We have been lucky recently to have come across two factory chassis stiffening kits. These are stamped pieces that perfectly clamshell the body for very very easy installation. We were thinking about duplicating them but wanted to gauge interest and price to see if it would be worth while.
With the fact that they are pre bent they could not easily be installed on any 914 without a lot of labor. As tooling is very expensive and parts produced only sold to a small market, the sale price per kit would be more expensive of course than if we could make 1000 kits at a time. Comments?Click to view attachment

@GMS

Impressive, never seen a factory kit. Nothing better than form fitting. Just fix the spots that need reinforcement and not add weight.

What gauge is the steel?

Since I put the 3.0 twinplug /6 in my teen I can really feel the body flex, inner long kit is my next big project.
This would be definitely be of interest depending on the price point.

I'd make them out of galvalume coated steel.
Maybe do a group buy, 914rubber does this to pay for the tooling.

123

#4 ??

George,

Can you place them on a car to better illustrate where they go?

Pete

What am I missing? These two statements seem to contradict each other.

yes they are currently with some cars and parts being shipped here. Should have in a few weeks, what do you think would be a fair sale price for the six piece set?

What do you think that the tooling charge would be?

Well the aftermarket kit is $150,,, So a copy of the Factory kit is worth $????

Gulp.

A stamped set will have to sell for more than double what the flat stuff sells for.

tooling costs...hard to tell without having them in hand. 10-15k per tool at least. 3 tools total.

Pete

That would be awesome if someone would make a proper GT stiffening kit. these rap around the bottom of the longitudinal up to the pinch weld and make the car stronger. the aftermarket kits mostly add weight.

By 'factory' do you mean Porsche factory ? They're OEM parts ?

Looks like it's a trailing arm off job.
One of the few things I've yet to do is service my trailing arm shafts.

Yes this is the factory kit that John had.
My Stoddard GT has this kit installed

trailing arms off and some repainting

Also have to wonder how many cars have not been stiffened over the years.

I would be down with a set in the $500 range, as I know what it takes to get them to fit proper, and the flat kits do not wrap around the logs. Well they do, via proper welding.

But still, there are a work of art.

George we would partner with you for 50 sets it it helps to get these made. Just have to not get hung on these.
We do make the flat version but yes these are important in the restoration of our cars.

The preformed type would be great!.....The current available flat ones are such a pain to form...

Definitely interested in this...

…funny on the timing of this.

Am just final-proofing an article in which Roland Kussmaul mentions that these braces and one more mod was enough to make the 914 a really great platform for racing—the better platform, actually.

My question for those who have done this: So the rear suspension has to come off. What else? And what about rust-proofing the car so modified?

just the two rear swing arms.

If you haven't removed your 914-4 engine mounts, it's a good time to do it.

yes for six conversion and then as you remove them carefully you can sell the used ones especially the right one to a poor soul with a rusted engine mount

It's not any easy job...it's "easy" in the context that the parts fit like they should. It would be a job that any advanced DIY'er could do, if you're not then it would be best left to a pro.

Of course it has to be welded to a sound chassis, but the rust issue is why I suggested galvalume steel like RD uses. You could mask the inner holes and edges and use epoxy primer on the underside. Then it has to be plug welded, Epoxy primed, then seam sealed and painted. Since it's the greasy side the finish doesn't have to be perfectly smooth.

racing parts are just ..here today gone tomorrow....1970......

Not sure where I fall on the DIY scale, though I've been through most of my 914 and done a lot of the work on the car over the last 30 years. But welding, like major engine work or bodywork, is something I haven't played with—so I'd probably have this done. (And this chapter of life isn't conducive to DIY anyway…)

But, having more than doubled the power of my 914 a few years ago, to roughly 200, this kit is indeed interesting to me—all the more after reading Kussmaul's comments. Even if the factory-style stiffening kit went on a shelf for the right time, I suspect it's one of those few 914 parts you are unlikely to lose money on, or lose much money on.

Guessing there are others like me, also. I'd even be interested in a pre order if RD is involved, depending on what the price might be. Which I am sure is a bit chicken-egg for them, too. $30,000-$45,000 for the tooling is a big outlay, and we are lucky to have businesses that are even considering those kinds of products for the 914.

Pete we are very lucky

I guess I need to subscribe to 000 to get the info on the chassis stiffening. And by design the 914 chassis if treated the same should have been superior to the 911 of the time.

Minor profits looks like the price of $500 would be short. But I can be hopeful, I am down for a pre-order also if RD is in the picture.

I would also like to see the other modification, and see if it can be a package deal.

getting ahead of myself now.

We already make the flat ones George, I could finish up the tooling for another 5-6k to form these. We sell plenty of the flat ones as those that use them are doing the work themselves, but I'm happy to work with you George if you already have these made up inexpensively.

^ We really are.

As to the bit of chassis info, I am not sure I would subscribe for that, but there is an article in Issue 012 that I feel really would justify a single-issue purchase at $75 for 914 owners. It was a hard story to put together, but it's the first time I have understood the 914's design, and, really, its place in the Porsche story alongside a larger picture. And I've been driving one for 30 years and studying these cars at least that long…

Re: Mikey, George, Peter, et al...I would indeed be interested in buying a set of these if the price is right, even if only to put on a shelf for now...and it sounds like Mikey might have a springboard that avoids the need to spend $30-45k. Pretty neat.

I don't know how you propose to stamp these with tooling costs under 10k. To scan and design the tooling is 5k+ alone. Then there is steel costs of over 15k.

I never like to attach numbers to a project before I even look at CAD, but I'm 100% sure that this project is not doable for under 25K.

I don't want to discourage 914rubber or AA on teaming up, or doing these pieces alone, I just want the members here to have a realistic understanding of what tooling costs and the amount of work that goes into making quality parts in North America.

Pete

We have been making parts for way to cheap for a long time.

So far nothing but crickets from George. I'd do these if there's enough interest.

i would be interested.

Never mind!

Apparently he's off.

Any chance these might make it to production if you have enough pre-order? I'm in for a set...

Thanks George!!!

we have a "flat" set on order, awaiting delivery. I assume these can be formed reasonably easy, perhaps some heat introduced here and there.