No metal, but need to cut open the filter still.

I had run the carbs dry, pass side died out about 20-30 sec before drivers side, so there’s some tuning lost there. Also exhaust color at ports/ primaries was a bit funny, middle cylinders (2&5) looked a bit washed, or maybe lean, gotta take a few pics and post.

I like the comment on the bird about throttle maybe not open all the way? Have you checked that? I know a little late now...

I’ve only checked it from the carb side, never by pressing the gas pedal… I can only dream that’s part of the issue. Although there is an aftermarket threaded stop at the accelerator pedal(much longer than stock) installed that has bugged me since day one, maybe it’s set incorrectly….

Maybe step on the gas and measure how much the cable moves with a caliper, then bolt the trans back on, put on the linkage and move it that same a amount. Then check the carbs?

Or I guess just check the motor out best you can and throw it back in? Seems like you might aswell check the cam timing while it is out. Have you done that before? There is a good article on how to do it in Wayne's engine rebuild book. I guess also check the cam is not 180 off, amongst other things I am sure on your list.

It will be all smiles when you get it running full bore... .

Been frustrated cause I haven’t had a chance to work on her. It’s looking like this sun I’ll have some time. As far as a 6, yes I have some hands on time with a few, I have most of the tools to work on them, done several head stud removal/repairs, so I am familiar with how to time the cams.

This engine out is a good time to check the valves from my last set, and verify a few parts. Might even get a borescope and take a look at the pistons.

Ok I'm back! Wow, that pelican thread escalated quickly, lots of good ideas, but then a few of the egos got in the way... regardless, I'm appreciative, and had two known engine builders chime in and offer advice outside of the thread. Most helpful was engine builder/engineer William Knight, nice guy in general, and he offered a great explanation of what he thinks the issue is, and the solution (larger carbs and larger headers to start).

The bird thread guided me to measure and confirm more of the pieces, but I soon came to realize that the PO work has been quite meticulous, and while the part selection and assembly has been well done, the combination was/is completely wrong. As we've all heard before from our own famous engine builder contributor "it's all in the combo". I'm a firm believer in that after this experience, expertise IS value!

Moving on, goal is the get the engine back in the car, get her tuned as well as I can with what I have right now, then slowly work on mods suggested as funds permit.

When funds available I'll be on the lookout for 50 PMOs and 1 3/4 headers... i think we have a few sources among us...

Ya Knight Racing is who I consulted when I built my motor. I ended up buying new heads from him. The 3.2 I have is a rocket. I actually have more of an issue keeping it cooled down. I also don't like it getting over 230f on the track, I just feel like that is asking for more leaks.

Assuming you had a good experience with William? Sounds like you found the right combo for your car...???

What does your cooling look like? I'm hitting 250 at 100+deg track temps (Fontana in July). It cools back down quickly to 200-220 during a cooldown lap, but I have a med/large cooler up front with no shrouding, Willow in June it would heat up to 220 and hold.

Yes I talked to him a lot on the phone during the build he was very helpful. I would say right combo yes, I never dyno'ed it but it screams. Definitely much more power than with the stock 3.0 (w/cams) that it was before and I used to think that was fast. I rarely can open it up on the street without feeling like I might go to jail . I've had some 400hp+ larger cars and it feels faster than those.

For reference I went from a mostly stock 3.0 (had mild cams, headers, weber 40 carbs) to a 3.2 (should have done 3.4) complete rebuild with DC40 cams, large port heads, 1 5/8" headers, Je pistons 9.55 :1 exactly (didn't want to go higher), 46 PMOs and one of the key items according to William was the magnaflow 2in 2out muffler. Exhaust configuration can have a decent impact on these motors I am told. He also recommended 1 3/4" headers but at that point I already had brand new 1 5/8" and they seemed to do well enough.

Only thing was when I got the heads from him one of the intake ports had been repaired and he didn't mention that. It seems to work fine, I was just surprised he hadn't said anything, its possible he had them boxed up on the shelf and forgot to mention it.

For cooling I have the stock GT cooler and shroud. Also have the stock engine cooler. On the street with a cooling fan never goes above 210f (even in 100f weather). At the track it will get up to 230f towards the end of a 15 min session (last time ambient temp was around 85f). I've done some cooling tweaking in hopes to get it down some (better airflow on cooler, wrapped the headers by the oil line, etc...). If I do alot more track in the future I will probably upgrade the cooling. Right now I have a more dedicated track car to beat up and mostly drive on the street.

I think if I remember right you can run up to 250f if you change the oil every track day, I did that with my 3.0 before rebuild and it just seemed like taking it that warm expands the metal more and creates more leaks down the road, but that's just my theory.

Glad you got good help on that thread. It was kinda interesting how that thread evolved! William is the man, sounds like you got good advice.

On the cooling, 250 is a little hot. I prefer closer to 200 which is achievable with a good size cooler and good airflow and ducting.

Thanks, and agreed! I didn’t like seeing that, the shrouding will be addressed before my next track day.

Dumb question, I was looking at gt-racing website for 1 3/4 headers, in the description they state 1 3/4 OD pipes, 42mm ID, is this true of all 1/34 headers - as measured from the OD? If so I need to remeasure mine, I might already have them….

https://www.gt-racing.com/porsche-914-europ...part-914-6-134/

Yes I believe all 1 3/4" headers are measured by OD. I know in general Tubing is measured by OD, piping is measured by ID. This is where I got my headers from-

https://www.msdsinc.com/exhaust.html

No new updates, but maybe a few pics to stay relevant. Looking forward to getting some assembly time this weekend.

Made POC Aug Velocity Mag, we need more 914s out there!

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Here’s a removal pic, how many 914s can you spot?

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Cool it made POC mag!

I see 2 914's, do I get a prize?

You get out there last weekend?

Ha, no prize for you, there are 3, if you zoom in on the light blue in front of the RR you’ll see a silver sail panel and Olympic blue a pillar….

I did get there, basically got it in the same condition as the pic, ready to reinstall.

I do need to source some bushings for the throttle pivot on the carb risers, would love copper bushings, but don’t know where to source. Any ideas?

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Although, genius me didn’t measure the od of the pivot bar…

I'm also inching along (way slower than you) towards getting back on the track - car is in the shop now for trans refresh and other odds and ends - look forward to hopefully seeing you out there soon. I'm not sure I can make Chuckwalla/POC but maybe.

I've noticed the aircooled 911s have largely been retired from track use as well as the 914s and it's kinda sad but understandable...

Maybe that's your problem???? I probably have some I can send you, I will check tonight.

Thanks, I doubt it, but it certainly is not helping…

Try McMaster.com, look for flanged sleeve bearings.

Pretty easy part to make on a lathe - especially in a soft metal like copper or bronze. I've got a "Smithy" I make those sorts of things on. Do you have a neighbor / machinist? I'd be happy to knock some out if I had the dims, but I'm out of town through the weekend and there would be mail time..

Sorry I have a bell crank but don't see any bushings, my throttle shaft is 8mm or 5/16"

Pelican has a nylon one if you can't find anything else-

https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/9144...4&DID=47656

You should be able to get 250hp to the wheels with 46 PMOs and the 1 3/4" headers, not sure how much your header size now is holding you back.

If 1 3/4 is the old, then i think I already have them, I’m wondering if it is muffler corking some of that…. I’ll have the engine back in tomorrow, then I’ll start detailing my tuning here - I know there’s some on the table there. Then when funds allow, 50 PMOs tuning and some dyno time and I should be closer!

As my 914world turns…

Motor is back in, I don’t know how this happens, but I’m not entirely happy with plug wire and my fat starter+ wire routing in the engine compartment. Too much rubbing with carb linkage, I’ll continue to sort that.

I actually got the carbs base tuned last week, but was super low on gas and started to notice my rock steady fuel pressure gauge in the engine compartment was slowly falling off its preset 3.2 psi.

Headed over with a small can of gas today, found that the PO direct wired a low gas light to the battery, luckily I left a trickle charger on the battery, the light must’ve been on all week. Well, that’s 1 of 3 aux warning lights the PO installed that I now know it’s purpose. The other two are on the a pillar padding on the roll cage (one I believe is oil pressure, not sure what the last is for).

Figured it would be a good time to change the aftermarket fuel filter in the frunk. No real issues with that, also appeared really clean.

Put in my 2.5 gal of gas re-synced the carbs and took her for a quick spin to the gas station, was running well (similar to before), so I figured I’d take a quick jaunt through the canyon, maybe take a few pics….

About 1/2 way through the canyon I realized the carbs were now idling at 2200 rpm, sometimes 2500, so no pics, and headed straight back to the shop. Carbs may not have been fully warmed up when I synced them, I set linkage too long and causing the high idle. I also noticed my fuel pressure gauge was now showing about .25 psi, so I adjusted back to 3.2 - new filter???

Well, 2 steps back this weekend, went this am hoping to get a couple of hrs dialing in advance on electromotive HPV-1 (I don’t think anyone looked up that acronym before going to print).

Went to start her up and no fuel pump buzz…

I traced back good wiring to the relay, so that leaves everything from the ignition switch to a manual switch on the dash that ultimately goes to the relay. I’ll be spending some time looking at wiring schematics to see what i can find.

On a side note, I’m getting a “ghost backfire” very so often. Car will have been driven, then put away. I usually shut off the fuel pump and let it run to help drain most of the gas out of the bowls.

When back at it a day or two later, today it had been a week, cold engine, I go to start it up, turn on the pump, let the bowls fill them I hit the pump the throttle a few times. When I switch on the ignition, anywhere from immediately to 10 or 15 secs later I’ll get what sounds like a single cylinder chuff. Today it was a medium/large backfire out the muffler. Am I getting a loose spark somewhere in there that seems to be causing this? Sometime I feel it happens (quietly) when the ignition is off and I put some fuel in the cylinder.

I haven’t quite tracked it down, but today it did it twice, fairly loud, and I was having fuel pump issues…

Any thoughts?

Eureka! Good day today, even though it was limited time in the shop. Got oil impregnated bushings from McMaster Carr, had to open them up slightly on the lathe, but they pressed in nicely, now I have smooth throttle action.
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Also found my no start issue, fuel pump switched wire pulled from the back of the fuel panel, so after dismantling that I could see where it pulled, plugged it in, recrimped a few loose wires and put her all back. Tuning, finally, tomorrow!

Sounds like your making progress even with a few set backs...

So you fixed the ghost fire and low fuel pressure issue? If you don't have alot of fuel in the tank and start doing some twisties maybe there is some air in the fuel?

Let us know how the weekend goes.

Mines been on the lift for a couple months too, hoping to get my new wheel bearing today so I can get it on the ground this weekend. Hope to take it on a road test when the rain stops.

Tuned a bit, got her pretty rich, but I can tweak at the track. Took her for a shakedown….

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Yes I got the pump and pressure issue resolved. During my tuning I noticed one of the ignition boards is not holding my advance…. Hmmm I’m sensing this is another part of my power loss…. I dialed in the best I could, I guess I’ll be looking for a new board…. Yikes, inching ever so closely to EFI…

Good find! If it's off by more than a couple degrees, for sure you'd see power loss. Especially if you've got upper and lower plugs firing at different times.

Looking good! Good find, it will be interesting to see what a difference that board makes.

Notice any difference in getting full throttle now?

It’s a bit better, but after my track day I may try to swap boards with the good one on the top plugs only, with nothing on bottom, see if it feels any better. If they truly are working against each other I should be able to tell.

A little sidebar, last week I went on a road trip with my best friend. He’s an avid historic racer, and has some really neat cars, one specifically, is near and dear to our hearts… but this story isn’t about that car…

My friend was invited to race at the Velocity Invitational at Laguna Seca (formerly held at Sonoma Raceway - Sears Point). He wanted to get up there early as practice started on Thursday. He chose a good little car that is now becoming one of his favorite road trip cars, a ‘74 Carrera. Nothing fancy, just a nice, driver+ quality car. We set out from the OC (Irvine) at 10 AM in this little dream, headed to Monterey:

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The car was about to flip the odometer, we were going to do some photos/postings on the ‘gram when the odo/speedo stopped working a hundred or so miles from flipping back to zero…. Oh well, we had fun anyway…

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Nice ride! My uncle has a 70 in white that I grew up with, has a strong 2.5L first time I drove that I was shocked at the instant power. We put the first 2.7L in my 914 while I was in high school!

Very cool story Justin, man you were converting these little cars for a while now! Yes the heavy g body 911 was a little much for the 2.7 installed, but man that has got to be a hoot in a 914… someday I’ll have an RS spec t9 put 8n a 914…

I never posted any pics from the event, here are a couple I finnlyg got to upload on my almost full iPad:

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Yes, those are 2 real 250 GTOs, there was a third one there too (white)

Now for a quick update on my car. Spent some time messing with carbs, a little better here and there, but I think I need a colortune, as I still can’t “hear” the sweet spot. I’m considering a wholesale change, @slivel has a similar motor setup, but very different carb settings. I’m thinking of swapping to what he’s got (I have all the chokes and jets) and seeing what happens…???

I’ve also been playing with timing using my ever trusty 20 year old craftsman adjustable timing light. I was getting erratic readings when taken near coil or near plug. So I used a voltmeter on the electromotive board as suggested in the instructions. I think I got both banks firing at the correct timing. It certainly feels like she woke up a bit on top - although I’m only talking 10-20 hp or so…. Regardless, progress! I also bought another used HPV-1 board and coil in case one of mine is bad.

I’m messing with suspension now. Set up my smart strings and have a combined total of 1/4” toe out in front! That explains why she darts under hard braking, probably also explains why steering feels so heavy. I’ll get her adjusted this weekend, ahhhh I’m sensing the nimbleness of the 914 is about to come back…

Up next I think we”ll also take a look at a poor man’s cornerbalance…

I would like to know what the updated Carb setting are.
Thanks
Van

1/4" toe out is a bit much. For track car you want no more than an 1/8 " toe out or neutral. Toe in is not generally recommended for track only.

Long time listener, first time caller...

Toe out will not cause a heavy feeling in the steering nor darting under breaking. It will cause the car to feel darty on the freeway and turn in FAST. With anything beyond 0mm toe out the car will want to tram line and follow any irregularity in the road. I run about 3mm toe out in the front on 15" wheels with a close ratio rack. It's a pain in the ass on the freeway. Caster on the other hand can make the steering feel heavy. That being said, I run as much caster as I can to help with camber gain while turning.

Darting under braking is likely either an imbalance in the suspension or brake system. Even when I ran 1/4" of toe out on my autocross car you could stand on the brakes without touching the steering wheel and it would stop straight (surface needs to be flat).

@yeahmag & @cracker Thanks for the response guys, I’m a silent listener to both of you on anything you post, you guys have lots of track/course time to the max in these cars.

Fact is yes and yes, my car does track on every single variance on the road, it also turns in fast, if you’ve driven Willow Springs (before the new pavement) you’d understand why it darts under hard braking too. Caster is maxed, as is camber - I forget, but I think I got -1.8 at the front and -2 at the rear.

I’m sure you’ve seen my engine woes above, most of this is venting. Seems like the whole damn car just feels lethargic. I’ve been around 914s enough to know it just doesn’t feel right, and it’s not one thing that’s causing it. It’s got all the right cool kid parts, but it’s like none of them were finely tuned or even tuned at all.

-2 in the rear with all shims removed? I still have shims on the white car with some still to go. Around -2.2 at present with -1.25 in front. You will dial in what works for you over time.

Been DE and racing 914s for ~32 years.

Actually I misspoke above, rears measured out at -2, I was advised not to mess with it until some of thes other issues were resolved with the fronts.

Actually, I just reread above, and it clicked this time, lots of caster makes steering heavy… hmmmm, you just made something else click….

I gotta check something else on my front suspension this weekend…

Nice pics!

I did some winter tuning on my motor, it really likes to be rich at idle. Damn it pulls hard from 4-7k rpms ... and my daily has 400hp so.

You should get there, keep checking... Maybe you do have some sort of ignition problem. Carbs like quick advance timing, that woke my motor up when I first built it. Did you get your WOT afr's in the high 12's yet?

Yes, I wish there was a better way to check ignition. The board seems to show steady (when hooked up to multimeter) but am I getting the same at plug? I have experienced and have read several other threads suggest that timing lights have been unreliable at best - even the expensive ones.

I think I’ll try to hook the board up to my data logger, so I can at least see what it’s doing at what rpm when under load.

I did find a Porsche Indy (actually a race shop) in Whittier that has lots of experience with -6s, (carb tuning) and also has a dynojet at the shop. We chatted extensively, and looked at my dyno sheets and logs. I got some good suggestions for data gathering before spending $$$ on dyno. I won’t be able to get my car over to him till after the holidays…. When I stumbled upon his shop he was working on Vivian Campbell's (Def Leppard/Dio) IROC/RSR 911 tribute.

Still running rich at WOT, but I noticed the other day (ran car to the office) that I was running really lean (15s) at partial throttle uphill (about 4K rpm). Sometimes I think that afr gauge is a curse, being able to glance at it during a drive.

Good day today at the shop. Last drive last week I felt a single shutter in the front suspension, felt it once on the track too, couldn’t really put my finger on it except that it felt like the suspension was moving, yet I couldn’t see any evidence (I thought it was the shock mount at the top). Then while discussing caster above it dawned on me where the movement was occurring.

I set my front toe to 0 deg and took it for a drive today. Found that when I hit my brakes hard while in reverse, I’d get the shutter, then again if I hit the brakes hard moving forward. Back on the lift, sure enough, the a arms were sliding front to back. The PO had put on the infamous needle bearings, but appeared that the front mount was not pushed all the way back to prevent movement when tightened. Also found one of the front outer bearing mounts was backwards - I flipped it, took a clamp to the assembly and tightened all up. Put my strings back up and readjusted toe.

Hopefully there wasn’t a reason the mount was on backwards (like the needle bearings were installed backwards on this mount by accident….???

Gave me an opportunity to take the turbo out for a spin too:


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Happy NYE all, had my car at the house for the holidays, didn’t mess with it much. Except as I was chasing down sloppy throttle and clutch linkage, it revealed almost non existent pedal cluster bushings. Car came with a new set so this must’ve been on the POs list. I didn’t do a restore, just cleaned things up and put her all back in the car. Just need to put the cable back on trans side and put skid plate back under steering rack. This is so much easier on a lift….

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Happy new year! Cool to see your still progressing. I installed a sport muffler over the holidays similar to what you have. Trying to tone down the start/idle sound and droning. Ended up be louder than the magnaflow . Also has probably ~25hp less or so, takes about another 1/2 second to get to 6k rpms in 3rd gear than before. I haven't found anything that beats the magnaflow in performance which aligns to the Knight racing recommendation on it.

Have enjoyed watching your progression with the car! Have been totally reworking my 6 too and just test fitted new seat tonight as well as new dash a buddy is starting to fab for me.

Track day Friday, the 28th, looking forward to that. I may pull my muffler and see what happens. @Justinp71 what brand muffler did you get? Also, do you mind sharing your carb settings? I’m going to try some drastic changes just to see what they do. I bought a colortune for the initial carb setting, all took minor adjustments but found a few really rich (confirmed by plugs too). Got much better throttle response, so feeling more comfortable making changes. Also bought a hardwired datalogger so I can log a bit easier, the handheld one I have is glitchy, and would only log one bank, I want to see how both are performing together.

@BillJ your car looks great, I’ve still been struggling with livery, I like the look for the track, but I still run my car on the street. A big meatball and number is a little flashy… thinking of going back to ghost graphics (matte black over gloss black paint). Check your headroom with that seat mount. I got a little claustrophobic with a helmet on, but I also have a diagonal at the halo, so with padding my helmet would brush against it - I didn’t like that feeling. I ended up making an adaptor for the seat mount that allowed me to mount the set a bit lower than the tilted rails. It gave me that extra inch to feel comfortable, BTW I’m not tall, 5’8” (short legs, long torso). Still have to mess with the shifter, I have to lean forward to get into 1-3-5, so either need to bend and or extend the shifter.