I bought this car about 6 years ago to do a simple restoration. As I went along, I decided the original air-cooled flat four wasn't enough engine, so proceeded to install an all aluminum Buick 215 ci V8. The stock engine was completely rebuilt and lived for about 6,000 miles in a TR8 before being yanked for 914 duty. At that time, the engine was gone over and new rod bearings installed just for the fun of it. It was also fitted with a Ford truck EDIS ignition system in order to eliminate the distributor, which allowed the engine to move forward without intruding into the bulkhead. The ignition is controlled by a Megajolt programmable controller, which allows fine tuning via laptop to accommodate a variety of parameters. Carb is an Edelbrock 500 4 barrel. It exhausts through Rover 4.0 stainless steel tubular headers (this thing sounds soooooo sweet). The stock water pump was modified as an intake plenum for an electric cooling pump, again to save space at the front of the engine, allowing it to be situated forward and minimizing the anglular distortion of the CV joints. The engine in its current tune is good for about 200 HP, about double the output of the stock 2 liter, with almost no weight penalty. It's mated to the stock Porsche 901 transmission via a Kennedy adapter plate.

OK, the rest of the car...
The original rust was not bad, but bad enough to require attention. The hell hole has been completely rebuilt with fresh steel, as has the longitudinals. The floor pan was in pretty good shape, but any hint of rust was cut out and replaced. Corners were gusseted for reinforcement. Wherever any body or structural repairs were made, it was finished off with Rust Bullet.

The car is equipped with front and rear sway bars. The rear control arms were boxed for stiffening and new rear wheel bearings and shocks installed. All four corners were converted to five lugs and fitted with replica 15" Fuchs wheels and brand new Falken 225 tires.

Interior is in very good condition without the usual dashboard cracks. The console is a custom design with gauges, switches and start button. on brushed aluminum.

The body is fitted with GT flares and painted a metallic bronze. Paint is OK, not great. All glass is flawless.

OK, here's the reality...I've been working on this thing for the past six years and it still has issues that I just can't get past. The engine is quirky. One day it runs fine, the next day it barely starts. Electrical/ignition checks out fine so I'm suspecting a fuel problem. Cooling is also quirky. I know the system is up to the task because when I manually switch the cooling pump on you can watch the temp drop dramatically. However, it'll climb to 220* before it drops. I don't like to see 220*. Oil pressure is low. I bench ran the engine before putting it in and the OP was right on spec, but now it shows an abnormally low reading. No bad sounds come from the engine indicating low OP, but it just isn't much fun looking at low pressure. Right rear tire has a slow leak. I know I should take it in and have it fixed but I keep thinking it'll fix itself. Yeah right. I installed a fan and pump for cabin heating, but haven't figured out a way to duct the heat from the front trunk area to the cabin.

OK, so here's where I'm at. I poured my heart and soul into this car for the past six years, to the detriment of my family, my bank accountg and my sanity and, as cool as it is, it still has the issues I mentioned above. Bottom line, I'm out of patience with the car and want it gone before I'm tempted to delve into it again. I've got two other toy cars that have been neglected due to the time and expense I've put into this 914 and it's time to move it on to a new home that will love her and drive the crap out of her as she was meant to be. I'm very flexible. If you'd like to buy the car as a roller and restore her to the original flat four air-cooled engine, it can be done. Personally, I think this would be a dynamite track car. $5500 complete, $4000 as a roller. 920-seven four three-9727.

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Are the flares Metal or fiberglass?

I want this so bad it hurts! But the funds just aren't there.
This is the exact car I want to build, almost to a tee.
I think you should be asking more for that car even with the issues.
Good luck with the sale! Please sell it soon so i can stop drooling.



Kevin

How much did it cost you to add the GT flares and up date the wheels to 5 lug nut? Did you do it correctly or just add adapters?

I bought my first 914 late last year and it has been a non stop money pit and i'm so not there yet were i'm happy with my car.

Currently I'm getting the engine re-built from a 2.0 to a 2.3/4 and getting the tranny overhouled at the same time too. This is just before getting into the interior then needing a paint. The fuchs would be such a nice tuch and steel fendders are dreamy.

Wish I could buy yours and swap out my engine. The conccern you mention on yours besides the engine and wiring is on body and chopped out rust. How bad is the body?

Also are they steel fenders?

How low an OP are u talking about? What happened to the TR-8? Can u better explain this overheating issue? V-8 engine mods? How fast? Bob

OK, taking the questions one at a time...

The flares are FG. They were faired in with Rage Gold reinforced filler and are crackfree after three years.

The 5-lug conversion was done correctly with redrilled hubs and rotors and pressed in lugs.

How bad is the body? Body and "frame" are completely devoid of rust. Any repaired areas and other critical areas are coated with Rust Bullet. The car apparently took a front end hit at some time in its history, hood and headlight cover gaps are inconsistent. Paint is base/clear. I did it myself and have to admit, it's not the best. There are some unexplained "dots" in the base and the clear needs some more cut and buff. I'd call it a 10 footer.

OP has me baffled. The engine has new rod bearings. Cold idle is around 20-25 lbs, but drops to 10-15 at warm idle. Specs for these engines is 22 psi at warm idle. Usually, in a case like this, I'd install a fresh gauge right at the oil pump to verify, but did I mention, I'm tired of crawling around under the car. Oh yeah, forgot to mention, there's a small oil leak coming from either the oil filter or oil pump.

I wish I could explain the overheating issue. My suspicion is that there's still air somewhere in the system that's preventing circulation. I burped the system a couple times and got air out and it seems to help for a while, but not completely cured.

The engine internals are pretty much stock, except for a mild cam. Bore is td.and crank is .010 under. Other than that, the Rover 4.0 headers are the most radical mod. On paper the engine should be around 200HP. Fast? It won't suck the fillings out of your teeth, but it is very quick and responsive to throttle when it's running right.

What happened to the TR8? Still got it, along with a Cobra replica and that's why I have to cull the herd. I don't have the time to maintain and drive everything to do them justice and it's not fair to let this thing linger without the care and driving it needs.

I set the price, based upon what I thought was fair, NOT on what I have in it (don't ask). I hate to see the thing sitting here without the care that it needs so I'm more concerned about finding it a good home than making a killing on it. I'm flexible. Got something to trade, especially something that say Ducati on it? BTW, did I mention that, included with the car is leftovers from 4 parts cars.

Tom

Tom...

PM sent

Wow, what a deal. You cant build one of these for twice the price.
Is that the TR radiator in the 914? Looks too small for this application?

hey Tom I'm building the same car and am considering converting water pump to a housing as you suggested.do you have any pics of this aspect of your build you can share?

Vinnie

Sorry, no pics, but it's pretty straightforward. The hardest part about it is removing the impeller and shaft. They're locked in pretty solid and it takes some judicious cutting to get them out. If I were to do it again I'd try to cut the impeller off and leave the shaft in place.

That is a deal. Big Kat could finish that car nicely.

SOLD! and on its way to Finland. Thanks Timo and thanks to all who showed interest in the car.

Tom