I am posting this for a friend that I 've known since 1990. He works for Joe Gibbs Racing as the manager of the transmision and rear end shop. He also builds VW transmisions, high quality cars and dune buggies on the side. Some of his work has been featured in VW magazines. He is very maticulous and detail oriented. He has to many projects going and has decided to give someone else the pleasure to continue this project. Here is his story......................
1971 - V8 PORSCHE 914
If put into the proper hands this is a very nice start to what could be the nicest V8 914 in the country. I’ve wanted to build one of these cars for 30 years but as life goes on priorities change and I’m putting this project up for sale. The original car came from Phoenix and is 100% totally rust free. Somebody had already cut the holes out for the radiator installation before I bought it which was actually a shame because this car was so clean it could have been turned into a concourse car but it was to late so I cleaned up what someone had started then started to build the ultimate Hot Rod. I know the asking price is a lot for a project but I’ve seen similar V8 cars on ebay recently that had over 30 bids at over $50,000 but didn’t meet the reserve price that wasn’t as nice as this car, there was another V8 car recently with a buy it now price of $60,000 that isn’t even close to what this car will be when its done. If you are seriously wanting to build one of these super cars you would be crazy to turn this one down.
CHASSIS
The chassis was designed with many different factors involved for strength and ergonomics. The center section is built from 1 ¾ x .095 DOM tubing, it is built for maximum head room yet the tubes still allow the top to go on and off, I prefer to not see the tubes while looking thru the car so they are tucked in to the A and B post about as close as you can get them. The top rear down bars are tied into the rear shock towers. The seat bar across the back is one piece and goes thru the hump in the firewall. The door bars are made for easier entry/exit and to clear the door latches and window cranks, if you wanted seriously to race the car you probably would want to add NASCAR type door bars later. Everywhere the tubes contact the original sheet metal there is a doubler plate installed to spread the load.
The font bumper and section is tied into the A post bars with 1 ½ x .090 DOM tube on the top and the shock towers are tied into the A post bars top and bottom. The stock sheet metal front firewall that supported the shock towers has been replaced with a carefully fit 1 ¾ DOM tube to still seal against the hood with some thin foam rubber if desired. The front suspension pick up points front and rear are both tied into the cage also with 1”DOM cross bracing.
The rear bumper and section are tied into the back of the center section top and bottom also with 1 ½ x .090 DOM tubing with 1” DOM cross bracing, the rear inside pick up points are also tied in to the cage with cross bracing. The rear shock towers are tied together with 1 ¾ DOM tubing with the center removable to allow the engine to be installed from the top with a conventional cherry picker instead of trying to put it up thru the bottom. The engine is also mounted with a shear plate in the back, this allows the engine to remain in the car while removing the transaxle, on all other conversions these have to be removed as a very heavy and awkward assembly.
ENGINE
The bottom end of the engine is basically a NASCAR SB2 that was dry sumped with the components put into a wet sump 350 block. The engine is all new or fresh and is now 340 cubic inches with a Sunny Bryant crankshaft, Carillo 6” connecting rods and Bill Miller pistons. The heads are spec series racing heads, roller cam and roller rockers. The engine has already been broken in on the dyno where it made 480 HP at 5,400 RPM and at 7,000 RPM it is still making over 400 HP so it has a very wide power band. It has a low profile intake manifold to fit under the stock sheet metal, the engine builder said with a taller intake it would make about 525 HP. It has NASCAR type down swooped headers leading into two super trap mufflers. It has a brand new belt driven water pump with -16 AN water hoses.
TRANSAXLE
Side shift 901 transaxle years in the making, I searched high and low to come up with the correct gear ratios for the V8. The original first gear has been removed before it removed itself so it is now a four speed with the following ratios:
First – 18/34 = 1.89 x 4.43 = 8.37 Final
Second – 23/29 = 1.26 x 4.43 = 5.58 Final
Third – 28/24 = .86 x 4.43 = 3.80 Final
Fourth – 32/19 = .59 x 4.43 = 2.61 Final
With these gears you would be turning 2400 at 70 MPH and the car would be capable of 180MPH. The Ring and Pinion has been polished and shot peened for strength. I’m sure you’ve seen the ads for a heavy duty intermediate housing, these are just aluminum to replace a stock magnesium one, these housings take all the load as the pinion is trying to push away from the ring gear under power, I paid a machine shop to write a CNC program and make some out of steel, there is one installed here. The stock 8mm bolts that hold down the pinion bearing have been replaced with 3/8 NAS aircraft bolts. There is not a differential alive that will stand up to the V8 power so I paid a machine shop to build me a couple of spools, there is one of these installed also, this means you will not have the inside tire lifting in the air going around a corner and taking power away from the drive tire, they will both drive at the same speed, this also means you will probably have to do some over steering with the throttle but that’s half the fun anyway.
BRAKES
The brakes are all new from a NASCAR short track car intended to stop 3,400lbs, this car with the V8 should end up around 2,000 to 2,100 lbs. The front rotors are 13 x 1 3/8 and have six piston Wilwood calipers. The rears are 12 1/2 x 1 ¼ and have Wilwood four piston calipers, all four rotors are already mounted but need to have the calipers fit and mounted. It has individual master cylinders for front and rear with a balance bar. All three (clutch, gas, brake) of the pedals are aluminum from a Reynard Indy car and are very light yet very strong, the pedals are about 80% mounted. With this power and brake package this car should go zero to a 100 and back to zero before most cars can reach 60
WHEELS
The wheels are off of a factory Porsche race team car, they are a three piece design with the factory Fuchs mounted between two halves, the fronts measure 9 x 16 and the rears are 12 x 16. The tires are usable but you would probably want to replace for high speed driving. I’ve heard to replicate these wheels would be around $10,000
SUSPENSION
Porsche 911 front K member installed, comes with new turbo tie rod ends and boots, new KYBstruts and shocks front and rear, new front wheel bearings and seals installed. The car has a front sway bar that has been mounted but not installed. The car has a custom rear sway bar also mounted.
BODY
The body is the most absolute rust free 914 body I’ve ever seen, I removed the original battery tray to relocate the battery but it still has the original shelf ender it with no deterioration, light surface rust only from tray removal. There is no rust at the bottom of the windshield or front gutters, the pans are solid with no rust. The hood and deck seams line up perfectly as do the doors. As a custom feature and to make it easier to access the engine bay area the rear deck lid and engine cover are connected and pivot from the back of the firewall on a tube frame. To fit around the roll cage the rear glass has been replaced with a two piece lighter Lexan piece. I do not have a glass windshield for this car but I was going to fit a lighter NASCAR Lexan front window instead, this will also be provided if you want. The car has fiberglass flares that already clear the large tires. Car has a rear bumper but not a front.
INTERIOR
Comes with a new pair of new carbon fiber seats. I was going to paint the whole interior and only make floor mat inserts to not scratch the paint so I do not have any of the stock interior carpet, seats, dash, panels or pieces at all. It does still have the removable Targa top. The top also still fits in the rear as it should.
NEEDS TO BE FINALIZED
Strip, media blast and paint color of your choice and reassemble
Mount brake calipers
Finish pedal installation, about 80% done
Mount radiator
Finish fuel cell installation
Plumb car for brakes and cooling lines
Throttle cable / linkage
Wire and gage panel
Interior of your choice
Mount seats and seat belts
Install glass or Lexan windows
Any questions you can call on cell 828 302 9964. Asking price is $20,000 and the car is located in Troutman NC 28166
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