Hello 914World. I just purchased a 914 this week and am looking forward to building and restoring it. I'm a family man and have built a couple other cars over the years including my daily drive widebody Audi S4 on a very modest budget. I want to do something classic that has good performance with this car and found my template. I hate the idea of not doing something unique with my car, but I love everything about this car and don't see any reason so screw it up by choosing a different color or wheels or something. I was hoping that the collective knowledge of the forum could help me fill in some of the blanks.



What size are the Fuch wheels?
What is the largest tire that fits under the GT bodywork?
I want to go steel fenders, it looks like Pelican and Auto Atlanta are two places to go, any preference? (AA is cheaper)
What color is that?

Everything else (like 5-lug conversions, where to find the vinyl for the sail panels, etc) I'm sure I can find through searching. I know how to do that. I'm in the Denver area and it looks like there are some great members out here so I'll have to try and watch for local GTG's to meet people. I hope to be a great contributor someday, and will document the build.

Awesome looking Teener!

Look through the many build threads on this site to answer all your questions.

So is that your car? and you want to remove the flares to put flares? and then you want info on 5 lug wheels, witch it seems you already have. and the sail panels look perfect in that picture.

Im confused,

That car looks perfect.



Is this the look you are going for?

I would first look to member vendors : http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showforum=4

And the classifieds to find parts. Avoid AA ,and support the little guys out there. Pelican is good for some items.

i believe that green car is what he's aiming for. isn't that at the top of eric's awesome thread on brakes / suspension / wheels?

my favorite color (irish green) by the way. just like mine but, mine has extra paint chips!

Great looking 914. Welcome . You will come to realize shortly that we have a great group of poeple and thet bring a great deal of knowledge and talent to the 914 community.

Hey: does this car run and drive???? If it does,do not touch anything!!! Drive the hell out of it,until you really, need to do something.Preferable during the winter, is when to get work done.Once it goes up on jackstands,there is no telling ,how long it will be, till its back on the road.Jason from PA

So, I take it the green car is your template.
Looks like a car of the month porn star.
So what did you bring home? Show us your rust.

Yes, I think the picture is the car he is aspiring to have;

Plus he says he has a modest budget and that house behind the car is not attainable on a MODEST budget... (unless you are a politician explaining your income level as "Modest")

SO, to see if I can answer some of his questions;
1. Go with Steel flares and you have two sources already, but look for things like Group Buy events on this forum or even post a WTB as there may be a bunch of people who got them in the group buy who aren't going to install them.

2. The fuchs in the picture are PROBABLY 7x16 and 9x16 but can't be sure.

3. What are the largest Tires that can fit under flares? Well that all depends on a few things but a 225 front and 245 fit on most flared cars with minimal rubbing.

4. What color is that? hmm it looks darker than zambezi green, but pictures can be deceiving.

SO, hope that helps!


and post pix of your current car. BTW, Love the S4

After a tiny bit of looking I found this;
http://www.p914.com/p914_paint_L60E_71.htm

Which suggests that the car in question is L60E, Irish Green...Or at least one other thinks so.

Thanks for all the replies, I'm at the DMV right now getting tags. The tire size was really helpful, now I can work on wheels. Does anyone know what offset I would want on a 7" wheel? I like to have my target setup when I do things like fenders, make sure I set them up to fit!

I'll take some pictures tonight and share my rust with everyone. Must lives company right? ;-)

I'll post up on the flares in classifieds, I saw there was a GB not long ago, bummed I missed it!

Here are a couple pictures my friend took with his phone when I was driving it home. He was really excited about purchasing a "non-running" car and then fixing it in the guys garage and driving it home. It doesn't look nearly as good in real life, the paint is hammered, splotchy and badly redone.





One of the main rust areas it the rockers and a little bit of the framework behind there. I plan to do an engine swap at some point and it struck me that if I replaced those sections with box steel (2x4?) it would not only add strength and a place to tie in a cage down the road, but left open on the ends I could route water/oil lines though there if I needed. Has anyone done this before? Any pros or cons?

gollyg,

Welcome to the madness!
Your's looks like a good place to start. You may be surprised when you start getting things apart. If you dig into most build threads here - there are planty of examples of correcting "rust-prone" areas.

Good choice on your target car - its one of my dream 914's except I would go with a tan interior.

ENjoy!

Welcome to the beginning of the end of your wallet, wife and sanity. There is tons of knowledge here and many build threads, I did much of the same things you are considering, my build thread iis in my signature. Best of luck.

It's an addiction, there is no cure.

Enjoy the insanity!!

I agree that if it's a runner, drive it like ya stole it, and make a plan of attack. Fuel lines & brake lines first, tho!

It came with new stainless lines for the brakes, but the car already had some on it! I'll be attacking the fuel system too. Doing to change out plugs and wires tomorrow and see if that cleans up the way it runs a bit. So much to do on a big project it's hard to decide where to start. I want to keep it a runner through most of the project, so if I can get it to run decent for now I'll focus on everything else. I'll certainly be on the forum a lot learning and asking questions.

Generally speaking the longer it takes the faster it gets done. You need to slow down and do two important things. Learn the pit falls that nearly everyone suffers when just trying to get a dependable teener on the road, and before you get started in a direction that is way ahead of what needs to be done first, check into our World and get some specific advice. Everything you need to know or obtain is here.

Start with finding out what needs immediate fixing, learn what bad things happen to most teeners, and begin with what is called THE HELL HOLE. Rust kills 914's.

Last comment...the stock engine is a blast to drive so don't jump into transplanting something bigger until you experience the fun of driving it with the engine you have. It's air cooled, if you go bigger you are most likely going to need to convert to water cooled and that in it's self is a major job and expensive. It would be faster cheaper to just buy one that somebody else already did.

Doug

Good advice from Struckn.

I've owned mine for a long time, even though it says newbie by my name. If you are going to drive it, replace the rubber fuel lines first. The fuel ring to the injectors runs about 29 lbs, and old rubber will rupture at that pressure. Also a good idea to replace the plastic fuel lines which run through the tunnel, and the rubber lines at the gas tank. The plastic lines are 40 years old, mine literally crumbled when I pulled them down to take off the clamps.

Secondly, as Struckn says, go look for the rust. Hell hole, under the battery tray will be the worst. Then take off the rocker panels and look at the longitudinals.

This site has everything you need, and lots of people quick to offer help.

Owning one of these things becomes a disease.

Willkommen!

I'm following this course of action. Just getting it to where I can drive it made me realize that even gutless the car is a fair bit of fun! I'm replacing all the fuel line and looking at moving the pump to the front. I'm also replacing everything in the ignition system and I'll set the valves and timing this week. After that, I'm going after the rust before it gets any worse. I'm looking to move the battery to the front to give me more working room and allow me to attack the hell hole area better.

Thanks for the advice, I think I'm going to enjoy ownership.

The Irish Green car looks to have GT spec flares (or it could be the real thing). I have a car configured just like that and the Fuchs sizes that I am running are 7's in the front and 8's in the rear. Tire sizes are 205/50/15 (could be 55) and 225/50/15. There is barely 1/2" clearance in the rear from the flare, but I could be running a spacer (can't remember). I looked at running 9's, but there just isn't enough room.

Good luck with the build.

Nice

Is it really black, or a re-spray to be black? I bought my 914 as black, but it was originally silver. Black is coolest. That forest green is pretty cool too. Original color is always a great choice. When I have $$ to repaint, it will be a tough decision.

Get a fire extinguisher. You'll feel more "race-car" and it may come in handy. I've had to use mine, due to an in-experienced attempt at wiring more power into the dash for accessories.

Learn to use "search" function here. Lots to read!

+1 on using the extinguisher.

Had a wiring issue on the suburban driving back from an autox and the extinguisher (in the race car) saved the chevy. Good to have around.

Chuck, (or may I call you "C- H ?")
Welcome to the world of differences, but at least we all have something in common, the 914.
It's a good thing that you have a template to visualize your goal.
I too like that car. I use it as a background every so often. You may like these
photos as well.
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The car is black, and original. I like it, but wanted the contrast of the vinyl on the sail panels. I was actually considering dark red. I have a friend with a 993 in that color and it's really classy.

Been carrying a fire extinguisher, can't be too careful when working withan older unknown car!

Welcome Chuck! Got you in Colorado-914 last night. Post a pic of the S4 would ya? I have a Nogaro Blue B5.


35 mm is perfect for a non-flared car.

Nogaro, very nice. Here's a couple of mine. I'm in the middle of dropping the tranny for a new clutch, so the 914 is serving DD duty as I sort it out too. Luckily my commute isn't very far.







If the Colorado 914 guys get together down south I'll try and make it. Looking forward to meeting some other owners, and would love a ride in a few others to get ideas for direction.

Thank you for those photos! I wish I had a high res version of that first photo, it's my favorite.

You can call me Betty if I can call you Al.

Vedy nice Audi

Welcome and congrats on the car, Chuck.


The wheels in the photos Dave posted of my car are 911 offset Fuchs, 7x16 up front and 8x16 on the backs. The fronts have 1" spacers (those pics are before the spacers were on). Tires are 225/55 up front - 245/50 in the rear. The fenders are nicely filled out. The rear flares required rolling the top middle section of the inner lip.

That car in your first post was destroyed in a roll over and subsequently restored. I believe it is an original -6 with factory flares. I have pics of it somewhere showing the damage and resto.

The car from your initial post:

Ouch!

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Yes, Ruby red with a black red trim. Very classy.

Mike, I didn't know that was your car !
I really like those two photos.
I wish you hadn't shown those damage photos though.
It's like finding out that the your wife used to be a "fluffer."
Kind of takes the shine off it.

I have an entire build book of photos for both my cars and I WILL get around to posting them.

The story I read on that 914-6 flared car in front of the garage is that it is/was owned by a doctor. As I said, real six with factory flares. I may not have all the facts straight but I 'think' his son rolled it. He then had it completely re-done to basically what it was before. He may be from Alabama or Tennessee . . . one of those States in the south east.

I'll look around for them but I have a couple of other pics after the repairs of the same car sitting in front of the same garage beside his Guards Red 930 slant nose.

Here's another of mine taken the day I rolled it out after a year of body work. The off-road look is because there's nothing on it but wheels and suspension.

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The green car was owned (at the time of that photo) by a fella in willoughby Ohio. It is/ was an original M471 car. I'll tell you it was probably better to see in person than any other teener I have seen! Too bad it was wrecked... From what I understand it was on its way to a restoration of some sort... That photo is my favorite photo of a flared 914 now it just makes me sad!

Chuck - here's that car again after being restored from the wreck. Notice the old air dam spoiler has been replaced with an LE one. Might just be the pic but the Irish Green looks a bit too blue to me. Regardless - the important thing is he saved it!

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