Also got some shiny stuff in the mail yesterday so I installed it on the bottom of the motor.

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Great build so far...Press On, Doug!

I buttoned up the driver's side door jamb. I salvaged part of the old sill and sectioned it in. Came out real nice.

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Also hit a small spot near the front that had rusted through.
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Driver's side = DONE

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Got the passenger side sail panel, door jamb, and fender all lined up and started to weld up.
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Finished up a few last loose ends with the rust repair.

I installed a new door jamb support on the passenger side rocker.

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Also when cleaning up the floor and removing some seam sealer I found a spot of rust on the driver's side front corner. Fixed.

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Also for about the first time since I bought the car, I opened the front trunk to start cleaning it out. TONS of rat crap everywhere that I had to vacuum out. Luckily wiring harness seems undamaged. There is one area of rust where the front trunk handle pull is located. This will have to be replaced at some point.

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The rest of the front trunk was in very good shape. The bottom pan was perfect. Weatherstrip channel has some rust but thats to be expected and its an easy fix.

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Been working on a little side project for this car. I plan to really drive this car so I will eventually add A/C to it. I have been working on a way to mount the compressor without modifying the tin and while maintaining the stock" appearance from the top. I still have some mockup to do... install oil cooler, straighten the tin, engine mount bar,etc. but so far everything is looking good. Compressor will be rotated 90* from what the picture shows. I will loose heat on the passenger side but that's not the end of the world. I might still be able to duct the heater fan in the engine bay so I at least have defrost on that side. Stayed tuned... hoping it works.

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Been making a lot of dust this week blasting parts. Hoping to get paint done this weekend. Hoping to have some bigger progress to show very soon.

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This weekend I finished blasting all the engine parts and got them painted. I used Eastwood's Chassis Ceramic Black. Everything came out great and a big item knocked off the to-do list.

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Well its time to let the cat out of the bag. I decided back in May that my goal for the car was to get the car to a point where it can be a running/driving project car. I don't like having money and time tied up into something I can't drive. So I have now fixed all the rust underneath and the plan going forward is to paint inside, underneath, and engine bay, reinstall the motor, get it running, and in the future attack the outside, rebuilding the suspension, etc. It won't look pretty from the outside but underneath will be nice. Oh, and I also thought it would be a good idea to get it running by Okteenerfest which is now only 3 weeks away. Right now, I don't know if I will make that goal but I will try. Its been a fun motivation so far.


Now onto the progress... I prepped and applied SPI epoxy primer on all the areas that needed it.


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I let the Epoxy dry for a couple hours and then applied seam sealer. I used 3M Ultrapro Sealant and smoothed it with a brush. Then I let it sit overnight and applied a light coat of 3M undercoating to the bottom of the floor. The UC gives a very nice texture.



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And tonight I applied some color to this beast. I'll let it sit a day or two before I start assembling stuff.

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I got a special delivery today. I went ahead and bought a new set of wheels. 4.5x15 steelies. I also had some 165/85 tires that I went ahead and got them mounted. Early Steelies are probably my favorite wheel for the 914 so I'm excited to be using these on my car.

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Spent the day today assembling the engine bay. Mounted steel lines in the tunnel. Figured out fuel pump mounting and routing. Mounted the fuel pump on new isolators and had to drill a few holes in the replacement engine shelf for the mount and wiring. I also installed a new wiring snorkel and cleaned up the harness. Installed new outboard engine mounts. New engine bay seals. New brakes lines. Installed new heater cable and nipples and some other small rubber pieces. Proud supporter of 914Rubber.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to get some of the engine work knocked out as the engine bay is pretty much ready at this point.


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Hey Doug,
Looks good. Did you do the ss fuel lines through the tunnel?
Peter

Thanks. I used regular steel lines from FLAPS. They'll likely outlive the car and cost a lot less than SS.

Well I spent the day on Sunday getting the motor ready. I started by installing the valve train and doing a valve adjustment. I installed the thermostat, oil cooler and some other small tasks. I then had to move the motor from my basement to the shop where I could finish assembling the rest. Installed all the engine tin, shroud, and alternator. I also prepped some other items like the intake plenum with throttle body, sensors, etc.

Today I spent the day working on the transmission. I first had to do a very deep cleaning because the thing was covered. I then replaced the main input seal, output seal, Speedo drive seals, shift rod seal and cover plate. Also installed new mounts and cleaned the ground strap. I've never tested the tranny but I at least know it won't leak! I finished the day by realizing I do not have a new ball cup bushing for the clutch fork. A single $2 part is holding up progress. Unfortunately I will have to wait a few days for that to arrive before I can mate the engine and tranny together and install in the car.


Valves done.
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I installed a new lightened 12lb flywheel.
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Also a new pressure plate and clutch disk. Although it doesn't look new, it is.
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And where I'm currently at. Still have to install wiring, and intake system.
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Everything is looking great Doug.
BTW....I'm a Doug as well restoring a 71 too.
Keep it going and keep bringing the great pics as well.
Well done Man....

Thanks!

Good luck with your car!

I took some time tonight and started cleaning the gas tank. There was quite a bit of debris in the tank but I think most of it was caked on varnish. I hosed the tank out real well and it looks pretty decent, not too rusty but plenty more to get out. I went ahead and poured a couple gallons of apple cider vinegar in it and will let it soak a few days.


Before pics
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I also placed an order with PMB Performance today for a full set of calipers and pads. Hopefully I will have them by the time I get the rest of the drivetrain squared away and can do some driving.

Got the engine installed today. Installed the new clutch fork bushing. Mated the transmission. Installed the intake on top of the motor and routed the wiring harness. Also installed all new bushings for the shifting system. I'm hoping to button up some more things things tomorrow (fuel lines, vacuum lines, exhaust, distributor) and will be very close to starting it up.

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Great build thread coming to an end.

I got the exhaust installed on the car. Also installed all the fuel lines/injectors on the engine and then proceeded to finish cleaning out the gas tank, replacing the sock screen, cleaning the sending unit, and replacing the upper seals. Distributor is also cleaned up and ready to install.

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Things left to do before startup:

-Hook up battery cables
-Install Distributor
-Install relay board
-Put gas in it

You are making great progress! Getting it started is such a great feeling!

Jeff B

Got the rest of the motor hooked up tonight. Turned the key... No smoke ..... And no fuel pump . I was eventually able to get the pump going but still could not get it to start. It came real close to starting but no cigar.

I'm thinking Im either not getting spark at all four or some of my injectors are not squirting. I'll be doing some more tests tomorrow to hopefully get it going..

It RUNS! Woohoo!

The alternator seized as soon as it started but I ran it for some time after removing the belt. It sounds good! I have a short video I'm going to try to upload soon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=406XtCPExQ8

Sounds great.
Well done!

Talked to PMB today. Calipers should be here by the end of the week. In the meantime I have plenty of work to do. I took some time tonight after I got the motor running to clean up the axles and got them degreased. Will hopefully assemble and install tomorrow.

To Do:
Axles
Alternator
Install pedal cluster
Accelerate cable
Clutch cable
Speedo cable
Set timing
Shift linkage
Install rear lights, bumper, lid
Rear window
Drivers seat/seat belts
Calipers, rotors, and master cylinder
Insurance and registration

I also need to dedicate some time to make sure my other 914 is ready for Okteenerfest which is a little over a week away.

So my plan didn't quite work out as well as I hoped. In prep to get the car on the road I…

Rebuilt/installed the axles
Fixed the alternator (it had seized upon first startup)
Rebuilt and installed the pedal cluster
Installed accel, clutch, speedo cables
Installed the shift linkage
Installed rear lights and bumper
Installed the rear window
Got Insurance and Registration for it

Unfortunately the week before Okteenerfest I started to have some medical issues and could not work on the car. So I ended up missing the event and the car is still not drivable. Although I’m still having issues, I recently started to feel well enough to get back on the car. I installed my new calipers. soft lines, and some lightly used rotors on the rear of the car. For the front I installed new rotors, bearings, calipers and soft lines. PMB is having some issues sending me all of my order. I was missing the brake caliper hardware for the front and they are taking their sweet time to correct it. Luckily I went out last night and found some cores with the correct hardware and went ahead and installed them. I started to do my initial bleeding but ran out of time. The only thing the car needs to start driving is to bleed the brakes. Hopefully this weekend I can take it on the road just in time to enjoy some of this beautiful fall weather.

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Damn Doug - sorry to hear about the health issues! I went right through Burnesville to Banner Elk - couldn't have been more than 30 miles away. Bummer you couldn't make it being so damn close. Get well and chase the dream...brakes are looking great!

Tony

Yup, being so close makes it suck even more. Luckily I get to drive the great roads around here everyday.

Well it ain't pretty but it is now running and driving. I'm officially stoked.

I bled the brakes, tied up some cables underneath, and spent some time adjusting the shift linkage. It's probably been about 4 weeks since I last started it and it roared to life instantly.

I've only driven it around the block and around my field a couple times but the engine runs so smooth and so far completely dry underneath. I can already tell the 1.7 is pretty gutless but I'm looking forward to putting it through its paces. The transmission shifts like butter which is good news since the state of the transmission was unknown up to this point. Front lights all work, horn works, wipers work, turn signals work.

Things to do:
Figure out why my brake lights are on all the time
Install rear lid
Lower the front
Replace the aar
Drive, drive, drive



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Great work Doug! Glad to hear you are feeling better to.

Dude!!!
Great feeling, isn't it?
Good on you!
Most importantly, great to hear you're feeling better.
Take care.

I've been driving this thing to work the past few weeks and have found some more things that need attention. I will say though, despite some of the issues, the engine runs really well and pulls really strong specially for a 1.7L. The lightened flywheel also adds a nice touch without affecting drive ability.

Things that need work:
-Rear wheel bearing on right side is shot. I have the parts, just have to find the time.
-Front sometimes has a wobble.
-Engine has a hiccup every once in a while. Possible lean condition or sticky distributor.
-Left turn signals do not work
-Change oil
-Front needs to be lowered but one of the adjustment bolts is frozen. I'll have to get creative to break it loose.


Weather has cooled off quite a bit so I've been focusing on other projects but will gradually tackle the little things on this car.


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Hi Doug,
Can I come up when you do the bearing? I would like to watch. We could get that tree down to.

I just saw this today. You can absolutely come and watch if you're still interested.

Spent some time diagnosing my lights. Left side parking lights would not function. Ended up being a loose fuse under the dash. But I also had some connectivity issues so I cleaned all the bulb sockets on got them working. Same goes for the front. Side marker lights didn't work. I blasted the terminals in the housings and replaced the push-clips and seals. I got everything back together and discovered that my reverse lights stopped working. Diagnosed it to a faulty switch so I'll have to replace that or just replace the pin.

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In an effort to diagnose the hiccup/hesitation I've been having, I rechecked the timing. While I was reeving the motor to 3500 rpm to check the timing I noticed that the advance would hesitate and not operate smoothly as I accelerated. It would stick and get hung up so that's one potential reason for the issue. I'm going to fully rebuild a spare and go from there... hoping that solves my issue.

Thanks! Let me know when.

I haven't made too much progress on the car but I have spent some time troubleshooting the hiccup/ hesitation I've been having. I installed a spare distributor I had and got it timed correctly. The advance/retard now operates smoothly but that did not solve my issue. I verified the CHT connection and my grounds. All checked out. I then checked my fuel pressure and found that it was pumping to 40psi! It should be ~28. I adjusted it to the correct pressure and now the car runs horribly. It's barely drive-able so now I'm thinking at least one cylinder is running is lean. While idling I checked the head temperatures with an IR thermometer and noticed cylinder 3 was lower than the other 3 cylinders. Pulling spark leads had a less noticeable affect on cylinder 3 as well. My next step is to check injector flow and then valve adjustment.

#3 was cooler? Odd. That's the hottest cylinder. Was it the coldest with the old distributor, too?

Made some more troubleshooting progress although no resolution yet.

Injector flow looked good
I couldn't find any loose terminals or connections
I performed a compression test 130-140 on all cylinders
Some iffy battery connections were fixed
Intake sensor TS1 measured ~500 ohms @45degrees. Seems correct
CHT measured ~90ohms after 5 minutes at idle.
Vacuum hoses are new and have been checked. I'm only running vacuum to MPS and distributor.


So at this point I know I'm running lean. The only thing that helps is if I 1) raise the fuel pressure or 2) Disconnect TS1. I also get a small backfire out the exhaust on overrun.

The only thing I haven't been able to verify is my MPS. My MPS holds vacuum and has not been tampered with but the part number ends in 051 A which is not a 914 MPS. There's not a lot of information on 051A but I found some vague references that it should be a direct replacement for 051E. So who knows. I'm going to continue verifying everything and I'll likely pick up another MPS as a spare to try out. Good news though is that I can at least trick the system so I can keep driving this thing.

Well, the car is still running lean. I swapped out the MPS and had no change. I went through all connections again vacuum and electrical and still didn't find anything. Triple checked timing. I also verified my fuel pressure gage is correct which it is. Time to dig deeper...

I also changed out one of my rear wheels bearing because it was noisy. Once back on the road I can now hear my other rear bearing making noise. I'll hopefully get to it over the holidays.


I have also decided that once I get this car running correctly it will likely be for sale. I'm interested in moving onto other projects so this one needs to go. If anyone is interested, drop me a PM. I'l be doing a formal ad once its ready.

I worked on the interior of the car today. I started by installing 914Rubber's floor vinyl kit. Only some minor was trimming was needed.

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I didn't like the idea of adhering anything to the floor of the car so I also made some custom removable sound deadening mats. I cut them on a CNC router with a knife attachment out of 1/8" rubber. The fit came out great and they'll work really well.

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I also installed some sound deadening/insulation on the firewall. Some might notice the extra wiring... One of the few non-stock components I installed on the car is a defrost rear window. It adds a neat little touch.

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I installed most of a new carpet kit. I also cleaned up the backpad and installed. I put the seats back in and called it quits for the day. Still have a lot of little things to install for the interior but those will get completed a different day.


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Another item I have to do it paint the retaining pins black for the front floor mats.

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