Dammn nice work on that shroud!

Radiator mount installed. The orange stuff is a stick-on rubber strip that I'm using as sort of a gasket/insulator between the mount and the radiator. The radiator sits on two small pads (you can see one there on the triangular section of the mount) so the lower cross bar of the mount doesn't need the strip.

Pic of the strip's McMaster-Carr part info included, in case you want some. It's available in various widths, non-sticky, etc.

I also used it under areas of the fuel tank as it's just the right thickness to replace the stock material.

That thing fits like a glove, color me impressed! Looks really good, as with every other detail on this thing of course. Gonna be one awesome 914 when you are done.

Yeah, like that’s gonna happen.

Hey I gotta be nice to him still, he's cutting out some exhaust flanges for me with his plasma table

I could finish if I wasn't making stuff for other folks...

Let's get back to MY build, shall we?

Another do-over. The move to using my custom water collector means the battery has to move. I need to fit a bunch of stuff in this general area:
- battery
- water collector/thermostat ( @Andyrew , I decided to allow for one, even if I opt to run without)
- AC compressor and lines
- ECU
- engine harness - This large-ish harness needs room to exit the ECU, get to the fire wall, turn left and route under the battery box.

Here's the first effort at the 2nd mock up. Wait... what?
It moves the battery up but this seems the best I can do, given the requirements.

In this configuration, it looks like everything fits. And yes, I still have to make a couple braces for the rear-most edge of the battery box.

I wish I had the $$$$ for you to build me a custom 914......Just amazing skills.

^
Same!!!

He's been putting the rest of us to shame since day one!!

Perfect!

A bit off topic but fellow tool whores will likely enjoy:

A 914 World member asked if I could make a panel with a few beads rolled into it. I figured why not try and copy the factory's reinforcement rib, at least as best I could with the beading dies I have.

I don't have a stepping die set but I was betting I could do some mix/match to get close. You can see the curved die's match on the bench.
So, here's the die set up I used, as well as a quick video of a test roll to prove out the setting needed to get the desired result.

Note I was videoing with one hand, and guiding the panel with the other so no comments about accuracy!

Also, this was a scrap/test piece and I curved the bead only to miss that cut area in the panel - but it gives you an idea of the sorts of details that bead rollers can add.

Could this be done by hand? Yes. By me? No. Yet another example of "the right tool for the job".


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bf9Dw42XqaA

I have seen the quality of Chris's work in person. And it is real and it is spectacular.

I need a bigger garage

@Cairo94507 @Andyrew @Nogoodwithusernames @willieg @Krieger

Thank you. I'm humbled by your kind words.

Wow!!! We're gonna have to talk
That bead is perfect for what I'm looking for for my rear trunk firewall!

@Andyrew - give me a call at your convenience. The bead roller is still set up to roll that detail...

So cool that Chris shares. You peeps who live in his area have a huge blessing.

First attempt at the rear battery tray support brace. It has a stiffening flange running up the left side that snugs up against and locates it against the engine mount's flange. Style points for the triangular cut out that echos the fire wall stamping design.

I'll use a couple bolts to secure this brace to the engine mount and either bolt it or spot weld it to the battery tray. Again, the whole contraption has to be removable to allow for servicing other components in this area.

I'll remake the battery tray, too. Now that it won't be sitting on those two braces (which will be removed), I need to relocate the speed holes.

In all, I think I like this brace design - it just needs a few tweaks.

New version of the rear brace attached to the engine mount and updated battery tray design fabbed. Next, it's weld the front support bracket to the chassis and spot weld the tray to the brace.

As mentioned, even though I could control the electric water pump on/off based on temp via the ECU, I decided to allow for an in-line thermostat so I don't HAVE to do that. I like the option, @Andyrew .
Anyway, Martin again comes through with killer TIG skills. It's a shame this isn't more visible, once installed.

Test fitment success! Pardon my Gorilla tape mount, I need to fab another clamp to support the under-body hose.

Sexy

Very clean and tidy! Why don't you get a spare thermostat just in case yours fails and you can't find one for that housing in 10 years?

@Krieger Andy, the good news is that these in-line housings take standard Chevrolet thermostats so no worries about sourcing a replacement.

Saweet!

The other news is he doesnt really need one. With the electric water pump he can just shut the pump off till the car warms up. Or put it on a temp switch.

The front battery brace is plug welded to the fire wall's arched cross member.
I added a small triangular brace on the underside to provide a bit more support.

Then I realized I needed a place to mount the main harness fuses and after looking at things, I decided to redo the rear battery tray support, making it a suitable location for the fuses.
It was also an opportunity to use the spot welder. It does a great job so again, any local folks who could use it, let me know.

All done with everything in place, and with the fuse covers snapped on.

Time to start on the wiring...

The manufacturers do not put that level of attention to detail into their designs.

The engine harness is WAAAY too long. So with it now labeled, I split it almost completely, untangled it, then grouped the wires by sensor and/or location of sensor on the engine.

I'll secure things a bit more to make it easier to handle, plug it into the ECU and get started on routing.

Getting the harness rough fitted wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. The part I'm happiest about is that nearly all the wiring will be hidden and all that will be visible is a small sub-harness there at the rear of the engine.

It looks messy now but once that bundle is terminated and connected, I think I can get it to be pretty tidy.

@RetroRacer Tony, I just know you're dying to come up and help!

Looks like your harness was created in the Large Hadron Collider

RE: Tony, I just know you're dying to come up and help!

Chris - you're making great progress! Might be time for a road trip to discuss.... will PM you,

- Tony

I worked up a new dash panel that now includes a neat little raised area for the gauge lighting dimmer knob. Yes, the pic is a repeat of what I posted in the "...SpeedHut gauge panel..." thread, but some of you may not have seen that. Thought you might want to see it here.

Love it!

Another example of what must be a "worse before it gets better" situation.

This is my first go at building a complete electrical system and I opted for the "lay out all the wires where they need to be" approach. Clearly, I'm not quite there...!

I'll let you know if it works out!

Chris, thanks for the inspiration. With my car body off to the paint shop tomorrow, one of the next things on my list is to lay out, clean, and check the wiring harness.

Instead of working on the wiring, I somehow got distracted by just how unattractive I found those strut top washers. They were BEGGING for some style points and for some lightness to be added.

I worked with Martin on this and V1 was trying to clamp the washer directly to the rotary table on the mill. That wasn't working so I ended up plasma cutting a couple 1/4" steel donuts that got tacked to the edge of the washers and served as a workable clamping surface. They worked perfectly!

Before and after.

Sorry @Rand , I just can't seem to focus on "get it running, then worry about the fancy stuff."

But I do have to say, they look pretty cool and I love the way the Elephant camber plates can now peek through.

OK, I'm back to the wiring, I promise.

Automobilia de Artista

Adding lightness Chris, I think Colin Chapman would totally approve this chassis.
Looking awesome.

See, I promised I'd get back to the wiring. And I'm sure learning a lot about it, I'll tell you that. Today was completing all but one of the "back of the engine" sensor connections.

I still have the MAT (manifold air temp) sensor left and the thing is, it's used to being threaded into an enclosed intake manifold. With the ITBs and no air box, I don't have anything enclosed.

I spoke with the tech folks at Borla (they make these ITBs) and I was told I can mount the MAP sensor "in the general area of the stacks" and that'll work.

OK then. So I need to make some sort of semi-attractive bracket to hold the sensor before I can determine the wire length.

All that said, what you see is all that will be visible. I'm happy with how little that's turning out to be. And once I get it covered with tidy loom/wrap, it should all but disappear. Only about 1Mx better than that factory harness I started with.

If you do that clear box can you put the MAT right by one of the inlets?

Chris, have you purchased your loom material yet? I was over at Rudy's (Curbandgutter) last week and he had some really sexy loom he is using on his Monster. I hadn't seen that material before but I like it.

Feelin' the love
Every detail is a work of art.

@76-914 Kent, I have some nylon sorta split wrap that came with the Holley harness. It's not bad but I'd be interested to learn about other options. I'll PM Rudy but if you have any info, please pass it along. And thanks for the heads up!

Hmm. That may be the same. IIRC, his resembled what you've described. It wrapped tightly around itself about 1.5 turns allowing for expansion or easy access to the wiring. Light, durable and pleasing to look at. I'll be back to Rudy's after the 4th and tell him to reach out to you if he hasn't already, Chris.

MAT sensor location solved. Funny how things work out:
Because the ITB kit is designed as "engine in front", I had to move the throttle cable stop to the other end of the valley tray (see a long time ago posts for details).

So as I was poking around trying to determine where I might mount the MAT sensor, I noticed the spot where the throttle stop would normally be...

I whipped up a neat little reinforced bracket and completed the connector wiring. Done and done. If I do make an air box at some point, I'll just be sure there's a spot for the MAT sensor. Until then, this should work.

Yes, the pic makes it look like the bracket is close to the throttle linkage but there's plenty of room.

That split stuff is way more expensive than the expanding stuff I used. I tried to find more of it when I was doing it but I just didnt like how it rolled. Also it needed to be tied or taped every foot or so to keep it from rolling out.

Im sure Chris will find an elegant solution to this issue

It is MUCH easier to use than the stuff I used though as you dont have to worry about getting everything right before you put connectors on.