Well Bob,

Certainly looks like you are getting down to the short list......can't wait, but almost hate to see it finished, your build has certainly been an inspiration.....

This has been such an enjoyable build to watch. The skills and expertise are just amazing.

Agreed, has anyone read the entire thread? (all 5600 posts)Much great information here and thanks to Bob for documenting.

Now, how is the latest addition to the family doing? must be crawling by now

Thanks, guys. And I'm not quitting yet. The "build" might be done, but the actual tuning is just beginning.

No crawling yet (just going on 4 months). We will get to see her in a couple of weeks. I got her one of these.

Well, here we are again on jack stands. I hope I can resolve the soft brake pedal quickly.

I want to try moving the pistons in each caliper, so I made a couple of blocks from 3/8" plywood.

With some nifty handles.

These give the pistons about 1/8" space to move.

But then I re-learned that piston movement in the rear calipers is limited by the parking brake adjustment.

I also relearned that the soft pedal also reflects the rear pad clearance. With the adjustment very loose, the pedal was very soft.

So I re-installed the brake pads, and went through the clearance adjustment again, setting both sides to .004". That made the brake pedal feel nice and firm.

Tomorrow, I will mess with the other side, and then maybe the fronts, before another round of bleeding.

Sounds like a solution to the soft pedal has been found!

Looks SO nice!

I wish I would have mounted my mirror just a tad lower. I put it as high as possible before visors would touch. I'm only 5'6" so mounting my mirror even an inch lower would give more a straight back look, less angle.

I had the same issue with the sticker, it mostly contacts the windshield, but has a little air in the center I couldn't work out. Long as it doesn't fall off I guess.

Hey Root, glad you brought the mirror situation up, I am only 5'4" so I made a note to look at mounting mine lower when the time comes....Thanks

Hey Bob where did you get the pass through wrench to do your brake adjustment? I really need one of these in my tool collection......

That's a Facom brand wrench. I bought a few when I lived in France in the 80s. I think there are US distributors.

I adjusted the left rear caliper clearance, and then switched to the front. Here are the spacer blocks in the front caliper after taking out the pads.

After about 10 pedal strokes, the pistons closed on the spacers, moving about 1/4".

I then pushed the pistons back in.

I then put the pads and hardware back it, and did the other side. After that I did another round of bleeding. The pedal now feels very firm.

Before I put the wheels back on, I installed the center caps. Like many others, I made my own tool from a joint end of PVC pipe.

The big end is a perfect fit on the outside flange.

And the small end matches the internal flanges.

With just a bit of filing and sanding, it fits into the wheel center opening.

First center cap installed--no marks on the cap.

But then a small problem: I could not get the front left wheel to seat on the disk hub.

Turns out the center cap ID is not big enough to clear the ears on the hub dust cap. And the cap on the left has bigger ears than the dust cap on the right (where the center cap clears fine).

I dug out my angle grinder and took just a skim off the ears.

Now the cap fits over the ears.

OK, with the brake pedal firm, and the wheels back on (and torqued), there is no reason not to try driving the car. Not a test drive on the road yet, but...

How about a quick drive around the neighborhood?

I went up and down the hill twice, anreven got into second gear. Seems to run pretty good, but not much bite in the brake pads yet.

And back in the garage.

This is by far my favorite active thread - tons of great info here. Care to share size details on the PVC reducer "tool"?

May I nominate "Rebuilding Inside-out" for an all time classic thread.

Great to see her our in the sunshine

Thanks.

I got lucky and had a short piece of 2" Schedule 40 PVC conduit. The fat end is where each length of conduit inserts into the next.

If I want to drive this thing on the road I have to register it. So I stopped by my county assessor office and paid the fees (including a "late fee" for not registering it when I bought it) and got standard plates. At least the number ends in 4.

In Colorado, I can also get original "year of manufacture" plates, for me 1973, and have them officially assigned to the car.

To mount the plates, I will have to shorten some M4.8 screws so that do not scratch the bumper. And perhaps some sort of security screw.

Congrats on the first drive! An amazing feat, the car looks fantastic!

Yep, Colorado sure knows how to bleed you for extra money....Late fees for a car you weren't driving ......

Yeah, they claim car fees are not a property tax, but they charge us an amount based on the assessed value, and apply the fees whether the car is used on the road or not.

Still feeling paranoid about mounting the rear plate with little clearance, so I made some rubber pads behind the screw holes, and cut some screws down to about 1/4" long.

Rear plate on.

Front plate on. The clearance behind the bracket is bigger up front, but I still cut the screw lengths down to about 1/2".

Now I need to mount my fire extinguisher someplace. I have one in every car, and especially want one in my 914. So far, I like this location best. Any other ideas?

When you auto-crossing this car?
I mean that's the most important thing at this point, eh?
Ha

Car looks great....too great.

I love your car; is it possible to fabricate a bracket to attach the fire extinguisher to the bottom front of the passenger seat?

Um, when's the next indoor autocross on carpet with Nerf cones?

Check out below.

I decided to try this position, as most out of the way, protected for the trigger, and in reach of the driver. I thought about creating a bracket to bolt to the seat rails or bottom, and might try that someday.

Meanwhile, I will try screwing the bracket into a plywood block that I will glue to the floor. I figure this is smarter than screwing directing into the floor.