Love this forum! I'm new and have been very encouraged seeing what is being done to these cars! Excellent technical stuff here!

Just wanted to introduce myself and show my car for advice, tips, encouragement. (and maybe encourage someone else)
Introduce car link

I previously had a orange, rusted, rat infested, 70 914 but I gave up quick and robbed the engine for a bus. The orange one broke in half when the hook picked it up at the crusher.

I bought my 75 914 2.0L off E-bay in San Hose CA and dragged it home to Kansas City Missouri (36 hours one way). After I got it home I parked it in the garage for a year.

I didn't get a key, or a battery and have no idea the condition of motor or trans. I was assured it was almost a rust free car when I bought it and it seems to be. I found one hole the size of a dime in the floor pan. Still have some disassembly to do to inspect for rust.

Hey Hey

Welcome to the club !

Looks like you will be with us for a while, have fun with it !

Later

Ordered some parts.

From Pelican:
Fuel filter
Air filter
Oil filter
2 key blanks and a keychain

Will need to change ingition or rekey it.

My wife wouldn't touch the key and keychain that I have. Will post pics tomorrow.

From E'bay:
Mirrors
Jack plugs <------A must have!
Used Mounts
Used Clutch cable
Dome light

Buy yourself a new clutch cable and role up the used one and put it with your

spare tire in case, they never break at home.

The question of the hour is what was the problem with this car that made the PO retire the car. Bad motor? Bad trans? Fuel injection problem? Bad clutch or trans.

This is the first question that needs answered. Me thinks I'm not gonna risk trying to start the motor and damage it. So I think I'm gonna pull the motor and remove the heads to evaluate the valves, cylinders, rods and cam. (since all that can be inspected with jugs off. (to a certain extent).

get the Haynes manual. I couldn't find one locally, and called Haynes directly, and they shipped it that day. Also, check out Pelican Part's porshce tech articles and the Classics threads here - they cover a lot! You should be able to get a wrench in somewhere and see if the engine turns over freely. But don't let me stop you from dropping the engine. Good luck!

Welcome to the club.

And right in my back yard. If you need used parts or help, let me know since I am somewhat local.

I'll bet you are on the Kansas side though. I live up north.

I saved the steering column from the orange porsche to use on this car since it came with no key. I asked my wife to hand me the key and she wouldnt touch it.

yucky key
Click to view attachment

So using the skills I learned here on the 914club I restored the key and came up with this!
Click to view attachment

I decided it was too much work to replace the steering colum or ignition switch and I didn't want mismatched door locks, glovebox lock and hood lock. So I decided to cut a key. I had read the pelican article on how to "rekey the lock" but I used that info instead to make a key to work in my lock.

I cut one side of the key myself by...
1. removing and disassembling the RS door lock
2. using a dremel type grinder to shape the key till the tumblers weren't sticking out.
3. Then after "cutting" one side I took it and a blank to a locksmith and he cut the second key off the first key then cut the 2nd side of the first key off the 2nd key. (whew thats a mouthful!)

The whole time I'm thinking.... Hope the ignition is the same as the door lock. Luckily it was.

I was gonna post some pics of longs, floorpans, engine shelf and hell hole (is it ok for me to say that since I'm new?). But it would be boring since it isn't rusted to hell. Here's a pic of the one rust hole I found.
Click to view attachment

Got engine out. Looks like its about ready to fall but I have it strapped to the jack. I should've pulled the trans first. That thing hard to balance. Any future engine installs or removals the trans seperated in the car.



Here's me pulling engine. Notice the Arizona License plate. (almost no rust!)
Click to view attachment
Lots of extra problems noticed. Rats had eaten through the fuel lines and the MPS wires. Good thing someone didn't try to start it. The fuel would've squirted everywhere. Rat $hit was everywhere in the engine compartment. Why do I always have to get the rat infested cars. The orange porsche had dead mice in glovebox and under the seat! My VW Jetta (turbo diesel) had rats nest and associated rat $hit under the back seat. I guess I need to stop buying cars that have sat for ages.

MPS wires. All 4 of them are white. I will solder and heat shrink them back together if someone ohm check a harness and tell me which one goes where.

Pic of MPS problem.
Click to view attachment

Notice the 1995 tags!! Have fun!

I found the problem that parked the car. Note: While removing the engine I found the clutch cable allready disconnected from the trans and found the shifter link gone. (actually I think that means I didn't find the shifter link) Wonder why someone was working on the shifter and clutch??

Note: Need help with MPS wires pictured above.

Click to view attachment

You can find the correct diagrams HERE thanks to Jeff Bowlsby, he does rebuild and repair these harnesses, I think the only problem he has is that no one complains about his work

In a constructive way... why didn't you put a table under the motor and raise the car up, the engine seems really dangerous hanging like that.

My flywheel is all worn out. Not turnable. Anybody got one they would sell. Maybe someone close? (John). Need a flywheel bolt too. What flywheel bolts are you race guys using?

I have access to a flywheel machine to resurface the flywheel so if ya got one that has alot of meat on it but slighty grooved, worn, heat cracked ect I could probably use that one.

Would one work out of a 1.7/1.8 car?

All flywheels are the same on 4 cylinder cars. Buy some new bolts, if one broke the other ones can't be that good either. Those bolts are supposed to always be replaced with new ones when servicing the flywheel.

You should post a want ad in the classifieds, plenty of people have good used ones available.

I have a complete 1.7 that I am parting out if you need anything. I do have a flywheel that is in good shape, i had to replace because of the suby conversion so now I have the KEP flywheel. PM me if you are interested. I'm in Tulsa, not too far from KC...

No update for along time but there has been progress.

Reasons for delays?
1. Boss asked me to install engine in his project car (64 galazie). Beautiful car but it ended up being a nightmare. I signed up to do a engine change but I eded up swapping FMX trans to a C6, 352 to a 390, and Generator to Alternator. Good greif! Way too much fabricating ect.

2. Mothers car engine busted a piston. 99 escort 1.9L. Salvage yard took their time sending me the wrong engine, then took a extra week sending the right engine. At least it was a good one.

3. Lost 3 days work and about a week's work on the 914 because of eye problems click here

4. Bought 914 in San Antonio (wanted bumpers and other parts). Lost a week planning and driving to get it. 9hour drive there, 9 hours back

5. Decided to flat tow it back, so I built a tow bracket to hook to the front the 914 and modified my old beetle towbar to fit it since I dont have a beetle and probally never will again. My advise, dont build this part just buy one. (cost me just as much and took way too much time) Trip was uneventful exept one blowout on the 914.

So you still need a flywheel? I may have one for you if you want it. (Pressure plate and clutch disk as well).

As I said before, let me know what you need/want. I may have it.

I took some pics of the condition of the motor while it was apart. Pics of the cam and rods with the jugs out were poor quality because of lighting but here's the heads.
Click to view attachment

And the dished pistons

Click to view attachment

Since I work in a trans shop we have a "steam cabinet" type parts washer and everything cleaned up nice, more pics to come.

I checked Compression Ratio as discussed here.

Look at how clean those heads are. Yeah! Engine is now reassembled and installed in car.

In the course of installing the exhaust I got frustrated for the first time. Good grief. I even went so far as considering leaving some bolts out. (something I never do)

Ordered 100 bucks worth of fuel and vacuum hose from Pelican to install it.

Remember car has been sitting 10 years...

I replaced all the fuel hose under the tank. Whats up with the fuel pump and filter having 12mm nipples on one side and 7mm on the other? What source are you guys getting that 12mm fuel hose? I settled for some 1/2 inch "multi-purpose" hose from the hardware store. Its on the suction side so hopefully it'll be Ok????? But I'll replace it when I find a source for the right stuff.

While I had the tank out I checked it inside. It was very clean. I was suprised. I was expecting to find gas turned to tar but there was none. No rust in the tank either. I poured a mint worth of gas in it to clean it out anyway. Man it hurt to dump that gas out.

The resistor wires in the fuel sender are broken so I'll need to get one of those. I went ahead and installed the tank, I'll replace the sender later. Also a mouse has chewed through the sender wires outside of the tank.

I checked operation of the fuel pump by jumping the relay. and then used it to flush out the 2 plastic lines in the tunnel. Then I flushed out the injection rails and fuel pressure regulator buy running the pump and letting the return go into a bucket. All that expensive gas going to waste!

ARRRGGGGG!!! During the course of this my key stopped working in the ignition! So out comes the column becuase I saved the one from my 70 orange rat infested car. ARRRGGGGHHHH!! It dont fit!

So I pull the lock cylinder, and it turns out the key I made lets a couple of "tumblers" stick out just a bit because they are worn more than the door locks(If you remember I made the key myself using a door lock). I'll just have a key made professionally I thought.

So down to the locksmith I go. 2 days later he gives it back to me charging me 20 bucks and tells me all we can do is leave the tumblers out that are jutting out. ARRRGGGGHHH!!! So I beat him with a chair. Not really.

Blocked off EGR Discussed at this link.

Tried to put the steering column back in but there is a bushing broken. I think I found it a Pelican. Ignition switch has a crack in it but it seems to work. I'll order a new one of those also.

After getting screwed by the locksmith I found a peice broken in the lock cylinder so I'll need to find one of those. I'm going to use the ignition switch without the lock to try to start for now.

Why is it in the process of fixing one thing I find 5 more things that need fixed?

Errr.........because you bought a Rat infested 914?
You KNEW it's going to be a project,Silly!

BTW,you're doing just find,keep plugging away,
and oh yeah

this is more profound than you realize...
welcome to the abyss

I realized I never updated this thread. After a few struggles I reinstalled the engine, and started the car and drove it. All stock fuel injection worked.

Drove the car and tinkered with a few issues. Drove the car home and its been parked eversince. Started a business in the meantime, working on Vw's (mostly diesels) and thats keeping me too busy to work on projects.

I probably should sell this car and my 75 bug.

Sounds like its a pretty solid car.

You should drive it!

John

Looks like you've got things under control. I'm in Springfield, so if you ever need a hand, or want to have one of those "914 parties" let me know! I've only seen 2 914's in real life. Mine, and one on the road 6 years ago .