Here's what I ended with, pretty much on target. Tomorrow I will check everything one more time, and then go for a drive.

I would say that doing this alignment is not too hard, but takes time--and the right attitude.

@bkrantz ,

Thanks for sharing this process Bob. I know when the time comes I will follow your proceedure and hope I can get close. At least with your guidance I feel a bit more confident.

Never having done it before though I think I will head over to a Porsche authorized alignment shop to have them double check my work.

A Porsche authorized alignment shop may not get it done for you. You might be better served finding a shop that has been doing suspension and alignments for decades and sees old Porsches on a regular basis.

I just had my car aligned for the 3rd time. I finally feel like they got it right. I went to a 1-man shop where he has been doing suspension and alignments for about 40 years and was recommended by Holleran's Performance. Guy spent almost 4 hours on the car and it drives much nicer.

Nice work!

Thanks, guys. My original goal was to get a rough alignment done, and then let a shop fine-tune it. But the local shop that has old Porsche experience, including 914s, could not get their wheel-mounted equipment to clear my front fender lips.

This second home effort was a chance to see how precise I could work, and what kind of results are possible. I did get another digital camber gauge to try, and an offer from a friend with other home alignment expertise.

I checked the toe measurements and camber (with my old bubble gauge) one more time, then took down the strings. I put the fuel evaporation tank back on, and closed it all up.

I then uploaded a new file to the Megasquirt ECU, since I had too many pops and a few backfires when the engine spun down.

Then time for a drive!

While driving I tried the brake pad bedding procedure recommended by PMB: accelerate to 60 mph, brake hard to 10 mph, repeat about 6 times, then drive without braking to cool things down.

A post-drive report:
The brakes are better, but still a bit spongy and not at all "grabby"

The car drives straight, with the steering wheel centered, and no wandering. It responds nicely to steering input, but I have to get used to manual steering again.

I also have to get used to my whopping 125 hp (actually, at the altitude around here, more like 100 hp). Acceleration is, um, leisurely, but steady.

With a new correct angle drive, the speedometer works but seems to read fast. My tires are within 1% of original diameter, so it must be internal to the gauge. No odometer function.

I stopped for gas on the way home. The gauge indicated a bit more than 1/4 tank. I put in 6.5 gallons, and it read about 3/4, so it seems to work.

Get back to work Bob, I noticed a speck of dust on a lower A arm on one of the pictures... we have standards here you know!

Bob, I am impressed with the allignment you did. Maybe I'll just bring my car to you when it is time. If you are worried about the liesurely acceleration, you can always bring it down here to east Texas where we can give it a test drive for both acceleration and handling......lol

Great project, thanks for documenting. Now she's going how will you be spending your free time?

Bob, your alignment will be better than most shops.
If you are happy with it...I'd say drive it for a few thousand miles, recheck and go from there.
Well done Mate!

I have 6K miles on the string alignment I did on my car. Love how it handles and no sign of uneven tire wear.

Hey, Stu, give me a break. First I have to clean off the tiny humming bird poop on the frunk lid (no kidding, a hummer got trapped in my garage last night and left a present).

Thanks. I plan to try at least one more round of brake bleeding.

Not sure yet about next. I promised to help my son with a restoration of his choice. We'll see.

First Durango cars and coffee for the 914 today. Beautiful weather and a good turnout. And lots of positive comments.

In the cool morning, with the top off, I tested the heat--it works!

With my son watching his GPS app, we figured out that the speedometer reads consistently 5 mph too high.

When we got home, I saw what looks like condensation inside the temp gauge. Strange, since this has been indoors for the past 3 years and not near water.

Hate to say it, but this stuff will never go away. I have experienced the same thing with gauges and wondered if a small (tiny) pack of desiccant would help.

And the heat works, something to said for that

So awesome. Congrats on your first C&C! The brakes will get firmer with driving. I had the same sponginess after I was sure all air was out and Eric at PMB said that new piston seals in the calipers take a bit to relax. He was right. After about 100 miles or so the system really firmed up. Enjoy your stunning “new” car!

Thanks, Ian. I can handle more 914 driving as "work".

Bob, this is an awesome photo with the two Porsches and the Durango Steam Engine. Your car looks awesome and I can't think of a better first outing....Congratulations.

So....wait. It's OVER?!
This has been my favorite thread for a long time - congratulations and thank you for sharing the work!

Thanks, Howard. It was a fun day. Unfortunately, by the time the train showed up many of the other cars had left, so mine looks a bit lonely.

Never fear, Brian. I still have to work through my punch list.

Going a bit OT, but garage time this weekend was dedicated to replacing the fuel pump and sender in my 2001 Suburban 2500. I like most things about the design, but the pump is accessed on top of the main tank. The official procedure requires dropping the tank, and lots of other stuff. The more common way is to cut a hole in the floor under the back seat. I wanted to make this look reasonably good, which requires a 6" hole saw, old school 1/2" electric drill that spins slow, a guide jig, and a willing young person.

We found the correct location by drilling 3 holes (in sequence, getting closer) and looking down with my borescope.

Success! Here is the top of the pump-sender unit.

I swapped in the new pump, connected fuel lines and wires, and tested it. I made a bracket and pop-riveted the cut-out into the hole.

And hey, I'm sure you probably have some trusty seam sealer that you can waterproof that cut with...lol...bet you can even get that 914 texture to it.....

Funny you should ask. I had half a tube of 3M seam sealer left over from the 914, and a spray can of paint to match the Suburban. I tried to match some of the factory sealer smears on the floor.

And then everything back to the way it was.

OK, enough about that--back to my 914.

I tried out my new Tenhulzen camber gauge. I had ordered this a couple of weeks ago, but it was delayed. This has a simple adjustable frame with a digital angle gauge that is attached by magnets. It may not be more accurate than my old gauge with w bubble level, but it looks cooler.

Final(?) camber numbers still look good, and are within 0.1° of what I measured last time.

Finally, some 914 time.

I got the new repro engine bottom sheet metal (right side) from Auto Atlanta. It looks like a nice piece, just a little rough on the edges.

The raw fit is close. BTW, I have aftermarket SS heat exchangers, so even an original sheet metal piece might not fit.

A minor trim on one corner.

A bit of minor bending.

And two elongated mounting holes.

Excellent fit now.

I added a couple of holes so I can tie the clutch, speedo, and O2 cables to the underside.

Both pieces ready for powder coating.

While under the car, I noticed a couple of oil spots.

Not what I want to see.

It looks like a leak somewhere on the front. could be the oil filter mount, pressure spring cap, or oil pump.

This will have to wait until winter. From the beginning, I have expected to drop the engine to sort things out after the initial running.

In my case, I had a slight leak from the pressure spring cap. I had a heck of a time getting that tight enough. I wound up using a bit of aviation sealant on it and one of those coin style spark plug gappers to get it tight. Trashed the gapper but stopped the leak. Hopefully yours is the same thing. The other options sound progressively more of a pain to fix. And the other one I hear mentioned a lot, oil cooler seals.

Next, some new brake parts: a reservoir cap, gasket, and set of Speed Bleeders.

I installed the Speed Bleeders. I have heard a couple of people swear that these are the secret to getting the ultimate hard pedal. We'll see.

Anyway, here is a front caliper with a Speed Bleeder in the upper port. It almost bottomed out before it met the inner seal.

Onto bleeding. Another can of ATE fluid.

Got to work bleeding each corner. With the Speed Bleeders, I just opened each bleeder and then pumped the pedal to expel about 1/3 of the reservoir volume--and (I hope) any remaining air bubbles.

At the end I "think" the pedal felt harder. We'll see next time on the road.

And then time for the new reservoir cap.

Hey Bob, sorry to see the oil leak issue, hope it is an easy fix. In your opinion, are the speed bleeders worth the money? It seems that it makes bleeding the brakes a 1 man job...Just wanting your opinion...Thanks