So I take the 14 to work today. 40 miles each way. On the way home I hit a typical bump in the road at 70mph. BLAM!, SNAP! I heard a very loud metal breaking sound. The rear left corner of the car squatted 2 inches and the steering pulled to the right. I pulled over looked under the car from the rear I can't really see anything but I do notice the rear spring is now touching the unibody some. I popped the trucnk to see if I broke the top spring perch. Nope, looks good on top, nut is still tight on the shock top. I can't get a good look at the console yet. I'm afraid to jack it up until I get it into the garage on flat ground.

I know, I can just fix it by lowering the other 3 wheels. Then it will ride level.

So give it your best guess and I'll let you know who is the winner!

Click to view attachment

UPDATE! 6-26-10

Fixed it. The rears are Bilsteins HD. DAPO painted them shitty red. The clip for the spring perch was at the bottom of the shock still hanging on. The original grove the clip was in was worn and forced the clip to slip. I bead blasted the paint of the shocks, moved the clip to the next grove down and repainted the the appropriate yellow. So, the rear is 1/2 lower now and I lowered the front 3/4. Here is a pic of the ride height.

Click to view attachment

Lower shock bolt or suspension ear.

shock tower mount.

strut broke.

Sounds more like a lower spring perch or the lower shock strut &/or lower mounting bolt/tab - if not the perch, with the spring bottom now touching body framework?

... with the V-8 she's carrying, far more weight than the 914 was set-up for!
... & even more weight than the 2 factory custom 908 8-cyl. powered 914's for Porsche & Peich - which were lighter magnesium/aluminum alloy block/head motors, but they still had to beef up the entire rear suspensions to or beyond the racing 914-6GT specs.!

Cheers!

Cheap cast aluminum wheel adaptor.

(I'm not really guessing to be correct)

Left front tie rod bent.

Well...

The winner is.....

Not sure, but I do know what broke! The clip that holds the lower spring perch elevation. The clip is gone and the lower spring perch is now almost touching the lower shock mounting bolt. Now I need to figure out what kind of rear shocks I have and find a clip. Maybe I should go with a more adjustable setup. My shocks are red but that don't mean they're Koni's.

What's funny, my driveway is a small hill. hard to see in pictures. The weight bias shifted in the driveway, sending most/all the weight to the rear. The left side engine bar mounting bolt is almost touching the ground now, while the right side is more than 3 inches above the ground.

Anybody have some rear shocks?

Seen it before. Usually when people get the wrong threaded perches for their shocks.
If you have the threaded perches they must fit really tight over the shock.

If they even have a little wiggle room, they are the wrong size!
Andy

I don't have threaded perches. Just the simple multiple grooves, circlip and spring base. I'm not sure how hard it will be to source just the clip. It may be easyer to just go with new rear struts.

Mike,
Jeff Bowlsby has a set of rear shocks w/springs for $40. I don't know the details but I believe he lives near you as well. They're on his website.
Lennie

Me! ... maybe some others too - good guessers here abouts.

FYI - the older Koni Reds also have a stamped logo like this on mine from c. 1980 -
Click to view attachment

Yes, Jeff is pretty close to you. http://bowlsby.net/914/PartsFS/
... plus I saw some vintage Koni reds on evil-bay &/or TheSamba recently - if you want to source for the perch parts & assuming yours are Konis.

However, if they were worn or not heavy duty enough with the V8 in there, then you might want to bite the bullet & step up to a heavier duty new strut from either Koni or Bilstein (assuming that you also stepped up the spring rate in your V8 conversion already - otherwise that too). IIRC that someone put a Vette shock into a 914 rear housing for their V8 conversion, but not sure nor if it is a straight fit.

Good Luck!

Well, I have 930 Turbo suspension in front with green Bilstein's. The rear I'm unsure but the springs are 200lbs. I just know the rear has multiple groves to adjust the ride height. Both fron and rear are super stiff/harsh but the car was a race car before I bought it. The car has been lowering itself overnight and the engine bar is almost on the ground now. I looks cool that low but is undriveable.
I'll have a look for the Koni logo and we'll see. I'm thinking of Bilstein's for the rear to match the front.

Here is a side pic right and left. The left is much lower now...

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Does this mean you won't be in Sac. for dounuts on Saturday?

Never mind, I just read the update.

Here is the new ride height after the repair... see first post for details...

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

Nice! Time for bump steer and new alignment though.

I am fighting the urge to lower my car like that.