Work up the other side's mesh, a lick of SEM trim black and some rivets and...

Super cool new rear panel complete. Yes, you can see the latch panel and yes, you could stick a screw driver through the mesh and open the trunk. So next on the list is adding a blacked out "block off" panel to address that.

Before and after. It's AFTER FOR THE WIN!

That looks great.

That looks very nice -

I also fabbed and welded on a latch bracket. This "add a latch, delete a button" project was a fairly quick little project but what a difference. It's an update that I think is a far better match to the vibe of the build. I'm really happy with this one.

Very nice! All the little details are adding up to be quite a unique one of a kind 914...

Hmmm...
Here, hold my beer. I gots me a idea!

What are you up to now??

Very reminiscent of a '70s style Edelbrock Tarantula intake I ran on a hyped LT1 small block

A little port injection with the throttle body for a MAF for some further style points?

Nothing to see here folks, move along…..
The details are amazing Chris. The tail panel is awesome.
“Red Barned” I like it Michael.
Chris needs to make stickers, shirts & hats!

A single plane should work nice, and look nice too. Reminds me of the 70’s and the dodge engines I used to see.

@Dion - Thanks Dion. I've been thinking about t-shirts. Maybe it's time!

wow sir Chris! your project keeps getting better and better and every day there is something unique you are doing for your 914-LS.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/sdm-pce1...BiABEgJ7efD_BwE

Cross ram ITB is what I'd install if I had that car.

Sadly, to really use that intake you need BIG compression, BIG cam, and BIG exhaust.

You've got the exhaust handled already.

And that car is probably a handful with 430 hp.

It would be SO MUCH worse with 600...

Your mods are world class.

The trunk latch looks like Porsche should have done that from the start.

@technicalninja - Been there (essentially), done that. Borla 8-stack on the otherwise stock LS. Worked well but not the greatest at "regular old" low throttle, just driving around. Sure sounded good!

Yep, lots of low-speed bullshit. Hard to tune below 1500 rpm.

Howls like a demon from hell above 4K.

Needs bad-assed exhaust system.

Your exhaust is one of the nicest I've seen!

12-1 and 280@.050 are really a requirement for stuff like that.

That little stubby set up you have looks great! Fits better than the taller x-ram.

I bet throttle response was so fast that easing away from a stop sign was difficult.

I commonly apply a progressive throttle linkage, so I don't end up pissing people off with "exhibitions of acceleration" from every stop.

This video will formally drop on my channel Saturday morning but I figured some of you would like a sneak peek. Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3adw-24Q7LM

@Cairo94507 Michael - Yep, just practice for when we do the oil cooler grill for your car...

@tygaboy - Great! I am so looking forward to that.

Well, that didn't last long. I needed to work up a block off panel so off things come. I made the panel and opted to use panel bond to install it. This meant I could fully finish and paint it and install it with no additional work required. Smooth and tidy install, no welds to dress, etc.

And it does what I wanted: helps hide the latch support and prevents anyone getting at the latch from outside the car.

@buddyv Robert saw the most recent version and essentially said "Cool, but those silver rivets..." They were always just temporary but when Robert (my style consultant) speaks, I simply have to take action! So black rivets it is. Yep, they're certainly a better fit for the vibe of the build.

Having always used the trunk button and lifted the lid directly, I didn't notice that the geometry and/or friction introduced by the reverse-open lid catches is juuuuuuust different enough that the factory trunk release spring was occassionally not pushing the lid open enough - and I had to go back and pull the release again.

A quick measurement of the factory spring and an order with McMaster-Carr and I have a bit beefier spring. I did end up shortening it a couple coils and adding a bit of heat to get the new end to lay flat. But all's well now and the lid pops right up.

The blacked out block-off panel all but disappears and the black rivets look SO much better. A particular word popped into my head when I stepped back for a first look. I sent a pic to Robert and he replied with the same word:
"Sinister"
Perfect for the look I'm after.

That's a "sweet ass"

One final touch: The spring is a bit stiffer and I was worried the factory's plastic hat may not be happy about that, at least over the long haul. So, without a lathe handy, I asked Martin to whip up a beefier hat. This is in delrin so no galvanic reaction, no rust and no squeaking! It's a bit thicker in the areas that take the load but overall, retains the proper geometry and spacing for the latch spear.
Looks cool, too.

If anyone's interested in a stiffer spring and matching delrin hat, let me know. There may be a run of them, if there's enough interest. Note the hat works with the stock spring, too.

For you non-subscribers who may be interested in additional details on this latest do-over. Take a look, learn a little about panel bonding and leave me a like/comment?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vz02unvQqC0

I’ll be using a solenoid for opening the trunk and they do not seem to deal with extra stresses very well. But I’d be curious to see what the hat would cost.

@Shivers - The spring I used comes in bags of 6 and Martin documented the spec for the hat. I just put together a spring/hat kit for a buddy who has the "weak spring/solenoid" issue. I suspect he'll get it installed and tested this week. I doubt there'll be any hiccups but let me verify my kit works on his car and I'll be back with a price.

I just am a huge fan of Chris' work. He must lay awake at night thinking of how to make stuff better; he does it and videos it so we can all learn.

After unboxing the Ferrari shifter, the LS car seems a bit mundane. But...
Today was starting in on the new intake set up. As soon as I got it in place, I hated it and called to get return paperwork. It's a hard pass for me.
Yes, I could probably come up with an airbox that hides most of the boring horribleness, but I'm not even going to try.

But fear not! I have an even stupider idea for an intake that is far more costly and time consuming!

Yes, I'm serious. Parts were ordered today.

Looking forward to the next option; I completely agree on the hard pass on that one.

Can't mess with the intake without messing with the exhaust. I've wanted to do a symmetrical exhaust so figured now was as good a time as any.
This is an inital mock up with some mufflers I had from an earlier version exhaust that just happen to bolt to the existing muffler bracket in a different orientation. I may use them, I may not.
In the end, I want the trans to be visible.

Coming along. The goal is to have this exhaust wrapped up in time for this Saturday's EASY meet. I'm waiting on the new mufflers and a couple mandrel bends. FedEx shows they arrive tommorrow. Fingers crossed...

Chris, have you looked into any alum sheet metal style intake manifolds (plenums)? Wilson has a decent product for most of the late v8 Detroit engines.
This Wilson "Flying mailbox" is 1 of 12 made for LBP Cayenne race engines. Wilson aftermarket units do have lower profiles for the LS, Coyote, Mopar engines , so you can still see out your back window !
See you at 000 in September
Click to view attachment

Martin and I made a day of progress on the exhaust. This part was the trickiest as it's a complicated set of joints where everything has to end up in EXACTLY the right place. It's a sorta X-pipe/merge/crossover that happens on a sloped AND tilted radius.
Of course it does because: Style Points!

Credit to Martin for coming up with the all the fixturing that helped simplify getting everything fit. There's the simple part: a flat plate bolted to the transmission mount. It served as the floor to set the height of the assembly, and it sports the centerline.
Then there's that wacky piece of scrap that we magneted in place and marked to give us targets for the piece as it was being cut and test fit.

You know you have a good fit when the piece just sits there with no support and no tacks. No, I'm not kidding.

Credit again to Martin for the fit he got on the "kiss", as we came to call it. This is the bottom - the side we couldn't see when it was being cut and fit. He's a remarkable fabricator...

And we finished the day with a rough cut of the ends. This is where the tubes get the other 1/2 of an S-bend and start heading straight back to the muffler inlets.
In all, a very productive day and I couldn't be happier with how this is turning out.

Very nice……I can appreciate how difficult this was to get that fine of a fit!

Amazing work.

Necessity is a mother, all right! One for the tool whores.
Getting accurate mid-radius cuts really makes a big difference to how tidy the finished product looks. So we ended up making a couple different "scribe exactly to the center line" tools. Both are just a plate with two pins.
The big one (pins on the outside of the raduis) works on pretty much any size tube. Pins contact the tube and you mark in the slot. Note the pins can be moved to different locations to better fit various radii tubes.
The little one works from the inside of the radius. Pins contact and you mark for the cut on the outside edge. They work a treat.

First one side...

...then the other.
Yes, I know. I should just call it done and run them like this!

All that work and with the reverse-open trunk lid, you can't see it from this angle.
Now for the mufflers.

Loud pipes save lives. looks sick

Exhaust porn!

Beautiful work!