Hi Everyone,

Can you believe it's going on 10-years since I finished my restoration on my 1974 2.0 Liter D-Jet F.I. Chrome Yellow 914. It's time for a re-do and update of my motor. I've never liked the camshaft in my car, so I decided to split the case and put in another camshaft. I'll be contacting Jake Raby to see what he has available along with a few other upgrades. My plan is to keep everything stock looking with as many updates as possible. I don't want a race motor, just a sweet running street motor with D-Jet F.I.

This is my winter project & I'll be ready for cruising Spring 2008.

For the record, here is the time frame of my original restoration:
** Started my restoration in 1992.
** Engine finished and went into the car Sept. 23, 1997. (see (2) pic's)
** Fired up the motor June 27th. 1998.
** My first ride down the street July 11th. 1998.
** The last 10-years have been a blast driving my 914.

My project started today September 29th. 2007 Lots of photo's will follow as progress developes.

Tom
Chrome Yellow 2007-08 Winter/Spring Project.

Progress pics on tom's motor re-do.

Tom

Tom's motor re-do #3

Tom's motor re-do #4


BTW: I will be selling those original jet hot coated heat exchangers. I will post them later on the FS section as soon as I get that one bitch bolt out. ($150.00 plus shipping) I have new replacements for the re-do. I'll be selling lots of other stuff later on as I replace with new stuff.

Last one for today.

Tom

Umm, so I guess you're not driving through Cadillac any time soon????

Have fun!

Paul

Hey Lou,

They start detriorating the day you finish your restoration. I baby my car from day one & you can't believe the grime, dust & oil inside cavities. I'll get everything back to concourse condition, but this will be the last time. Really makes you appreciate original car's like Steve's in FL. I am doing this freshen-up to stay in the 914 hood & keep up with Paul in Cadillac & your fresh 914. There are so many new restorations today it's hard to keep up with the big dogs. I forgot mention Chappy's beauty & Karl's if he every gets it done. There are so many new cars being built today we may look like the 356 club in a few years.


Tomorrow I start the cleaning process. I hate this part of the resto.

Tom

hey Tom, this was my 28th birthday

Gustl

That's why I'll prob. never finish mine, I don't want it to get all dirty and oily.

Some progress today. Clean, clean & more cleaning. Lots of time spent deciding what has to be powder coated & what will clean up. Looks like the pile to powder coat is the largest pile.

That's all for awhile till I get my new parts ordered and delivered.

Tom
BTW: My GA motor is the orginal & checks out with my Porsche Certificate of Authenticity.

Het Tom - no drip tray under the engine lid?
Pat

Update---Some forward progress & some delays (normal stuff).

Good news:
I ordered my parts from Jake Raby this week. He personally called me on Monday & by yesterday most of the parts arrived. I am really impressed with his knowledge. He took good notes & suggested the parts needed for my driving style. We discussed a lot of my motor issues and I am happy with my choice. I ordered new LE-180 Cylinder Heads-914 which Jake said will be on back order for 6-10 weeks (Len is busy). The Web-Cam #9550 and accessories parts along with the Brad Penn oil was packaged perfectly. I believe this is a busy time for Raby because everyone like me orded parts & motor upgrades for winter projects. Thanks Jake.

The other thingie:
I tried to get a jump start on restoring parts for my spring 08 project. I had another spare 2.0Liter D-Jet Intake Air Distributor powder coated. When I took off my original I noticed a difference. What the heck???? Notice the wider bracket that holds the accelerater cable is larger on my original. Now I have to start all over powder coating my original. I believe the narrow bracket might be off a 73???? Anyone know the answer????

Tom

Your pieces coming off the car look cleaner than most peoples pieces going on the car.

Keep up the good work. Stay warm.

Thanks for the compliments and your order. This is by far leading up to our busiest season here with most Canadian cars already off the road for the season and North Easterners and other cold climate enthusiast not far behind. Over the years people have learned not to wait around if they want my parts or engines for Spring because we are totally backlogged by Halloween every year!

You are certainly not alone in your quest, we have never been so engulfed with 914 upgrades using my proven forms of intervention!

Hi All,

Here's an update on my motor rebuild project. I talked to my motor builder Primo Petrucci @ Petrucci Racing Engines in Farmington Hill, MI about the schedule to do my motor. It's in the schedule & should be finished sometime in May. Gives me lots of cleanup time in the engine compartment.

I received all my parts from Jake Raby with Len Hoffman heads (see photo's). The parts are beautiful and a shame to hid them in the engine. Jake is easy to work with & I followed his suggestions on the parts list. I remember one of the questions?? What oil will you use?? Answer: Brad Penn Break In Oil, Ok continue.

More later as things develop. I plan to have the 914 back on the road in June or July 2008.



Tom

One More

T

Nice Tom!

First time I have seen this thread. First of all, since you are going to re-powdercoat everything, I will give you my tin and will take your "ugly" tin in trade.

Your car is nicer than probably 95% of the 914's out there allready, keep up the good work

Jim

Tom,

All I can say is wow. And that I'd love to see your car in person one day. That shot of the rear end alone blows me away. The gloss of the paint on the rear panel, the cleanliness of the underbody, the "rightness" of the rear trunk carpet and other bits....

Your 914 can serve as a *definition* of excellence in restoration.

pete

Thanks for the kind words Pete. I am looking forward to seeing your new red paint job.

Here's a sneak peek at the new S.S. Jet Hot coated heat exchangers.

My plan is to be completely stock with a little added bling.

Tom

Tom, yur whole car (except that red "zit" on the back)

Sheesh, your "take-offs" are better than most of our "put-ons".

Major Kleen

Paul

Hi All,

Here's an up-date progress thread to replace my camshaft. It's taken longer than expected, but you know how schedules go kaputt!!

First, I want to say here is what I am attempting to do:

I restored my 914 about (10) years ago and put in a camshaft I don't like. It performed very well with my stock D-Jet F.I. system, but did not have low end idle around town (chug, chug & had to feather the gas pedal all the time at low idle). Most of my driving was typical around town & never intended for racing. Once beyond 2,500 rpm it went to red line with lots of power. I put in a lot of internal modifications over stock & was happy with everything except the camshaft. At idle it put out about 5" of vacuum. As you know it should have been about 12" @ idle to make the MPS do it's job. My goal is about 115-hp with a perfect running all around motor with my stock D-Jet F.I. This is an expensive camshaft re-do that will cost me about $5K. Why, you ask, because I can & it's my hobby. I have the same machine shop doing the work & using the same guy who did my motor 10-years ago. Primo Petrucci is anal and a true machine shop perfectionest, like me. He is truly a knowledgeable VW & type-IV guy like Jake. Having said this, everything I am going to say about my project is not criticism but a learning experience. Primo & Jake are not competitors because one is small business & the other a large businessmen. My criticism will be my disappointment with len Hoffman who supplied the new heads (missing vent holes & Head temp in wrong place, etc). I give him a score of 8 out of ten & Primo & Jake 10-plus. I'll cover a lot of ground in the next few weeks & will start with my current status. I sent Len an email about my disappointments & he never returned my call. Jake worked with me on the combination of parts to meet my motor goals. As Jake says, it's the combo!!! Jake. please take this cylinder head comparsion I am putting together next week as constructive idea's on the "Leading edge 180" CNC heads 2.0 914 replica 7506 heads only (the ones I purchased). More next week on my cylinder head report.

First here's a look at the current process and gathering of parts. The first one is after the motor was pulled out. Now I have to do a little cleaning to meet CW standards. I have lots of pictures to post & will do it as time permits.

Tom, a CW kinda guy with a few modifications.

Next:

I decided to coat my (4) Mahle cylinders with a ceramic type quick heat release coating (black). I researched what they do with the Harley Davison engines and this coating is the same coating put on Harley's. Having said that, it's got to be good. A little motor bling. I have a personal friend who does powder coating and got a good deal $.

Before & after photo's.

Tom

Forgot to show you the "Jake Combo" of parts with his famous 9550 camshaft.

The other photo is the engine as it came out of the car. The engine is now apart and everything is in excellent condition. Only about 4K miles on it in 10-years.

Tom

Report on the differences between my old original 2.0 liter Porsche heads and the new ones purchased through Jake Raby. Jake's web site has a complete write-up on Len Hollman's Replica Replacement Type-IV heads, a boolt on replacement set. My understanding is these are Replica heads for my 2.0 Liter motor. I purchased a pair of "Leading Edge 180" CNC Heads 2.0 914 Replica #7506 with the 3-stud intake option for just under $2,100.00 Here is my story & my opinion what I got.

I wanted to replace my original cylinder heads that was rebuilt 10-years ago when I restored my 914. I put 4K miles on the 2.0 Liter D-Jet F.I. engine during this time and felt it was time for an upgrade with my camshaft replacement. I am disappointed in a few things and feel with the money I spent it should be perfect. It's not a direct bolt on and everyone should be aware. Here are my issues.

** Missing vent holes in each head for hooking up the emissions to my stock D-Jet (see Photo)

** The Cyl head temp sensor is in the wrong place. It's near the cold intake area & should be where Porsche put it near the exhaust hot area (per 2.0 Liter Type-IV location). Porsche put it where it should be because this is the high heat area that effects the signals to the D-Jet MPS & etc. This incorrect location is also a problem matching up the engine tin hole. (see photo).

** Seating of valves could have been better. At the 45 degree angle of the valve seating it's below center & should be seated at the outer diameter. OK, but not what I feel you get for the money spent.

** Valve springs are not 2.0 liter springs, but type-I The type-1 springs fit very tight over the I.D. boss and chaff on the inside spring. If left like this you will notice silver metal fillings when you change oil. The springs will rub & wear down with this tight clearance over time. The machining was done for 2.0 liter springs & clearances. Ok, to use Type-1 springs, but with a proper fit.

** The heads are bus heads that anyone can purchase from a Spain foundry that makes lots of VW & Misc repo heads. I understand a lot of welding and CNC machining is done to bring up to 2.0 Liter standards, but with the missing holes, etc mentioned above they are not a true replica. The question did I get what I ordered?? Answer: Yes, but for the money I paid they should be perfect. This criticism is not about Jake. It's for Len to review his 2.0 Type-1V replica heads he sells through Jake Raby.

I have a pair of original heads that were rebuilt orginally by a local machinest & VW-Type-!V perfectionest. He is correcting these issues and putting my motor together. His name is Primo Petrucci in Farmington Hill, MI. He is a small one man shop with an impeccable record. He is not a competitor to Jake, because he is a part time engine shop. We reviewed these issues together and hope Len Hoffman spends a little more effort to correct his quality to the standard of his prices. The heads I took off my car are still equal or better than what I am putting back on. I decided to install Len's heads after the corrections because they are new without the 30-years of heat cycling. I want to warn everyone to put a high value on good original 2.0 liter heads because you don't have to buy new.

BTW: I took a lot of pictures of Primo's shop he has a few VW engines & a few 2.0 Type-lV motors available. I'll post a few when time permits. He rebuilds heads, trans, motors & has many dedicated repeat customers. His work is not cheap, just good quality with percision workmanship.

Tom

More

T

A bit off topic, but I thought I would let you know Tom that 5 yrs ago when I was looking at getting into 914 I stumbled onto a few pictures of your car and absolutely fell in love with what you had done. I had been helping a buddy of mine get his on the road for about a year or so but when it was finally done, he got to do all the driving. So I started looking for my own project to start. Next to working on his car, your car was probably the most influential thing that got me into 914's. Now I have a yellow 75 that I am back-dating and I can't get your car out of my mind. Got any more pictures of it? Maybe a link? It is great to watch this car get restored - although it hardly needs it.

About your post, I have only heard good things about the vendors you mentioned. My only thought is that they might not be as concerned about the "originality" factor as you are and thus maybe some miscommunication regarding the "exact replica" quality of the heads. My first guess would be that these changes are intentional to improve performance (vent holes, TIV springs, although I guess that would not explain the tight fit). But what do I know Maybe the guys can pop in and clarify. Did you contact Jake an Len about your concerns before posting?

Hi Eric,

Thanks for the compliments on my 914. I don't have a web site to look at, but if you can get a back copy of EXCELLENCE issue #112 August 2002 it was featured that month. I believe it was the first & only 4-cylinder 914 to be in EXCELLENCE to date. Thank you Pete, you rock.

I emailed Len Hoffman about these issues, but he never answered or called me. Len shipped the heads direct from his shop & Jake never saw them. I didn't contact Jake Raby, because he only supplied them through his web site. I am happy with everything Jake furnished. Maybe Jake needs to get after Len about his quality since it came through Jakes business. I am sure I'll hear about it.


Tom

Hi again Eric,

Maybe I better explain myself about my issues. Len's head service is ok, but for the price, I am picky. This criticism is only intended to get the absolute quality I expected for the money. The person I am having my motor rebuilt is anal & a true perfectionest watch maker of engines. We are not saying it's bad, just could be a little better. Having said this, my machinest has the machine shop and experience to back up these claims.

Here's a few photos' to prove my point.

T

More with a few things laying around the shop.

T

I really liked the Formula Vee engine stuff being machined and brought up to weight reduction specs.

See the picture of Primo's VW engine putting the lights out on the Hemi Blown sand rail.

T

[quote name='Eric_Ciampa' date='Jul 11 2008, 01:50 PM' post='1054975']
A bit off topic, but I thought I would let you know Tom that 5 yrs ago when I was looking at getting into 914 I stumbled onto a few pictures of your car and absolutely fell in love with what you had done. I had been helping a buddy of mine get his on the road for about a year or so but when it was finally done, he got to do all the driving. So I started looking for my own project to start. Next to working on his car, your car was probably the most influential thing that got me into 914's. Now I have a yellow 75 that I am back-dating and I can't get your car out of my mind. Got any more pictures of it? Maybe a link? It is great to watch this car get restored - although it hardly needs it.

Eric,

I just found a few pictures for you. I am really proud of my car, because I did it myself with more than 2,500 manhours of my personal time, plus the outside services I could not do. It was a labor love that took me over 5-years & I still like the car. Hope you experience the same journey.

Tom

Thanks Tom! My first 914 was a red 74... it was a great 914 but I had to give up on building the 914 I had stuck in my mind (yours). Well after about two years of getting it about where I wanted (given that I was a lonely college student ) I hit a dear on a mountain road. It jumped off an embankment onto the road, no warning, just flying metal. Anyways, I picked up a non-running yellow 75 and am starting over. I got it running and recently drove it down to LA from NorCal (about 450 miles) last summer. Now awaiting funds... Your car is providing some much appreciated encouragement .

Am I remembering a shot of your car besides or over looking a lake? Maybe a lake in a city park or something? It may not be your car but I can't get that image out of my head.

Eric,
that pic (I think) is a pic of Richard Johnson's 3.0 914-6.

It's here somewhere...hmmm search Mid US Ramble 2004 in Hot Springs AR - there may be a few of his car in those threads.

Ahh... yes I think you are right Seanery. Just seeing him work on this car is stirring up all sorts of old yellow 914 memories from my past life. Both beautiful cars. So much nicer than my current ride.

Mr. Bliznik,
Why were these issues not formally brought to my attention?
Part of being a good customer means communication with the Vendor should any issues need to be taken care of and as a Vendor I expect this to be done prior to any postings being made. Nothing infuriates me more than people who "have an issue" with a component, but do not feel that issue is worth any communication with the Vendor, but they'll have no problem posting it to the world, often times in a manner that isn't exactly 100% accurate.



No, you aren't.

Anytime any of our parts go to another builder they are scrutenized and the same when those builders have their components get into our hands, which is true with your builders work as well as we have experienced and repaired it in the past. I found gripes with it as well, but my customer didn't make it a point to post to the world.


Jake would, if he heard ANY complaints! Len Hoffman has been creating all my cylinder heads for years and until this post was stunbled upon I had never received a complaint about his work, and thats not an exaggeration. IF I had not have found this in my cruising of the forums I STILL WOULD NOT HAVE KNOWN ABOUT THE ISSUES BECAUSE YOU DIDN"T BRING THEM TO MY ATTENTION!!!!!



Yep, because it must be addressed. The only way around a problem is straight throught he damn middle.

I would have thought that you have known me and my stand on topics like this long enough to know how much this post would infuriate me. I would also have expected more from you, like a phone call or an email addressing the gripes so I could take care of them. More than likely I would have goten the heads back from you, made any changes necessary, with no questions asked and it would have been a done deal. Instead you had to shoot yourself in the foot with this post. Not smart.

At any rate, the heads you purchased do exact the 2.0/914 head in the chamber and port areas.

I'll now address your issues individually.


Only the early 2.0/914 heads had vents drilled into them and we would have addressed those and added them at no charge if you would have requested them. I would have also done this if you would have tactfully asked me to do so after you received the heads, and it would have been done at no extra charge..



This sensor location has proven for us to be more effective as it keeps the engine on cold start for a few more seconds as it takes a bit longer to heat soak the sensor. It also tends to take longer to cool off, since it is not in the fin area and that means in your climate the engine would be more forgiving for short runs in colder weather since it would nopt go on cold start as early.

I consider this an upgrade, but we could have tapped either hole for you, or even both and I would have done so if you would have contacted me. Not everything Porsche did was the best, we have learnned that.


That was done purposely, and I am not willing to divulge why. In 100,000 miles you would be Thanking us for that procedure.


Once again, done on purpose. We NEVER use stock valve springs! The material you speak of was purposely left in place to reduce the weakness of the valve guide boss. Some people remove too much material from this area resulting in springs that walk and wear into the heads and on top of that they also tend to weaken the guide boss.


It is evident that your idea of a "True Replica" is different than ours. My primary concern was to provide a component that would bolt on to equal the performance of the stock 2.0 heads that have not ever been available. If you wanted a couple of things drilled and tapped we would have paid the shipping and done that without any questions being asked.


And everyone's opinion of whats "perfect" varys. If your gripes were about port imbalances, chamber volume imbalances and other critical aspects I would be much more concerned about the critique of these parts.

That said, send me the heads that Mr. Petrucci is creating for you and I'll send back a critique of those as well. There is no book to follow to do this work and there are no rules. When a component is top dollar and held in high ragard people TRY to find issues with it that don't "Satisfy" them.


But it involves me and the business I have busted my ass to build on quality components. Contact me offline- it's your obligation. **I** take responsibility for EVERYTHING that occurs here, good or bad, no matter if an Employee or a sub-contractor made the mistake. I don't believe in passing the buck to other people because I sign the checks and put MY name on what leaves these doors.

So basically you took our components to another builder and YOU were satisfied.. That is until this other person who just so happens to be in the same business critiqued them and found some "issues"...

You then didn't find these issues worthy of any communication with ME, but you did find it worthy of a post here. Tell me whats fair about that????

I'll bet you 20 bucks that Mr. Petrucci learned more from looking at those heads than he told you about and I'd say those things will show up in the heads he prooduces in the future.. Thats the way the ball bounces in this world and everyone is ALWAYS trying to take the big guy down...

Now, lets deal with this the way it should have been from the beginning and I'll try to pull the knife from between my shoulder blades and deal with you.

And, an apology would be really nice.

Thomas I'm sorry you're not 100% satisfied with my work, but this is the first I heard about it. I think I recall that some time ago you mentioned that Primo was going to help you bolt your engine together, but I don't recall any complaints being mentioned (and I would have recalled that as I don't get many).
Some details of your wishes were clearly lost in your order process (the rocker vents, and the factory location of the temp sensor) but that is not a major issue, and would have been easy to correct.

Jake and I take a lot of pride in our work. Though we strive for 100% customer satisfaction, we are very productive and occasionally issues come up. I think you will be very hard pressed to find someone that doesn't think we addressed every one of them. For what it's worth we have yet to have a failure associated with our work that was the result of workmanship. So far they have been nit-picking issues that were the result of poor communication during the ordering process.
IIRC your heads were sent to you directly because we had a major delay in getting new castings. This put a few orders behind schedule, so to save time some were dropped shipped directly from my shop.

Flaming me here pisses me off, and for the record this is the first time I have ever been flamed on line...period! And I have been doing this work for many years now.

I wish you would have had the courtesy to contact Jake about this. You say you voiced your concerns with me, but they never reached me. Jake is my customer and I'm proud to be his cylinder head supplier. You were Jakes customer, not mine. If you had an issue you should have gone straight to him. My relationship with Jake is structured such that he deals with customers so I can concentrate on my work. I have no secretary and I hate the telephone. I recieve a slew of e-mails, and I know I overlook some from time to time as I frequently recieve e-mails that start with "I e-mailed you a while back and never heard from you." Your issues must not have been to serious, other wise Iwould have figured you'd be alittle more diligent in trying to reach either Jake or myself.
My reputation is on the line with every cylinder head I work on. If you think I don't care what folks think of my work,then you are mistaken.
Next time you deal with a small business that proudly services a niche market, show some class if you have a problem and go directly to the source.

Thanks for your input Len..

I called Mr. Bliznik and after a bit of intensity the issues have been resolved. He now knows exactly how serious I take this work and customer satisfaction.

And it is now clear just how prompt we address issues, when we know they exist, since I took time from a dyno session to call him and get this squared away.

No matter WHO the Vendor is, as a customer you OWE the vendor the common courtesy to allow them to respond to any issues you find with a commodity. Whether thats a Burger from McDonalds of a 40 thousand dollar RAT engine, complain TO the source, not ABOUT the source FIRST!

If the Vendor doesn't respond, or dodged your issues then flame on...

Listen to my Radio Show next week for more lessons on how to be a "Good Customer", from Vendor's stand point.

That said, before my head hits the pillow tonight, the details of the LE 180-914 cylinder heads will be altered to cover this opportunity for miscommunication before it occurs again.

The only stupid mistake is the one that we allow to happen twice.

Jake, Ham & 914-World members.


I just received a personal phone call from Jake Raby about this post. Jake was ticked off that I didn't call him & I personally apologized to him for not calling him first. My mistake was e-mailing Len because the heads were sent direct from his shop & after no response I posted. Sometimes these issues bring out the good in everyone and I beleive we parted with respect to each other.

My original intent was not to flame anyone, but a professional approach to issues I felt needed correction. I thought I purchased an exact bolt in duplicate turn-key 2.0 liter Porsche head with every hole in place. As of this evening I am sure Jake is changing the wording in his cylinder head description and will give a better description of the product.

This is the last I will discuss these issues, because Jake & I resolved everything with a clear understanding why he does what he does. I respect Jake and want everyone to go on with normal 914-World business. It's a good product & I am installing the cylinder heads on my engine, no drama or regrets.

Respectfully,


Tom

Mr. Bliznik,
Apology accepted.

Jake I'm glad you were able to work this out with Mr. Bliznik. I'm also glad to hear the order options for the LE-180 are being addressed so any future confusion is avoided. There is not a T-4 cylinderhead machine operation we can't handle, as long as we know they need to be performed.
To Mr. Bliznik, or anyone following this thread, I wish to point out that I did not intentionally dismiss any issues that Mr. Bliznik may have had with my work. Nor did I cut any corners with his heads.

As for the location of the seating of the ex. valves- they seated more toward the middle of the valve for two reasons; One, I know from from my flowbench studies that pushing the seating surface up to the outer edge of the valve produces only around 1.0-1.5% more flow. Not enough to sit a gnats ass on as far as performance on the street (but enough to make a difference on the AX course when combined with lots of other little details). Second, the lower seating will help keep the valves seating for way more than a competition or even high performance valve job. If Mr. Bliznik had stated that he wanted carbon copys of 2.0 914 heads, but with a competition or high perf. valve job, no sweat. Of course if he had ordered his heads with smog ports I would have insisted that he not get the competition valve job as the high temps would likely have shortened the life of the valves.

I like the way the valve springs hug the guide bosses. Having viewed springs in action on a spintron I can tell you that Mr. Bliznik should too. Sluffing is not going to be an issue if propper break-in proceedures are followed. Oil analysis will back this up. Those springs fit the bosses just right.
Another point about the valve springs. Those springs are very high quality and far superior to the OE springs that are currently available. I test every spring that I install, and the O.E. springs that have been available for T4's for years suck. Their open pressure varies by as much as 10%.
This weekend our F-Prod race engine, using the exact same valves, springs, seats and guides as Mr. Bliznik has (the 36mm ex. valves were turned down to 34mm to conform with the rules) turned 8,000 rpms at Road Atlanta in 290* oil with track temps of 130* during Firday testing, Saturday qualifying and Sundays race leading to a class win. And this wasn't there first time out or there first win. The only difference? We added an inner spring.

Because Ii take a lot of pride in my work it rips me up inside when someone is unsatisfied with my work, but the issues Mr. Bliznik has are not major, and certainly didn't warrant flaming me over. I'm not going to lose a minutes sleep over this.

whew....

on an unrelated observation , if you still have the engine out, you might consider stainless steel fuel lines unless that is contrary to your philosophy.

Jim,

Good eye you have. I just received the (4) pc stainless steel set from Chris Foley with a note from his right hand man, Ed Morrow. Good product & people.

BTW: I also got a hot phone call from my engine builder Primo Petrucci. He will be sending Jake a message to discuss his comments about him. Wheew it's been a tough week. Hot Italian, Hot Marine, Hot Len & I learned a lot.

Tom

Hi Guys, Moving slow on my camshaft re-do, but have the engine together and cleaning up 10-years plus of road dust & grim. I found a few upgrades I want to make along with a few other minor things. Today I am working on replacing the Chris Foley's Tangerine Racing Products, Stainless Steel Replacement Fuel Lines. They are a work of art. I ordered a few things from AA George Hussey (Vacuum Line Kit & misc CW replacement stuff) & enjoyed talking to Dr-914. Should get the stuff next week.

Earlier in my post I told you I had Primo Petrucci doing my engine work along with some additional machining work on my new cylinder heads. More on that later. He is a master builder of Type-lV engines & does excellent head work. I highly recommend sending him business now that my engine is out of his shop. His prices are reasonable for the high quality work performed. He works out of his home shop & his overhead is low.

The first photo is of my Harley Davidson coated cylinders with a quick heat release ceramic coating good for 720 degrees. If it's good for Harley, it's good for Tom's 914. The CW's will not be able to see them once the engine tin is in place. The other photo is the assembly table with all the parts cleaned & ready for assembly.

More later.

Tom

Forgot to say here are the specs on my 2.0 Liter D-Jet F.I. engine. It's CW on the outside with a few internal modifications inside, etc. The original engine build had a General Kenitic Cam & didn't give me enough vacuum at idle (about 5-6") and the idle was rough until you got over 2K rpm. It went like stink from 2,500 rpm to red line, but around town driving was not to my liking, sooo I am doing a camshaft replacement with Jake's #9550 camshaft.

2.0 Liter # matching engine on my 1974 2.0 Liter W/D-Jet F.I.
Completely original D-Jet F.I., because I am a CW.
New cylinder heads, more on that later.
Jake Raby new camshaft #9550
All new bearings, nuts/bolts, etc.
Euro Cylinders, purchased from AA on the original build (now coated).
Counter weighted & balanced crank from original build.
Lightened Flywheel from original build.
Complete balance & blueprinting of engine assembly by Primo Petrucci.
Brad Penn breakin oil will be used for startup & Brad Penn oil later (a must).
I may have forgotten something, but it's a swiss watch rebuild.

These photo's are in assembly using the following materials.
PERMATEX: Form-A-Gasket Liquid Sealant to seal the split case together.
PERMATEX: Ultra Copper Hi Temp Silicone
Cam Lube: w/MPZ by Torco for the cam & lifters
Bearings: Torco MPZ engine Assembly Lube.
That's all I can remember when Primo did it.

T

I working this weekend to complete my re-do, cleaning the engine compartment & looking for parts to clean from my parts stash.

YIKES, I forgot I had some of this stuff & will get it on E-Bay when I am finished. I forgot I have (3) #43 MPS's new to perfect, (2) or (3) sets of injectors, new chrome fog light grills, new running light buckets, etc, etc, etc, and just about all the D-Jet rubber parts needed to finish my project. We 914er's are sick puppy's.

More later on the rebuild.

T

thomas, you going to use that NEW mps you got from me?

k

K

Yes, it's the one I'll use & keep my original as the spare backup. I'll sell off the 3rd. one (forgotten one) later.

Thanks for asking. MPS's are the heart of the D-Jet F.I. System. Everyone will need one someday.

Tom

Back to the main program, Tom's camshaft re-do.

Here's a photo of the Raby/Hoffman Replica LE-180 Cylinder Head I am using. I did a few modifications to these heads, because I don't agree with Len on some of the previous discussions. My advise to everyone, do not, do not, get rid of your 2.0 Liter heads, they are becoming scarce & expensive. I suggest you spend the money to have Len Hoffman or Primo Petrucci rebuild them. It's a lot more cost effective to use your existing 2.0 liter heads than spend the $2,100 per pair I spent on mine. I decided to use these replica heads, because I like a few things about them. For example the 12mm spark plug holes, new metal, etc. If I were rebuilding 2.0 liter heads, I wonder if Len or Primo can do 12mm spark plug holes?? I am keeping my as good as or better than 2.0 liter cylinder heads in case I ever need them.

I have the motor back in my garage & having fun with my project. Hope to have it on the road in the next few months.

BTW: I sure hope I like the Raby #9550 Webcam????

Tom