It had been about eleven years since my last 914 build. It was shown on the cover of the January 2010 Retro Cars Magazine. It was a 72 with a 327 Chev small block, GT flares , 5 lug conversion and a long list of modifications. I have spent the last eleven years building , restoring , highly modifying two separate 912s. One was converted from a short to long wheelbase RSR, the other was a 69 912 converted to an R Gruppe style 911. I have owned about eight 914s over the years and I always seem to be drawn back to their mid-engined targa topped allure.
About a year and a half ago, I obtained a 72 roller from fellow 914 world enthusiast Brian Adkins. He was nice enough to give me a good dal on the car, so it was time to begin my next crazy idea.
I am installing a 2004 Subaru EZ30R engine with an 04 WRX transmission converted from four to two wheel drive. The trans is very strong and able to handle all the power I want to throw at it. It will have a hydraulic clutch and operated by a Cable system.
The engine will be operated with an ECU Master computer. The power output should be in the 280-300 hp range per the experts that use these motors in sand rail conversions.
The car initially received a 1.7 four generously donated by Chris Baker (Tyga Boy). I got the car running well enough to participate in last year's West Coast Rally. I actually won an award for Best Patina ( Best Shit Box) . I have since pulled the motor and trans, stripped the paint, collected most of the parts needed for the conversion and will install the new drivetrain very soon.
It is my intention to show many pictures and details of the process.
Many thanks to to all those that have in the past and in the future helped me to achieve my goals for this project. I couldn't do it without hem.Click to view attachment Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

Hey Bob - A couple things:


We don't want promises of pics... we want actual pics!

Best of luck with this latest build. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help.

Bob. I agree with Chris. Let’s see some pictures of that engine.

Good choice. That R series is easy to flip the intake 180 and avoid cutting the trunk since it is DBW. Looking forward to another Suby conversion. And what Chris said. Post pic's or it didn't really happen.

Sounds exciting! I’ll be looking forward to what I hope is an excessively detailed build!

I loved Retro Cars! My brother used to contribute content and I wish it was still around.

Here is the car as I first saw it. It has a 2.0 ltr motor with a side shifter trans and 4 bolt Fuchs. None of those things will be with the car when iI obtain it.Click to view attachmentClick to view attachment

More picsClick to view attachment

more pics

You want pictures? I got pictures. Here are more pictures showing all the details that will have to addressed in the restoration/modification of this car.

I brought the car home and began to clean and inspect what actually needs to be done, (everything). I picked up a 901 side shifter and 1.7 ltr. motor from Chris @tygaboy .
The next posts will show the process of obtaining all the missing parts, installing and getting the car to run under it's own power.

Looks like a great start. I like all that room you have on the side of your house for the car.

Looking good! I spy a 968...

Yes you do.

The upgrade process begins. The seats were replaced with nicer units obtained from Chris@Tigaboy. The 916 front bumper was removed and replaced with a Chrome 73 unit I had in storage and the wheels and tires were replaced with EMPI replica Fuchs along with 205/50/15 RE71R tires.
The hood was stripped of all the cracked paint.

The restoration continues. I changed the front bumper, added a spoiler. there is a before and after picture showing the initial installation and one with it repaired and painted. I changed the steering wheel, once again donated by Chris @ tygaboy. I installed new carpet floor mats. I removed the front bumper and painted the body black to freshen it up. There are before and after pictures of the car in it's then current state, then I changed the front and rear hoods for ones that were in better condition, (less rust). I also removed the rear spoiler to give a little cleaner look.

I flipped the intake manifold, but it interferes with the alternator. I will have to cut the car.

Are you running the alt in the stock location?

Yes

Removed the gas tank to replace the fuel lines. A couple before and after pictures of the the area cleaned up.
The CONVERSION begins!
Pictures of the new radiator and it's fan housing as it fits in the car. It's a nice pice. It was originally made for a Celica.

Looks good. What are the dimensions of the radiator?

Where's the beef? It's right here. Subaru EZ30R. 4 cam, variable cam on the intake, fly by wire throttle, individual exhaust ports for each cylinder as opposed to the one oval exhaust port on earlier motors. It should make about 280-300hp with the headers and stand alone management system.
Pictures of the radiator being mounted in the car. A few pictures of the shroud being made with my brake.

Well that's that. If you aren't planning on AC you can 86 the comp & PS pump and relo the alt to center of engine (as others have done) thus allowing you to flip the intake. I like your approach to making the shroud. Good choice on the radiator. Did you need to purchase the fans separately of was it a package deal? Also, when you get to it post up the ECU and map you will be using.

The alt is already at the center. A future post will reveal. The fans came with the radiator.

I will be using ECU Master for the ECU. They seem to be set up for the vario cam and fly by wire throttle, and it's more affordable than some of the other products out there.

I remove the dash pad and replaced the worn dash top with new material. A couple pictures of the car attending the WCR. It actually won an award for best patina. One picture shows the addition of a plastic dash top cover. Not the best solution, but it will do for now.

Looking great Bob.
Still I like the red patina trunk and fronk ... you paid for that . LOL

I didn't see the 3.0 or 3.6 in their Base Maps section. Hopefully you'll provide more info for us Pilgrams as your build progresses. BTW, I'd never heard of them before. Thx for that info.

Here are pictures of the transmission I will be using. It is a 04 WRX 5speed. I had to fabricate a tool to lock the two shafts together so that I could remove an inner shaft bolt. I am missing the picture of the completed tool. What I did was cut two pieces of roll bar tubing, drilled holes in each piece to accommodate a rod that would hold it to the shaft. I used my tubing notcher to notch one end of each tube that would be welded to another piece of tubing that connects the two together. Pictures show the inner guts (shafts and gears) that were removed when converting the trans from four to two wheel drive. The final pictures show the new end plate that replaces the stock nose cone. If save about 5-6 inches in overall length of the trans while saving weight at the same time.

Probably a stupid question, but what is the shaft that comes through the new cover plate? And does it have a purpose or just kind of hang out?

Not a stupid question at all...it's the shifter shaft that will be connected to the cable shifting mechanism.

That is correct. Thank you.

One thing I noticed about these Subaru motors is that all the bolts are on there really tight. Case in point, while removing the flywheel bolts, I had to use all my strength to break them loose. I got the first five to loosen up, the the remaining three would not budge. They are a female torx type bolt. I snapped the tool in half while trying to loosen them up and ended up stripping them all. Thats when that sinking feeling starts to creep in knowing that it could be a really expensive solution to getting the remaining bolts off the crankshaft. I tried vise grips, thread extractors and heat all to no avail.
The heads of the flywheel bolts are round and smooth and it's hard to get a good angle to grip them.
Then I got an idea...
I went to the hardware store and bought some nuts with an internal diameter of the exterior diameter of the bolt head. I slid them over the bolt head and welded the nut to the bolt head. I then bought a new socket to match the nut diameter and proceeded to attempt to remove the stuck bolt.

It came out like butter.
I posted my solution to help anyone who might find themselves in a similar hopeless situation.

What a great idea, and I'm shocked nobody thought to do that before. I ended up cutting into one of mine once, and using a big flat-head screwdriver...cut and attached to a socket...attached to an impact driver.

Seems so obvious now.

Well done!

I started to make some plates for the trans cradle mount. A picture of them mounted. I installed the flywheel and started to unclutter the engine by removing the power steering pump and the AC compressor. I obtained and installed a nice aluminum turnbuckle to adjust the belt for the alternator.

I was getting a little bored and decided to look into a small rust spot around the left front turn signal lens. I got out my heat gun and single edge razor blade holder and began to remove the paint surrounding the lens. What I found was that it really not the serious and easily repairable. The only problem was I couldn't stop myself and began to strip the entire car of it's "patina". Sometimes I get a little obsessive. I just can't help myself. I stripped the whole body, the front and rear trunks and the interior.
I found a picture of a car color I liked in a 2017 914 calendar. Does anyone know what color that is?

Which flywheel did you go with?

I don't remember. I got it from EBAY as a complete package. Flywheel, clutch, bearing, etc.
I will look to see if I still have the box. If so, I will post.

Rob's car maybe? ABM - Alaska blue metallic

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=352836

@rmarx

Yep...looks like Alaska Blue to me, too.

Thank you for the reply. I love that color!

I removed the rockers to see what surprises lay ahead for me. I was happily surprised to find that they are both in great shape. The only repair needed will be to reweld the top of the jack receiver tube. After cleaning them up, they look quite good. I have been noticing a fuel smell every once in awhile. The picture shows the hose disconnected from the the tube. Perhaps that was the culprit. Very happy.

Todays post is showing the pedal box conversion from cable to hydraulic. This design was inspired from a post by Kent @76-914 . I basically copied his design for the bracket, but I came up with a different design for the connection between the pedal lever and the clutch master cylinder. The master cylinder is a unit from a Honda Civic.

I like it. There is always room for improvement.

I received a engine and transmission cradle from Coldwater. The following pictures show the cradle as I received it, unwrapped and mount in the car. I even showed it mounted to the engine. This is a very nice piece. The welds are better than I can produce and the quality is quite good.
There is a fitment issue with my particular engine and header of choice. Rather than modify this nicely put together piece, I am going to go another direction. Ian is working on another design to accommodate my specific needs. Therefore, this cradle is now available. I live in the northern California bay area. If anyone is interested in it and not wanting to wait for one to be built by Coldwater, mine is now available.

Those cradles look awesome. Is the engine cradle not well suited for an EZ30R engine, or does is it have to do more with your header choice? I thought it was designed to work with a variety of Subaru engines, including the EZ30.

It has to do with my header choice.

I started to build some bracketry for the cable shift mechanism that would mount to the transmission. The material I obtained is 6063 aluminum. I experienced some difficulty in drilling this material. While drilling, the bits would seize in the material and ultimately snap. Previously, I have never had any problems drilling aluminum, so this was becoming frustrating. What I ultimately found out was that even though I didn't think that spindle speed and lubrication would matter that much, it does. I calculated the the spindle speed by taking the cutting speed of aluminum, times it by four and dividing the result by the diameter of the drill bit. The end result was that I needed to speed up the spindle speed considerably. I did that and added some cutting oil for insurance. The end result was much more successful. I've posted a few pictures of the first bracket. I will post more in a future installment.

I am interested in your cradle, I sent you a PM. I'm in San Jose, so close enough to pick up.

A couple pictures of the headers I got from Outfront Motorsports. They are nicely done and look to add power to my engine. A couple pictures of something to look out for when mating the trans to the engine. There are locating pins on the engine and the trans. I had to remove the pin from the trans to allow them to fit together. A picture of the engine and trans as they are being installed in the car.

Look what just came in the mail! I just received my new floorboard set up for a Fly by wire throttle. I also received my new rear 5 bolt hubs from PMB. They look pretty good.

The hubs look great. Definitely an easier transition to 5 lug than previous.