Basically the bad coil was sending bad juju to the other coil causing misfires

We had a weird one once,

RX3 ITA car. Rotaries take BIG, BIG power in the secondary ignition to work properly.

Strange misfires till we were looking in the engine compartment after dusk.

All of the wires had a blue "aura" around them and you could actually SEE the auras affecting each other!

Looked like something out of "Starwars."

Braided SS sheathed wires with INDIVIDUAL grounds fixed that just fine...

How many beers in were you when this was observed

Just kidding, that could have been a hard problem to find. Good to see all the progress you guys have made.

We began yesterday by admiring the absolutely beautiful Mickey Mouse ears a good friend of Greg's 3D printed for my car. A special thanks to Steve Silva for hating the PMS ears enough to ask his good friend if he could do this. Just amazing finished product and made out of the good stuff so they will not deform or melt. We started the engine and I was amazed at how much air pressure comes out of those 2 pipes even with the engine running poorly. No wonder the heat exchangers pump out such great heat. Hooked up the hoses and called that done.

Here is a pictures of the as-shipped PMS Mickey Mouse ears on the engine. You can just see the two pipes sticking up, almost straight up. That was not going to work for the way we wanted this build to look.

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Here is how the beautiful 3D ears look:

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We discussed the list of things you all have been mentioned to help us trouble-shoot the poor running condition - thank you all. When we got to the cylinder head temperature sensor... the wiring was opposite of what Kevin's 914-6 3.6 was. Greg had taken pictures of Kevin's wiring. Greg swapped the pins and plugged it back in.

Greg removed the passenger side intake manifold so we could install the new Vacuum canister and connected the vacuum lines so the resonance flap would operate. I have to say, Porsche did a nice job of locating that canister.

I turned the key and it started and lumped along, missing and smelling rich with some smoke. As we stood there looking at the engine, Greg said, "Michael, unplug the MAF." I did and the engine smoothed right out! OMG! So we rejoiced for a minute and ordered a new MAF sensor. 3 hours later we had it in our hands.

Quick side note: We checked the price of the MAF through Porsche, $1,190.00 and they could not get it in until Monday. We checked it through RM European and the cost was like $170. What the exact hell is going on with Porsche parts? Greg called a good friend and he ordered it through SSF for us and when we picked it up it was $190 including tax. Nice.

We installed the new MAF and it fired right up and ran great. Yay! We checked around the car for leaks, etc., put the seats in and took her for a ride. It felt so good to be behind the wheel again. We drove about 7 miles and pulled over and checked for leaks and noted the front oil cooler fans were now on. We still did not have the fan shroud installed because we wanted to make sure everything was tight and no leaks. I could not even hear the fans running from inside the car. The temperature was sitting at 180 and it was about 98 degrees outside.

We returned to Greg's with about 15 miles on her and checked the oil and added 1 quart. We now have 13 quarts in the system and it reads right between the marks on the dip stick.

We took her for another ride, Greg driving this time and he tested the engine properly. The engine has tons of torque and pulls hard. First gear really not needed. We do not have the back-pad, seatbelts or the floor mats installed yet. Despite that I was amazed at how quiet the engine was. We could hear the resonance flap open at high RPM's. We put another 10 miles on it and went back to Greg's. The engine is running better now than it did when we first drove her. I guess awaking from a 27 year slumber takes a minute.

On the next trip to Greg's I will bring the rear valance to see if it will fit the Sport muffler. I will also take the back-pad and see if that will fit with the seat belt modification. We still have to chase down the oil pressure gauge issue; it and the warning light are acting up. When running, the pressure gauge pins to maximum and the warning light glows green. We obviously have pressure so that, fortunately, is not it.

We need to install the oil cooler shroud (thanks again Chris @Tygaboy ). It will be nice to get that buttoned up.

I am optimistic about the whole cooler set-up. With no shroud to funnel air we did not get over 180 degrees on the 2 rides. Now granted, we were not sitting in stop and go traffic on a 108 degree day, but still. I was relieved to grab the front trunk oil lines and feel they were hot as was the cooler. No leaks and the fan thermostat working properly was terrific.

We are closing in on the end of this swap.

I feel blessed to have so many great friends who have all contributed to this build. Without them, this would have never happened. Cheers to all. Michael

wow! Congratulations Michael and great work Greg!

Gotta be a big relief to get it running - and running well! Huge shout out to Greg for all his work.
Can't wait to see you, Bob and the car in person.

Victories are always good, enjoy this ride in good health

I had the exact same problem. The wires are swapped between the gauge sender and the light sender. I just changed them at the sender and it fixed both of them.

Hope that helps..... And Congrats on getting to the first drive!

Clay

Now I want a 3.6!

Same here, mine were swapped as well.

Fingers crossed! Thanks Clay and Andy.

Congrats!! Glad you got the bugs out!! Lots of good troubleshooting information in case we run into similar issues.

Just outstanding! I'm also looking forward to seeing in person.

The car is home now. The oil pressure and warning light were resolved by swapping the 2 wires. Buttoned up the oil cooler/fan shroud and with Greg lying under the car I turned on the fans and they blow air out the floor louvers nicely. Reinstalled the rear valance, wiped the car down and took her for a drive. Everything works beautifully. I am amazed how nice it runs; no smoke, no drips, just great running.

On the way home, weather was over 100 degrees the entire way and she ran at 185 degrees. I was doing between 65 and 80 the entire trip- 107 miles. Effortless acceleration and power. Now I still do not have my back pad installed, I need to order some seatbelt hardware to get the passenger belt installed and then I will see about installing the back pad. Regardless, the engine is quiet. I used to have to drive with AirPods and play music because the 3.2 was a bit rowdy.

I will be posting pictures probably tomorrow, but I need to give her a detail and then take some photos.

Thanks to Greg T. and his wife Sandi for tolerating my brother and I during this entire process. Greg is a true Master mechanic and it definitely shows on my car. Thanks to my twin brother Bob who supported this decision and helped throughout the process, as did HB, our good friend. It was a great adventure and a terrific learning experience for me. Heck, I might even attempt the oil/filter change on my own in a couple hundred miles.

Cheers,
Michael

Congratulations!

Ah memories of picking up my car...with no seatbelts.

The 3.6 is a totally different beast than the 3.2, not bashing the 3.2 by any means but the 3.6 is kind of glorious, especially when you're foot becomes more accustomed to the power curves etc. My only advice at this point is ease into it, you'll be surprised at just how capable and fast, yet oddly civilized that motor can be--and congratulations on the next chapter with your -big- 6

Thanks Eric; Totally agree re the feel of the 3.6. Here are a couple photos of how the engine bay turned out. Given all of the stuff on these engines, I think we did a pretty good job of making it look as uncluttered as possible.

A big thanks to Greg and Steve's good friend, Cayley for making those absolutely beautiful "Mickey Mouse" ears.

Also to Clewett Engineering for their terrific serpentine belt kit- I think that is a must-do upgrade for a 6 in a 914.

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I bet that thing will have rubber on the rear of the 1/4”s pretty easy. I can only imagine. My car feels like a beast now that it has the fuel injection operating well I can’t imagine what a 3.6 would be like

Damn I saw that reflection on the front fender lip and thought it was damaged!

You are are going to need alot more rubber

Not that much more. Sticky 225's all around have worked very well for me on the street.

On my list is to borrow an unrestored deep 6 rim and mount a 205 x 65 x 15 tire and move it around the car to see if it will clear. Once I figure out which tire I want and if it fits, I will get a set for my wheels. Right now I am running 195 x 65 x 15.

Congratulations Michael, another long journey fulfilled. Car looks awesome.
Good luck with finding the right tyres you like.

I'd be interested to know Michael if a 195 on the front feels noticeably less heavy on steering than a 205 or not ? I'm running 205 65 15 on the front and 225s on the rear with a 3.2 engine set up.
Also I've never driven any other 914s but mine doesn't really like road bumps and the suspension does seem to crash/bang a bit if theres the slightest pot hole (which is a problem on our rubbish UK roads!). I've never known if that's just how these cars are? It's had renewed dampers with a 16mm anti roll bar and had usual suspension set up.
Cheers
Chris.

Curious if you are running an adjustable front sway bar? I learned the hard way that my 22mm front Tarret bar was causing most of my pot hole issues. When you hit a pot hole with one wheel, the sway bar is engaged. By adjusting it to the lightest setting it made a big difference on potholes. Otherwise I also switched to an adjustable koni in the front and that helped a little. Otherwise I compared my 225 x17" front with 205x55x16 and of course the 205x55 with higher profile rode nicer and easier to steer. Not the same as your 15" comparison, but these cars were designed for 25" tall tires, how you get there depends on the rim and tire.

The 195x65x15 are not heavy at all when turning; very easy to steer.

We have 195/65-15s on Elwood (the original six). It steers nicely with no heaviness in the steering, unless you are not moving.

With that and the pea gravel driveway, getting out of the garage is a workout for all our 914s.

No adjustable anti roll bar. Just a standard 16mm one. Can't imagine I should or could go less than this and probably about the same as your 22mm bar on the lightest setting? Who knows. Maybe that's just how they are but there is usually a big bang when it goes over even a smallish pot hole. Smooth roads it all behaves very well. Maybe I'm just asking too much of it!
I think i'll certainly try a 195 front next and see how it goes.
Anyway don't want to hijack Michael's thread ! Thanks guys.

I also wonder what tire pressure you guys are running as too high will impact the harness passed back into the car. I am excited to see your 3.6 installed and can not wait for additional feedback as to the differences between the 3.2 while living with such a beast of a motor. Love your car - thank you again for sharing. Jim Dorociak

For me 24 psi front 28 psi rear.
205 x 65 x 15 f
225 x 65 x 15 r

For you guys: Info on Marks Blue Car with the Bob / Mark rebuild finished my PMB Performance
Stock body 74 car. The wheels are copies of Deep 6 front and 7rs rear. Copy of Deep 7s with extra 1 in going to the inside.

215-15R rear 1/2” spacer on the 7r wheel. Fender roll provides 1/2” clearance. 205-15r front on 6 wheel with 1/4” spacer.

At the time Eric said this was the 1st time they actually installed this set up. Was just theoretical previous. He will use this configuration going forward on non flared builds

Mark says no scraping at all.

Best Bob B
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Wish someone made a 7R offset in a 16x7 wheel. That'd be perfect!!!

944 turbo fronts will work.

I think the 16x7 on the 951 are the same offset as normal 911 16x7, only the 16x8 rear have a difference.

--------From Michael,----------

On my list is to borrow an unrestored deep 6 rim and mount a 205 x 65 x 15 tire and move it around the car to see if it will clear. Once I figure out which tire I want and if it fits, I will get a set for my wheels. Right now I am running 195 x 65 x 15. beerchug.gif

I posted a number of things on 951 7 and 8s before as that was what was going on the blue car in my mind. I had 2 sets that I have sold now.

Michael is looking for answerers for his righteous refinishedfinished deep 6s x15 and this is as good of an answer as I can come up with.

Best Bob B

@burton73 Thank you Bob; I will definitely check that out.

your car has been quite a journey over the years. Thanks for taking us along for the ride! Enjoy

@914Dave = You are quite welcome; my pleasure. I have enjoyed the whole process. My goal from the beginning was to document the entire build so others can see what it takes and realize it can be done.

My car was apart from February 16th to August 4th. In that almost 6 months of being crawled over and worked on we had only 1 very minor mishap. We ended up with a small, soft dent, maybe the size of a dime, on the trunk lid, maybe 6" back of the engine lid on the passenger side. Fortunately, no paint damage. I have been around enough shops and cars getting worked on to know stuff happens.

I called a shop recommended by Porsche of Rocklin- Bullseye Paintless Dent Removal, (Bullseyedent.com) located in Roseville. When I called last week and spoke with the owner, Keith, I told him I had an original 914-6. He said those are rare and he has not seen one in years. He said he would be there when I brought my car in.

This morning I met Keith and his employee Shawn. Their shop is exactly what you want to see when you roll in their door. Immaculate and stocked with everything they could ever need to work on your car. Two very nice guys indeed.

Keith actually worked on my car. First he used his paint gauge to measure the material on my car to identify any possible issues; (bondo) none were apparent. He took his time, about 1 hour, as he slowly and methodically worked the soft dent out. I have watched PDR guys work on my cars before but I have to admit this was a nail-biting experience. Fortunately, any anxiety I had was not merited. Keith did a great job and that small, soft dent is now history. I highly recommend Bullseye Paintless Dent Removal.

I am taking my car to Mels Original Diner in Auburn for a car show this Saturday, 8/17. Now that the dent is gone, I will feel much better about showing it. Yeah, Mels is mostly a hot rod kind of show, think American Graffiti, but I kind of feel like my car has a toe in the hot rod pond. I love muscle cars so my brother and I are looking forward to a fun day. If you are in the area, feel free to stop by and say hello. I am pretty sure I will have the only 914 in the show.

Cheers,
Michael


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Looking good Michael! Have an unrestored deep 6 that you can borrow to experiment tires with. Let me know if you still need one.

Thank you Mark; that is very generous. When the time is right, I will reach out for the wheel. Cheers, Michael

I am curious…. Was the 3.6 worth it to you over the 3.2? The 3.2 is plenty for these cars and a lot less hassle to install. A quieter fan / motor would be nice with the 3.6, the 3.2 is pretty noisy. Looking forward to getting my 3.6 running, so I can compare.

Just got my stock 2.7 with Webers going and wondering about these large displacement builds. 2.7 seems adequate, but I guess size matters

Can't imagine Clay with a 4.0 monster

@Steve - Hi Steve- The 3.6 is definitely worth it. Yes, it was a lot of work and some money too, as you already know. But the engine behaves completely different from the 3.2. The 3.2, to me, always felt like it was working to make power- and it did have good power. I often described it running like a small block Chevy hot rod motor. The engine noise was the most apparent difference between the two.

The 3.6 just seems to make effortless power and there is very little engine noise - and I still do not have my back pad installed so it will only get better. In my book, this 3.6 will stay in my car until I can no longer drive. I have used 1st gear, out of habit, a couple of times, but really just have a 4 speed now. The 3.6 has so much torque that it works just fine. I think you will love the 3.6, especially with the 915.

So, now you are running a big block?

with turbo(s)

got to feel great to get her running

When is the 915 going in?

Yeah, I wish.

Kind of over rated. I had dr. Evil build me a 914 trans for my SBC 914, 3rd is O, 4th is X and 5th is H. It’s only a 4 speed, but a 1/4 of the cost of a 916 trans. The 993 tiptronic was only a 4 speed. The 3.6 motor has more than enough power to start out in second. Sir Andy has been using a 914 trans with his 3.6 for years.

Yup, I know. And I know Andy "drives" his car too. If I had a spare $20K in a couch cushion....