I'm still slowly preparing to start my full '73 2.0 restoration- in the mean time, I've been driving the car and figuring out what needs to be done. I want to keep the car very close to stock, but also want to make a few improvements to make the car a little more enjoyable.

I'm thinking about doing a hydraulic cam on the rebuild and a little higher compression pistons, larger brake master, hydraulic lifts for the hood and trunk instead of the springs, and maybe ditching the inner door handles for pulls instead. (I guess I like the RS style look)

I know there are a ton of mods out there and was wondering if anyone has experience with any that I'm thinking about doing, or have done any others that you would recommend.

As you can see from my build thread, I like to leave mine in pristine stock original condition.

I would caution you away from a hydraulic cam. The lifters usually have problems pumping up with oil if the car doesn't get driven regularly... If you are wanting to get away from doing valves every 3,000 miles, look into doing 1.7L rocker arms with 911 swivel foot adjusters and chromoly pushrods if you are getting into the motor.

I felt that by the ’73 2.0 litre Porsche pretty much got it right. It would be nice to make the vent windows functional, but that looks like it would be a lot of work. The one thing I would really like to change is to move the handbrake to the center of the car…

I did NOT see that coming!

I don't think anyone saw that coming...

I'm not against doing the valves but I do drive the car regularly and plan to keep it that way, so the hydraulic cam doesn't worry me too much. It is definitely something I'm not set on doing yet though

Anyone swap their starter for a high torque starter? I happened to see them on pelican but don't know much about the units.

I speak from experience here, but when I first built my motor, I used hydraulic lifters. Daily driver. Valves would clack and flack and clack..everytime I started the car until it got warm.. worst decision I've ever made building an engine.. I was very happy to be rid of them.

I would never recommend them to anyone on a type 4.

I just bought This for my v8 conversion. My old one had bad bushings and I couldnt replace them.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/261387291529

And I like mods as well (sig)

Well now I'm rethinking the hydraulic cam. I've only heard good things about them but I also don't know of too many people who have done it that I can talk to

I do appreciate the opinion, especially based on experience

I agree on the 1.7L rocker arms, 911 swivels, and chromoly steel push rods. You adjust to zero lash and go ...

More Fun?
yep, 911 swivel feet, better cam, 2056cc setup, Koni yellow shocks, 19mm front sway bar, stiffer rear springs and 205x50 tires...

Adding HP and handling is fun!

Ditto: Yeah, what he said. Eventually 2 of them stopped rotating.

I have one on both 914s. They have worked flawlessly the whole time. And they don't have the no crank hot start problem, even without the booster relay.

Be careful on which one you buy. Make sure you don't go cheap on them. The cheap ones are crap.

+1 on the hi-torque mini starter. It's also lighter!

Along with other problems mentioned, I thought I remember reading that you actually lose HP with a hydraulic cam on a Type IV.

I know a lot of folks run the larger 19mm master cylinder...but I'm not convinced it's really an upgrade to a stock braking system. I stuck with the 17mm M/C.

Saw you were in California. Fuel pump vapor lock could be a problem for you if it's in the engine bay. I would recommend moving it up front under the gas tank as Porsche did on the 75-76 models. It happened to me once and put me in a bad spot...not fun.

If the car doesn't have Billstein shocks all around, I think this would be a nice upgrade.

My current project is getting better tunes in the teener.

and good luck with your restoration!

Stickers....GReddy sticker alone adds 50hp!

If you don't have one already, front sway bar.

Not necessarily a change, but be sure to check the rear bushings on the front A-arms.
Removing the A-arms is easy for this inspection.
After 40 years they have sagged causing the torsion bars inside to rub against the ID of the A-arms causing a wear groove and loss of corrosion protection.
Many yrs ago i had a fractured torsion bar due to crack initiated at a corrosion pit.
Just replaced my rear bushings with the poly graphite ones, apparently OEM rubber bushings are not readily available and VERY difficult to install.
Make sure to polish out any corrosion from the bars and re-coat.
Here's what old bushings looked like:

Click to view attachment

Too many to list-
o.k. , i'll try - the whole rear end, - new: restored calipers from PMB with 5 lug conversion , all new brake lines hard and soft, new shocks and springs, new bushings, bearnings etc, new powdercoated trailing arms- Bruce Stone, fuchs from LUKEM,
did the push rod tubes and seals , new CV's from Tangerine, e-brake cables, - rebuilt the trans with new seals etc last year with Dr.EVIL, at ScottyB's clinic. - New flywheel, clutch, pressure plate etc, because rear main seal was bad, so was clutch. - i might have missed something, now, on to the front!!! -- lots of resources here for you on this site, i got everyting from members here.

I can't imagine where you've "only heard good things about them", because I've NEVER heard good things about them. They've been an unmitigated disaster since they were first introduced in the 1977 VW T2. Or was it 1976? Whatever. Lifter issues piled on top of the already troublesome camshaft lobe wear issues, oil leaks because no one ever serviced the valve cover gaskets, and a distinct loss of power. Experience? 40 years of professional wrenching on VWs, Porsches, and other German cars and trucks.

The Cap'n

Don't forget the solid spacers.

Jeff