Hi 914World,

New(ish) member with new project - a 1975 2.0L. It's certainly a project, but I think it's a great starting place. The seller is extremely knowledgeable about the car and helpful with local contacts who are in the 914 scene. It's been on the local CL for a while for more than I wanted to pay, but was recently able to strike a deal. Here are some specs about the project:

• "Rust Free" car with the only rust being on the surface of cleaned metal
• Hell-hole looks very clean
• All original glass, bumpers, interior, suspension, rims, etc. are included
• 901 "side shift" transmission has been taken apart, inspected, and rebuilt
• Lowered hard mounts for drivetrain
• There are some spares included as well (doors, top, misc. / etc.)

The engine is the gem of this purchase in my opinion. Here are the details:

2055cc "build" project in pieces currently (with matching numbers)

• All balanced / clearance as necessary by H&H in Dallas
• 96mm Pistons / Cylinders
• 9.0:1 compression ratio
• 3-angle valve job on 2.0 Heads
• Iskenderian Cams #485128 Grind #VP-228
• Claude's Buggies' Lightened Lifters
• Lightened Flywheel
• Custom High RPM Cooling Fan
• Rotating assembly has been coated with polymer or ceramic coatings by Polymer Dynamics in Houston

I've put down a deposit to hold and will be picking up on Monday. I'll post pictures as soon as I can. Plans are for a mostly stock rebuild with an attempt to retain as much value as possible.

Looking forward to this one!

Welcome. Good luck with the pickup. Looking forward to the pics. Are you gonna build the engine yourself ?

glad to see another Texan on the board
sounds like a fun project!


cjl

and I would like to see a pic of that special high RPM fan. If'n ya see Linda Lovelace tell her I said .

From NW Louisiana.

As promised, here are some pics.

From the original ad:









From today:

Small rust area below trunk button that will need to be replaced:




Previous rust spot that has been cut out of trunk:


Hell-hole area:




The biggest of the nasty's:




What does everyone think?

Oops - found some additional pics from original ad:

Gig 'Em

Was the engine one that Wes did?

Will have to confirm, but that is what I believe I was told. Will get more information from seller when I pick up and likely reach out to Wes' shop as well.

Not sure I'm wanting to tackle the assembly myself yet.

It looks like you have your work cut out for you

H&H is still open, in case you have heard different. I am Wes' son Jay. Feel free to give me a call. Since I have taken over, we have modernized a bit. Dad hated computers and water pumpers. But I have changed all that. We still, and always will, specialize in air-cooled Porsche's, I just needed to bring us into the 21st century. Check out the webpage www.hhautoenterprises.com

Phone number is still the same. 972-423-8526

Thanks,

Jay

Jay - thanks for reaching out. Good to hear you are still up and running. I will give you a shout once I have picked up the car and taken inventory of everything / know what direction I am heading in.

Great to see another 914 in Texas.

curious about that fan with the axial flow impeller, never seen one before, who's design?

[/quote]
curious about that fan with the axial flow impeller, never seen one before, who's design?
[/quote]

looks like a vw type 3 fan thrown on top

Will see what I can find out on the fan. No big update, but another pic from the seller. Going to pick her up tomorrow after work!

I'd look closely at the hell hole again. Maybe it's just surface rust, but there are appears to be a bit more than that.

Click to view attachment

It will be a bit of work but when done it will be the best handling little car you have ever driven. Good luck with it and keep us posted of your progress.

Just thought I would share real quick - I picked up the car tonight & will post pics tomorrow. But for now, here is the original saga of the car, as told by the seller: http://pohlman.info/muskrat.htm

For any wondering about the cooling fan - the answers are on that page and yes it is a combo with a type 3 fan added.

More to come. This car sure does seem to have an interesting history.

Ok, as promised here are some much better pictures from pick-up and drop-off at my storage unit (temporary). I met the seller last night and went over as much as we could before it got dark. He seems like he will be a good resource for any future questions / contacts in the local 914 arena.

Some photos from pick-up / loading up:







L30C (Malaga Red, 75/76 only I believe)


Once upon a time it wore its badges with honor…


As it always seems to go, my initial estimate of required work was a tad low. A closer inspection revealed that the "rust free" 914 (just doesn’t exist, lol) has a few small spots that will require attention. But, the important bits seem to be clean and structurally sound. There is no apparent rust on any of the longs and they door gaps and even with no sag. Here are my initial areas noted for repair:

1. A few patches will be needed below rear trunk release button, on the flat sheet metal that is usually covered by the bumper. These will be easy as it will just be flat rectangle patches that will get stitch-welded in.
2. There are a couple of small (penny sized or smaller) holes in the engine compartment sidewalls. Not sure if these were once factory holes or maybe someone got crazy with a sheet metal screw at one point in the car's history and the rot just manifested from that.
3. There is some rust around the antenna hole, but I am planning on filling this in anyways.
4. There is some bubbling on a corner of the passenger side sail / b-pillar. Might be able to mitigate with a clean & rust treatment but won't know until I dig further.
5. I knew the rear trunk floor pan was cut out when I agreed to purchase, so will be purchasing that patch panel.
6. I found out that someone installed aftermarket A/C at some point, so there are holes cut in the front trunk floor pan. Will have to get that patch panel.
7. A little further investigating into the engine compartment / hell hole led to the discovery of some rust on the lower firewall, where it meets with the engine shelf. It appears on the passenger side and to a lesser degree on the driver side. I studied this carefully yesterday and poked around to ensure it did not lead to any decay on the longs. It appears to be isolated to that one vertical, flat piece on both sides. I'm not sure which piece of a patch panel this is so will have to do some research.
8. Lastly, I will have to add back in the battery support, tray, etc. as they have been removed.

So definitely not a "rust free" car, but really not too bad considering age / it was at one point a barn find (previous seller). I can at least say it is much better off than some of the other teeners I looked at. Some other areas that will need love:

• A corner of the targa top is chipped off, and will have to be re-glassed. I'm not sure what that will mean for texture-match. Also, the front locking mechanisms appear to be missing handles and not properly functioning. Will have to post pics and figure out how to get this top off.
• The main wiring harness is cut aft of the passenger cabin and some of the dashboard wiring sheathing has been compromised. I was told going in that the harness was completely missing, so actually pleasantly surprised to see that it was still mostly in the car. I'm thinking I will use the existing harness and schematics as a template to recreate a new one. Am I crazy?
• The dash "skeleton" or frame is cut in half, but looks to be a clean cut so hoping it will be an easy tack weld back together. The original dashboard pieces are pretty badly cracked and torn up, so will have to do research on replacement options.

The car also came with literally a truck bed load of parts in boxes. I will be going back tonight with Tupperware, tape and sharpies to attempt to identify and organize what's there. I'm going to have to gather my thoughts and do some research, but my plan now is to go for a mostly-stock restoration with some tasteful customizations. This car, despite missing some things and being disassembled, is remarkably original. With that in mind, I think I'm not going to venture too deep into the world of custom modifications. Here are some things I do plan to change:

• Shave the side markers
• Shave the antenna hole
• Add "duck tail" rear spoiler
• Replace "steelie" wheels with fuchs or other
• Replace bumpers with either fiberglass or chrome (if I can find without having to sacrifice a limb or two in order to afford them)
• Thinking of leaving the sail panels / b pillars painted instead of covering w/ vinyl
• Possibly others? Who knows?

The game plan for now is to get the transmission and engine out, get the car up on a wooden rolling cart, remove front and rear suspension and remove any remaining interior / trim / electrical / etc. so that I can trailer it to have it blasted and epoxy-primed. While it's away, I'll focus on organizing parts and dropping the engine off for inspection and likely a build. I'll likely take parts to the powder-coaters / cad-coaters in batches. When it comes back, I'll tackle the metal repairs at my own pace. After that, I will send off for body & paint. I'm trying to stay more "hand off" with this project as I'm without my garage full of tools for the moment. (All subject to change, as with any project)

I'll be tracking every dime I spend, so will post that information for anyone interested in how much the restoration of my 914-4 comes out to. Anyways, here are some pictures:



A few dimples here & there:










Trunk with missing section(s) of the floor pan:






Here is the rot on the firewall / engine shelf. As mentioned, I poked and prodded and the long itself seems solid:


Passenger side:


Driver side:


Here are some shots of the longitudinal(s) and inner fenderwell(s):

Passenger:


Passenger, holes are from where original battery support / tray were spotted in (I think?)


Passenger:


Driver:


Driver:


Here is the chipped corner on the targa:


All tucked away for now:


Fair warning: Once I get everything sorted and labeled, I'm sure I'll be posting pictures & questions about numerous parts & pieces. More to come!

longs look good in the pic I'd check the b pillar rust pretty good many times that can go deep
looks like a great start!


cjl

The organization has begun! I went through all boxes from the seller last night. Found a few goodies that I wasn't expecting like runners & plenum from the factory FI as well as a new in box O2 sensor kit. Will have to post pics of that stuff because I know close to nothing when it comes to D-Jet.





Are the rusty crust exhaust pieces in this picture worth blasting and re-coating or should I toss and buy new? Also appear to have 2 sets of tin for the 2.0 engine so will likely be selling one of those to recoup some $.



Here is a picture of the cut-outs for factory air conditioning. I think I'll get the patch panel from Restoration Design to fix this.



Also, anyone know what these parts are? I'm guessing the left are some sort of 5MPH bumper shocks? And the right some sort of cross-links?

Congrats! Looks like you got a solid 914 with minor rust!

Claus

So, today she is a roadster again:





Also nice to see all my #'s match:






I spent a couple of hours after work going through the car to begin disassembly. Nice to see almost no rust under the various seals (except the bottoms of both doors, which were a little crunchy).





Bottom of door crunchies:




Think most of this is surface but will poke around:


Don't know how I feel about the red inserts? I think they are original.


Also dash is in two pieces... Will have to tack together.


Anyone know what this is?

On the left I are the bumper shocks. Hard to tell from the pics if they're from the front or rear. You should have four total (2 for the front bumper, two for the rear).

On the right kinda looks like drop links for the front sway bar, but they look too big for that. Could be just the way the picture looks, or they could be off some different car.

The foam piece in your last pic is the passenger side foot rest. It goes under the carpeting and at one time held an EGR/Catalytic converter counting device. It was controlled via the speedometer cable. There was a cable that ran from the transmission to that box and another cable from the box to the transmission. The box would set off a light on the instrument panel so that you could bring the car in to have the cat and EGR systems looked at. There was a small reset button on the box, but many owners of 75/76 models just removed them and ran an early car speedo cable and bypassed the box altogether.

914 World is awesome, you'll love it here. And you'll need the knowledge base here because that is a ton of work you've got in front of you.

Red inserts in the seat aren't original. But if Youre not worried about originality just clean them up and install.

Sorry to keep adding posts, but just saw another post I missed earlier. Personally I'd look for another harness rather than try to patch yours up. Couple reasons. I'd go for a different harness. First is that even if you can get all the wires spliced back together, there may not be enough room for a big mass of wires in the engine bay side. As you can tell from looking at your car, there is a ton of stuff running into, near and through that area. Not even counting the engine. Two, that area could be considered an extreme environment, the chance of you developing g an electrical problem in that area down the line (think once the car is complete) is high. Working in that area will be a total PITA once the car is assembled.

Pulling the rest of what you have now out is easy, running a new harness (new as in used) is almost an impossible job on the 75/76 models. I'm sure that was the reason the prior owner cut it in half. But you may as well do this job right the first time, because you're pretty much taking the whole car apart again if you run into electrical issues later and want to put in a new harness at a later date.

Lastly, in response to your question about the exhaust pieces. It looks like the cat itself. I don't think I'd put it back on the car (not needed at this point in Texas due to the age of the car), but I'd probably keep it for future owners if it looks like the exhaust system is complete.

I feel sorry for you, I really do.

You've caught a sickness that we have and it is VERY hard to get rid of. And:

2055cc "build" project in pieces currently (with matching numbers)[list]
[*]All balanced / clearance as necessary by H&H in Dallas
[*]96mm Pistons / Cylinders
[*]9.0:1 compression ratio
[*]3-angle valve job on 2.0 Heads
[*]Iskenderian Cams #485128 Grind #VP-228
[*]Claude's Buggies' Lightened Lifters
[*]Lightened Flywheel
[*]Custom High RPM Cooling Fan
[*]Rotating assembly has been coated with polymer or ceramic coatings by Polymer Dynamics in Houston


[/quote]
Curious about the "lightened lifters" the CB website does not list such an item, what's up ? Anyone have some info?

Congrats! Looks like you've got plenty to keep you occupied. Very cool that you'll be tracking the cost. Most of us are afraid to do that . Why don't we start a contest where we can all take a guess at the final number...

Welcome to the world site. My son is a aggie me subie hotrodder. we live in the waco area. If you could see my completely original malaga red 75 you would cry when I tell you it is a subie candidate. I also thought it was a original paint no rust colorado, Wyoming car but it has had battery area repairs in the 90's and I have found some small spots that need attention. I have painted several of my projects in the past and had the car a year or so before I noticed the clear coat that may or may not be over the original paint. It does show ppg sanding primer on the jack post covers so it will get a very close inspection when I tear it apart. Also my car doesn't have the cat box in the floor but it did come with the foam piece as extra parts.

There are or was several good guys that part out 914's in the san antonio, austin, houston area that are on the world site. I would see about the rear trunk piece around the texas area as I think it will fit better. Look up strawmans thread I think. I haven't decided if the 1.7 in my car will be a donor motor in another project or not yet. The game plan is to build a motor stand and set it up to run and see how well the fi works. The motor was gone through in the 90's also. I have all the paperwork on the car from about the second owner on. It is all in a big three ring binder that came with the car from the last owner with some show pictures from the 90's. I drove it in the shop. I guess our cars are sisters but maybe mine is still a virgin. If I live long enough it won't stay that way.

I know right now it is hard to work in this heat for me but hopefully not for you. Also I hope you will be doing your own bodywork because your car will not be cheap to bring back. Keep the receipts but forget the labor cost. Do a lot of researching on this site and ask a lot of questions it will save you a lot of time and expense.

Rob-O - thanks for the help / advice. Much appreciated.

Larmo63 - you should feel sorry for me, I can feel the disease spreading already.

Barefoot - not sure on the lifters, I'll see about posting a picture of them.

CuddyK - yep, it will be a scary number for sure.. I'm tracking hard costs and my soft costs (labor, etc.) as well but in different categories so it can be broken down at the end. I'll definitely have some sort of guessing contest.

CharlieW - Appreciate the information regarding the local 914 scene. Do you have a build thread started for your '75? I'd love to take a look. This heat is killer, especially worse because my 75 is currently in storage unit with no ventilation. I'll be tackling the metal work but I am no body man, so unfortunately will be looking elsewhere for that.

Went back to CS this weekend to work on my '70 bug project and also built a body stand for the 914 while I was there. Hopefully I can get the powertrain dropped and suspension out this week after work. I'd like to get her up on the body stand so I can haul off to the blasters soon.

After a sweat-filled couple of hours this afternoon, the engine / transmission are out!





PO's all aluminum, lowered engine hanger / cross bar / mount: (this may go away)




These heads were supposedly rebuilt with a 3 angle valve job, but have sat outside since and have rusty valves now. Thinking I will probably have them blasted and have new valves put in.


I believe this was the PO's "short shift kit"


My body stand, ready for action. (Plans stolen from: Steve_R)


Quick question(s). 1) are these inspection holes from the factory in the bell housing? 2) what is the large bolt threading into the transmission case?


Also - is this another factory inspection hole? (GC case)

Yes on inspection holes. The bolt doesn't look stock. Typically there is a breather there. Google pics of the 901 transmission and you'll see what's supposed to be there.

Quick update. I've spent a couple of nights working on disassembly. Most of the wiring harness is out, the interior is empty, and the last bits I have left are the pedal assembly, heater box assemblies and steering column.

I thought I'd post some additional pics of the firewall rust spots.

This one I knew about and can be seen from both sides. It looks like it will be a fairly simple rectangle patch with a couple of breaks.


This one was new to me, where the firewall meets the floor. Hard to tell in this pic, but bottom right corner of the pan.


I attempted to remove the axle nuts last week with a big ass breaker bar and 3' piece of pipe with no luck, I was spinning the tires on the concrete. So I broke out the impact wrench. The driver's side came off easily enough - but the passenger side was really stuck and once it loosened, tore up threads on the way out. I'm not sure if it was possibly cross-threaded at some point or if the threads were rusty / dirty.

The axle nut is trash but the axle shaft might be salvageable? When fully torqued, the nut would still be in contact with all threads plus it gets a locking cotter pin. Or should I just replace?

I would replace for peace of mind. I'm sure you can find a stub axle for maybe $20 plus shipping. Or maybe someone local has one?

Making good progress!

Tonight I went through my cases of engine parts to lay everything out in preparation to take it to Jay @ H&H tomorrow evening.

I'm a little concerned at the surface rust on some of these parts that I did not notice on first inspection...





All new:


"new" cam on left




Teflon coated rods:




050 Dizzy


Also, here are some pics of the fan in question from earlier:







All loaded up:

Spent the evening with Jay @ H&H in Plano. Great guy and really enjoyed touring the shop and learning the family history. The engine is in good hands now!

Pulled the 'teener out to load up and move from the storage unit to my uncle's shop. Here are some pics:









Also lifted the car up and placed on my body stand. The stand itself is sturdy, but the cheesy pneumatic wheels will need to be swapped.

Straps around motor mounts:


Lifting from front & rear:


Tucked away next to the '56 oval project (for sale)


Also, found a "parts car" I am planning to pick up on Saturday. It's a 72 and has 2.0L fuchs, chrome bumpers, some missing interior pieces, transmission, and lots of other goodies. I will probably take patch panels from this car instead of buying new $$ from restoration design.

More to come!

Picked up the parts car this afternoon. It's a '72 roller with no motor, no transmission. The engine compartment and hell hole are very clean, but the floors have some holes.

I'll be stealing the fuchs, bumpers, and targa top along with some other small pieces. Then I'll probably post what's left for a few hundred. If it doesn't sell, I'll take anything of value off and scrap the rest.

Looks like a good sound base for a resto,not as rotten as many I have seen on here.
That parts car will come in handy it will save you having to weld your dash frame back together,god nows why the PO did that ?
Place a WTB for the g/box breather,its function is to vent the oil as it foams up which is important.
Keep up the good work

Quick update for you guys. I pulled the front suspension and got the brakes off of the rear. I need to do some searching to figure out the best way to remove the stub axle assemblies out of the trailing arms.









Took some pics of some of the parts I stole off of my parts car so far:



P/O cut part of the exhaust pipe / flange off of these... wondering if they are worth anything or can be repaired?





Also hoping this top is the same style / will fit my '75, need to do some more research as well:



Will be tearing into the interior soon to remove all the bits I want to keep:



Also got some bad news on my engine parts... The shop called to say that the crankshaft and cam I supplied were not useable. Apparently the crank has already been turned .020" under and he did not want to turn again? He also said the heads will need a valve job & new springs. As a result... my estimate has now jumped to $6500-7000 to source those missing parts and build the engine. I'm having a real hard time swallowing this one and not quite sure what the course of action will be at this point.

I'm hoping to get my parts car moved out of storage this weekend so that I can start cannibalizing more and get the shell on the chopping block. Will keep you all posted.

Got the parts car moved out of my storage unit and my uncle is letting me park it in a square of his shop driveway. I spent a good 3 hours pulling parts with a buddy and my Dad last weekend.



Also got the trailing arms out and suspension completely disassembled:


Dad helping out:


Our homemade bearing driver tool:


Ended up using a 1.5" piece of metal pipe to get these out of the arms:


Ready to head to the powdercoater tomorrow:

There are some parts that you intend to powder coat that need to be carefully masked so they don't get powder coat on them.

Make sure that you know this and which areas need to be protected.

Picked up some shiny clean parts today...

I was inspired by the octagon / rotisserie that Restoration Design has created in this thread so I decided to go ahead and build one for my project. This will be very helpful when media blasting, epoxy priming, painting, reassembly, etc. All in all, I have around $300 invested including steel, casters, hardware, paint, and some wire / cutting discs.

I had a hard time coming across the CAD plans for this stand but finally found them in the above thread. For anyone looking for these plans... download this PDF of all four images combined together.

Here's all of the required metal:


Marked up for cuts:


Dad helped out with some smart ways to square it all up:


Using the bottom hoop as a template for the top:


I started to prep the angle iron for the brackets for the 8 connecting bars but that's about where we stopped tonight.


Hopefully we will finish up the stand this week and possibly get the car mounted in the stand this weekend. I may deviate slightly from the RD drawings as I do not want to re-mount my clean, powder-coated suspension crossmember under the car. I will likely use a piece of 1-1/4" square tubing that's left over and extend the height of the front "pick-ups" off of the hoop.

If all goes to plan... I'm scheduling a media blaster to come out in two weekends. Would be nice to have everything blasted and epoxy-primed before the holidays.

Nice project and you are making good time too. I like your dad is helping out. Have fun.