering column and LHS 911 ignition switch as well as 911 turn signal, wiper switches and clamshell. I am also thinking of a reproduction 911 style hockey puck steering wheel. Door panels would be the GT style with strap operated pulls for door opening. I am also thinking of a pair of GTS Classic vintage seats perhaps the LeMans series. Gauges will mimic the GT type.

Drivetrain
I have a 3.0 L SC long block that I plan to use as a basis for power. I am thinking 9.5 CR with ModS type cams and a twin plug distributor. I am also toying with the idea of EFI. I am thinking 200-225 HP. I will stick with the 901 gearbox and the special 215 mm 9 bolt flywheel. I would use 911 output stubs, Sway Away free floating axles, and 911 stubs axles & hubs. I will use a front cooler and oil plumbing similar to the GT. Not sure which option to take with regard to the motor mounts.

Suspension
Other than 911 3.5” caliper spaced front struts, and 911 front hubs, I have not given the suspension much thought as yet. I do not want the car to be so stiff and jarring that it knocks my fillings out on the pothole strewn roads here in CT. That said, I also do not want the car to roll and lean like my stock ‘70E. I like the stock type of front and rear roll bars, maybe a little bigger than the stock size. I am thinking early 911S Aluminum calipers in the front. No sure about the rear calipers. I like the 15” Michelin TB’s for tires.

Chassis Stiffening
Like all 914’s this one is not rust free. After the rust repairs, I am planning to have Auto Associates install the chassis stiffening kits for the front torsion bar area, sills and rear suspension including the rear trailing arms. I am also planning on a weld-in roll bar with diagonals tied into the door sills that will allow for reasonably easy entry and exit. I want the chassis to be as stiff as possible yet still allow for the removable Targa roof.

Well…That is the current plan. I am very interested in suggestions and input from those of you who have been down this road before me. I plan to post progress with photos as I go forward and I look forward to all your comments.

[Alain V.]

Time for an update on my GT project. After a long delay while waiting to clear garage space, I sold my 1970 911E restoration and moved the 914 from the basement to the garage and onto my lift. The car is now stripped to a bare shell. After consulting with Ken (body shop manager & co-owner) at Auto Associates, we have decided to send the shell out to be dipped, stripped and E-coated prior to starting the chassis restoration at Auto Associates.

Ken recommended a shop in Livonia, MI that does a multi step process consisting of:

1. Hot tank cleaning dip
2. Pressure wash to remove all dirt, gunk and paint
3. Acid dip to dissolve all rust
4. Neutralizing dip to stop the acid process
5. Epoxy primer for rust protection

The hot tank cleaning dip will dissolve anything that is not steel on the shell. This would include the longitudinal heater tubes. So we have decided to cut out the inner longs prior to the dipping and then replace the heater tubes and the longs as part of the chassis restoration. This should give us a chassis that is completely devoid of any rust and is also protected against any further rusting.

It's too bad I can't get service like that around Vancouver BC. I was quoted $17,000 for the strip job alone. There doesn't even seem to be any shops left doing chassis sized media blasting here either. Getting a chassis across the US boarder is a whole-nother issue too and don't need to get black listed as I have a lot of work states side.

I'm doing the next best, I figure. I'm going to muriatic acid treat it at home. Setting up sprayers and wands to get into those tough spots between panel and through the longs. After that's done I'll bust out my water blaster system to strip the exterior panels to uncover any other creative body work that might be lurking. Still need to figure out a spray system to get epoxy primer back into those places once done.

You might want to look into a product called "Rust 911". I used it on my project. I hung a cheap tarp under the car and fed a submersible pump in a plastic tote to pump the fluid in varius spots on my tub.
It worked pretty good, but it is time consuming. see post #44 on my link
My Webpage

[gereed75]

rust 911 appears to be a chemically engineered phosphoric based product.

[-JR-]

JR, not sure what you are hoping to accomplish spraying muriatic acid (HCl) on your car. It will not strip paint or any other typical automotive coating. It could remove rust but it will most likely cause more damage than it will prevent or remove. It is also a very corrosive material to healthy steel not to mention living tissue.

Actually the whole term " acid stripping" is a bad misnomer. Immersion paint striping is actually done in alkaline solutions, not acidic ones.

Most rust removers are based on phosphoric acid. It is much less aggressive on clean steel (and human tissue), has some preference for attack on iron oxide and leaves a phosphate coating on clean steel that provides some flash rust protection and enhances paint adhesion. It does not remove coatings including oils and greases.

Not a chemist (maybe you are) but have a lot of real world experience using organic acids and metals and.... I have stayed in a Holiday Inn Express.

Don't want to hijack the thread, but the the hope would be to eliminate and neutralize corrosion in areas that I don't want to cut open. The idea would not be to leave it on the metal though, it's a whole process. I've restored many Triumphs before, if you want to go down the rust rabbit hole. heh

All kidding aside the muriatic acid should do nicely and if properly post treated and sealed will be as close to new as I can get.

Thanks for the feedback!

[Tom1394racing]

The chassis has now completed the dipping/E-coat process. One of our fellow 914 World members was kind enough to drop by the shop in MI to snap a few pics. It will be shipped back to me in the next week or so. So far I am pleased with the overall process. More to come once I get it back home. Anyone who would like details on the shop, please PM me.

[mepstein]

I just talked to Neil the other day. Our cars might come home together.

[Tom1394racing]

Yes Mark...I spoke to Neil this afternoon.

[mepstein]

We had to take your car off the truck to get to mine. So it’s touched ground in Landenberg PA for a moment. Then back on the truck.

Had to pull mine up my hill to get it into the garage.

[Tom1394racing]

Mine is back home as well. I am pretty happy with the overall process. Car looks really clean but now all the nasty sins have been exposed.

[Tom1394racing]

Here are some examples of the nasty hidden sins that will be corrected by Auto Associates

[Tom1394racing]

After the extensive rust repair, the GT conversion punch list for Auto Associates looks like this:

1. Longitudinal stiffening -inner-longitudinal-stiffening-kit

2. Front sway bar reinforcement

3. Chassis stiffening - GT-chassis-stiffening-kit

4. 914-6 bulkhead motor mount

5. Rear suspension pivot point reinforcement

6. Front cooler ducting & cooler mount brackets

7. GT style roll bar with sill diagonals

8. Bulkhead access panel

9. Steel GT flares

10. Fiberglass/Balsa reinforced F&R lids

11. Through holes for oil tank & oil cooler lines

12. Modify front lid and gas tank for through lid gas fill

13. Firewall seatbelt anchors

14. Oil catch tank holding bracket in rear trunk

[mepstein]

The dip and e-coat make the good metal look really clean and the bad metal look terrible. I’m sure it will all look great when you are done. At least you didn’t not have to worry about flash rust while waiting on paint.
We replaced a lot of body panels on my car but there are still some touch ups before paint.

[Tom1394racing]

Update - The car was delivered to Auto Associates last week along with the chassis stiffening kits and bulkhead motor mount from Mad Dog. First up will be rust repair. This will be followed the GT chassis stiffening and GT mods with the exception of body panels and flares. The plan is for the car to come back to me for mechanical and electrical reassembly before installation of the doors and flares and final paint. Ken (co-owner and Body Shop Manager) would prefer to have wheels and tires mounted to properly install the flares. He also prefers to have the chassis weighted with gearbox and engine to set the door gaps.

[Tom1394racing]

The rust repair has started with removal of the rusted firewall, 4 cyl engine mounts and the improper repairs to the hell hole area. Luckily, Ken was able to source a NOS replacement firewall panel.

[Cairo94507]

Oh, this is going to be fun to watch. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Tom1394racing]

So the plan for the car is as follows:

Engine
3.2 Short Stroke based on a '78 SC long block
10.5 CR, 98 mm Mahle Motorsport P&C set
JB Racing twin plug dizzy
DC 60 cams
PMO 46 Carbs
Ben Mcfarland heat exchangers and oil tank
Mocal front cooler with Patrick Motorsports front cooling duct

Gearbox & Clutch
Rebuilt stock 914 side shift with Aluminum intermediate plate
Kennedy Engineering 915/901 clutch conversion kit

Front Suspension
Late model 911 Bilstein struts
911 front a-arms
19 mm Sway Away torsion bars
Bilstein HD shocks
Stock 16 mm front sway bar
Elephant Racing rubber bushings
914 Steel front crossmember
Early 911S front calipers
911 vented discs

Rear Suspension
Ground Control adjustable rear coil overs
150 lb Eibach springs
Bilstein HD shocks
Elephant Racing rubber bushings
Stock 914 calipers
911 non-vented discs
Sway Away custom axles with 108 mm 911 CV's, hubs and stub shafts

Wheels & Tires
Front - Minilite 7X15 with Michelin TB 15 18/60R15 tires
Rear - Minilite 8X15 with Michelin TB15 23/62HR15 tires

Cockpit
911 steering column with 911 switches
911 ignition switch
Custom 3-way oil temp/press/fuel level gauge
380 mm hockey puck steering wheel
GTS Classic Lemans seats

Color
I have been wrestling with different color options. I had settled on Lizard Green (2019 GT3 color). Then this week I saw a new Speed Yellow Cayman GT4. So for now the color will be Speed yellow.

[mepstein]

Looks like a great combo.
Maybe think about M calipers on back with 911 e-brakes and tangerine conversion kit. Not very pricey, especially with your parts supply and would compliment the front brakes.

[infraredcalvin]

Looks like a great combo.
Maybe think about M calipers on back with 911 e-brakes and tangerine conversion kit. Not very pricey, especially with your parts supply and would compliment the front brakes.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Or get 914-6 calipers, keep the 914 e brake and get the larger caliper pistons 38 mm, same as m calipers.

[Tom1394racing]

Looks like a great combo.
Maybe think about M calipers on back with 911 e-brakes and tangerine conversion kit. Not very pricey, especially with your parts supply and would compliment the front brakes.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Or get 914-6 calipers, keep the 914 e brake and get the larger caliper pistons 38 mm, same as m calipers.

Great suggestions on rear brakes. I am not familiar with the Tangerine kit. I would imagine 914-6 calipers would be tough to find.

Since my trailing arms have already been powder coated, my 914-4 calipers are finishing up restoration at PMB and I already have the 911 non-vented rotors that have been turned by 3 mm, I am inclined to keep that setup. Since the car will be primary street driven, other than the visual and cool factor, how much downside is there to the stock 914-4 calipers?

[Cairo94507]

Wow- that 3.2 combo is going to produce a very nice engine that should pull strong to 7K easily.

[Dion]

Looks to be a formidable machine. Best of luck. Will be following.