why would you bother with used OE ones if you are getting new ones as part of their (elephant) kits?

Starting to see some progress and feeling like I didn't ruin everything and she may drive once more. Lol!Click to view attachment

Yes but you can't use the rubber without their shafts.
It will not fit correctly as they made a non standard size.

With the back pretty much wrapped up it's on to the front.

Ripped it all out and have a pretty good plan of action.

New A Arm Bushings/Install Tool (914 Rubber + Ian's Video should help)
Bilsteins on the way to match the rears
New Rotors, Pads, Bearings, Ball-joints
New Stainless soft lines
Rebuilding Calipers (Rears went well so here is round 2 for me)
Tie Rod Ends (Stock not turbo upgrade for me)

Bought the install tool for the ball joints, got the old ones out with the air chisel in about 10 seconds surprisingly!

Bushings were totally shot, out of round and a mess.

Anyways, guidance as always appreciated. Have most of the parts on hand if not already shipping to me so I'm hoping to keep the momentum between trips.Click to view attachment

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This was the worse of the two sides

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Heat up the fittings that hold the bushings until you see some smoke and then twist them off by inserting a large screwdriver and turning. Wear leather gloves. Propane works fine for this. MAP is just faster.

I'm curious about the rear shafts. None of the ones I've taken apart seem to have washers on the ends of the shafts. Is that correct?

@mepstein
I put the washers on there...it just feels wierd to not! Should I take them off? Was there a reason to NOT use a washer?

No, I'm not saying you are wrong. I put a washer there as well. I'm just wondering why Porsche didn't

Looks nice , did you put the spring retainer clip at the top space?

@mepstein I was thinking the same thing!

@DRPHIL914 Hi! Not sure what that means...can you clarify?

There are 6 I think slots for the retainer that holds the spring retainer clip. It looks like you are set at the very top one ( grooves on the yellow billestien shock) it ma be a bit too springy and high at that setting, at least that was my experience. Mine is at the third slot down, seems about right for height and feel, but every car is different

@DRPHIL914 gotcha! Thanks for clarifying. Yes It's at the top spot.

I'm having to kind of do a reset on the car. I bought it about 18 months ago and i'm trying to under the fuckerage and get it back to stock-ish. It has been "Modified" by the last guy who did a piss poor job on everything. Missing alignment shims to the wrong ECU, everything has been done wrong on this car.

I'm totally open to pulling the springs out and changing notches.

The more pressing issue with the lower ride height is the Rivieras (I believe, correct me if i'm wrong) have tires too large for my car and their offset 195/60/R15. With the saggy old springs there was about a piece of paper clearance between the tire and the fender (That includes the fact that the PO rolled the Fender Lip to try and make clearance).

Any guidance on tire size for these?

I'd like to buy Fuchs at some point and have been contacted, but this thing is like a money pit at the moment, lol! (I'm sure it always will be)

I put my springs on a lower notch but the car was so low I had to raise it up. I would start where you are, let the car settle a bit and then reassess. Too high is better than too low.
It's hard to go wide with Rivs. They just have the wrong offset. I have 195x65x15 on a stock narrowbody with 5.5' 2.0 Fuchs, fit is great. 205x60x15 on 6" cookies. Fit is very good. Neither car has rolled fenders. Starting with the right wheel is important.

Looking at the tyre size charts for comparison my
205/55-16 diameter is 24.9” your
195/60-15 diameter is 24.2” looks like 195/65-15 would be perfect, you are about 3/4” smaller than stock. Also they offset of time is an issue,
I have lots of room with 205/55-16 on 6” wide rims so you can get the correct 15”x5.5” rims (2.0 Fuchs) and you can do 205 wide , some guys have been able to do 215’s but this varies from car to car. Don’t go crazy it doesn’t help much at all for street driving to go so wide. Remember a 205/55-16 is 8” wide on a 6” rim, 195/60 15 is almost 7” wide on a 5.5” rim, so plenty of tread contact on the ground.

Any one else have Rivieras that can weigh in?

@drphil914 I'm thinking I could go down to 185 or even 175. These 195s are FAT and just look too wide aaaaaand they don't really fit. More of the last guys "mods"


I also noticed some tire rub inside the front wheel well...

I have not had the Rivieras but my car had the EMPI VW rims on it with similar issues when I bought it , even rubbed with 185’s. I do like the Pedrini and Mahle best but the 4-lug Fuchs are nice, too, all have proper spacing to better fit a 914. I had a set of thr Mahle but ended up doing the 5-lug conversion and going with Fuchs. You can find some on World Classifieds I am sure.

So I think what Porsche calls the link bearing (#5) that holds the end of the shaft in place is acting as a washer on the shaft. There is a normal washer on the end for the inner suspension console.

it also will depend on the spring rate and unloaded length of the spring.
I have 140lb Weltmeisters (don't know the unloaded length) and the spring perch is on 4th notch from the bottom

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Holy cow! That was stressful!
Not sure how in the world this got done before Ian's video. Either way, one side done. Will do the otherside tomorrow.

Stupid question for the night. Bilsteins going up front.

Does this little rubber gasket go on between the strut and the top cover as like a bumper? or does it go on after the cover is on between the strut cover and the car?Click to view attachment

And while I'm asking...Torsion Bars!

L for Driver
R for passenger

But....which way do they go in? Does the L/R point to the headlights or the driver?

Thanks!!

Ha! You shoulda seen the outtakes

Looks like you did great. Congrats!

The little rubber gasket gets tossed. It's just there for shipping. Unlike Boge, there is no bumper under the cylindrical dust cover. Bilsteins have an internal bumper. Also, no oil in the strut housing like older strut inserts. All my info comes direct from Bilstein.

headlights

Thank you! @mepstein and @cuddy_k

Turns out it doesn't really matter. The twist on the bar is in the same direction no matter which end you install to the front. Swapping left and right is a different story.

Making slow progress on the front rebuild.

Rebuild kit for calipers did not come with the little O-Rings that seal the 2 halves.

My local hardware store has lots of miscellaneous O-rings so hopefully I can find something that works.Click to view attachment

Very nice looking work!

Make sure the O-rings are brake fluid proof.

We have a line of viton O rings we make under contract for another company we have the ability sell them as it's another industry. Let me know what you need.

Mark

Thanks @mikey914 text with specs sent

Can someone educate me on the "brake piston gauge plates"?

I took a 50/50 guess as to the orientation....is there a correct up and down or I guess should it be right or left? The piston could rotate 180 and go either way...?? (I'm sure if there is a wrong way that's what I did!)

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Explanation starting near the bottom of the last pic in this article: https://www.pmbperformance.com/brakehowto.html

If doing both calipers at the same time be sure to check orientation before bolting halfs together.

Thanks guys, trying to wrap my mind around it.
Found this pic on a 911 forum that I think helps tooClick to view attachment

Did a test fit just to make sure I had it oriented right!Click to view attachment

New discs and bearings are in!
Followed Ian's video for good measure.Click to view attachment

New Bilsteins, tie rod ends, ball joints, bushings, brake master cylinder, stainless lines, pads and lovely calipers will be on next once I get the o rings from 914rubber

So close to getting back on the road! Can't wait to feel the difference!

This car is like the most frustrating game of Whack a Mole! Fix one problem and boom there's another.

So, suspension, brakes, everything is in rebuilt and pretty! Today's project was to set the front ride height. I followed the procedure, Floor to Center Hub - 90 and that's the height to the center of the torsion bar. A pain in the ass going in circles but I think I finally got it pretty dialed in.

The issue is: now the front is raised up to the correct height the tire strikes the front valance when I turn the wheel hardly at all. I couldn't get the car out of the driveway.

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I did not have the issue pre-rebuild, however, pre-rebuild the car was slammed with tons of camber.

My guess is, like the many issues these have brought me, it's the wheel/tire combo.
Rivieras with 195-60R15. I think they are just too damn wide and too tall. The PO messed with so much stuff on this car to make these stupid tires fit.

What do you guys think? Am I missing anything else??

I can't afford wheels and tires after all the cash that went into this so far so i'm limited to just tires.

with 195x60 tires, it should not be that close to the front fender lip/valance. Any picture of the whole tire seeing the whole fender distance? or pic of the rear side of that tire to the fender?

below is 205x60 tire on 15x6 fuch wheel.

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It’s the Rivs. That’s a wide tire for them but fine if you have Fuchs.

It shouldn’t be too tall. I have 195x65x15 and it fits fine. Is it a stock valance or aftermarket fiberglass?

I'm thinking that Rivieras must have less backspacing than most other wheel options.


These are 195 65 15s on reproduction 5.5" Fuchs...



No rubbing ever. Not even close.

Here is a side view pic. The ride height is too high and the back of the car is on jack stands making it look even worse, however, I don't think this is my issue. I believe it is the stock valance.

I'm also now thinking the formula for front ride height is not working with the rivieras...ugh

Click to view attachment

Have you settled the suspension? You need to roll or preferably drive it a bit. By formula, do you mean the Haynes manual?

I was able to drive back and forth in driveway getting on brakes etc.

And I followed the formula from the old porsche manual....
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The type of wheel won’t make a difference. They just hold the tire in place. You need to go down at least one notch on the torsion bar splines, maybe/probably two.

It looks like it is way to high.

Bob B

maybe too much negative caster or something wrong with the suspension that makes the center wheel towards the front since the picture show there is a lot of space at the rear side.

and the lower valance seems bent that makes it leaning inside or that was cause by the tire rubbing to the valance?

I agree with both: too much caster and the lower valance looks off.