Hello, I am new to the forum, and a newly minted owner of a non mint 73 1.7 914!
The car is virtually rust free, has a rebuilt carbureted and bored engine as well as rebuilt transmission. It has also undergone the addition of fiberglass gt flares. On the whole I am over the moon with the new acquisition. I had it checked by a mechanic who bled the brakes, smoothed out the shifting, and put in a new wheel lug, as the one installed was to short. Other than that it got a clean bill of health. If the picture attached to the post you can see that it is in need of paint and an eventual 5 lug conversion and some proper wheels.
In the meantime I will happily roost around in its rat rod state

The consistent problem: on almost every drive, barring the test drive and the drive the mechanic took it on. 10 t0 15 minutes into my drive time the car starts squealing like mad! I can get the squealing to stop by pulling over, the sound will stop shortly before I come to a complete stop, after a complete stop the squeal will stop for the next 1 to 3 minutes of driving, and then return.

I am checking in to the forum to see if anyone has in countered the same issue?
My auto mechanic skills are pretty dismal, so just looking for a starting point, my assumption is the sound is coming from one of the rear wheels, but not sure as to why the squealing doesn’t start until 15 minutes into the drive? Tomorrow I will try setting and releasing the e brake to see if that helps. I would be grateful of any ideas, as even if it is something I can’t do myself it may save me a few bucks if the mechanic doesn’t have to drive around for a half an hour on my dime.

Click to view attachment


I started sorting few things on the car today, new trunk seal and rear bulk head seal, new targa top holders for the trunk. Thanks 914rubber! I did try to put in the horizontal targa top window seal, and had a hell of a time. I hear glycerin soap helps so I will try that tomorrow, any other tips on inserting the seals?

Love the forum, already many hours spent and many more to come!Click to view attachment

Noises that get worse over time are often related to increasing heat / friction. My first guess in your case would be wheel bearings. It could also be brake related-possibly a stuck piston which is pushing the pad against the rotor. When you stop, it cools down and backs off a bit. How long do you need to stop to “reset the clock”?

Thanks for the welcomes!
Cuddy_k, thank you for the reply, I have been watching your videos and they are much appreciated. I just watched the one on wheel bearing replacement, looks like it might come in handy. I will start digging into Threads about brake pistons as well.
I don’t need to stop the car for long to get a reset 5 seconds at most.

with Ian. You have to be careful with the wheel bearings they can come apart and cause you some real problems. They can also fail faster than they should sometimes. I will check my wheels every time I put it on the lift by grabbing each side of the wheel (9 o'clock and 3 o'clock) and see if it will move on the spindle back and forth. We found that we had to replace one set this year with only about 5,000 miles on them.

This piston in the caliper sounds about right though for you situation.

On the Fargo to window seals,
1. don't slide them in.
2. I prefer soft soap to lubricate the insulation of the Rubber seals
3. Set the rubber in the track with one side of the track in the side groove on the seal.
Using a stiff trim tool or large flat screw driver to work the seal down into the tack on the other side.
4. Go Slow and be patient. It will probably take you a half hour to get the seal fully seated (you will get it in faster than that but it my feel that long after wrestling that piece in there)

5. Come back to 914rubber.com this weekend and score on the parts your going to need as it's a once a year blowout that we do to try and help this exact situation of helping to get project cars a huge boost
Cheers
Matt

Leading suspect to me is the rear brake caliper vent adjustment. These cars have a unique rear brake caliper arrangement that requires adjustment of the pad position to achieve a minimum clearance between the pad and the rotor. Too much clearance and there will be excessive brake pedal travel and e-brake handle movement. Too little and the pads will drag creating heat and increasing drag. A dragging pad can cause squeal. I would have your mechanic check and adjust the rear pad clearance.

[quote name='N8T914' date='Nov 24 2019, 07:39 PM' post='2764787']
Hello, I am new to the forum, and a newly minted owner of a non mint 73 1.7 914!
The car is virtually rust free
Keep poking around! You’ll find it !