Thanks Clark! I'm not far away from Mt. Juliet. Near Gladeville. I appreciate the help offer. I'm getting so close to having this one ready for course testing!

Installed the replacement 19mm master cylinder last night. That actually went better than I expected. I loosened the plastic feeder hoses from the reservoir and slid them out with the old MC. I discovered a new trick that make installing those hoses with grommets into the MC much easier. Lightly clamp a vice grip just above the grommet on the metal section of the feeder hose. That will keep the grommet from sliding up the hose as you try to stuff it in the MC hole. The vice grip also gives you some leverage while you use a small flat head screw driver to stuff the edges. Another use for the vice grip is to clamp it on the knuckle of the brake peddle post that goes into the MC. If you're doing this by yourself, that post can be very difficult to feed into the MC while dealing with the feeder hoses and branch pipes. Clamping it where it's positioned correctly will save a lot of cursing. The system bled out well and it took a few pumps on the peddle to get pressure but the calipers are clamping. I'll probably have to bleed one or two more times. I also installed the drivers side e-brake cable and attempted to adjust those. I'm not getting any bite on the e-brakes so I need to read up on that procedure.

So I got a fiberglass bumper and spoiler from gt racing. The purchase price wasn't too bad and they shipped really quickly. I've spent several hours figuring out what would be the best mounting method. Utilizing the OEM dog bones and mounting holes seemed to make the most sense. I started by just trial fitting the bumper and found that the fiberglass brackets were somewhat in the way at the top ends of the bumper. That's where the front bulk head folds into the fender. Sort of a protruding edge. So I trimmed a bit of the fiberglass bracket and continued fitting. Intilally I though I could use bolts through the bracket but not the front of the bumper. However, the geometry there doesn't work and there's no way to get a nut under the bracket with the bumper in place. So I surrendered to having to drill through the bumper and use long 3/8" carriage bolts to mount. I also got some rubber washers for under the bolt heads. I used the dog bones to get my holes properly alligned. After drilling I test fitted again and then took the bumper to my bench and attached the spoiler with the same large head pop rivets with backing washers. Final attachment went well with the top of the bumper coming close to a tight fit to the front hood. I'll remove the assemble again to grind the square shoulders off the carriage bolts, drill some small holes on the spoiler ends and attach those to the body sheet metal so those aren't flapping around. Also, half way through this process I cut two 9" x 5 1/2" sheet metal retangles to fill the fog light holes in the bumper (I might have been able to order those not cut out). Attaching from the rear with small pop rivets proved to be the easiest as the front side has some contours that aren't friendly to a true retangle.

I found a few hours this week to make some improvements. The fuel cell needed a vent so I purchased a little breather filter cap at the auto parts store, used some of the braided fuel line and AN fittings I already had. Today I re-purposed the heater control lever for a engine hood release. That took the place of a bolt that probably wouldn't have passed tech. I'll probably trim that lever handle down least it be stabbing me in the belly whilst working on the engine!

Borrowed some scales and got the 914 weighed. It's really light!
LF - 363 RF - 362
LR - 462 RR- 452
Cross 824 50.27%
total weight - 1638 lbs!

My target weight is 1971 lbs.
Total weight with 190 lb. driver - 1828 lbs.
I'm going to add 75 lbs. to each front corner and see where that lands.

Yesterday I trailered the 914 to my buddies shop for alignment. First we weighed the car with me in it and then experimented adding ballast. When adding two bags of premix concrete (65 lbs. each) to the passenger side floor board here's what the result was...



That adds up to 1969 lbs. and very close to the target weight.

Then we went to work on alignment. The rear toe is a problem. Perhaps because the car is lowered or no camber plates, we couldn't get the rear toe to spec. We ended up with .77 left and .56 right. The front turned out quite nicely with about -2 camber and zero toe. I had preset the struts all the way back and in on the camber plates and that worked well. Rear camber is -1.9 left and -1.6 right. We don't believe the toe issues in the rear are associated with the replacement suspension console as the left side (original) is worse than the right (replacement). So I got the car back in my shop and started looking closer at the rear adjustment. I had the original brackets (link bearings) because I'd replaced the complete control arm assemble with strengthened parts.



So I cleaned the rust off those and went to extending the slots to be able to push the bracket more forward for negative toe. I used a body saw (it's made of pressed metal) and file to get an additional 1/4". I installed those after taking some measurements with a straight edge to see if the toe improved. It did, but only slightly. I then noticed that part of the "bell" that receives the control arm end was contacting the chassis mount point. So I ground a bit of that off to get a little more adjustment. It appears to be better but I won't know until I take it back for another look on the alignment machine.

If the weather is good next weekend, I'll be taking this car to a local autocross that's rather small and a good place to test & tune.

Today was THE DAY I've been waiting for 13 months. I got the 914 on an autocross course for the first time! This car has probably never been driven like this before. Yesterday was rainy all day and I didn't think I was going to have dry weather. However, there was a break in the morning and I got the car loaded as soon as I confirmed that it would be sunny long enough to at least get four runs in. And that's exactly what I got before rain moved back in. The 914 ran pretty darn well. Usual cold engine stuffiness and I adjusted idle settings several times till it settled after getting to operating temp. The throttle cable needs tightening as it got behind the clutch linkage in the peddle cluster once. Push in clutch and engine revs up WTF? My first run was cautious but subsequent runs I pushed the car a bit harder each run. Grip was REALLY good and I was able to carry speed through turns easily. On the third run I was able to get the rear loose (tires were up to temp) and dropped some air out of the rears for the fourth run. I also hit a cone on the third run and busted the right fiberglass rocker cover but that's probably going to happen a lot. Was it worth all the time, effort, cost and discomfort? Absolutely YES

914 First Autocross

congrats...now that I don't have to watch you discover rust at every turn , I'm even enjoying the progress !

Yea, that did get to me a couple of times. Just when I thought I'd found it all... another rust hole would appear. That's behind me (at least for a while). I did hustle back home today when I saw showers on the radar. I'm going to have to find an enclosed car hauler for piece of mind or only take this one out in dry weather.

Gawd, that was a tough thread to get through at times, but well worth it. To make what you did out of that rusty tub you started with, it's pretty cool. The car even looks kind of bad ass in a raw way. Thank you for your dedication to document this build and good luck on it in the future.

Bravo.

Thanks Larmo. We may take it to one more event at the end of the month. Then it will be in the garage till next season. That will give me time to evaluate my welding for stress and if all looks good - I'll continue performance improvements. I'll also over-spray the exterior POR 15 after doing a bit of body work. This car will never be pretty but the least I can do is make it durable and pleasing to the eye (from 20' or so).

>I'm going to add 75 lbs. to each front corner and see where that lands.<

If that is not the worst idea I've ever heard, it has gotta be close.
Suspension tuning will take care of the perceived weight problem....I say perceived because because 914s are NOT a 50/50 car.

I carried less weight on the front than that.... with a 6 cyl in back and a boat load of tubing to stiffen the chassis.
It came in at 1726 wet. You should be able to make aleast 100 lbs less than that.
Corner balance is WAAAAY over rated. It is useful to correct any gross errors in construction only, IMO. BTDT, it had no effect on times.
Overall weight is another issue.

Click to view attachment

Yikes, you don't mince words JP.

In my following post, we re-weighed on the alignment rack, added 120 lbs. on the passenger floor board, with me in the drivers seat, we were REALLY close to class weight for the displacement/valves. It was mostly an exercise in getting a base figure moving forward. I'm not sure this car will see any SCCA Championship Tour events in the near future anyway. That's when it will get weighed for tech/impound, not at regional events.

You also bring up a good point on the roll cage. I do plan on a simple cage (much like the Tangerine kit). That will certainly add weight and then there's other undetermined performance goodies. So it's a fluid situation for the near term.

It certainly felt good last Sunday which was my VERY FIRST autocross in a 914. I pushed it harder each run trying to find the limit of grip (Hoosier scrubs with 30+ runs) and was able to make it over-steer in corner entry. Some mild under-steer in corner exit but manageable. Until I can get my driver inputs smoother, I probably won't adjust front shocks. Also, site surface was less than optimum. Two weeks from now (if the weather is good) the new NCM site will be a superb event to continue evaluation.

Old guys don't waste time being PC.

Adding weight to make class is acceptable in my book.
Which class, may I ask?

I did add about 60-80 lbs of tubing to stiffen the car. There is an immediate pay back...it transforms the car. The suspension does the work it's made for rather than have the chassis try to do it. The car responded to changes for good or ill. The best mod I ever made...I shoulda done it sooner.

I also added balast to make class (XP) but only 50 odd lbs. It came out for non-national SCCA events. I would suggest leaving a bit of room to your minimum weight as the scales a tour event are kinda iffy....I figure +/- 10-15 lbs. We filled the tank with gas in the lanes before our last run at one event to insure making it....that is cutting it too close.

If you do a roll bar, I would also suggest having some that know their welding do that work......that is more tactful than I normally get.

Having a car that over-rotates is better than a push for AX....... my preference.

Our venues were mostly asphalt & rougher than a cob. Relatively soft suspension still works on butt smooth concrete ...waving at the crowd with he inside front tire is fun.

Click to view attachment

D Prepared JP. Small displacement 4-cylinder, one bore over maximum. Otherwise pretty liberal on mods.

Han Solo meets the Miata Mafia.
We here in the PNW have 3 charter members......one of em' won DP at the Nationals this year....all have placed on the Nats podium over the years.
They all are hella quick.
We never beat them when I owned the 914.
Good luck.

Yea, I was watching them at Nationals this year. I was working Safety Steward during their run group. Unbelievably fast crowd. I'll need that good luck if this car even gets to that level.

We ran the 914 at a new course last Sunday. The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green KY has a decent parking lot near the road course. My thoughts on the site are mixed but the car performed well. My wife rode shot gun our 1st and 2nd runs. Then we went solo 3rd & 4th. My co-driver was two tenths behind my best run. I'm still having some issues with idle fluctuation that I suspect are cause by the linkage. It was a really warm day so engine temps were fairly high when idling in grid. With two drivers there wasn't much time to shut it down for cooling however.

Now the car is done for the season and I'm going to start preping for paint and body work. I think I will get a fiberglass bumper for appearance. This winter will not be near as intense as last and I'm thankful for that. I'll post when some progress is made on the body work but don't expect it to be text book by any stretch of the imagination



NCM autocross 1

NCM autocross 2

We had a set back today. I've been plumbing the fuel system, body work and painting for several weeks now. Today I finished the fuel system and flushed the lines with the new pump into a catch can. After putting the lines back on the Webers, I turned on the pump and noted 6 PSI on the fuel pressure gauge post the FPR. I went ahead and started the engine in preparation to dial the FPR down. As soon as I started the engine, it rev'ed up (maybe 3000 rpm, probably due to the increased fuel pressure) and within a few seconds it just stopped, suddenly. There was no loud noise or indication of failure. When I tried to start again, the starter is just clicking. The solenoid is engaging but the motor isn't turning over. Suspecting the worst, I got under the car and tried to turn the motor over by hand, the crank isn't moving either way. I pulled the spark plugs and still can't get the crank to move. To eliminate a seized starter, I pulled it off and still no dice.

I can't figure out why there would be a major problem with the car just sitting for a month and a half. During my fuel delivery project, everything on the motor was buttoned up. Intakes and carbs stayed on. Exhaust stayed on. Crap

So I finished the day putting the car back on the hillbilly lift, preparing to drop the engine and transmission. Next step will be to pull the tranny off and try to hand crank. The only other external device I can think of would be the distributor. Suggestions encouraged and appreciated.

Yikes....sudden seizure is mighty scary. Really hard to figure a likely culprit since it did start and run for a few seconds, but likely lube failure and you've toasted a bearing somehow, or possibly crank failure. It's really tempting to try to get it to start again as a denial mechanism, but my advice is simply to tear it down. That way you won't create more collateral damage. That's the beauty of the Type 4....zero fear about ripping it apart & putting it back together again. Keep us posted!

Good luck with your engine!

I have really enjoyed your thread.

John

Drain the oil, there may e a bunch of gas in the sump.

Dropped the engine. Pulled the transmission. Crank is still locked.

Bummer man. My thoughts were definitely hydro-lock given the fuel pressure issue. Can you see inside the spark plug holes?

Hope it's nothing too bad.

So I got the heads off today and there's nothing that unusual to report. Hydraulic lifters look good. Push rods fine. The valves are all fine. I noted that it appears Brothers welded the valve seats on by the springs to prevent the seats dropping. They also have shims under the rocker assembly probably due to the chromolly push rods. When I got the jugs off #3 and #4 have some wear that's just noticeable. A section about 3/4" wide going down one side of the cylinder wall. I can just feel it with my finger tip but those pistons (as well as #1 & #2) slid out easily once the seal on the jug let loose. All the rings look like new and as well as the piston tops. There's some carbon build up but it doesn't look excessive to me. The crank is still frozen so now I'm down to splitting the case to find out if it's crank shaft or cam shaft. I'm watching the Jake Raby type 4 video and that's most helpful.

Looks like it will turn over with the heads off... Are the chambers as wet as they look?

They were pretty wet but I sprayed quite a bit of WD40 in the cylinder in a vane attempt to free things up. And the crank is still locked up with the cylinders off

Ah... It's more obvious from my desktop that you spun the entire motor around. Didn't make that out from my phone. Sounds like a bit of main bearing welding may have been done then...

The outside of the case is 'way too clean.....just sayin'.....

I had some emails with Brothers VW machine shop and they're offering to rebuild for what I think is a fairly good deal (I'm not going to disclose those terms as they may be preferential). Shipping from my location would total about $500 both ways. They did ask that I reassemble the engine to long block for shipping but I'm not sure I can get the jugs back on the pistons with the crank frozen. So I'm 50/50 on what to do at this moment. They also asked if I had marked the lifters prior to removal as those were set for each cam lobe. That's something that wasn't mentioned in the Raby video. Anyone heard of that before?

Yeah, the cam and lifters wear in to each other and set up a wear pattern. So, if you are going to use the same cam and lifters you want to put the lifters back in the same hole they came out of. Was it this thread where you are running hydraullic lifters? Maybe time for new cam with solid lifters? Better performance. FWIW

If they're the ones that did the original build, it's a good idea to have them fix it since you have very little time on that engine. Also since there's little time on the engine there's likely little harm in the lifters getting mixed up.....but the idea of putting in new lifters is a good one. (I always ziplock bag each of mine marked with the hole they come from.)
That said, doing it yourself is a source of satisfaction and you'll be $500 ahead to cover the parts costs....nice cold weather project IMO. If you find out that the shop made a mistake, let them know so they don't do it again.
Getting the jugs back on can be done....it's a little fiddly but you can actually lever the rings into the bottom of the cylinders little by little with a hard plastic or wooden paint stirrer as a probe to push them as you wiggle the jugs down....BTDT.

If you paid them to do the original build, then the onus is on them to fix it, especially with only a few hours on it. And, IMHO, they should pay the shipping.

you really want solid lifters

Thanks for the advice and tips gentlemen. I'm clear now on the lifters and looking closely at them I can see some wear. Mostly just a dulling of the push rod surface. One lifter does have more noticeable wear. I removed the sump and taco plate last night. There's no noticeable metal particles in either.



Does anyone know the purpose of this item on below cylinders 1 & 2?

It's the oil pressure regulator....a spring & piston shaped insert are screwed in there....not to be confused with the one that bypasses the cooler. There's a diagram you can search for in the garage...

So I cracked the case last night and was pleased to not find any destruction. The only issue I can find is the rear bearing on the crankshaft is seized. It may have spun just slighting as the locating pin hole is slightly wallowed out. But it is fixed to the crank and not moving a mm. The other crank bearings look new, as do the camshaft bearings. The cam lobes have very little wear. The only additional wear I found was on the skirt of #3 piston. That corresponds with the wear marks on the cylinder walls. I'll probably replace both #3 & #4 pistons and cylinders. Next step is to remove the crankshaft gears and connection rods. I'll be searching for a good machine shop to get that bearing off. Open to suggestions gentlemen

Do you know what the rear thrust was set to? Having it set overly tight is the first thing that comes to mind.

No sir. I do not. Latest development is Brothers is saying the case is junk after seeing those photos. They're offering to build a short block with a different case and any good internals from this.

Get your money back from those clowns. How can anyone look at a case from the photos and determine that's the issue. What Aaron said makes a lot more sense to me.

what is junk about it... did it measure out wrong and need a line bore? no way they can tell anything from a photo. add the facts that they messed up already, and that they installed hydraulic lifters???? time to argue or eat the $ your invested with them and find a new shop.

Note that when I sent the original 2.0L engine from this car to them for rebuild it was a GA case, original. When I got the long block it was a EA case which would have been a 1.7 or 1.8 bored for 2.0L. When I questioned them about the swop, the response was "that is what was ready". Being a race car build I wasn't to concerned about matching numbers. However, if the bore was wrong on cylinders 3 & 4 would that have caused the pistons to rub the cylinder walls as they appear to have?

There is no difference in case spigot size (or a thing except the #) between a 1.7 and 2.0 case.

The bore is in the cylinders with the case having no effect until you go larger than 2056

Well that shoots that theory all to hell...

Two things happened from what I can tell. Pistons 3 & 4 were rubbing the cylinder walls and the rear crank bearing failed. If those two things are related or caused by poor workmanship, are completely unknown to me at this time.

I'm thinking that this is a very likely possibility. The machine shop could absolve themselves of any responsibility & then charge you again for any more work.
That said let's look ahead....
Consider doing it yourself. That's the beauty of the Type 4.
Take the crank to a good LOCAL machinist. They can get that rear journal cleaned up and turn it undersized if necessary. Put in a new set of bearings & put it back together. Minor scuffing of the piston is not a major concern as long as its not galled and the cylinder isn't scored. Then drive it like you stole it!

Rear thrust is also called end play, correct? If so, Brothers did set the end play. I found three shims at the rear of the crank.

Three shims only indicates the correct number of shims, not that the end play was set correctly.

That's one procedure that isn't covered in the Type 4 Bug Me Video with Jake Raby. They refer to the preceding Type 1 video and just show Jake checking the flywheel with a dial indicator. Omitting that procedure is quite lame and one of the few issues I have with that tutorial.

I'm stripping the crank down to see if I can get a local machine shop to get that bearing off. I tried heating it with a torch and twisting with a large pipe wrench but no luck. I won't be getting any form of compensation from Brothers. So unless I can get a deal from another shop, I'm doing this on my own.

[quote name='Han Solo' date='Dec 27 2014, 06:19 PM' post='2127121']
I'm stripping the crank down to see if I can get a local machine shop to get that bearing off. I tried heating it with a torch and twisting with a large pipe wrench but no luck. I won't be getting any form of compensation from Brothers. So unless I can get a deal from another shop, I'm doing this on my own.


Sorry to hear the motor thing turned out so badly. That really sucks. I hope the seats get some good use before too long. I read the whole thread and you deserve the good deal on the seats after what you did to that car. Brought it back to life. Good luck with the motor.