I am using this thread to document our Renegade V8 conversion of a 1975 914 that I purchased from Craig Laughlin at Camp 914. The car has 11 inch wide steel GT flares on the back and along with GT flares on the front. 17 inch rims all around.

The start of the project was Craig delivering JLO to our front door. You gottal love the great service from Camp 914!

Bill P.

A few shots of the "virgin" JLO before the V8 project starts....

The other side....

Part of the purchase of JLO from Camp 914 included a great deal on a Renegade Hybrids conversion kit. As I didn't need the 2.2 liter 4 cylinder and sideshift transaxle residing in JLO, James (Lapuwali) graciously offered to purchase the drive train from me. So out with the drive train....

And the engine goes over to James for a transplant into his car....

Time to start cutting into JLO for the radiator cuts...so off comes her clothes!...

Here's the Renegade Hybrids template. It cuts through the reinforcement on the lower part of the fenderwell....

I PM'd Guy Thompson (914GT) about his radiator outlet cuts on his beautiful V8 conversion that he is running in Tuscon, Arizona. He has a slightly different cut out and I ended up using it for my conversion. If I need more exhaust opening for the hot air, I can cut down like the RH template.

Now for the moment of truth...cutting into a perfectly solid, rust free 914!

First we go to the front.

Bill, feel free to check mine for comparison. I'm rechecking my electricals for first start...

Now to move into the front trunk to work on the wheel wells. First a hole saw for a nice radius edge and then my trusty air tools to slice through the metal "like butter!"

Hi Felix!

I definitely will check your car! This has taken a little longer than I hoped due to family and work diversions, but I'm making good progress now.

Bill P.

As you can see from this picture, a previous owner had sprayed GM bedliner spray all over the front and rear trunks, including ventilation system and gas tank.

This bothered me...so I decided to take out the ventilation system and gas tank to survey the situation.

Pretty ugly in there...lots of work to do...

I played around with the Renegade radiator sheet metal for fun....

Time to pressure wash as much of that bedliner as I can...first the front...

Now to wash JLO's backside!

For JLO's V8 heart transplant I wanted something that could spin. I toyed with the idea of a 283 with Rod Simpson's nice camshafts but decided to stick with a 350.

I decided to order a Stage II motor from Renegade's engine builder, Wild Bill's Machine Shop.

I ordered:

350 SBC, 9.5: 1 compression with Demon 650 carb (electric choke)
Serpentine system with A/C
Edelbrock Aluminum Heads and Intake

4 speed RH "tall" gear 901

As there was another thread detailing Wild Bill's issues on one of our fellow members cars here in the club, I brought this to both Renegade and Wild Bill's attention and specified no used anything other than the block and crank.

I had a few "goodies" inside the engine installed as well (roller rockers, ARP everything, etc.) to help the motor spin freely.

The motor should be good for 380HP and just a tad shy of 300 ft/lbs of torque...(trying to make the 901 last as long as possible).

Mike of Renegade personally delivered my motor to my door.

A few more shots of the motor with the serpentine system...

We've been sanding and painting the trunks and engine bays...

Here's the front trunk, before ....

And the front trunk after some elbow grease....

And the rear trunk before and after.....

Engine bay....

Now to put in the motor...first up is to install the headers....

Done....

Now for JLO to assume the position....

A little shot of the rear transaxle mounts.....and some of the hardware detail....

Chrome
Black
Red
Blue

Nice contrasting colors!

The RH kit bolted right up, no problems with fit and clearances....

A shot of the water pump....

A shot of the AC compressor....

A shot of the drive train installed.

The axles shown are the old axles. I will leave them on while I play with the exhaust routing. I have new Renegade Hybrids super beefy axles....in a bright red color!

A close up of the starter....some folks have to dimple the trunk pan to make the clearance fit....I was lucky....no clearance issues...

Next up is playing with the radiator sheet metal and mounting the radiator.

After that comes figuring out the AC lines.

Quite a bit to do, but we're getting there!

Bill P.

Some of us undo the allen screws that hold it to the adapter and re-clock it.

Looks great Bill. You have done a really nice job cleaning everything up and using high quality replacement pieces.



B

Thanks B,

We're trying to do a good job since there is no time constaint. My son and I are having a great time, one of the better things we've done together. When it's enjoyable, work....even hard work....is fine (except for that crappy bedliner... , what a mess.)

The next decision is deciding to put the ventilation system back in or not. I have Engman's block off kit, and I have the RH under dash AC / Heat unit. Or I may put in the fresh air blower. But the plastic of most of the ventilation plastic has the bedliner all over it, which means sanding and painting. Also, one of the diverter boxes has a crack in it, so I'll need to get another box. And all that work to put in a fresh air source for the defroster.

I'm leaning towards leaving it out...but it leaves the cowl area with a slightly unfinished "kit car / race car look" I kinda want it to look like a custom factory car...

And then this leads to having the fresh air gill vent in the cowl welded shut by Scott. And then repainting the cowl. And since I repainted the cowl, I should do JLO justice and repaint the the entire car. A can of worms for sure!

Once we start looking at the plastic, I'm sure we'll leave it out...or do the work and restore the ventilation system....



Bill P.

Bill,

She looks AWESOME! Keep me posted on how things are going!

I'll bet you can't wait to start her up and cruise around a bit.

John

Looking good Bill Can't wait to see her drive to the next breakfast

As usual Bill you are doing a great job' always organized and prepared.

But MAN those overalls are way to CLEAN. Are you trying for the:

"The Cleanest 914 Mechanic 2006"

Award?

I was wondering what happened to JLO after you sold the engine. Cool! Can't wait to see the finshed product!

The 3.6 engine Bill sold to Andy was from his Beast track car project....which I believe the chassis is now owned by Randal

JLO was a V8 conversion car from the beginning,,,it has just been awhile since Bill has had time to work on it and make any headway.

And the 2.2 Type 4 Bill sold to me is obviously doomed to be a transient. It's coming out of my car for a 2.7 Six soonish, and at least a couple of clubbers have expressed interest in it.

Don't you just love it! These cars are the ultimate "Frankencars" with parts going from chassis to chassis....

Bill P.

Latest iteration of "The Beast™" is a joint development car for Randal and I. I'm still the owner and am still working with Scott and Brad to finish the car. Most likely "The Beast™" will get a 3.6 and WEVO box. I've already sent a new rear swaybar to Yeaman Autobody last week. Randal and I will be down there Wednesday to pick colors for the chassis powdercoat and for the body colors as well.

I will have pictures and will be starting an official "The Beast™ build up thread" soon.

Too many things going on right now.....

Bill P.

I look forward to getting it together (finally)


B

"The Beast" has taken how many years to complete now?
Dude, you win the patience award

Tonight I played with JLO and mocked up the radiator assembly and sheet metal. Here's a few pics of tonight's progress.

First the sheet metal base and sides....

Bill P.

Next the RH radiator is set into position....

Radiator cowling goes on....

Assembled look from the fan side.....

And here is an aluminum L channel that I have no clue as to where it goes. I'll call Renegade tomorrow, unless someone knows where it goes.....

Bill P.

Maybe the L channel goes here?

Bill P.