Thanks Michael. This car will see the course again. I've already installed the seats and they're a very nice fit. The rails bolted right on so the install was easy. Thanks again!

I'm betting you'll be more satisfied with the hands on build.....keep us posted!

I had a similar issue. The engine seized with rear bearing locking onto crank. The pistons were scored. I was running aluminum cylinders and thick (.080") steel barrel shims. The cylinders and pistons expanded with heat but the steel shims did not. So the pistons were swaged through the shim choke point. Enough material came off the cylinders to pollute the oil and seize the rear main bearing. It took lots of hammering to get off.

However, I can't see stock/OE shims choking down on iron barrels.

[/quote]
It took lots of hammering to get off.

[/quote]

A local machine shop was able to get the bearing off and polish the end. The mechanic said it took 6 tons of press to get it off.

I'm having FAT performance do the race engine rebuild. I've found it very easy to discuss and plan with Greg Aronson there. He's got a wealth of knowledge and I'm sure his build will be solid. I also purchased a '76 2.0L parts car...
'76 parts car
Specifically for the crank and engine case for the race car. Oddly, Brothers actually came up with a stock GA case (no charge) so I have the potential to build another engine. That could be a stock 94mm, mild cam with 40 Weber kind of thing but that's probably a next winter project. I'm selling parts of the '76 and will start an ad over at 914 World.

Also, I pulled the rear rubber bumper off the '76, stripped the steel beam out and mounted it on the race car. Probably a tad heavier than a fiberglass early bumper reproduction but definitely more structural. I simply used the OEM chassis holes where the dog bones would go and long 5/8" bolts (7" & 9"). To make some stand-offs I used sections of 3/4" round stock (5" and 4.5") and welded a piece of square tubing in between to keep those parallel. You can push in those areas where the bolts are and the rubber bumper doesn't mush. I wouldn't think that you could push the car at all back there if it had fiberglass.

Here's a look at the '76 bumper without inside beam and shock absorbers on the '73 autocross car. I also did some body filler around the edges of the non-tail lights. Not too bad for a race car

FAT Performance is just about done with the engine build. Here's the numbers...

That is a smokin' 2056!

Yesterday I picked up the FAT performance rebuild at the freight terminal. It does look good! They did a different set up on the carb linkage with an interesting cable bracket. It's also got electronic ignition distributor, so no points or condenser. I had them add a oil pressure sender and gauge. There's a custom ceramic coated exhaust system. My buddy came over and we got the engine off the pallet and onto my rolling engine stand. He also helped me get the transmission lined up. I'll continue prepping the engine and doing some final work on fuel lines before stuffing it back in. The 914 is already back on the hillbilly lift.

love the engine.

I have a question tho. I did the exact same oil presure set up. I thought the sender needed the mounting bracket to touch metal for the ground. Yours has the nice red rubber cushion wrapped around it.

Greg at FAT did that set up but I suspect the sender achieves ground through the braided steel hose and fittings.

I got the exhaust installed this weekend. It several attempts. The interior of the pipes and collector are ceramic coated so that made installation difficult. Basically what I found out (after a couple of helpful messages from Greg at FAT) is you assemble the system loosely together and then start mating up the flanges. The stub pipes were already installed so that was helpful. Also, you have to put the bolts in from the bottom but the nuts are those with a locking collar so that helped too. Most importantly though, is use some form of lubricant on the pipes into the collector. I know it's going to smoke up for a while but there's just too much resistance from the coating to twist and pull the pipes into position without some lubricant. I just used a bit of engine assembly lube. The muffler came with a nifty bracket to bolt to the tranny. I beat up the paint taking the stuff on and off but that's all just part of the learning process.

Wired up the oil pressure gauge this morning and started cranking without the coil wire on. Oil pressure came up nicely and then I let 'er rip. The exhaust sounds really good. I'm not happy with the fuel pressure regulator from Summit however. It won't get below 3 PSI. The Webers seem okay with that for now but I want to get that down to 1.5 - 2 PSI.

1st start FAT re-build

Looks and sounds great!

Sounds sweet....you're gonna love driving it! Gotta love them FAT boys--gives you great confidence for sure. I got my crank and flywheel from them.....5 dowel pins to hold the torque on my 2316.
Is the car streetable?? You'll get a lot of "thumbs up" from folks just driving around....nice.

Not even close to streetable but I'll take it out on the rural road we live on for a quick road test. I've just got to keep an eye out for the sheriff!

Great progress!

That is the most power from a 2056 I have ever heard of.

Will make a kick ass car.

John

Hmmm....I've got my track car registered as an antique in Virginia & there's no inspection requirements as long as I'm only driving it "to or from events, testing, or occasional pleasure driving within limited distance from home." Well, that covers a lot of driving--hell, I'm always "testing" it!
Check the TN antique or custom registration....you might qualify!
http://www.dmv.com/tn/tennessee/custom-vehicle-registration

track racing organizations usually require one working brake light.
maybe not autocross... but all of the tracks I've ever been on did.

That's not the case for SCCA Solo Prepared classes. Per the 2015 Solo rules book...

17. PREPARED CATEGORY

17.2 BODYWORK AND STRUCTURE

U. All side marker lights and tail/stop lights may be removed. If such an item is removed, the resultant opening must be covered.

This car will probably never be on a track. There is some talk that the SCCA may ramp up the Solo Trails program which could potentially be held on road courses but Solo rules and regulations would apply to those events (from what I understand).

good deal
I think your safe with autox
but even for PCA drivers ed, or if you change your mind about track work in the future.

HAIRY ANT NEST RACING 914!

Time to let everyone know just how nuts I really am. Going with the wildlife theme (remember the three ant nests infesting car when I got it?) and making that into a racing team. It's a rough paint job that I can touch up with smoke grey Rustoleum. The graphics were applied with stencils and took quite some time. If it's good weather next weekend, we will be driving this beast.

OBTW - I got the Mallory FPR and that fixed the last fuel leak. I also wrapped the headers and collector with exhaust wrap so hopefully I won't be melting down the clutch cable pulley or emergency brake cables. The new FPR is running about 4.5 PSI but the Webers seem to be fine. I took it for a quick road test and then did an oil change. The oil and sump looked fine with very few metallics. I think we're ready!

What a great weekend! Friday I received the RaceQuip racing harnesses I ordered and got them installed that evening except for the submarine (needed some hardware). I did the shoulder belts like Porsche on the factory 914 race cars. U-bolts through the rear bulkhead. And I used the OEM attachment points for the lap belts.

Then Saturday we loaded up the car for NCM Motorsports Park. I was the event chair so we did a course layout Friday evening before storms came in. Stayed overnight at a KOA and was back on-site at 6:30 AM tweeking the course. I was in the second of three run groups and temps were still cool. The car started first crank every time. My course had a couple of somewhat tight 180 turns and that 2056 pulled through those in 2nd gear no problem. Greg from FAT had sent me a 6500 rpm rev limit rotor and that was crucial to getting good time as there were two fast sections. I was actually taking 3rd in those and after several runs got good at not only finding the appropriate gears but making the shift points. I think this transmission is a keeper! At some point in the future I do want to get a performance gear shift however. Engine oil temp barely came off the low mark so the engine is cooling well. I also touch tested the clutch pulley mount with no finger burns so the exhaust wrap is doing the job.

Next expenditure will be new race tires but that's about it for the season unless something breaks. I'm very pleased with this build and now it's time to enjoy it

At the last autocross we raced the 914, I had two issues that needed addressing...

One, I suspect the engine is getting hot without the engine console tins. Readers will remember I removed those because of bad rust holes.

Two, the alternator belt was coming off just about ever lap.

Now those two issues may be related. If the engine compartment is getting hot, the belt could be getting soft and loose. I repeatedly checked tension and there's just no way to get a bar in between the tins and really pry on the alternator. I have purchased a Gates belt with kevlar that supposedly gets tighter with heat. The current belt is a new Conti.

I read several threads where it was pointed out that the oil temp gauge is not a good way to monitor engine temps. So I ordered a VDO head temp kit from Pelican. But before I took delivery on that, I went ahead and got an electric cooling fan. 11" was the smallest at the local O' Reily's and it actually fits fairly well. I mounted it under the grill because the drip pan is off on this car. Two holes with 3/8" pop rivets into the back edge of the grill frame. And then two tie wraps on the front side. I installed with the fan blowing up thinking that heat is going to rise anyway, best just move it on out of the engine compartment. I used a switch panel I made back in the winter for bench testing, mounting that under the driver side vent hole. Hookup was very easy as I've got terminal strips for hot and ground under the dash with open lugs.

Last weekend I got the head temp gauge kit. I thought maybe the gauge would fit nicely in the vent hole but it's about 1/4" too small. So I fabricated a bezel out of sheet metal. The instructions call for a 2 1/16" hole but a 2" hole saw cut a perfect size hole. I cleaned and primed that. This evening I installed the gauge and wiring. I put the ring terminal sensor on #3 spark plug as that's the easiest to get to and directly above the exhaust collector. The hardest part was fishing the connectors through the tunnel, along side my custom harness and into the engine compartment. The sensor or gauge does not require 12V so I'm not sure you should cut, crimp or splice that harness. The wire itself may be passing the thermal temp to the gauge.

I tested the engine and the gauge works great. Climbing right up as the engine warms. It settled in at 350F in the garage on a fairly cool evening. I kicked in the fan but didn't notice any change in temp so I'm not sure that is effective. I plan on racing this weekend so we'll see how it goes outdoors, warm day and higher revs.

Not sure how this is going to work. Wouldn't you want to pull cool air in? I like the idea though...

I really doubt that's going to do anything when the car is running. I suppose it could have a small impact on heat soak when the car is off...

A couple thoughts/questions come to mind:

* What makes you think the car is getting hot? Oil Temps? Head Temps?
* Replacing the belts is a good idea as they tend to get deformed occasionally after being thrown off.
* Did you check the alignment of the alternator to the crank fan assembly?
* "Typically" all rubber belts get tighter as they heat up.

I'm running with the heat rises concept. That fan can be reversed however.

Idle oil pressure got down around 20 psi after a few runs and oil temps were up about 1/2 of that gauge. Agreed on the alignment. I'm going to straight edge those pulley faces to see exactly what's going on.

3rd autocross.

Overall things went well yesterday. I tweeked the alternator bracket and the Gates belt stayed on. Head temps never exceeded 300F even with ambient temps in the 90s. I was shutting down after coming off course and not re-starting until just a minute or so from starting the next run. But I had another driver ride with me on my 5th run and he confirmed what I suspected. Oil pressure is dropping in the turns. Looks like I'll need a tuna can or deep sump. Pelican no longer offers the tuna can but does have a deep sump. I think the deep sump requires drilling and tapping the engine case. Any readers with experience on installing either please chime in.

Shop around for the tuna can. It's an easy install, and effective
PS - check the 914 World classifieds, there's one there NOW

I still lost my rod bearings after a few seasons with a tuna can. Be sure to run it about .5 quarts over when you get one. The sumps I've seen do *not* require any mods to the case, but are a bit dicey on how they mount in my opinion. That's how I ended up going with a modified CB Performance dry sump system...

Crap. I just ordered from Automotion. Thanks for the heads up.




Copy that on the sumps. The mountings do look dodgy. I'm going to get a tuna can on this joker before I run it again.

Very nice build! similar to my build that took 5 years.

I have the exact same exhaust and I used the protective cable wrap from tangerine racing for my clutch cable.
http://www.tangerineracing.com/transmission.htm

I also added a custom bracket to hold it away from the header.

I am surprised no-one has asked the question (perhaps I missed it):

Where did you get the wheels!?!
I have been searching for exactly that setup for a couple of years.

My buddy Henry at Just Porsche Parts had them. I sold the OEM Fuchs (I thought they were Mayle) and took that money to Little Rock to buy those Dura-Lites. From what I've seen they're hard to find. Super light and perfect for the Hoosiers.

I dunno if I ever mentioned it,but the best single mod I ever made to my 914 AXer was tying in the cage (with no upper side bars) to the suspension towers F & R. That makes the suspension do it's assigned work consistently rather than have the chassis try (& fail) to do it. I think I posted a pic somewhere in this thread

You did JP and thank you for that recommendation. A cage is definitely in this car's future but that will probably be a winter project after this racing season. As my welding skills improve, I'm considering doing that job myself. I found a company that makes what appears to be very good benders and notchers at affordable prices.

JD Squared website

I'll get some more welding practice when I put the '76 on a homemade rotisserie. I'll post progress on that here...

76 parts car or keeper

Yesterday we took the car back up to NCM autocross pad and generally things went well. I'm pleased to report that the tuna can worked very nicely with no oil pressure drops in turns. It was in the mid-80's and head temps were very manageable. The car ran well and I placed third RAW time (amongst cars with doors) in a field of 70. However, this course had a very tight section in the beginning and then opened up for higher speeds. I was really struggling to hit second gear precisely and could have used third gear on two sections. I was hitting rev limit in second gear right at 50 mph. I'm going to have to get a performance shifter before the next event.

Here's a rather shaky video. I'll also find a good way to mount my cell phone properly before shooting another.

NCM event 6-28-15

After reading about clutch replacement and flywheel re-surfacing, I decided to drop the transmission and put a washer under the clutch fork pivot ball. That's a lot of trouble but well worth it. Getting the trans off was simple enough but that pivot ball was nested into the trans case and getting a socket on it wasn't happening. I had to get a dremel grinding stone and remove about 1 mm of casing to get a bite with a socket. I also replaced the nylon bushing in the shift fork. Put everything back together and yes, a big difference on where the clutch engages and dis-engages. I've also got a Rennshifter on order and hopefully when I get that into the mix, smooth and precise shifting.

Update on the race car.

I did get the performance shifter installed and it made a HUGE improvement. Coupled with the shim under the shift fork ball and I'm able to get from 1st to 2nd to 3rd to 2nd, etc. with no problems. I ran the car at a couple of regional events before last weekend's Championship Tour in Ohio.

What has been a issue is minimum weight however. That minimum in SCCA Solo DP class is displacement = weight (2-valve per cylinder cars) so that put mine at 2056 lbs. without driver. Without any ballast, the car weighs 1638 lbs. That meant over 400 lbs. of ballast. So I added hot rolled steel plates (least expensive) in 12" x 12" chunks of 1" and 1/2" thickness. It took stacks to get that weight which I bolted to the floor pans. I ran the car 4 runs in that trim at a regional with a decent course. The car handled well but acceleration was poor. For the next heat, I took out all but one 1/2" plate on the passenger side for XP minimum of 1653 lbs. Quite the difference with very good acceleration. So I'm in XP now with a greater level of preparation for many different makes and models (including engine swops). Oh well, might as well just drive as best I can and have fun.

Here's some photos of the shifter, ballast, etc. And a link to one of my runs at the Champ Tour.

Also, I started in on a restoration project some of you may be interested in. An '82 924 Turbo that needed saving.

931 restore thread

Wilmington Champ Tour run 3

A month or so later and we've got two SCCA Solo National Tour events under our belts. Wilmington OH and the Championship at Lincoln NB. Wilmington was sort of a throw away. The car ran okay but I DNF'd two runs on the second day. Chalk that up to lack of concentration. That was a pretty fast flowing course and I had to shift multiple times second to third and third to second. Good practice for Lincoln however. Here's a video...

Wilmington 2015 3rd run

And some photos from Perry Bennett...







More from Nationals in the next post.

2015 SCCA Solo Nationals. The best of the best competing for class championships. No stupid PAX to worry about. Pure autocross on the tarmac of Lincoln Airport. There's two courses in use and a test n tune course. We arrived on labor day and I had registered for the Evo school on the test n tune course. Not that I needed an instructor in this car but more for ease of getting many runs in an hour. I ended doing only six to save the Hoosiers for the main event. After the test n tune I noticed some fuel dripping from the drivers side Weber air cleaner. I took off the filter and there's fuel collecting on the butterflies. At idle, fuel is dripping very steadily from the two jets. When I turn the fuel pump off, that stops however. Not wanting to disassemble the carb before the first day competition, I decide to run the car by turning the fuel pump off at idle. Just before launching switch it on. Not the best situation, but a temporary fix. I also changed motor oil that afternoon to get the gas tainted oil out.

My class ran 4th heat on the west course on Tuesday. A tight, technical course that made you really look ahead and stay on line. The car ran good but I couldn't get a clean run in. My best time on the third run was with one cone. After my heat, a mechanic named James Bricken with Gruppe 9 Autowerks in San Antonio had heard about my carb problems. Offering to help, he opened up the offending carb, inspected the floats, made a little tweek to the needle trigger and the problem was solved. Autocross is so great in that others are always willing to help.

Wednesday we're on the east course and it's a different animal. Long, flowing with big sweepers. The speeds are much higher than the west course and I know I'm going to be spending time in 3rd gear. My second run on that course was my best and it just seemed that everything went right. All the up-shifts, down-shifts, throttle inputs and steering were spot on. I was really racing and felt as one with the 914!

In grid, the XP class was a bunch of great guys. A diverse set of highly prepared cars like 240Z, Lotus Elise, MR2, etc. All of those had extensive wings and spoilers. A lot of the drivers were curious why I had such a under-prepared and under-powered car in class. Of course I explained my problems with DP weight and why I thought it would just be fun to compete at 1653 lbs. XP weight. My goal for the event was to not be last in class. I finished 14 of 19 competitors and was pleased. I think I also surprised the other competitors on that finish. James watched my runs on Wednesday and said the car could be two seconds faster if "I would get serious". He said he thought the engine was very strong for a 2056 build.

We've got one more event before end of season and that will probably toast the tires. I'm not making any major changes to the 914 before next year as I've got an on-going 931 restoration in progress. I guess I'll just keep having fun








SCCA Solo National Championship 2015 run3

SCCA Solo National Championship 2015 run5

Thanks for the great update from the Solo Nationals. Great pictures and videos.
It sounds like you had a blast! Great Job!

Hi Han Solo

When you said that “James watched my runs on Wednesday and said the car could be two seconds faster if "I would get serious". Was he meaning more preparation or more seat time?
I love the fact that your 914 is a track only car. And that you compete in SCCA solo events is great. I am a 30+ year solo veteran with 9 Solo Nationals under my belt. I look forward to further exploits.

Mike T

James being a Porsche mechanic, I suspect he meant greater car preperation. Although my drivers skills probably don't come near your abilities. Thanks for following this thread and please do comment with notes or recommendations. XP certainly isn't the best class for this 914 unless I spend some REAL money on engine, body, transmission, suspension, etc. The regional events can be very fun and the local SCCA members get a kick out seeing this car run. I'm usually in the top five raw time and that does give some satisfaction after a lot of time and effort.

End of year update - I ran the Hairy Ant Nest Racing 914 a couple more regional events and the car did really well. The last event in Huntsville I had a really good TRSCCA driver co-drive and we had a blast. That site has really reflective noise issues and the club is under pressure to keep within SCCA regulations. Anyway, we got warnings on our first couple of runs but figured out that if we up-shifted to 3rd near the sound meter, we were good. We ended up 3rd & 4th raw time out of about 75 entries so that was great. Here's Geoff launching...

Huntsville autocross

Part of the noise issue was some back-firing that I'll have to look into. I think a close carb adjustment and timing check is in order. I'm also taking apart the two spare transmissions and will hopefully have enough good parts to make one solid transmission with autocross gear set. I've started a thread on that process here...

trans gear swop

I'll have to keep the 914 racing mods and fixes costs low as I've also got this 931 restoration going on and that CIS stuff is crazy!

931 restore thread

Our 2016 Solo season is off to a good start. I ran the car several weeks ago at a Test N Tune and was pleased. But last weekend we ran at the Dixie Championship Tour 2016 in HCR class. It was a blast but no competition in class unfortunately. I found that the car had better times at the Test N Tune with a passenger (less push) so I added 160 lbs. ballast to the passenger side floor pan. I'm still under HCR weight (2056 lbs.) but that does help understeer; coupled with loosening a half turn on the front Konis.

My times at Dixie were good in comparison to other classes. Good grip from the A7s with temps being mild both days. What does need to be addressed is rev limit and gearing. I just spoke to Greg at FAT Performance and we're going to switch to a 7100 rpm rotor. That's going to help get 2nd gear top speeds up and make that transition from 2nd to 3rd more in the power band. He's given me some notes on carb and valve adjustments. So I'll need to do those along with the rotor change.

And... to make the car HCR legal, I'm switching to 8" wide rear wheels. the folks at Bogart Racing Wheels say they can replicate the outer rings on my 8" fronts and all I'll have to do is put the narrow outer rings on the rears. After that, I'll need to add more weight and part of that will be a race cage. Time to speed some $$$ on the race car


6th run Dixie 2016

Great update. Good video too. I hope the new higher rpm limit will do the trick. Keep up the good work and have fun!

Caged!

so glad that the last post here was of the roll cage! I just went through the whole thread. the rustoration was painful to see, but thats history now. seeing the car in action I kept thinking, "he needs to get a cage in there" and here we are. excited to see what the 2nd half of 2016 brings.

keep it up!

Yesterday was the first event after installing the cage. I also had most of the ballast needed to be DP or HCR weight compliant. I had a very accomplished co-driver but he struggled with the 914 shifting. We both landed in the top 10 RAW time and PAX time out of a field of 150 drivers. Randall lead me by .15 to win the HCR class. The extra weight definitely affects acceleration but handling was good. As long as I can maintain momentum, I'll be okay. I think the cage is helping the chassis rigidity but that NCM autocross pad is super flat and without any bumps.

When the car came off the trailer, the right rear caliper parking brake locked on because the caliper bolts were falling out! I'm very thankful that didn't happen on course! That caused the parking brake arm on the caliper to get bent so about an hour and half wrestling all that back into shape. It was super hot at NCM Motorsports Park in Bowling Green KY and I was a ball of sweat by 7:30 AM. We drove second heat so it was probably already over 90 degrees and brutal. The only relief was on course with the breeze coming through the non-wind shield. Really good grip from the Hoosier A7s and we were spaying water on them after two runs. Again, I'm not missing the 10" wide rears at all. The 8" square set-up is fine. After eight runs oil pressure at idle was only 20 PSI which was a bit concerning but otherwise the engine ran well.

Before the next event I'll pull that caliper and properly straighten the arm out. Hopefully I'll also get some loaner scales and set the car at 2056 lbs. as well.

NCM KYSCCA 6-26-16