Well my v8 conversion has been sitting since september of 2009. I had the passenger side suspension ear cracked & ready to completely detatch. Luckily I caught it before that happened. So I jacked it up & pulled the drivetrain to fix. Like 2 weeks after I got my LE back from paint. V8 got put on hold for multiple reasons. Well thanks to my Buddy Ian who came & welded in my new ear. Plus the CFR reinforcement plate & ear to firewall bar.

I rebuilt my tranny at the PNW clinic last month. I'll be getting it bolted to the motor in the morning. Then the motor get's put back in . Hopefully I still have all the little pieces handy . Really should be pretty straight forward. Although I do need to add a brace by the master cylinder. There has to be a little to much flex when I push on the clutch/brake. I keep pulling my lines out of the top of my master cylinder. Just enough that I get a leak. Once I put it back in it is fine for a few weeks. Then does it again. So I am going to add a brace there so I won't have that flex. If anyone has a pic of doing this I'd love to see it

Jamie,
I wish you the best, you have always showed up at the WCR's since 2008 and have been hosed. You will prevail this year with an awsome car and be the shinning star !!!! See you in 2 weeks.

LOL! Hosed is funny as my cooling issues then. Although it was more radiator than hose I guess. Actually WCR 2009 in Lancaster I made it through the whole weekend with no problems. Car was runnng great all summer. It was that damn suspension ear that got me. Such is the life of a 914 owner

Looking forward to the morning! Lets get that motor in!!

wish I could have stayed longer and helped more.....

Ian grinding off 3 years of dust:

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just stopping to get fuel on the way home from Jamie's.... the motor is in!!! Thanks Morgan for the help u came at the perfect time AND thanks for my taking me on my first ride in a 914
I'm sure Jamie will follow up with some pictures... and some annoying mice news...

Yeah so it was a productive day. We got the tranny bolted to the motor. Morgan showed up right about then & helped us get it in place. I used Renegade's tranny adapter mounts. It moves the drivetrain back 1 & 1/2 inches. By doing that we needed to change my motor mounts. Ian brought some tubing & measured everything with it where it needed to sit. Then cut & welded my new mount.
While he was doing that I started pulling some interior stuff. Mainly my cap behind the back pad. The downside of the Buick 215 v8 is it is very deep. The water pump comes way into the cab. Suprising how even that inch & a half made a big difference. I also needed a new accelerator cable. Forgot about that but luckily Morgan had a spare in his car (Thanks ) what a good 914 owner. He carries spares of everything . I'll get your replacement this week dude.
We stopped for my pizza for lunch. Morgan took Ian for a ride in his 914. Then Morgan had to head out. Thanks again for the help
Then it was back to welding the motor mount. Had it tacked in place. Pulled it out to finish welding it. Kind of a pain to get it in the engine bay. Really turned out great.
Threw some primer on it. One more piece to weld. Almost forgot I needed my shift rod extended an inch & a half too. So we did that while the primer dried. The bolted up the motor mount which fit perfectly. Ian had to head home then. I got the driver side cv hooked up. Then bolted up the passenger side trailing arm. After that I called it a night. It was a great 914 work day but I am wiped.

Oh yeah I can't forget what Ian was nice enough to notice. @#%^%& mice got to wires in by the gas tank. Quite a few chewed through. Luckily there is a fair amount of slack there. I should be able to cut & patch each wire one at a time. Yipee

Huge thanks to both Morgan & Ian for their help today. You guys rock

Wow man, great progress for a single day. Sorry to hear about the mice. Had a similar problem this winter.

Once I sell this house, I'll have my foundry back and I promise my first project is a tranny adapter to mate the Buick v8 to the audi 01#/boxster tranny. Only thing I can think that would improve your build.

For those who have had this issue with mice & wires. What is the best way to fix. Just cut out the bad section if there is enough wire & reconnect. If so do you uuse butt end connectors or sauter & the shrink platic stuff to cover?

I like to solder and shrink wrap. May as well do it right. If you're too lazy for that, use marine splices. They keep the oxidization out. Available at your local boat shop.

Heading back out to hook up more stuff

Damn I hate when I can't find stuff. One problem after having your car on stands so long. Reinstalled the passenger side trailing arm & hooking everything up. Missing the small SS brake line that runs from the the trailing arm up to the body. I have a car I could swipe it off of if I get desperate. I just know it is in an old ice cream tub I keep just for throwing parts in. I actually put all the pieces in the one tub & marked it. I just can't find that damn tub . Didn't help that I had a move mixed in there. Moving shop to shop didn't help my allready lacking organizational skills

Congrats on the progress Jamie and a pox on the mice that chewed your wires up (solder em, you'll never have to wonder). And kudos to Ian and Morgan for the helping hands.

That 215 looks right at home in there and with that bumpout into the cockpit you have the extra advantage of being able to do a tuneup as you drive. Make sure we get some video of the first start. Those engines sound sooooo sweet.

Tom

Pulled my oil pan off tonight as it was leaking a bit. I've got the new cork one to put back on. Should I use a little RTV gasket along with it?

I also have a few wires in my engine bay I am not so sure about. I did get my radiator lines all hooked up. I plan to fire it up saturday by lunch. I'm missing my ebrake post/sleve hook up deals. I hate my ebrake though so I think I'll just zip tie them up. Stinking early ebrake setup with the hinge. Forget it's on most the time the way it just sits back down after setting. I'll change it later to the late handle.

I can't wait to actually put the rear wheels back on & have it on all fours again. It hasn't been on 4 wheels in 20 months . Well that & a good wash. Talk about filthy . I'll wait until it's actually running & driving to get to excited though. It should be saturday without to much trouble. Still knowing my luck

Jamie,

Was nice meeting. Can't believe you've gotten all that done since I stopped Tuesday! Are you still going to WCR on Thursday? If so what time are you leaving?

I might decide to forsake golf at Salem and caravan with you if that's okay?

Lew

For engines that use a cork or rubber gasket, I always like to "glue" the gasket to the pan using RTV so that it stays in place when reinstalling the pan to the engine block. I avoid RTV on the engine block side of the gasket, though, since it is a bitch to remove. I have used a light coating of plain old grease on the engine block side of the gasket to ensure it moves around without tearing as I'm tightening it. That method also works well with water pumps, too. YMMV.

Makes sense! Thanks for the tip as I'll be putting it back on tonight. I plan to fire it up tommorow. So getting that set tonight & oil back in is one less thing I have to screw with in the morning

I'm not sure on the time we will leave thursday. Hopefully somewhere around 10 or so. Let's touch base earlier in the week. I am working monday but off the rest of the week. So I'll be spending time hopefully getting all the registration crap set & last minute WCR stuff. We are basically set but there are always a few things that come up last minute

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Hey JRust,

Glad to hear you're finishing up your V8 project. I'd be interested in seeing photos of you engine bay as I didn't think there was enough room around the V8 for the firewall bracing tube.

In my V8 car, I've gone all hydraulic masters, including the clutch and experienced the same belly pan flexing problem. My fix was installing a 3/16" sheet as a base for the master cylinders. Problem cured!

Here are a few of the tubing. It really runs straigt forward to the wall from the ear. So mine don't really intrude with the motor at all.

On wires I could use some insight. I have a few I am unsure of. I have 2 solid red wires that run along with a solid yellow which goes to the alternator. I didn't think they connected to the alternator too. They are a little longer than yellow. I don't think they go up to the positive on the battery either. Pics are below.

I also have 3 wires up by my coil. I think it is bypassed with other wires there. I don't see any place it would plug into. Shooting myself for not taking pictures before I took it out . I had marked the ones I though I might have trouble with. Apparantly not well enough as there is no tape sayign what went where

Made some progress today. I finally got all my wiring sorted with the motor. I had that a month ago actually. Just forgot to update. After different issues with my water pump I had it rebuilt. I got it back from the rebuilders after WCR. Talk about cheap it was like $55. Once I installed that I decided to redo my water lines where they connect to the motor. Aftere a few trips to find the right flex hose I am set there.

Next I added a switch to one of my radiator fans. I wanted to be able to turn one on manually. Decent theory but I messed up on one of the wired when I plugged them back into the relay. The fan I didn't mess with power wire fried from the relay back into my cab . Came very close to that being very serious. Luckily I caught it early & pulled the positive terminal off the battery. Fizzled out with just the one wire being very melted. Other than freaking me out it turned out okay.

Okay so today I rewired my radiator fans with new relay's. I also added a 30amp inline fuse to each fan. Spent some time burping the radiator. I think I got most the air out. I'll need to drive it some before I really know. Good news was I ran it plenty. My fans kicked on like they are supposed to at 190 degrees. My temp never got over 190 & I ran it a good 20 minutes. It was inside my shop & plenty hot today. So there wasn't much air flow there for the radiator. I feel pretty good about the cooling as it sits now. Now I am working on my new firewall cap. When I got the car i had this crappy little fiberglass cap. I rigged up a decent metal one but just a temporary one. When I pulled the motor out I knew I would be doing a better one. I have a replacement firewall section for it. Even though I moved my drivetrain back an inch & a half. It still comes into the cab. The drivers side will fit in the stock spot where the seat sits. It's when it get's to the middle that the water pump stick forward. Also the alternator sits behind the passenger seat. The part needs to sit out maybe 2 inches. So I plan to cut along the rib in the center section. Extend the center out 5" about dead center. I'll post a pic of the cut out in a while. I plan to reuse the firewall section I cut out. Just add a little metal to extend the section cut out.

I have a rear brake caliper leaking. So I need to rebuild it before I get to drive . Not a huge deal but I was hoping to take it out for a decent little drive today. That will have to wait

I just read thru the thread and it brings back memerys of all the little stuff i had to make when i did my V8. Almost makes me not want to pull it out.

Your work looks good. if you get north pm for a beer.


jcl

Well u know who to call for welding =) lol I still have all my gear at ur shop... and I still Ned to give u a welding 101 class.

Yeah maybe we need to clear out the back bay for your suby?

!!!!!!!!! Oh man I was trying to figure out where I could store it when it starts raining again!! That would be insanely cool!!

Nice progress.

For my fans I put in one of those automotive breakers, which is nice because you can be lazy and not have to replace fuses.

I have two of them for my dual fans...

I didn't even know those existed. If I go through fuses I will get some. Otherwise I will keep it like it is.

Spent some time this morning replacing the broked door handle. Put the new(used) one in. Then remembered my key wouldn't work with it. Took it back out & changed out tumblers until I got it right. Put it back in & lubed everything up good inside the door. Lock works great now! Put some new plastic barrier on the door. Out of time until later. I'll get the door panel back on & all the hardware.

I've got it running well & cooling like it should. Only problem I have now is my auto choke on the carb will not shut off. After it is warmed I push the lever down by hand & it idles fine. Until I touch the gas & the choke goes back on . Any ideas?

Is it an electric or thermal choke? Thermal spring chokes can be adjusted.
Matt

Is the engine really going to stick inside the firewall/cab of the car?

the wire needs a key on hot wire to make it work.

Yeah the water pump ont he front of a buick 215v8 really sticks out alot. If I went with a remote electric pump it would fix that problem. Just not going to mess with that now.

I sent my rear brake calipers off to Eric to get rebuilt. Otherwise I'd be out driving

Are you talking about the choke on the carb?

yes the electric choke needs a wire that is 12v with the key on

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=electric+ch...926&bih=495

Perfect Troy! I definately forgot to put that wire back on. I'll probably need to make one real quick. Easy enough . Thanks

Hey did you ever get those shocks & springs on your car? Hope they helped fix your saggy butt

the ass is tight and hard now.... thanks!

Wow that is wild. I have a Chevy 350 with remote mount water pump. When I was doing research, I never came across such and install. Is this something that is common.

Not as common as the 350 that is for sure. There are probably a half dozen on the world though. It is defiantely a different setup. It's best atribute is the all aluminum motor. They certainly aren't powerhouses. I would guestimate mine is in the 220-240hp range. Mine was pretty well built when I got it too. So the HP is fairly limited compared to a built 350. I am sitting just under 2200lbs with everything in place .

That's why many of the Chevy V8 conversions are LS1 engines now. All aluminum, factory fuel injection, modern engine computers, lots of HP, and no intrusion into the cabin firewall.

If I was starting from scratch, I would probably go that route. In the mean time, I'm doing realease 3 of my SBC V8, adding a 915 with 3.10 R&P and MAF fuel injection. With my aluminum heads from release 2, it's almost an LS1

If anything I will probably go with a suby. I'm doing a suby build in another car. I'll be happy with a 200hp non aspirated suby. I'm keeping my eyes open for an SVX to scavenge down the road. There is so much space in the engine bay with a suby in there. Especially just the 4cylinder I am doing know. There is at least a full foot in front of the motor to the firewall. Loved seeing all that room up there. Especially after dealing with my v8 that is so deep

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Hey Jrust,

Looks like great progress on your car! I was interested in a couple different approaches you took:
-Very clever to weld strengthening to the stock engine cross bar and adapt it to the Buick.
-You will LOVE the engine access via the cockpit, but I wondered why you chose that route rather than using a remote water pump. Is it because the distributor mounts in the same casting for the water pump?

BTW: I also had to deal with the FLEXY Footwell in my car. I installed Wilwood dual-masters + balance bar on the brakes and a hydraulic clutch master for the mammoth 930 clutch pressure. To keep the pedal from rocking & rolling, I had to add a 3/16" steel plate under them!

When you get to cooling, please think about a header tank just under the engine cover as I have in my car: it make filling and purging air TOO EASY.

Best of Luck,
Terry

Terry: I think the engine/firewall setup was done that way before he bought the car.
Regarding the flexy footwell, somebody on this board was making master cylinder braces that gave solid support to put an end to the flex. That one may not fit your dual Wilwoods but the concept might be worth looking at.

Thanks Terry. I do have a remote fill tank pretty much where yours is sitting. It just isn't showing in any of my pics in this thread. I feel as good on the cooling as I can without getting it out in stop & go traffic & 100+ degree weather. Which I won't hit much in Oregon anyway.

On the firewall I hate the setup. It was done in the late 80's with a plasma cutter. I had planned to get an remote electric pump setup for it. With that it will fit behind a stock firewall. It has just been off the road so long I didn't want to worry about it now. I will get back to doing it this winter if I don't decide to go with a different motor alltogether . I just want to drive the car again now

Hey Rand,

Good to know! I'm glad to see support parts coming available.
As for my car, I'm done with that issue and have just finished installing a Corvetter shifter to work my 930....MUCH better than the stock 914 shifter!

Best,
Terry

Hey JRust,

GOOD ON YOU! Too many conversion cars have no header and thus no room for expansion when cooling water heats up. Also purging air becomes a project.

I shoved a Camaro 31" X 19" Summit radiator in the nose of my car to cool my built 383. It works, with big fans for 100 deg.+ heat at Willow Springs Raceway in the SOCAL desert. However, it did take exhausting out through the hood. With your smaller (and lighter) engine (i.e. less heat energy) you should be in good shape with a modest radiator and fan (Don't forget that it gets into the 90's in summer up there in summer, just about the time the Indycars come to Portland).
BTW: Another thing I learned THE HARD WAY: even though our engines are water-cooled, 30 % of the cooling come from air over the block! I have an under-engine
spoiler to direct air up and OUT the engine cover grill.

If you have a wire-feed welder, you should be able to create a nice firewall with access plate. Even though my SBC fit behind the firewall, I eventually cut an access port to deal with hoses to my remote water pump, throttle cable, oil pressure sender connections , alternator belt tensioning and TIMING the engine. That's why I'm suggesting making a nice access hole. front access regardless of what approach you take can make life easier.

Keep up the great work!

Terry

Still deciding how I am going to make the firewall cap right now. Drivers firewall is fine in the stock spot. It's just the middle popout that & some behind the passenger seat that I need to make a piece for. Wish I had some skill with fiberglass. I'd build up what I need on the firewall in my spare car. The make a mold off of it. Shouldn't be that hard but it is a fairly large area to do with glass.

I bought renegade hybrids radiator. Very happy with their setup.

Hey Troy that wire did the trick. Probably to well as the choke hardly comes on at all now. Of course it was really hot so even though it hadn't been started in a week. It only stayed on choke for a few seconds. I'll screw with it more when I get my rear calipers back. Then I can log some drive time & do some fine tuning

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Hey JRust,

Don't let a little fiberglass work scare you....it's really very easy. Please see the fiberglass side scoops I made for my car. I had to makes molds and the whole bit.
A little time and there you are. It was my first try in doing this.

For your app, it will be even easier: lay on SEVERAL coats of mold release on your other car's firewall (rub on wax like a surfboard) and hang 2 layers of fiber glass on the whole thing. To keep in in place until it sets (15-20 minutes) you can either clamp the fiberglass in place or use magnets.

When the 2-layer piece is curred, it should be thick enough to hold it's shape. Remove the piece and then you can put it on a work table and build up enough layers for the desired finish thickness. Since the firewall will be covered by interior trim, you won't have to worry about a "perfect molded finish."

You might also take advantage of the opportunity to build more of a bulge by using a piece of WAXED foam or Papier-mâché for more room at the front of the engine.

Don't forget NEW should harness mounting points if you plan on racing seat belts.

The only bad news here is fiberglassing has gotten expensive. I would estimate that it will cost around $125 - $150 for the materials. However, if you can do the whole thing yourself, you will save big time over paying someone to weld in a metal firewall.

Best of luck,

Terry