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naro914
We decided that this winter, our 914 race car "Papa Smurf" needed some love. The engine that Dawe's Motorsport built has been flawless for 2 years now, but it's time for a refresh. The 915 transmission is so poorly geared and with no limited slip that it has been a huge hindrance to race with, so that's getting redone.

So while everything is out, I figured it was a good time to fix all the damaged fiberglass body panels, fix the newly found crack in the chassis, strengthen and reinforce everything, tie suspension points to the cage, re-route hoses and lines to be cleaner, redo some of the wiring, add lightness where I can, fix the roof (came flying off at Road Atlanta and cracked it), etc. etc. etc. Essentially tear it down to bare chassis. Then media blast the whole thing (fix any rust spots we might find), powder coat, paint or wrap what needs what, and reassemble...hopefully before our first track event in March!!

I will post pictures, progress, video, etc here if I can remember to. Honestly...I NEED to take detailed pictures and video so I can remember where everything goes!! Just might be delayed in posting.

So...engine/trans come out Friday and the fun begins...

As he sleeps peacefully today on the top bunk:

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Last couple times at the track...

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stownsen914
Sounds like fun! Back to Dawe's?
914_teener
My dream garage.......


Who's 914 in the back round in the race shot?
tygaboy
Dang! That is such a great looking car... drooley.gif
naro914
QUOTE(stownsen914 @ Oct 10 2018, 10:43 AM) *

Sounds like fun! Back to Dawe's?

Yep, engine and trans...hopefully next week.
I'm doing the rest here in Charlotte.

QUOTE(914_teener @ Oct 10 2018, 10:46 AM) *

Who's 914 in the back round in the race shot?

That's Steven Vasina and that picture was from the PCA Race at Monticello Motor Club. We had awesome battles all weekend - he has a Dawes engine and better geared transmission. I have more car/grip but he would pull me out of the corners because of the gears.
Jamie
QUOTE(naro914 @ Oct 10 2018, 07:25 AM) *

QUOTE(stownsen914 @ Oct 10 2018, 10:43 AM) *

Sounds like fun! Back to Dawe's?

Yep, engine and trans...hopefully next week.
I'm doing the rest here in Charlotte.

QUOTE(914_teener @ Oct 10 2018, 10:46 AM) *

Who's 914 in the back round in the race shot?

That's Steven Vasina and that picture was from the PCA Race at Monticello Motor Club. We had awesome battles all weekend - he has a Dawes engine and better geared transmission. I have more car/grip but he would pull me out of the corners because of the gears.


Sounds like you are going to have a busy winter! When do you go racing in England?
naro914
QUOTE(Jamie @ Oct 10 2018, 11:36 AM) *

QUOTE(naro914 @ Oct 10 2018, 07:25 AM) *

QUOTE(stownsen914 @ Oct 10 2018, 10:43 AM) *

Sounds like fun! Back to Dawe's?

Yep, engine and trans...hopefully next week.
I'm doing the rest here in Charlotte.

QUOTE(914_teener @ Oct 10 2018, 10:46 AM) *

Who's 914 in the back round in the race shot?

That's Steven Vasina and that picture was from the PCA Race at Monticello Motor Club. We had awesome battles all weekend - he has a Dawes engine and better geared transmission. I have more car/grip but he would pull me out of the corners because of the gears.


Sounds like you are going to have a busy winter! When do you go racing in England?

Yep! We leave for Wales on Nov 3...
JFG
where in wales are you racing? do you have a weblink for the event?
naro914
QUOTE(JFG @ Oct 11 2018, 03:48 PM) *

where in wales are you racing? do you have a weblink for the event?

Anglesey Circuit
https://www.angleseycircuit.com/

Race is called the Race of Remembrance, run by Mission Motorsport. Their sister organization here in North America, Operation Motorsport, is the charity partner of our company NaroEscape Motorsports.

http://www.raceofremembrance.com/
JFG
that's a very well liked circuit, never been myself, i have a local sports car lover who goes frequently for track days.

i will look into that event and see i can get up to visit.

thanks for the info. if i don't get up there i hope you enjoy your trip and race. it's a great place to be.
whitetwinturbo
beer.gif Where do I get one of those rear wing?

wub.gif wub.gif wub.gif
naro914
QUOTE(whitetwinturbo @ Oct 12 2018, 11:55 PM) *

beer.gif Where do I get one of those rear wing?

wub.gif wub.gif wub.gif

GT-Racing. http://www.gt-racing.com/porsche-914-parts/

If you can hold out, ours MAY be for sale. Ours is fiberglass....thinking of upgrading to carbon fiber. Depends on how much everything else costs if we can splurge on that...
naro914
Day 1
naro914
Day 3. All that’s left to remove is suspension, brake system and steering. Then off to fabricator and media blasting.
Engine/trans are at Dawe’s Motorsport.
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DRPHIL914
media blasting? so you are going to repaint? awesome!
Cairo94507
Holy Moly! That is some major work and progress. beerchug.gif
naro914
QUOTE(DRPHIL914 @ Oct 22 2018, 09:57 AM) *

media blasting? so you are going to repaint? awesome!

Yep!
QUOTE(Cairo94507 @ Oct 22 2018, 11:31 AM) *

Holy Moly! That is some major work and progress. beerchug.gif

Yeah...no kidding...sounded like a better idea before we started!

But now that we’ve taken everything out, there are a lot of things that need attention. Timing is good..

Got a track event in March we gotta make!
naro914
Papa Smurf's stuff in the trailer...not counting the suspension stuff yet.

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jmitro
heckuva winter project.

that A pillar bar is pretty far from the windshield A pillar. maybe now is a good time to make it hug the windshield
MichiganMat
Whoa, the suspension points aren't tied into the cage on Papa Smurf? Man, thats going to be quite an upgrade, the chassis dynamics are going to change!
ClayPerrine
Are you going to remember how to put it back together? poke.gif

naro914
QUOTE(ClayPerrine @ Oct 28 2018, 10:03 AM) *

Are you going to remember how to put it back together? poke.gif

Probably not..
naro914
Totally naked Papa... now you can really see how beat up he's been over the years...
pete000
Yup, that's a real race car !
76-914
Hey Bob, since it's stripped down do you have any weight reduction plans on the horizon? beerchug.gif
naro914
QUOTE(76-914 @ Oct 29 2018, 07:38 PM) *

Hey Bob, since it's stripped down do you have any weight reduction plans on the horizon? beerchug.gif

It’s actually pretty light as it is...we did a lot of weight reduction years ago. Unfortunately we might gain some weight with the chassi stiffening and additional tubing being added to tie in the cage and shock points.

I know we could get some weight reduction from the nut behind the wheel!!! Working on that... beerchug.gif

naro914
Papa is now away at winter camp for an extended sleep
Over - Skin and Bones Media Blasing and Restoration - for the work to begin!!

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Maltese Falcon
QUOTE(naro914 @ Oct 13 2018, 02:32 PM) *

Day 1


Hi Bob & Nadine...can you advise me on the Front/ Rear wheel spec that you are running with the widebody kit. When you saw our car at Renn6 (was a great show and good seeing you two biggrin.gif ) it was on 17s which are ok, but looking at 18 or 19s..
Also....if you know the Front offset, Rear offset, and if any spacers are in your set-up. Much appreciated !

raynekat
Are you keeping it the same color.....or something a bit different?
naro914
QUOTE(Maltese Falcon @ Oct 31 2018, 08:03 PM) *

QUOTE(naro914 @ Oct 13 2018, 02:32 PM) *

Day 1


Hi Bob & Nadine...can you advise me on the Front/ Rear wheel spec that you are running with the widebody kit. When you saw our car at Renn6 (was a great show and good seeing you two biggrin.gif ) it was on 17s which are ok, but looking at 18 or 19s..
Also....if you know the Front offset, Rear offset, and if any spacers are in your set-up. Much appreciated !

Hey Marty,
Good to see you too at Rennsport! I had want to talk to you about the fuel cell too but we got interrupted and then I forgot...

Our wheels are 16x11 front and 16x12 rear with a pretty big spacer in the rear...don’t know off the top of my head and it’s all stored away in our trailer at the moment. I’ll measure next time I’m over there.

17’s and up would be much easier to find tires for, but I don’t like how high it ends up making the car. 16’s allow us to get it low enough and keep the axles and trailing arms pretty much horizontal, which is what you want for racing.
naro914
QUOTE(raynekat @ Nov 1 2018, 12:30 AM) *

Are you keeping it the same color.....or something a bit different?

Pretty much the same...may add some dark blue on the hood and follow the center of the front air dam blue up to the windshield...don’t know yet.
Maltese Falcon
QUOTE(naro914 @ Nov 1 2018, 04:45 AM) *

QUOTE(raynekat @ Nov 1 2018, 12:30 AM) *

Are you keeping it the same color.....or something a bit different?

Pretty much the same...may add some dark blue on the hood and follow the center of the front air dam blue up to the windshield...don’t know yet.


Thanks Bob, whenever your time permits ¡ Spacing measurements (& offset) is critical when I order the centerlock wheels because there is no recipe for putting spacers back in . Call me if easier, you still have my cell # ¿?
Marty
naro914
Sorry so long since an update...been out of the country try
Ok, so far out guys at the fab shop have cleaned up the passenger floor board area and a bunch of holes and messy areas, and started redesigning the cage. Moving the front legs forward, adjusting the top bar by the windshield, better door bars, roof cross bar, then tying into shock points and triangulating it all. Plus adding Chris Foleys rear shock towers with spherical bearings.

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naro914
lots of fab work done, and work progressing on the roll cage.
We decided to keep the back hoop in since it was in a good place, no need to replace it.

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tygaboy
I've bent a few tubes in building my car and I must say, that's a really great fit you got there! aktion035.gif
Very nice work... More pics, please!
naro914
I’m sitting here in Denver, CO airport at 1:36 am waiting on a 5:33 am flight back to Charlotte...and I for some reason realized I hadn’t updated this thread in a while...

So, more pictures.
Progress is coming along nicely, though a bit slower than I’d like. Part my fault.

As of last I saw it (4 days ago), all the chassis repair work had been done, the Tangerine Racing rear shock towers welded in, cage is MOSTLY done except the passenger door bars. Dash bar is done, horizontal and angled bar behind seats are done, tying into the shock points is done, etc. Lots of the parts are tacked in for fit though by the time I typed this they are probably done.

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naro914
...
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Cairo94507
Wow- that is some serious bracing. That car will feel like a CNC chunk. No flexing in your future. Nice work. beerchug.gif
jmitro
QUOTE(tygaboy @ Dec 2 2018, 04:22 PM) *
that's a really great fit you got there!


agreed, very nice
dan10101
Very nice. I'm taking notes and saving pictures in my ideas folder!
naro914
Cage is pretty much done, just some minor braces. And working on all the little tears, holes and other chassis issues we find. Off to blasting Jan 2, then over to powder coating! Then MY work begins putting it all back together... biggrin.gif

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GeorgeRud
Glad to see the Nascar styled side impact bars - much safer than just straight tubes along the door.
naro914
QUOTE(GeorgeRud @ Dec 28 2018, 05:20 PM) *

Glad to see the Nascar styled side impact bars - much safer than just straight tubes along the door.

some would disagree with you saying Nascar style bars are not right for a 914...
naro914
Papa is HOPEFULLY going to soda blasting on Jan 2! Stay tuned!
naro914
Media blasting time! Almost done..


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horizontally-opposed
Man, that is some nice bracing work. Car was cool before, gonna be a lot cooler now. Nice work, Bob! smilie_pokal.gif

pete
Cairo94507
Totally cool to be able to start with a clean slate. Love these cars after they are blasted back to bare metal so you know what you actually have to deal with. beerchug.gif
Racer
Will you be keeping the rear trunk floor? I know many folks cut that out once the cage ties in the back of the car.
Krieger
That looks really nice! I can't wait to see it painted again.
horizontally-opposed
QUOTE(naro914 @ Dec 31 2018, 11:25 AM) *

QUOTE(GeorgeRud @ Dec 28 2018, 05:20 PM) *

Glad to see the Nascar styled side impact bars - much safer than just straight tubes along the door.

some would disagree with you saying Nascar style bars are not right for a 914...



And their argument/preference is…? screwy.gif

Safety is never "not correct," especially if you don't see the upgrade after you close a door.
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