Folks,

Readers Digest version of the car history - A '74 2 liter with all the options - stock FI, appearance group, front and rear sway bars, on Fuchs but have the original Mahles, MSD & Pertronix ignition, SS heat exchangers, fuel pump relocated to front, etc. I purchased the car in early '08 and have been driving it almost daily since then. While I did tune up's, valve adjustments, and fixed some basic electrical issues, I knew the car needed a bit of work to fix oil leaks, and later a bad rear wheel bearing. Not sure how many miles on engine but best guess is 70K on rebuild paid for by past owner. He "lost" the receipts for this but have plenty that came with the car for a lot of other work.

So, 2 weeks ago, my girlfriend suggested we attend the RRC in Ouray, CO this year. She asked if I could get the car ready and of course I said "Sure!" Only takes time and money, right? With that go ahead, I've been ordering parts like a mad man and have the car up on jackstands. I thought I would start a thread and post pictures so all of you can follow along....and to keep me motivated. Nothing like public humiliation for a motivator!

So here are the first batch of pictures as she sits right now. I did a little bit of work last night - drained oil, removed engine lid, removed blower hoses.

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The car was purchased from a guy who lived off of a dirt road. If you think this is dirty, you should have seen it when I bought it. 100% caked on red Colorado dirt.

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Since I have to replace the rear wheel bearings, I figured I would change the trailing arm bushings too. I ordered the PolyBronze set from Elephant Racing. Here are the before pics of the rear suspension

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And.....since we're doing all this stuff, the GF suggested we freshen-up the interior too. I'll post up pics next along with a shopping list of all that is being replaced.

Hope you enjoy and please feel free to comment

So what do I plan to do with this “freshen-up”? Bottom line is that a lot of worn out parts need to be replaced and the rest need to be cleaned, painted or whatever. I’ve been ordering parts from all the usual suspects and have tried to support our member vendors when I could. Here is the list of items to be replaced, refreshed, painted, and the vendor if applicable:

Interior and Trim –

New carpet, speaker housings, and headliner – 914 Appearance and Performance
Replace broken speedo with refurbished one – ebay purchase
Install AMCO center console (replacing stock one) purchased from member majkos (Thanks Kev!)
Install dash cap to cover cracked dash pad – ebay purchase
Install gauge trim rings from member spunone (Thanks Paul, great product and service!)
Replace broken fog light lens and replace fog light seals (News gaskets from PMB, thanks Eric!)

Rear Suspension –

Install new rear wheel bearings from PMB (Thanks again Eric!)
Install new Polybronze trailing arm bearings from Elephant Racing

Engine/Fuel -

Clean, clean, clean! Remove all tin work and have blasted. Still deciding on powder coating or painting. Clean and degrease everything else. Replace front and rear seals along with all pushrod tube seals – time to fix the oil leak(s)! May have to do a tap and seal on the galley plugs also.

Remove tattered engine area insulation pad. You’ll note in the pictures how saggy, torn, and nasty this is. Grind, scrape, clean, firewall and see where we are at. Remount FI brain to bracket on battery tray, not to the insulation! Another quality job done by the PO.

While the engine is out and on the stand, I’ll check the heads and re-torque.

Replace all the small items that wear out – tune up parts, filter, seals, gaskets, engine mounts, etc. I ordered all of this little stuff that adds up from Pelican

Replace Clutch, Pressure plate, T.O. Bearing

Install all new fuel lines and hoses from tank to engine – everything! Pull tank and re-plumb lines to fuel pump/filter in front trunk, then work back to engine. I purchased a complete set of items (SS tunnel lines, elbows, hose, clamps, etc) from Chris at Tangerine racing. Great friendly service and quick delivery!)

Install new injectors purchased from Otto’s

Install all new vacuum lines. Purchased set from AA and arrived quickly.

Relocate MSD ignition from rear trunk to engine area and clean up nasty wiring job P.O. did. Add proper plug wires with MSD wires from Tangerine.

Clean transmission exterior and heat exchangers.

I know I have not listed everything, but you get the idea. I’ll post pictures as things move along. The clock is ticking to RRC!

If you haven't ordered parts already, I have two speedos that I have fixed, both silver button 73' and black 74'. shoot, if you send me yours I'll fix it if you pay shipping.

I also have two trailing arms that have been painted black with ~2500 miles on new bearings and polybronze. it could save you quite a bit, although shipping could be costly.

-Ross

Ross,

I would like to have the original one rebuilt. In the mean time, I have another silver button speedo from an earlier car to use in it's place. I'll PM you on the speedo.

As far as the trailing arms, I have those covered. I got a good pair from Kevin and have them ready to send to the blaster. I've already purchased and received the bearings/bushings and they are ready to install once I get the arms cleaned up. It should just be a remove and replace later. Thanks for the offer!

Doug

Kevin would be the way to go for the arms! He's got so many lying around he should start making furniture out of them!