@Matt , I saw you haven't posted in a while, how is progress with your 914? is it on the road and thank you for posting, great work happening at your place

I'm overdue for an update. The driver's side long is ready to be buttoned up - the outer layers are assembled, fitted, painted, drilled for rosettes and ready to weld on. I have a heater tube on the way, as soon as it gets here, I will pop it in and button it up. I'll put some more pics up to get up-to-date... Honestly, I'm looking at a couple more years to get it on the road. Family, work, etc, you know the story. Dying to drive it, but having a blast with the metal work.

Your metal work looks great, life has a way of doing that often and if you have a wife and or kids spend the time with them. The 914 won't go anywhere

Test fit a few new panels from RD, we have quite a bit of structural work prior to these, but was looking for a little light at the end of the tunnel. I will be opening up the "rear box section" this weekend.Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

More digging in with more rotting steel, to be expected. These cars were cheap and were most generally used all year with salted roads here in the Northeast.Click to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

I am optimistic most of the uglyness is currently being exposed.

Great work so far.

Indeed . . . . you are an optimist.

Did you drag that car out of a salt marsh? Wow! You are in Jeff Hail territory here.

Not exactly, but there was no $$ exchange if that's any consolation! I am scratching my head with a few sections in need of replacement. But that makes the victory that much better.

Funny, I have read several rustoration threads and seen many rusted areas that appear difficult to form. Each car seems to rust in different places and to different degrees.

Thanks for the support, I read through your journey, great story

Getting into the real meat now:Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Anybody have an extra?

Going to start forming new metal this weekend. We do not have the Celette Bench, but from what I can tell it (simply) gets the chassis in alignment. If that's the case my dad has an awesome set of tools. Does that ring a bell? We are working off a HF scissors lift and have the capability to align the suspension/body points. Stay tuned

The shop where I used to work does their larger rustorations on Celettes. Its easer to keep all 3 dimensions true while work it done.

A few hours in the shop todayClick to view attachment

Prepping for a new engine side "U"channel, directly under the battery. Thinking of relocating into the trunk or under the passenger floor boarClick to view attachmentd

Nice work!

I love fearless people. You rock dude!

Getting back to your motor question. I've had more than a few 914s.

For me, and everyone is different, I enjoyed the relative power,

Plus hard suspension, lightened chassis, and BALANCE. I was Axing at the time, and my old gray car was more than competitive AND FUN.

The power to weight ratio is a ratio with 2 sides.

Whatever you decide, have it your way.

Cheers

Thanks, what is there to be afraid of? I am thinking of 2056 or other 2 liter based engine. There is an extra 2.7 in the shed, but the effort may not be worth it. None of us are getting any younger.
Click to view attachment What can be done with this?? barely scrap

This is my first 914, several 356's, 911's and 930. Getting excited for that first ride, summer is coming!

Tomorrow I will get a hand and test fit the passenger door. From what I can see all is good, but the chaps on Apollo 13 thought that too!

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In between chores with the snow blower I had a few hours in the shop today Click to view attachment

Been fooling with the door gaps, chassis alignment for a few days, I'm liking what we have Click to view attachment

Still have a long road, the plan is to "bang it together" and have some seat time this coming summerClick to view attachment

Having a decent heated shop with most of the gear makes all the difference

In general the new RD metal is fitting quite good. Measure/check/adjust/measure/.... order of the day

How many guys when in this deep delete the heat tubes? This 914 will never be driven when it's cold. It seems to make sense to simply leave the heat tubes for another project.

More cubic hours today, dug out from 18" of snow yesterday. fabricating the inner "U" channel from 18 ga.
Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Was going to delete the heat tubes but took a ride to Napa and for just over $100. got 10' of straight pipe and the fittings (45 and 90 degree)Click to view attachment

Having the RD metal is nothing short of a life saver, without it would be much more time consuming

Progress:Click to view attachment

Too bad this section is no longer available

Got lucky, pedal area is reasonably clean/sound Click to view attachment

Keeping everything in planeClick to view attachment

Keep at it. You've got your work cut out for you. You are a brave soul.

Thank you, a "new" 2 liter basket case motor is on the way from Kentucky. Back to the original post: 2056 with some head work might be the order of the day.

Will the L jet keep up with things or twin Webers. My gut is telling me to try the stock system

You need a sheet metal shrinking press and an English Wheel.

I love the the Emerson quote:

"A brave man is no braver than an ordinary man; he is just braver for 5 more minutes."

Stay brave.

You can run a 2056 with L-Jet with slightly larger injectors but if you start with a 2.0 engine it will have a D-Jet system. I would recommend FI for drivability reasons.

Brave or crazy? approaching retirement a project was in order. The hulk came with a 1.8 with L jet, a 1973 2.0 is on the way from an Ebay purchase, not sure if it's D jet or? Is there a good source for anybody who opens up the heads for improved flow?

thanks all, I am very new to the 914 life and grateful for the assistance/encouragement

[quote name='930cabman' date='Jan 5 2021, 04:57 PM' post='2880714']
[quote name='rbzymek' post='2880704' date='Jan 5 2021, 04:11 PM']
[quote name='930cabman' post='2880687' date='Jan 5 2021, 03:36 PM']
Thank you, a "new" 2 liter basket case motor is on the way from Kentucky. Back to the original post: 2056 with some head work might be the order of the day.

Will the L jet keep up with things or twin Webers. My gut is telling me to try the stock system
[/quote]

You can run a 2056 with L-Jet with slightly larger injectors but if you start with a 2.0 engine it will have a D-Jet system. I would recommend FI for drivability reasons.
[/quote]

Brave or crazy? approaching retirement a project was in order. The hulk came with a 1.8 with L jet, a 1973 2.0 is on the way from an Ebay purchase, not sure if it's D jet or? Is there a good source for anybody who opens up the heads for improved flow?

thanks all, I am very new to the 914 life and grateful for the assistance/encouragement
[/quote)

Len Hoffman is the head resource most people use. Others can advise on the changes required for your 2.0 D-Jet system. I used the 1.8 L-Jet system on my 2056. The L-Jet system uses a vane meter to measure air flow. The D-Jet has a pressure sensor and is an analog speed density system.

I am leaning towards the L jet, measuring air flow sounds better than measuring pressure. I have been researching L jet and D jet systems, they appear similar. Was the L jet used on 1.8 engines and D jet used on 2.0 liter engines?

How would I contact Len Hoffman.

Raby speaks to the air flow, but his stuff is out of my price range.

Got lucky again today, rear floor/firewall on passenger side is reasonably clean. I will be removing most of the "seam sealer" as rust is hiding underneath.Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

It's better to be lucky than good, but being good doesn't hurt

Don't you just hate when you punch a hole for a rosette weld and then it hangs in the air with noting to weld to?

I thought I was the only one that did that!

AFAIK that is right. D-Jet on 1.7 and 2.0L and L-Jet on 1.8L. I believe the L-Jet also has an altitude sensor which would be a big plus where I live. I've never heard the reason they chose two different systems among the 3 engine sizes. Actually 3 systems I guess, if you count the dual Solex carbs on the Euro 1.8s.

I am looking into going the 2056 route with 1.8 case, 2.0 crank/rods, (heads are undecided) and L jet.

Yes/No?

Cases are all (basically) the same. Any year works fine.

If you are going to use LJet then you need to use 1.7 or 1.8 heads.
This is not an issue, as the heads can be built to your specs. 2.0 heads won't work as the studs for the L-jet will be in the wrong place.

Zach

Thank you, I am new to the 914 life and can use all the help I can get. The rusted hulk came with an EC 1.8, and recently found a GA 2.0 on Ebay, it's on the way. For simplicity I am thinking running the L jet with a big bore kit. I am seeing many of these are junk. The $3.5k pistons/cylinders are not an option for this build. Hopefully someone else makes a decent product

There are no real diffetences with the EC case and the GA cases as previously posted.

I'm just curious, but will the 2.0 intake runners not work with L-Jet? I've never seen an L-Jet system in person so don't have a clue.

Zach is wrong on this. (Sorry Zach). I have run L-Jet with 2.0 heads. But the 2.0 intake runners have to be tweaked to match the 1.8 plenum, and you have to run slightly longer intake boots between the plenum and the runners. But it all fits and works well. I know there are others on here that have done this too.

For a 2056, you are going to want the Vanagon throttle body mod, and the bigger Nissan 280ZX injectors. The 1.8 throttle body is way too small for a 2056, and will choke the engine down.

If you run 1.8L heads, you can still build a 2056. Just have 2.0 valves put in the 1.8 heads. The spark plug angle is the only real difference in them. Yes, the plug angle makes the engine perform better, but the 1.8L heads don't suffer from cracking between the valve seat and the spark plug hole. So you give up a little in the HP department, and get some long term reliability.

Clay

I am gaining an education in many things 914, thank you all contributors.

In our inventory pile is a stock 1.8 (minus cylinders) and a 2.0 complete. I will be inspecting both cases and choose the closest to spec. Hopefully the 2.0 crank and rods are serviceable. A new set of pistons/cylinders is a given. Is a mild increase in lift/duration desired for our engines? Is the geometry (plug angle) different from the 1.8 vs the 2.0 head? I had thought about oversize valves/seats. I have been researching hopping up the L jet system.

It might be worth it to you to bore out the 2.0 cylinders and order pistons. The metal on the old mahle cylinders is better than many of the newer aftermarket offerings. It’s not always cheaper than new but some of the new cylinders are known for being off spec.

I just got two done for my motorcycle and it was $150 for the pair.

I am assuming they are all cast iron, but the German stuff is probably better in quality. The cylinders I have from the 1.8 are cracked/broken unservicable. Whomever took it apart must have used a bfh. I am hoping the cylinders coming with this new 2 liter are ok, if not I hope used cylinders are available

[/quote]


For a 2056, you are going to want the Vanagon throttle body mod, and the bigger Nissan 280ZX injectors. The 1.8 throttle body is way too small for a 2056, and will choke the engine down.

If you run 1.8L heads, you can still build a 2056. Just have 2.0 valves put in the 1.8 heads. The spark plug angle is the only real difference in them. Yes, the plug angle makes the engine perform better, but the 1.8L heads don't suffer from cracking between the valve seat and the spark plug hole. So you give up a little in the HP department, and get some long term reliability.

Clay
[/quote]

What Clay said...
This is the set up I’m using, as are a couplafew others (Jim Hoylamd, Worn and some I’m forgetting)

I’m using 912 injectors, an enlarged throttle body, and a 123 distributor. Car runs great, the first 30 seconds notwithstanding (maybe a idle speed lever is in order)

The distributor and throttle body made the biggest impact

HTH, Joe

I say keep them. Even if it isn't cold where you are, it's good to be able to defog the windscreen on occasion. And it's a whole lot harder to put the tubes back in after you're finished with the longs!!




The above is right; you can adapt the 1.8's system to fit on a 2.0 motor. Or find 912E parts; those used a 2.0 914 motor with L-jet. But good luck with that since they only EVER made 2099 of them.

One thing I would strongly suggest: Find a wide-band O2 meter to make sure it doesn't run lean under any RPM and load combination. You really do not want to run the engine lean.




https://newsite.hamheads.com/

You can find the heads he designed at the Type 4 Store. Not cheap, but they are brand-new castings.

https://lnengineering.com/type-4-store/cylinder-heads.html

--DD

I kept the heat tubes, never know what the future holds.

Where did I see a guy was looking at adapting Alfa spider throttle body? We have a bunch of early '80's Afla FI stuff in the shed, I will have to dig it out.

Still somewhat heavy with the structural metal work, planning is good

Getting closer to having the passenger side complete
Click to view attachment

I have been lucky to be able to sneak away from the office for an hour or so

Next up is completing the additional structural (double layer) to the engine side Click to view attachment

Being careful to stagger the splices and fit everything reasonably tight. 18ga across the board

Double layer to the inner half (engine side) of the long extensions
Click to view attachment

Time and patienceClick to view attachment

Checking, re measuring, re checking, got things within a 2mm. From what I gather from the factory book 2mm is the number

Inner section all welded and primed

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Got the double long section wrapped up, plug weld the outer and move on

Cover fit, ready for plug welds/primer and on to the next projectClick to view attachment

Passenger long just about completeClick to view attachment

Fitting the new RD door jamb and having the passenger door latch for the first time in 30 years, VICTORY Click to view attachment

No photo yet, but I was able to test fit the targa roof panel, fits great. Also, I made a template fitting the windscreen frame and targa bar. Checked it from side to side, all is good. I used cardboard then 3/8" AC plywood. from what I can tell, this double checks several body dimensions/geometry

Yep, I went and did it, made the jump for a /6 conversion. There is this 2.7 short block laying around the shop, getting moved everyday because it's in the way. I placed an order with MB911 for his oil tank and engine tin to get the conversion started. I am looking for a Western New York shop to fix a few broken head studs and get the 2.7 along the path. In my spare time I got started on the drivers side: Click to view attachment

Kind of reminds me of dissecting a frog in grade school

Cool

Metal work is moving forward. I made the decision to jump into the /6 conversion. Dropped off a 2.7 short block to a local engine builder today. Oil tank and engine metal is on the way from MB911. Researching engine mounts, exhaust, carbs or CIS, ......

Still planning on seat time this summer

And I was thinking the drivers side was in better shape, fooled again!!Click to view attachment

From what I can tell, these trailing arm mountings are not being reproduced, if so please forward the contact information. Otherwise we are re creating from scratchClick to view attachment

Not for the faint of heart, but none of this is

Curious....no rust encapsulator for the internal parts or primer for the inside structural peices?

I think RD makes that peice but sometimes they are out and need to build inventory.

That as you probably know is one of the more important suspension tie in locations.