I think I've gathered up everything, sans tires, to take the 5 lug plunge. But before and as I do I'll have a few questions. Some have been asked before - I know SOS - and some will be stupid but better to ask if the answers are available. The first questions; is there a difference between the A arms, torsion bars, etc between the 914 & 911. IIRC, the ball joints, etc are the same and I can see that the stabilizer bar is larger and mounts differently. Should I just drop the entire front suspension assembly and bolt the 911 assembly in place? Or should I just bolt the spindles to the 914 A arms. Should I use the 911 stabilizer bar set up or keep in place the 17mm 914 stabilizer bar? TIA, Kent

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911 vs 914 have different spline count on the torsion bars

911 about 1 mm bigger so slightly more stiff
Either can work depending on which spring rate you want
Ball joints interchange and both have an early/late style

That sway bar is larger diameter
But no adjustability

They saw that through design is better geometry
But six one half dozen the other

Also IIRC some of the 911 cross-member pieces are aluminum vs steel. I went with an SC front end swap but kept the earlier thru-body swaybar setup.

Is this for the black car?

If it were me Id keep the 911 struts hubs brakes & (if I understand) existing
through-the-body anti-sway bar, and off the 911 A-arms et all.

I don’t see them but are you replacing struts too? Do you already have throughbody swaybar?

I’d say clean up replace rubbers on the 911 setup and quickly swap whole setup for least amount of downtime. I think used 911 tbars are more plentiful and cheaper than new 914 tbars (good luck finding used that are stiffer than stock).

If you don’t already have a through the body sway bar, the under mount bar is a quicker install. Just remember, the 911 suspension is made for a heavier car so you will get a stiffer suspension. That’s not a bad thing but you can always change it back to 914 parts if you don’t like the ride.

Exactly. Kept the 911 torsion bars but went with 914 sway bars. So far, so good. But I am old and in the way.

My two cents: if you make front spring rate and sway bar stiffness greater, you will need to do the same in the rear, or you will have massive understeer. But greater spring rate front and rear will make the car ride harder in general.

I like the idea of larger torsion bars if it doesn't screw up the handling, Brandt.

This one is all steel cj. I'm leaning towards keeping the 17mm OEM thru the chassis sway bars so as not to screw up the handling as mentioned by Mr Krantz.

Yes sir. Along time coming.

Not sure about the "and off the 911 A-arms et all." comment Rich?

Yet another informed vote to keep the thru body sway bar. I'd just need to move the tabs over to the 911 A arms.....unless they are the same. They appear to be the same after taking a few quick measurements. But I'm not sure that they are, Mark.

Most of us are.

Why does what would be the pass side have that silver piece that the other side doesn’t? What is that part? Going to rebush the control arms?

Good point Bob. I definitely do not want to create a handling problem even though it will never see more than some spirited driving. Nor do I want s stiffer ride as this one is a cruiser, so to speak. I should have mentioned in the first post that I am also doing the rear but plan on keeping the same springs and shocks. Thx to everyone for their valuable input. Don't hold back with your opinions. Everyone here knows more about this swap than I.

The problem you have is its either or.
The 911 A-arms are diff. in that the they are splined for specific T bars AND have specific mounts for the under mount sway bar.
They wont work with the OE 914 sway-bar link set up...as is.
Thus my suggestion to sell the 911 A-arms T bars cross member sway bar & keep the rest.
The 914 A-arm & T-bars have been fine thus far? & they are matched with the existing R. suspension
Slippery slope time.

Gotcha. I'm a little dense. Thx for "splaining that to me properly", Rich. Seems like the best solution. Thx.

Is the main reason for this adventure 5 lug wheels?

Since you're keeping the stock rear, keep the front stock. Just swap the struts.

911 bits are for a 600-800 lb heavier car.

19mm torsen 287 lbs/in
+ 20mm sway 259 lbs/in
546 lbs/in spring rate cornering/bumps

vs 914
18mm torsen 231 lbs/in
+ 16mm sway 165 lbs/in
396 lbs/in spring rate cornering/bumps

Which car is this for?

I am doing the 5 lug conversion also. After much reading and dithering, I decided I liked the current handling of my car and just swapped out the struts.

Tire choices!

The '73 black one. 2350 lb curb weight. You drove it in AZ a few years back.

Looks like we're driving the same car, too!

76-914, I kept all my 914 front suspension. Just added the raised spindles and 911 hubs. Also 180 lb springs to the rear (Ground Control). This is in my 914-6 GT Tribute, car drives and handles great.Click to view attachment

Nice job. Looks great too. I should probably take a close look at my steering rack while I'm in there.

Is that the Subaru 6?
I wondered what they weigh

~400-450. Very similar to a 3.2

Porkie, but it was fun

My v6 is 370 loaded flywheel to ecu, with cast iron exhaust manifolds.
320 as a standard long block.

I want to buy some tires for this 5 lug conversion and need some help with this. Currently I'm running 195/65R 15's. The tires are 200mm at their widest section. There is a ~19mm gap between the tire & inside fender lip. Can I assume I am safe to go with 205/xxR 16's. Or, since the 5 lug rims are 6" and the 4 lug rims are 5.5" do I lose 1/2"? I included a drawing that may clarify my ramblings. Click on the pic and it will right itself.

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still looking for tire info

I did my 5-lug swap with redrilled -4 rotors on the front, and on the rear I used the URO hubs and redrilled -4 rotors to be able to reuse all the rest of the -4 stuff. Stepped up to 16x6 Fuchs and I am running 205/55R16 tires with no rubbing issues. Car is pretty low, and rear fenders were rolled previous to the swap. Still seems like there'd be enough clearance without the lips being rolled, though. Speedometer is much closer than when I was running 195/60R15's as the new setup is nearly the same as the factory overall diameter.

Tire choices will depend on the wheels you are running.

FWIW, most tires that fit on a 5.5x15 4-bolt fuch will fit any 5.5-7inch wide 5-bolt wheel.
Also consider, if you have stock body work, fitting a 7x15 can be hard in the rear and may still not provide more room than a 205 width tire as well (although most pull out the rear and try to squeeze up to a 225)

And that said, a "sticky" 205 tire can have enough grip to overwhelm any stock 914 suspension.

Silly slippery slope!

That said, what size 5-bolt wheels are you looking to run, as that topic has been asked about ad nauseum since 1970!

If the tread stays the same width then the sidewall widens half the wheel width change.

Shorter sidewalls will bulge less than taller ratios. Tread width tends to be wider on short sidewall tires for a stated size.

Also depends on the tire...

235/75-15x7 vs 255/55-18x8

Almost 2" wider at the treads.

Different rims have different offsets
But I’m guessing you are going with 16 inch Fuchs
So they should fit a 205 tire for sure on a 6 inch rim
And many people can fit a 205/16 on the 7 inch Fuchs also

Nice looking 16" Fuchs with the 15" look. I didn't notice at first (it's working! ), then read it.

Nice looking car too...

Funny you should post that pic. I bought m y '76 914 from the LeMay Museum! That's the size tire I had in mind too. Thx

Fuch's 16x6 911 361 020 43 IIRC.

yes. the 16x6. So it looks like 205/55R-16 will be my selection then. How do you like Yokohama's upper line tires Brandt? TIA

I think I'll be alright because I measured from the widest part of the tire; not the tread which was several mm's smaller. I also took measurements from the most narrow wheel well. Actual was 19.2mm on R side & 20.4mm on the L side.

It’s been a while since I’ve had a set but they were nice

Thank you! Took a chance on the wheels and they worked out great!





I remembered last night that I do get a bit of tire rub, but only on the inside sidewall at full lock on the fronts in low-speed parking situations. Setup feels great on the road, and in my case shaved 8lbs of rotating, unsprung weight off each corner!.

sportsicherFahrer, you can add steering rack spacers so Lock to Lock is shortened a little. Mark

@mlindner You wouldn't have any pics detailing that would you?

Tire choices on the 16"s are way better, some pretty good options in 205/55/16

That's exactly the reason I'm changing over. I have a set of upper line Yokohama's on the 70 and they are smooth as ice + they grip the road incredibly well. So much so that Rudy Nunez aka Curbandgutter was bruised from the seat belt digging into his ribs after a few tight turns.

Rebel Racing has the steering rack limit spacers to limit travel when wheels rub on inner fenders lock to lock.

wider fits on the front, but as mentioned you may be getting wheel rubbing on the inside front which a steering spacer can fix for you.

Rubbing on rear....each car is a bit different.
It will be on the inner fender lip.
It comes down to a choice....roll the fender or buy thinner tires.

Rich