Suby-engined rustoration, 23-Mar-2021 update: new tires & wheels Options

[strawman]

Thanks for the kind words, it means a lot to me. We had to postpone Ma's planned memorial and ash-scattering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I think about her everyday, which makes me appreciate friends-n-family even more than ever.

Charlie, while the pan holds a half-quart less, I have added 3 quarts capacity with the Accusump. My oil gauge showed no elevation in temps even when flogging it up the canyons, on the dyno, or at its sole solo race. I'm willing to add an oil cooler in the future if hotter summer temps suggest it is necessary.

[lierofox]

Mike Pokrajac... are they any relation to a Nick Pokrajac by chance?

[strawman]

Wow, it has been another six months since I last updated. Long-n-short of it is that the new engine rips. I had a lot of fun putting on the 800 miles break-in miles, although I finally added the rear window to reduce in-cabin noise (the Tial turbo blow-off valve is right behind my head!).

First pic is of the initial dyno pulls on the new engine. It is running premium gas in this pull, but it is completely set up for E85. As shown, it achieved 302hp at 6,079 RPMs and 334 ft/lbs torque at 4,112 RPMs. E85 helps cool combustion and allows higher boost levels, so I can't wait to see how E85 feels. That'll come over the winter.



Next up is a pic of my beast behind my trusty old Suburban at a PCA autocross on August 15 at Santa Maria Airport.



The first two runs were a battle for me to get traction, but the third run was a good one. However, I heard a weird clunk when shifting and pulled over to my pit area to get a closer look. Yup, I found the next weakest link...

[strawman]

I completed hashed the transaxle crossmember -- I could move the trans up/down about two inches with my bare hands. So I hooked the car back up to the Suburban and pulled it home to get a closer look and to plan for the repair. First, I removed the drivetrain (I'm getting too good at this (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) ), and quickly realized that starting over would be better than trying to fix it.

First two pics show how the spot welds pulled through, followed by the gap between the crossmember and the trunk floor. Final pic is how badly cracked it was when pushed back up.










So I built a jig to locate the replacement mounts. I used the factory holes near the lower rear rail pinch welds for the fore-aft, and then triangulated it off holes in my modified rear firewall. You can see where I used sheet metal screws to cinch up the crossmember to the trunk floor. I hadn't yet drilled out the two holes for each trans mount when I snapped the pictures.







To provide a good solid basis, I used 2' x 4' by 0.120" wall rectangular tubing for the lateral. I already have the GT reinforcement kit welded in, but I needed to extend it back about four inches toward the rear to provide a strong base onto which to weld the new lateral tube. I used 2" x 2" by 0.120" wall for the the vertical standoffs, and angle iron to provide the mounting faces for the transmission mounts. I ended up using URO HD engine mounts, since the mounting holes were a little more favorable. They're also dirt-cheap and well-regarded. You can also see the patches I've welded-in to close it up; I still need to finish up some other patches and to seal everything up.







After a 13-hour slog to get it ready for an autocross the next day, it was running again. Everything bolted right back in (phew!) but I was dead-dog tired. After only four hours of sleep, I drove off to the race. However, apparently I did not secure one of the two air-to-water intercooler hoses correctly, and I rubbed through a hole after my second run. I could have attempted a heroic fix (a 3/8" Craftsman deep socket looked like it would work!), but I was frankly exhausted. So I parked it. I fixed the hose in the next few days and have enjoyed hammering on the car these past couple of months. Best of all, the car ran great during WCR 2020.

[76-914]

That's one Hell of a Crack Jeff. I wonder if we'll being seeing more of those with the increase in torque on these cars? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[rmarx]

I got a ride in that beast at WCR2020. That thing is fast!

[Cairo94507]

I was behind Jeff and his wife as they got on the freeway- it was a smooth left turn, wide onramp and Jeff "got up in it" a bit and it was smoking the tires as it was drifting around the turn....very impressive and sounded great too. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[strawman]

I wonder if we'll being seeing more of those with the increase in torque on these cars? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Missed you at WCR this year Kent! But I sure hope you guys don't also experience the same failure. I neglected to mention that the factory crossmember was rotting a bit from the inside-out; nothing you could see from the trunk or underside, but certainly patina'ed deeply on the inside.

The fix is not for the faint of heart: it was a beeotch getting the curves at the outer ends of the new crossmember just right. I used two 18" pieces as template "mules" and then welded them together using a couple pieces of scrap angle iron to connect them just to make sure one piece would fit back in. Then I traced the compound end angles onto a single piece before cutting and cajoling it into place. I'm sure I spent 25 hours in mocking up the jig, cutting out the old pieces, devising the vertical standoffs, and welding in the crossmember... does not count removing and reinstalling the drivetrain!

What's gonna break next (IMG:style_emoticons/default/confused24.gif)

Geoff

[strawman]

I was behind Jeff and his wife as they got on the freeway- it was a smooth left turn, wide onramp and Jeff "got up in it" a bit and it was smoking the tires as it was drifting around the turn....very impressive and sounded great too. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Yeah, that caused an "upholstery cone" on the passenger seat! Nancy screamed at first and then bellowed with laughter for a few miles. It was nice meeting you and your brother at WCR2020. Your car truly deserved best in show!!!

[strawman]

Long time without an update; much of my time lately has been getting my new-to-me 1975 914 "garage find" running.

I took my Suby-powered Beast to Guy Ober at SGS Motorsports in San Luis Obispo today to check my alignment and corner balance it. Turns out my string box alignment was pretty close on the front, while the back was actually toed out a bit. We also discovered that I need more camber up front. As a reminder, I'm running raised (by 30mm; see posts #84 & #93) spindles on 911 Bilstein Sport struts, 911 alloy front crossmember with 18.8mm torsion bars, along with Tarrett camber/caster plates and Tarrett sway bar, and Elephant polybronze bushings. However, Guy could only get -0.6 degrees on the left side and -0.4 on the right side. So I plan to install a pair of de-cambered ball joints to pick up another -0.75 degrees.

The rear has Ground Control coilover sleeves on Bilstein dampers with 250 in/lb Eibach springs and Elephant polybronze bushings. The settings remain at -1.1 degrees on the left side and -1.0 on the right side, with zero shims on either side. Toe is set at 0 degrees front and rear, since the Beast is mainly used for autocross and backroad fun.

With a half-tank of gas and 160 pounds in the driver seat, my car weighs 2,077 pounds. Guy was able to corner balance it within 1%. Note that I essentially have no interior (only two Miata seats, seat belts, and some gauges), no side windows, no carpet, no door panels, no engine lid, etc. I also have no front bumper, although the 914Werks flat tow bracket is installed; the rear bumper is steel but with no bumper top, and no valances. Surprisingly, the front is 886 pounds, while the rear is 1,191 -- this 42.7% front / 57.3% rear is almost 911 taildragger territory. Guy recommends trying to get more front bias to more optimally balance it.

On the short drive back to my office the car seemed to exhibit less dartiness; the former rear toe-out made it a little twitchy, I guess. I'm running a Vapor Trails Vettes club autocross on March 13 at the Santa Maria Airport venue, so I'll get a chance to see how the corner balancing and new alignment really works. I've been avoiding true autocross tires in order to get a truer feel of the car without masking my mistakes with stickies. I'm currently running Dunlop Direzza tires -- 225/45-16 rear and 205/50-16 front, but they're due for replacement relatively soon.

[Mike Bellis]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif)

Very cool. I need to do this.

[strawman]

A quick update on tires: I participated in a Vapor Trails Vettes autocross on March 13 (the day after I got my first Moderna vaccination shot! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif) ), and realized that my tires are toast. I've competed in nine autocrosses on these tires, as well as about 3k street miles since I installed them in February 2017. The bottom line is that I could not put power down (tires broke loose in 2nd and 3rd gears), and I ended up spinning out on my last run heading into last chicane... not counting five cones I picked up in the previous six runs. In short, they were GREASY despite having a lot of tread remaining.

The old wheels are 3-piece racing BBS Motorsports E52s measuring 9"x16" in rear and 8"x16" in front. Backspacing is 5" both in rear and front. The worn-out tires are Dunlop Direzza StarSpec IIs measuring 225/45-16 in rear (23.5" diameter, 10" overall width and 8.25" tread width) and 205/50-16 in front (23.75" diameter, 9" width, and 7.5" tread width). With this setup, in the rear I had 1-1/8" clearance to the inner "frame" (including thickness of welded-in GT kit) on the driver side and 1-1/4" on the passenger side; both sides had 3/8" clearance to the lip of my steel GT flares. I use one 21mm 944 spacer for the front to help widen the track; plenty of clearance to the strut tube.

Due to my increased power, and the improved braking and suspension, I can generate a lot more acceleration/deceleration than the old 200 treadwear Direzzas could accommodate. And finding wider tires in a 16" diameter is nearly impossible without going to R-compounds or very expensive Pirellis made specifically for old 930s. But I don't want R-comps until I fully sort the car (and can trust it). In short, it is my belief that stickies hide poor handling and technique.

So I could either re-barrel the BBS wheels to be 17-inchers for a ton of money, or just try out another set of factory Porsche wheels. For the time being, I went the latter route: I picked up a set of used 17" Boxster twists that included worn out tires (255/40-17 and 205/50-17) that helped me decide which new tire sizes to buy. The rear Boxster wheels are 8.5"x17" with 7" backspacing, and fronts are 7"x17" with 6-5/8" backspacing. I already have LONG racing studs, so adding spacers isn't a problem.

I then had Tire Rack deliver a set of new 200 treadwear Kumho V730 tires to my house in 255/40-17 and 225/45-17. They are slightly taller (24-3/4" rear and 24-5/8" front), which should help with gearing since I'm geared a little low with my 3.90:1 Suby Outback "Phase II" transaxle. I used 36mm spacers in the rear and 49mm spacers in the front, and clearance is about perfect.

The Boxster wheels are HEAVY compared to my BBS racing wheels -- each wheel/tire combo went from 38.2 lbs. to 48.4 lbs. in the rear, and from 36.4 to 43.2 in the front! Although my car has plenty of power, I'm wondering how much impact the extra unsprung weight will have on handling. My next autocross in April 10, so I'll report back afterward.

Below are pics of my tire changer and balancer, as well as the tires mounted up. I spent a lot of time cleaning the wheels, including scraping off the old remnants of tires and weights -- something that doesn't happen at your average tire shop. I neglected to add pics on the car, but needless to say I can/should lower it (and need to re-corner balance it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) ). Oh well, I need to install the decambered ball joints that I picked up from Rebel Racing Products anyway!







Interesting side note: Clint from Rebel was at the VTV autox with his damn cool 911R tribute car, and said he had the ball joints in stock and I should stop by his shop to pick them up on Monday. It turns out that I can see his new shop from my backyard! That sort of proximity is dangerous to my wallet...

Last picture shows the diameter difference between the old and new rear tires.

[Cairo94507]

Looking forward to see how those changes work out Jeff. I like the Boxster twist wheels. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[strawman]

A quick update: the new tires are great! I have run two autocrosses with them: the PCA Central Coast Section event on June 5, and the Vapor Trail Vette's event on June 26. I came in 13th overall (out of 69) at the PCA event, and actually won the Open B1 class at the VTV event (despite locking up the front tires several times, I came in 5th overall). Here's a picture of my car on course.



Yup, The Beast is ugly, but even the high-dollar car owners want to know "what's in there?"

I also I removed the harness bar from my green 914, and installed it and 4-point belts in The Beast -- which really helps keep me planted in the seat while on course.

I need to update my brake pads, and potentially transition to an adjustable proportioning valve. I'll give Eric a call...

[strawman]

Wow, it's been almost 3 years since my last update. The biggest change is what I discovered after I finally figured out why the car braked unpredictably during autocross runs. I was usually competitive (usually in top 15 of ~65 cars) at local PCA and Vapor Trail Vettes autocrosses, but I was frustrated by its behavior at the limit: I kept locking up the front tires and the car "crab-walked" under extreme braking (more correctly, on the hairy edge of spinning!).

I worked with brake guru and all around nice guy Eric Shea to first restore my alloy S-calipers, and then rebuild and incrementally adjust my rear brake "pressure valve." I also installed new Porterfield brake pads, and new rubber brake lines. Still locking 'em up. I noticed a slight drip from my aftermarket 19mm master cylinder, so I bought a "correct" German one from Eric. When I went to install it, that is where the AHA moment occurred... when I built this car, I plumbed the left front MC outlet to the left front caliper, but I mistakenly swapped the rear output and the front right output! After correcting this dumbass mistake, I'm now consistently in the top 5 or 10 finishers in 2023.

I also enjoyed a great track day at Laguna Seca last August with PCA. Yes, my car still looks like a POS, but I passed a lot of nicer-looking and "faster" modern cars.

In another post, I talked about the mostly stock 1975 914 we bought for my wife to drive (The Beast sorta scares her!). We heard Pete Stout talk about the uniqueness and groundbreaking design elements of the 914 at the 2020 WCR, and Nancy insisted we buy a stock one. She really enjoyed driving it during the 2021 WCR, and we flat-towed it up to OR for the 2022 WCR to co-drive it around the PNW. We also towed it to the Red Rocks Classic in Utah in 2022. The car was formerly autocrossed here on the Central Coast in the 1990s by both a former GPR mechanic and the woman from whom we bought it.

Since then, I bought a whole trove of Porsche parts from Bill Chadwick’s estate last September. It included a running but not completed Subaru EG33-powered narrow bodied 1975 914, a 1974 914 parts car, five T4 engines, six 901 transaxles, and four trailer loads of 911, 912 and 914 parts. I'll finish up the EG33 car and sell it this summer. I cannot quit daydreaming about building the parts car into a Safari 914...

My other project is doing an upright conversion of a GA 2.0 T4 engine that I'll shoehorn into a 1956 VW Euro Oval Beetle. I'm putting it on a 1974 VW IRS pan, on which I've narrowed the front beam 2" (with adusters) for the CBP disc brake conversion (with 2.5" raised spindles) and I've narrowed the rear trailing arms 1" per side so that wheels fit correctly inside the slightly narrower Oval body. I'm also wrapping up a 5-speed 901 transmission conversion based on a ring/pinion-flipped 914 tailshifter. For induction, I've adapted Honda VFR800 motorcycle throttle bodies, and I'm using a Dub Shop crank-fire setup and Microsquirt ECU. I'm hoping to get this car up-n-running before year's end.

Next weekend is the first autocross of the year. Time to beat up on some Corvettes!!!

[tygaboy]

Great to get an update! I've been wondering what you've been up to. Congrats on sorting the braking issue, too. Hope to see both again soon.