Here you go flip flopping things again! What color will the roll cage be?

@Mueller - Mike, thanks much for the compliment. I have to say, I'm really liking how the interior is coming together and it's always nice to hear others find it attractive, too!

@Krieger - Andy, I'm thinking the cage bars will be gloss black to pick up the same tone/texture as the shifter base. Then I'd apply some clear film to prevent scuffing. Or, I do the bars in matte black and apply gloss black protecters - that could work, too. So I guess the answer is "I haven't decided"!

BUT, on a different decision front, the leading and likely winning exterior color choice is...

Brewster Green

I saw it on a new 718 Spyder this morning and it's a winner, for sure. Looks wonderful with bronze or gold-tone wheels, which is also where I'm headed. And it works well with the matte black hood vents, etc.
Thanks to @horizontally-opposed Pete for turning me on to this color in the first place.

@tygaboy - Oh hell yeah! That is a beautiful color and with the flares it is going to show very nicely.

god dang it i love this car.

After much behind the scenes head scrathing, design, prototyping and testing, I chucked it all, bit the bullet and forced myself to overcome the few items preventing me from being happy with the 944 latches.
It turns out that to make them work:
1. they sit too far out from the door so part of the rear of the latch base needs to be cut away
2. new mounting holes must be drilled in the door
3. when you pull the lever to open the door, the stock rod retainer clip fouls on the rear of the latch handle so a new rod retainer solution is required

#s 1 and 2 are pretty straight forward. For #3, I opted to drill a small hole in the rod end (see pic) then snipped the end loop off of a small spring. Once the rod is passed through the latch, I wound the spring end through the hole. Done and done.

I had a spare door that I used to prove out the position of the latch. It's important because, as I covered in earlier posts, the 944 latch locks, unlocks and opens the door, all with the single lever. Mounted too far forward, the door won't lock. Too far back and it won't open. There's a vary narrow "sweet spot" where everything works.

Anyway, when the door is locked, the lever sits flush with the bezel. When the door is unlocked, it sticks out a bit. I actually kinda like it: you get in the car, close the door and push the lever flush and the door is locked. Just pull the lever in a totally natural way and the door unlocks then opens. Plus, it echoes the door bar angle. Pretty happy coincidence.

Here's the latch in unlocked position.

But boy, the center area of that window winder sure looks boring, don't you think?

A few years ago, I was helping a buddy clean up his shop and he was tossing a bunch of aged-out motorcycle helmets. I noticed the visor fasteners on one of them and thought, "Those are cool looking. I'm going to save those, just in case I find a use for them..."

After staring at these doors for the past week, I remembered I had them!

It's only double-sided taped on but you get the idea. What I'll do is remove that inner step then machine a trench in the face and sink this into the winder. Makes a huge difference, IMO.

It's the little things.

That's just damn sexy....

Those door cards look sweet. Everything is tasteful.

Chris Porsche should hire you

Thanks to all for the compliments. Again, it's nice - and humbling - to hear that others find my design direction attractive.

Time to get after finishing up the winders:
- work out getting them in the lathe (yes, the knob was removed prior to spin)
- use a parting tool clocked at 90 degrees to carve the "trench"
- glue in the helmet visor trim ring
- drop the fastener in, just to see how it'll look (yes, the knob is on the wrong side, just to hold the handle for the pic)
Yet another example of spending a LOT of time on a small detail.

And it turned out just as I'd hoped!

I wonder if there'd be a market for these?

That looks terrific Chris.

The winders just didn't look finished. So let's cap them off with... a cap!
These press in and capture the fastener, hence the hole. I'm claiming it's just another dimple

Version II of these trim pieces will likely be an all-in-one trim ring/cap that has the fastener built onto it. The dimples will actually be the receptacles for a small pin wrench for installation and removal. There won't be a center hole or that seam around the cap. THAT will be really stealthy!

But these'll do for now.

I realize that it's probably not really "your thing", but I really feel like you have fabricated several items recently that you could easily sell as aftermarket items...specifically, those window cranks, that passenger foot rest, and that center tunnel cover....all really works of art. I've only seen one aftermarket crank I like as much as yours, and the vendor wants $150 a set. Anyhow......great thread...awesome 914!

Man those are works of art Chris!!!!

Looks like you're ready to subcontract for NASA! Really well done Chris. T

Outstanding work as always. Were my car more of a hot rod look those would be in my car hands down. Beautiful work.

The pair done!

Note the dimple rings aren't yet glued in so neither is clocked in its final positon, hence the dimples aren't aligned to anything.

Reminder to self: Next time, don't wait so long to service the plasma table. Holy moley, I really dropped the ball on this...

Window cranks installed. I'm happy with how these turned out.

Looks like ecto-plasma…

Here's a close up of the completed assembly with the optional, softer-edged knob. I think it looks more finished and is better in keeping with the look I want.

Looks very nice, Well done!

I wish the stock window cranks were that well made.

Maybe if the 914 was a real Porsche. Sorry, couldn’t resist.

Those cranks look really nice - if the price is decent I'd be tempted to snag a few pair. Hell, I bet old-school VW guys - both air-cooled and water-cooled - would find these attractive.

Don't throw all of that concoction away Chris. I think we can make a good gravy or roux from some that!

Took the LS car to Sears Poi... er, Sonoma Raceway for a VALT/Haggerty Cars & Coffee.
A recently made friend brings his Daytona! Once-in-a-lifetime experience that again proves "it's not what, but WHO, you know."
Such an incredible piece of design... the Daytona, I mean!

The end of an era: I've had more than a couple folks comment things like "you do all this work without a lift?" and mention how much easier/better it'd be if I had one.
I'm not willing to sacrifice my "clear span shop life" but I did finally give in.
Merry Christmas to my back and knees!

@tygaboy - Chris you are going to love not having to get down on your knees or sitting on your rear to work on projects. Great purchase.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Guessing you're going to like it

Have you modified it yet!?!?!?!?

You don't need any of any of that. Bro, keep doing.

Merry, merry from the Red Barn! As we wrap up the year, can I just say how much I appreciate this community and each of its wacky and wonderful members?

And a quick heads up that 2023 will see the launch of "At The Red Barn", a bit more polished effort at a YouTube channel.

I've found I really enjoy the creative process of video-making. As with the other stuff you've seen me try and learn, the early stuff will likely be a bit bumpy, but I expect I'll get better as I go along.

If you've enjoyed my 914 World threads, I'm pretty sure you'll like what you see on At The Red Barn, too.

I'll post a link to the channel as soon as it's operational. Hope to hear from you there!

A safe and happy holiday to you and yours!

OK, "At The Red Barn" is live on YouTube!
Here are links to a quick intro and the first two episodes of the 914 Ferrari build.

Hope you enjoy and if you do, please subscribe, like and share?
Feel free to add comments and ask questions there, too.

Intro to At The Red Barn:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP3GYAFsJmo


914 Ferrari Episode 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMj1Bq2IShw


914 Ferrari Episode 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAdV6dRyxfc

Very cool and glad you are sharing your work on a larger platform- people need to see this stuff.

With all the focus on the 914 Ferrari, I was feeling a bit guilty that I'd been neglecting the build that really started it all for me. So I treated the little beastie to a drive. Well, really, it treated me to a drive!

Just a quick errand to Martin's to drop off something. As I was walking back to the car, I thought "Man, that looks cool!" and had to take a pic.

A bit rough around the edges with any number of flaws, but it's out there, mixing it up!
Like car, like owner.

Happy New Year, all!

Looking good Chris!! On the road is better than most everyone else!

I think she looks great Chris! I'm a function over form guy, always knowing that my projects will always be improving in small ways and I like this look. Finished in many ways and well done. Happy New Year!

Happy New Years to you Chris. Even in it's rough form it will garner more attention than the $100K super cars! Enjoyment is the operative word here!

For anyone who hasn't followed this build and isn't interested in reading from the start, here's a review of how the cars sits today. Plus, if you didn't see the "Randy Pobst drove my car" post, that's in here, too.
Callouts to @Retroracer @chrisfoley @spoke
Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpTBxXh1KpM

Awesome build and great video! So glad I got to visit the Red Barn, meet you and see it in person. Looking forward to next time

With the car being accepted to display at Luft 9, I figured I'd better tidy up a few things. I finally repaired the carbon fiber longitudinal skin, trimmed it to fit and glued on the carpet. On to the driver's floor.

Easily removable: carpet covered carbon fiber cover panel installed.
You can also see I got the 944 Turbo inner door handle installed in the driver's door. It works a treat!

Awesome you were accepted for luft. I thought luft was all air cooled cars? Maybe because it’s just cool ….

My understanding is Saturday the 29th is air-cooled day and Sunday is air and water cooled.

@sb914 @Cairo94507 In my submittal to Luft, I called out "LS powered" and included a pic of the engine compartment and even mentioned "maybe for Sunday?".
Their reply was essentially, "see you on Saturday". Hope no one is surprised when I show up!

@tygaboy Hi Chris - Sorry for the confusion; I was by no means inferring you were not welcome on Saturday. I was talking to sb914. I look forward to seeing you on the 29th- hopefully parked next to us.

That’s awesome Chris! Stoked your in.
Take lots of pictures!