I'm just "wading" into this project since it rolled off the shipping truck

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99% rust free California car now in SoCal after sitting in a garage for years without being . My neighbors are now giving me the "hairy eyeball" since I fired it up to pull it up into the garage....and it was a bit loud .

Now taking inventory of what it is and making a list of what-to-do and in what order it might be done. I'm starting with draining and renewing all water, oil, brake and transmission fluids. I expect the juices to be a little funky since just sitting unused continues the 'chemistry'.

The wiring looks a little scary too. Many of them in the engine compartment (box behind driver) were cut and lead nowhere. Hum.

It would be good to hear from other V8 'Loons' who may be able to help me avoid to much .

Let the 914 madness continue!

Oh yeah, I'm sure your posh Newport neighbors just LOVED that!

So when will it cross our OCR AX, DE, TT, etc. track or Concours grounds?

Good Luck!
Tom
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Congrats!

Drive it like you stole it.... and you probably did!

I wondered if you got it. Congrats!

I would get the cooling system sorted out first and give the engine a tune up.

That thing has the heaviest clutch ever, so I would come up with some sort of hydraulic assist system. I couldn't see driving it in traffic for more than 15 minutes.

Great project thanks for the picture. Can you tell me the size of the wheels and tires? Any pictures of the engine bay?

Luckily, my immediate neighbor is a car nut . Before OC C&C shut down we would try to sneak out at dawn in his sled before he solved his cold start issues. The backfires would rattle all the high priced neighbor's designer windows! Here's his small thermo-nuc device

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^

That is all....

BradR...yes, that Brad called me a few days ago, found the for sale thread for your new ride while google'n something and called to remind me that he installed or fine tuned the serpentine belt assembly and that I helped with it at the Palo Alto shop.

I think I vaguely remember that now....I do remember working on a nasty V8 powered 911 at the PA shop and a few other cars there.

RobW,
Time will tell if I "stole" this one. "Rescue" was on my mind since the car had been sitting for over 5 years in (dry) storage......
So, after pouring over an old file full of papers, receipts and faded notes up she went on on jack stands for a lookee-lou.
Drained the transmission (930 4sp LSD ) and then refilled with fresh Swepco. The old mystery fluid didn't "taste great and was not less filling" as the old school beer commercial crowed. The magnetic drain plug was a big fuzz ball with a few shards too See relative size compared to the thickness of the penny.
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What have you folks found hiding on you trans drain plugs?

Mueller,
Check out this picture I got. This will bring back his memory. Here it is just before being stuffed up into it's new home. I knew I heard something growling in my garage the first night I closed the door. Hide your daughters "Something wicked this way Goes".

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Perl,
Car rolled off the transport with Fiske (9"front 235/45/17 & 11"back 275/40/17 ):

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I had the same model Fikse rims on my old 964...don't do what I did!

Came home after a fun run, brakes and wheels still hot and I decided to wash the car, I sprayed alloy wheel cleaner on the fronts while still hot and discolored center section badly!

I couldn't repair with simple Mothers polish by hand

Hi Matt,

You helped in several ways. Thanks.

Well, all fluids, including the cooling system is on my mind after knowing the car sat in dry storage for years. I thought it would be simple to drain out whatever was in the car but NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO ... that would be too easy.

The V8 radiator setup is "remote" BUT no (lowest point) petcock was built in. Here's the lowest point. Kind of "cool" (to turn a phrase) and bizarro in another sense

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Anyone know an aluminum welder? Seems like drilling a hole then welding a threaded "bung" on the end with drain plug screwed into it would be the way to go

Mueller,
Jeez, I did the same stupid trick a million years ago to these shoes:

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Cramped up both arms rubbing out (so to speak) the rims with every kind of paste I could find.

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I suggest getting rid of those aluminum box tubes and run gates hose. That way if you bottom out they bounce back rather than kink and stay kinked. More than likely there is air in the system which is causing the car to run warm and you should vent through the fenders or hood. (The floor is not the best).

If you don't plan to track the car I would suggest a different cage to make access to the car easier. (I found it tough to get in)

Fantastic brakes on the car huh?

[quote name='matthepcat' date='Jul 9 2015, 01:25 AM' post='2207930']
I suggest getting rid of those aluminum box tubes and run gates hose. That way if you bottom out they bounce back rather than kink and stay kinked. More than likely there is air in the system which is causing the car to run warm...
[quote]

That's the one thing I didn't like about that setup. It's very likely trapping air from the looks of it. One good knock and you'd be spilling coolant everywhere. Pull all that off and just get some gates green stripe hoses and you'll like it a lot better. Easy and inexpensive fix. Then you can tee a fitting in at the lowest point.

These water tubes are unusual. However, after researching the material's technical specs I think it would be difficult to crush/kink them closed. It appears that the hit would have to be so powerful something REALLY serious is going on...like a crash. Tearing off one of the supporting bracket or an end fitting is a possibility too. Hum.

Air in system?

I'm sure you are right. The highest point in the H20 system has a combination of 'kluggey' rusty steel pipes, hoses and clamps.

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More evidence of AIR/OXYGEN with water making trouble:


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[quote name='Chris H.' date='Jul 9 2015, 06:44 AM' post='2207985']
[quote name='matthepcat' date='Jul 9 2015, 01:25 AM' post='2207930']
I suggest getting rid of those aluminum box tubes and run gates hose. That way if you bottom out they bounce back rather than kink and stay kinked. More than likely there is air in the system which is causing the car to run warm...
[quote]

That's the one thing I didn't like about that setup. It's very likely trapping air from the looks of it. One good knock and you'd be spilling coolant everywhere. Pull all that off and just get some gates green stripe hoses and you'll like it a lot better. Easy and inexpensive fix. Then you can tee a fitting in at the lowest point.
[/quote]


Chris,

Here's my temporary lowest water drain point "Macgyver" style.

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That'll work . The car's been sitting for a while, right? That might be when the rust set in. I'd definitely get rid of that aluminum square tubing setup. New hoses and inlets, probably run a lot cooler.

Matt,

Fantastic brakes?



The fronts look like a "stoppie" might be possible!

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The rears don't look to whimpy either. I wonder if someone recognizes their origin. 944?

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Go drive it down Marine on Balboa Island.

They'll love it.

Hey Mueller,

Here's another shot of the system.......

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................ya think I should address these "ricers" first or just set off every car and home alarm on the Island?





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Release these ?

When I lite off these 'cannons' to pull into the garage the neighbors were fingering their cells ... I think 9-1-1 was on their minds not admiration for 9-1-4 ...

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Yep, it's redesign time. This closed system cooling 'jewel' will allow water to expand and then suck it back into the piping.

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Changed the oil since car has been sitting 5+ years. BUT, I put new oil filter on and by the next morning it's dripping (up on stands) @ yellow arrow ABOVE the rubber filter seal

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Hum.....tore it apart and stared at this dohicky:

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I removed, broke it down and inspected the pieces:

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That black rubber piece looks ok but I did not like the design when researching for alternatives. Here's what the engine block looks like without abouve and the here's the alternative:

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This setup uses a wider filter AND it's rubber gasket makes direct contact with the block thus eliminating the earlier extra gasket.

NO MORE LEAKING

I like this oil filter adapter; what brand / part # is it? My SBC is waiting a dyno session, then going into the 914, and this style is a cleaner alternative. Thanks!

The Chevy stealership will nick you for about $40 but if you check out ebay, Jegs, Summit you will see the one I have EVERYWHERE. Hit "Images" on Google search for SBC oil filter adaptor and see the examples. Notice the allen bolts on the new setup? Well, I had to buy a "claw" wrench to get to the standard bolt head pictured on the old setup. Why you may ask? I do not know how the PO got the old set up bolted to the block because they are not only recessed into the block's openning BUT there is NO, NONE, NILO clearance between the bolt head and the side of the curved cutout for a socket set .

Get the SAE allen setup ONLY........or if you can find smaller hex head bolts that allow clearance that would work....jeez, why bother? Go Allen....then you are done forever

Attach some pictures of your sled ..........

Thanks for the info! Here are a few photo's of the old girl:Click to view attachment

The motivation
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Sorry for multi-posts; can't seem to get more than one photo per. Final shot of exterior.Click to view attachment

That car DOES look familiar. I spent a lot of time at the Palo Alto shop and i do remember several V8 cars there.

Who was the previous owner? Maybe the name will ring a bell ...

Mike Pickle(s?) , he was a friend of Hatfield that had the silver monster V8 914 up in Woodland.

Do you remember that super loud V8 911? I think it was owned by a CHP or police officer.

Damn, i actually helped Mike and Brad put that motor together at Mike's place!


I always wondered what had happened to his car after he died ...



PS: And i do remember the CHP v8 911, that car was a beast.

This red/pink 914 was last owned by "Mike Pickle" (RIP).

Tomrev

Very nice car

Dave Darling, Mike Pickels and Bill Pickering helping me picking up my 3.6L engine from Jerry Woods.



Still can't believe he's gone ...

Here's part of the cooling design that came with the car:

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Note the round grey sheet metal disk.

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There is one 2.5" on each front wheel well. My guess is that this wild ducting, including the fiberglass shroud and trunk floor removal, was the second attempt to vent the radiator when the small holes did not do the job.

I removed the ducting to expose this:

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Time to find front truck sheet metal and weld it back up.

Anybody got a lead on that piece of steel?

Next, I need to decide on better venting

I like hot air rising up to vent(s) on the top of the hood...but I'm not sure about how it would look.

This looks like what could have been done if more holes had been cut the first time.

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I could do this. I like the remaining strength of the wheel well assuming the holes are far enough apart. It would also leave nice attachment points for critter screen guards.

Would love to hear from the water cool guys on their experiences

Tell me about that battery holder............

I have an old file with lots of notes .......... some hard to understand
It would be great to know anything you may be able to share about the engine so that I can avoid trouble...

@tomrev

Your motor looks nice. What can you tell me about it?

Unfortunately, i don't remember any details. It's been many years since the PA shop days.

Nice car. Really nice. Love the front valance. Where's it from?

Dang MikeP was a young man . Nice to see his car getting finished.

Ok. Thanks.

I'm de-constructing some of Mike's car to optimize his designs. He collected many good parts/ideas. It appears that some of the original ideas had been re-worked several times.

The car had spent it's entire life in the Chicago area, but had been apart since around 2008. I bought it in March of 2014, fixed up some small issues, then installed the 911 suspension, Fuchs, back dated the bumpers, and put a new 383 Chevy into her. Knowing the big motor is going to be too much, I have found a uncompleted 283 short block, and have finished the build with Al. heads, better valve train, etc. and hope to have her rolling again in a few weeks with the smaller, way over square 283. I like the bark of these motors, and the transaxle will be happier as well!

Mike's wife said that he spent more money on the 914 in trying to get it how he wanted it than the Lotus Elise he bought her back in the day.

I guess multiple revisions of the car adds up to a lot of $$$

The battery holder is a Optima kit; but I much prefer the little Odysseybattery's, so made some Al. mods to accommodate the smaller Odessy. Every Odessy I have ever owned is still working; I have one from 1999 in my Elise!!!