still putting it back together for four years now getting close

Looks good!

Got the v8 started with the '7747 running spark, and it idles!

Now I have no excuse not to fix the fuel routing and get the TBI on...

put my back pad in, cleaned up the interior assessed floor pan rust.

I got 'Eileen' (Westy camper) back from the shop today, so I moved the 'BB' from the street into the driveway, so 'Eileen' had a place to park.

Planning to spend more time at the shop to work on a few projects after the new year starts up.

Merry Christmas, Festivus, etc. ...

Awesome! I have a 1970 Tintop Westy waiting for a fresh engine to go in!

Cool - what's the displacement? I had an 1835 in my old '67 (which was built by Randy [Automeister] 40 years ago). It kicked ass and I put 175k on it

Post some pix of your project.


Eileen's previous owner didn't provide me with much info, so I was happy to learn how good of shape she was actually in, especially that the compression #s were really good - don't need to think about a Subi conversion quite yet.

I had purchased most of the parts and planned on doing the work myself, but there were just too many other chores on the to-do list and the guys at Automeister are really good folks.

New stuff that went in: Go-Westy 1.5" lift spring kit, tie rod ends and rack boots, upper & lower ball joints, all bushings, rear brake cylinders and shoes, and front pads. 1 CV joint needed replaced and they replaced all 4 axle boots (were starting to crack). All the clutch components and the other 3 CV joints looked like they were recently replaced, but she did need a new clutch slave cylinder.

When they pulled the trans to replace the engine rear main seal they replaced the input shaft seal on trans, also installed new injector seals and all the fuel, evap and vacuum lines. Then a performance tune-up finished up the job. I have to say, she's running pretty good for a 30-year-old tank

I have a 2007cc motor ready to by built once I finish the heads & get them CC'd. Since I bought my 914's my bus has been pretty much on hold. Now I'm thinking of keeping it all stock as the value of these are climbing. What year is your Westy? What's the advantage of a 15" lift kit? Do you have a Syncro Vanagon Westy?

Took the air filter off to get to the fuel rail. Yikes!Click to view attachment

I wouldn't think increasing the displacement isn't going to hurt the resale value, that's always reversible if desired.

Eileen is an '84 2WD Westy. The lift kit is 1.5", not 15". I do a fair amount of off-road/desert stuff, so I want the ground clearance. When I get the new tires for the '99 MBZ CLK wheels, I'll have a total of 3" increased ground clearance over stock.

Here she is fresh out of the shop. Easily noticeable - no rear-end sag

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That's a nice Westy! Those look great with the Mercedez wheels too! It seems most people like to lower Bay window busses and they do look cool that way but like you I'd like to have the ground clearance to use off the beaten path for camping/exploring. I already bought a set of Koni Red shocks for it so no lowering in her future. The Koni's combined with a rear swaybar make the busses very stable on the highway and really help when it's windy outside. Plus the ride is greatly improved. I do think I'll move up to 15" wheels instead of the stock 14's. I also have a complete axle and disk brake setup from a '71 bus which has the 5x112 bolt spacing which would also make the Benz wheels an option. Front power assisted disk brakes would be a huge improvement over drum brakes but I'm still debating if I should make the swap. It would also be reverse able but then I have a ton of bulky parts to hang on to. I previously had a '64 panel bus that was an old hippy rust bucket. Had I only known what so of happen to their value I would have hung on to it. They're a lot of fun and get lots of smiles going down the road.

Threatened to trade Betty's 914 in on a Pinto. Damn thing still has the weird surge after replacing everything in the fuel and ignition systems, with the exception of the plugs.

Tomorrow I replace the ignition switch......

Clay- disconnect the fuel line at the tb and stick the line in a bottle then have Betty turn the ignition on for a second. You should get a good flow which will rule out clogged line, pump, filter, crap in the tank, vacuum lock.

That sucks. Go over everything again, you'll find the problem.


Post some pix when you replace your ignition switch - I have to replace the in the 'BB's switch real soon

Backed both 914's out of the garage to redo my work bench. I scored a stainless steel bench top that is 12' long. I had to extend my bench from 8' to 12' as the top has nice finished edges and I couldn't cut it down to leave one edge raw. I think this top will last longer than the house. I did drive the 914's several miles each to get them warmed up and moving.

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For those talking about the vans, this is interesting:

http://www.carthrottle.com/the-porsche-b32...r-knew-existed/

And a guy I work with has a 4WD vanagon with a WRX turbo motor in it.
It is awesome!
He had it custom made in CA, but he says the electrical system is still screwed up.

Thanks for posting that link Stugray! I'd love to own one of those support vehicles! Pretty awesome!

on the twisties

I picked up a nice set of 3.2 cams.

I'd love to transplant a Subi 3.3L into Eileen, but, at my age, fuel economy seems to rank higher than outrageous performance. I think I'd have a hard time keeping the horses in the corral

A Subi 2.2L will almost double the HP, but retain about 20~25 mpg ... the 3.3L would triple the HP, but only average about 15 mpg

Nice bench top, dude!

I don't believe it. My 2.2 in my Impreza gets almost 30mpg with all wheel drive and lots more weight than my 914. Even the stock 3700 lb SVX with all wheel drive gets better than 15 if driven with a discretionary foot, and that's with an auto trans. I think with some freeing up of exhaust and intake for efficiency you'd be getting 20- 25 without a problem, maybe even better than that.

Remember, we're talking about an '84 Vanagon Westfalia camper van, not a 914

working on new RV mirrorsClick to view attachment

Ooops, sorry... I think some fumes from Colorado snuck across the border into my neighborhood...

Fixed IMSA bumper brackets and did some filler work on fenders. Hoping to shoot primer later this week.

Block sanded the passenger door and quarter panel. Also finished the driver's door and quarter panel, and started the hood.

Put my side stripes on (before and after pix):

I went down to the bank to check my balance, then straight to the Porsche dealer to finally place my order for my new 2.0 LE Cremesickle. Oh I was drooling! They said it would be 4-5 weeks for delivery but there were two other stock 2.0's near by, an orange one and a blue one, and a green 1.8 if I wanted one of them...then I realized I didn't have any pants on and I was late getting somewhere but the faster I tried to run the slower I was going....AARGH!!!

Then I woke up. Now its a shower and breakfast and out to the garage floor to figure out my wiring conundrum.

Very nice!

I'm going to finish stripping down my doors to get ready for paint

I was getting my annual termite inspection and the inspector saw my 914. He said he just inspected a home that has four 911's! He gave me his name and I called him. He just recently moved up here from Jacksonsville, Florida area where he was their PCA president.

The orange 1970 911S is just awesome. Complete tear down to bare metal restoration job. It was a three year restoration. The 911 has won several national show car awards.

The silver blue 1980 911T is next project. His daily driver is a 2005 Carrera S.

He has a 1973 911T too!

Needless to say, I was in complete awe!

fabricated a halon extinguisher mount out of plastic pipe and aluminum bar stock and installed the #3 spark plug VDO head temperature kit. I also fabbed up my own VDO bracket out of aluminum and covered it in vintage sheet vinyl from a 914 seat. I know the VDO CHT has a bad reputation for being inaccurate, but it provides some information.

Shipped my trans to Dr Evil. Later this week I'll get started on the list of things to do with the engine out.

Where are you mounting that cylinder temp gauge bracket?

Nice job on the extinguisher mount- clean, simple and cheap as fuch!

Cleaned all the ground connections, new starter installed, cleaned and greased the shift linkage plus tightening up. Now in the cold weather it starts up great and shifts smoothly again.

Changed my venturies to 32 from 28.
Then I used my Christmas present, an AFR meter from Innovate Motorsports , welded in a bung for the O2 sensor in my muffler and I was set to do some rejetting

Ended up to increase the accelerating pump jets, and idle jets to 60, Main all the way up to 140.

Now I have a strong running 914 Pulling all the way great and the Cyl. head temp down and great AFR readings...

So happy Long time that I wanted to be able to set those carbs perfect

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Cool. I need to revisit the jetting game since I changed my muffler. It's close, but not quite 'there' yet

What size pump jets did you have to go with?

Are you running dell's or Webers?

Yes Webers, 40 IDF (but the new ones from spain ).

finally replaced this (1975 - 1.8)

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to this (pre 75 - 2.0)


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Happy new year to all

Hey Abe, it looks like you have a 1.7/1.8L muffler hanger there. You'll need one like the middle one in this pic (pic from Jeff Bowlsby's site)

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Drove it to Cars and Coffee in Danville at the Blackhawk Muesum.


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Replaced my ignition switch, which I started yesterday, and put in a new Dino steering wheel. Can't believe the switch was so hard to replace and what a difference it makes, starts first time for the first time since I've had it!

Installed my new dash.
QUESTION: are there any screws that attach the upper dash to the frame? I have all the bolts, but a few extra screws remain in my hand. Does anyone have a diagram of where the screws go?

I have sent you a pm.

Terry

I've been stripping off the black paint from the centers of a set of black star Fuchs! What a messy job!

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I don't have a 914...stop teasing me....

okay I do still have a 1:43 scale 914.....which I placed up against my new-to-me blown up wiring diagrams for a '73 which I just had plotted out at Staples, less than $15 for both, 22"x18", laminated.

Why '73? Well that is the car that I made an offer on and should know tomorrow if he still wants to sell it not.
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