Well my old Craftsman compressor died a week or so back, so it was time to up the ante. Since I want to increase the level of tasks I take on with this project, it made sense to upgrade one of the main tools as well. I can now consider taking on all the base primer work - instead of relying soley on canned primer.

Now I just have to find someone locally to assist with the electrical circuit.
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Andy, you're right. I met with a buddy of mine in Phoenix (Tim) who's been racing 914s for many years and he's saying the same thing. He did some tests with air flow from the roof across the engine lid and down the trunk. He noticed that the engine bay draws in air from the first 12" of adjacent trunk lid area.

To make this work I'll need to do the following:

• Add the stock air deflectors at the bottom of the firewall.
• Modify my engine lid to the GT style to increase the air flow.
• Mount the pair of radiators higher, with the fans on the bottom, pulling air down.
• Shroud the fans

I'll mock up some possible locations in CAD and see what works.

The guy I'm working with on the SHO motor (Tom) was concerned about the dual radiators since he's seen an install that didn't work. I asked if the guy ran them separately or in series. He recalls them being separate - which I agree would pose a problem - this is why I'm running them in series. The output from the one radiator will feed the inlet for the other - ensuring the needed volume/surface area is covered.

Spent the weekend & Monday working on my son's 914. Pulling the engine to reseal everything.

I said I'd never pull another 914 engine without the use of a lift. Never say never. It went pretty well - except that he needs seals bad so everything is an oily mess.
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It occurred to me that since I was building an engine cradle for the SHO project, it wouldn't be much effort to build supports that would work with the 914 engine & transaxle. I could have them done before the engine is ready to go back in.

Did manage to get some time in on the engine cradle - one of the side benefits of my son's infatuation with games. Spent the morning cutting, beveling, and cleaning pieces for the base, and the caster extensions.
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Got the base welded together and ran out of welding wire just as my son showed up.
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Got more done on the engine cradle today. Added the radiator support brackets, built the supports. Also added the cross-supports that match my ATV lift.

Next are the support tubes for the engine. I found a place that will plasma cut my brackets for reasonable price. Gotta put each in a DXF file though - good thing I got CAD.

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Been working more on the engine cradle while waiting on parts for my son's 914. Have the horizontal and vertical supports done for the SHO motor. It's actually starting to look like an engine stand.
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The mating brackets for the engine are going to be plasma cut by a shop in Tucson. The varied shapes and steel thickness was beyond my hand tools. Once their done, I'll get them test fit and attached.

This has been a good welding exercise. I ran out of the good Lincoln flux core wire and tried some from the local ACE hardware. No comparison, this ACE stuff makes flux welding a B!#&%*!. Ten times the cleanup as the Lincoln flux core. Guess I'll hunt for good stuff and put the other on the shelf for emergencies.

Hoo Raa! The parts for the cradle and engine bar came in from the plasma cutter. Looks like I'll get to do some more welding this week.

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Lookin good!

Wow, what a thread! Very cool Gerard. No offense, but if I were your son, I would be out there workin on the car with you rather than computer games! My dad helped me get my old Thunderbird back on the road when I was in high school, but he had nowhere near the ability that you have. Plus, its a 914, which as much as I hate to admit it, is much cooler than the T-Bird


-George

Wow, what a thread! Very cool Gerard. No offense, but if I were your son, I would be out there workin on the car with you rather than computer games! My dad helped me get my old Thunderbird back on the road when I was in high school, but he had nowhere near the ability that you have. Plus, its a 914, which as much as I hate to admit it, is much cooler than the T-Bird


-George

Hey Jason, you're still in Tucson right? We should get together sometime. i tried a couple of times to connect with Guy also, but kept missing him. I'm forty minutes east in Benson.

Thanks George. Since he's in the Marines and typically works 10-hours day or more, I don't give him too much sh#t about the game time. He's only able to make it out here when he has 72 or 96-hour leave.
Yeh, Tbirds are boats, but they're cool boats. My Dad had two, a 65 & a 68 IIRC.

Well I decided to ditch the radiators mounted at the engine bar and drawing air from underneath. I would have to force more air under the car - which is undesirable - and the shrouds would have to sit below the body & would be a candidate for speed bump fodder.

After spending some time discussing it with a 914 racer friend of mine who has studied the air flow of the 914 at the roof/engine lid/trunk area, we've concluded the best approach in the engine bay is this.
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The advantage of this location makes use of the air being drawn into the top of the engine bay. Tests ran by Tim showed that air pulls off the top and into the engine bay, and also pulls forward from the front 12 inches of the trunk lid.

I'll have to modify my engine lid from the standard, which is half painted metal and half metal mesh, to a GT style lid that is all mesh.
Here's the twin rad placement from the rear.
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Well got to work on the engine a little while electrician was here hooking up the compressor. Had to move stuff to the middle to run conduit along the wall - so garage is a mess.

Thanks to some used parts from Sierra Vista I now have the pieces to put together sufficient exhaust system for the bench test.

Started off by welding a fitting to the muffler section.
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Now I've got the makings of a short, but complete, system.
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Been a decent weekend. Aside from getting the tires rotated on my wife's mini, I also made my first exhaust mockup for the final exhaust. Posted results over here.

Also had to take a couple steps backward since mocking up the exhaust. I now have to raise the engine support posts on the cradle at least three inches. I've only got a 10.5" section of this rectangular tubing left - so decided to cut it in half and add to each post.

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Turned out to be a good welding exercise. Got a chance to see how the metal pulls in the direction of the first weld. See if you can tell which support I did first. On the second one I alternated sides and only welded a small section to see if I could manage the pull. Seemed to work as it came out nice and straight. Since the left side is capped I cut it first and inserted the new piece between - more welding practice that way.

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HooRa! Finally got the SHO-914 adapter kit. This guy on the SHO forum had a kit he purchased back in 93' and never used. Now I can get the flywheel, clutch, and tranny assembled with the engine so I can get this puppy on the test stand.

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Worked on my sons 914 today - had three gallery plugs to put in. Went with the 3/8 NPT plugs.

Also got to finish up the front supports for the SHO motor. Will get to the rears this week, and hope to put it on the engine test stand next weekend.

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After a ton of research on oil filters and rod bearing failures on these SHO engines I found that the K&N filter has the best results for not restricting flow. The oil return holes are much larger than on cheaper filters. 2 engine failures prompted lots of research...

I mention this because I see your Carquest by Wix filter.

Thanks Kevin. It's temporary - just for the bench test and FI wiring shakedown. When the engine is installed it will get a remote dual-filter setup. I'll check out your filter suggestion.

Well got the adapter, flywheel, clutch & disk assembled. Tranny went on like a breeze once I got the spline lined up correctly.

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Now just need to verify the starter. I already checked that the teeth mesh properly with the flywheel. The distance from the mounting face on the starter to the top of the teeth is 35mm and on the tranny mounting face to the rear face of the flywheel is 37mm - so I've got 2mm clearance.

Now just need to verify the amount of throw-out the starter has when engaged.

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WOW Just found this thread..don't know how I missed it in the past. And now for some fun. Should it be a 3.0 or a 3.5? The Ecoboost SHO is 3.5ltr and 365 lbs torque ! This is the same motor used in the F-150 re-engineered for the SHO. I've said here many times on other threads.....wait until one of these motors hits the 914!

This is a great build and I'm enjoying the pictures.
http://www.ford.com/cars/taurus/

Thanks Bill, and the fun continues.

Got some time to test-fit the supports and drill their holes. Been looking forward to getting to this point. Next step is to drill all the holes for the extending legs and install the pins.

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Got the engine transferred to the cradle. Hoo-Ra!

Had to put the cradle on blocks so the engine lift would fit underneath - needed 8" of clearance.

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Pins are in the leg extensions and we're ready to roll.

Now need to refit and adjust Y-Pipe for test run and ID any other clearance/fitment issues.

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Found an issue on the left with the Y-Pipe flange - interfering with the vertical support. It'll have to come off and get trimmed.

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Had to trim the back corner off to get the Y-pipe flange on. All connected up and ready to go. Even got the O2 sensors installed, and starting to mock-up bracket for the radiator.

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Not much done this last weekend. Managed to sort out all the various coolant and vacuum hoses needed for the SHO motor, so I'll be adding those over the next week or so.

Need to take time and get some gutters on the house before the serious rains come. I don't call them monsoons. Arizonians don't know what monsoons are!

Still working on gutters, but did get a chance to play with this Flash visualizer tool someone built for the 914. I posted to get some input on different color combos.

This looks to be my current choice - Nepal Orange over dark red.

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Also spent some time this week working on my son's tranny. Needed cleaning really bad and new seals.

Looking better . . .

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Finished my radiator supports, got the radiator mounted, hoses on and ready for fluids.

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Took a break from the engine for a while and went back to body work. I have a 6" x 8" section of the longitudinal to patch on the right side. I'm basically replacing the jack point on this side as I never use them and they just attract rust.

The small triangular-looking piece with welds is to finish off the first of two layers of metal. Notice all the holes from drilling out spot welds.

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Then I needed to go back and fill the holes left from drilling out spot welds. Since my welder doesn't have much control (Low, Off, High) I needed a way to fill-in the holes.

I came up with a unique method. I found some steel nails with heads very near the diameter of the holes. I then place the nail pointing out with the head in the hole and use a magnet to suspend the nail in place. I can then weld around the base of the nail and it fills in nicely - then just grind off the nail that sticking out.

Seems to work pretty good.

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OK, now the patch for the inner piece. I wanted a good fit, so I'm doing a butt-weld, without clamps, using a wire core welder - they said it couldn't be done.

Little bit of splatter, but I'm pleased with the results.

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Note the blow-out in the lower-left corner. Trying to fix its tough because of the tight fit against the outer long. I can't trim the outer long back farther because the inner has a large stamped hole to the left.

It patched pretty good though. Now the grindings done and ready to fit & bend the outer long patch.

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Making good progress today. Been at it for almost seven hours now. Got the outer long patch bent, fitted, and ready to weld in.

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Got a pic after I tacked it in, then went ahead and finished welding it. I'm done for the day. I'll finish it off tomorrow.

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Finished up the weld and grinding. Tried out one of the 3M abrasive pads today. I like the finish it provides, and it doesn't heat up the metal the way the grinder pad does. So I've been using both, one on the pneumatic die-grinder the other on my electric grinder. I use the grinding pad to get the welds down to the metal, then use the abrasive pad to clean it up.

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The few spots remaining to the left are outside the butt-weld. I was just filling in low spots on the adjacent piece - no end to it though.

Worked on my son's 914 today. Found all the parts to assemble the engine & tranny. Always seem to have to go to the hardware store for new washers. It's gettin there.

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With the outer long done, I went back to finish up the longitudinal shelf section under the battery tray. I had this welded up, but didn't do the finish work. Now with a working compressor again I was able to get this cleaned up.

I still have to replace a section where the battery tray mounted, but I've got some surface rust to deal with and decide what needs to be cut out.

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I also had some time to cut off the center shelf section. It worked well to cut from underneath, using the edge of the lower piece as a guide. I'll add a few more spot welds and likely weld the edge of the two pieces together at the seam.

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I decided to finally fill all the holes in the longs left from removing the shelf. I've been using a technique to accommodate the limitations of my welder. It enabled me to weld up holes in the single ply sheetmetal without blowing through.

So here's what I'm starting with - holes in the longs from using an angled drill to drill out spot welds.
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Since I know there are other teener owners out there in the same situation, I thought I'd share the technique. I've seen others accomplish this with sheet-metal plugs, but the problem then is holding the small plug in place while you weld. I decided instead to use steel nails whose heads were the same diameter as my holes. Here's what I found.

These have a galvanized cap on them but the nail is steel (w/o galvanizing). I just push the cap off. May be I'll find something useful to do with them.
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Next, I position the nails so the heads fill the holes and the protruding nail is held in place with a small welding magnet. I picked these up from HF.
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Then, I do the first weld to secure the nail so I can remove the magnet.

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That let's me get all around the nail to complete the weld.

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Lastly, I grind off the nail and grind down the weld with a disc grinder. I'll use a 3M abrasive pad later to finish up with.

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If the holes are too small, I just match my drill to the nail heads and re-drill them.

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Place the nails again using the small magnets.

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Grind it all off with the disc grinder.

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And finish off with the abrasive pad.

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The other technique I use is for butt or plug welds. In these cases I use a small block of copper to act as a backing plate. Here are some holes at the top of the engine bar support. They don't need to be filled, since that upper piece doesn't serve any function now that the shelf is gone - but the results will be cleaner if I fill them.

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When the back is open & accessible like this I just clamp the copper plate behind the holes to be filled. This one was made from copper tubing I just flattened.

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The weld won't stick to the copper, and it helps by absorbing heat. If my welder had more controls this wouldn't be an issue - Low & High is it.

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Repeat to weld up the rest. Now their ready for grinding.

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For less accessible places, I made another tool from 1" dia copper tube and a 1"dia wooden dowel. Using about 8" of tubing I slide the tubing over the dowel about 3" and fasten it with a couple of screws. Then just flatten the remaining portion of copper. This really helps when butt-welding pieces, and if necessary I have a helper hold it for me while I weld.

All finished up.

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Continue work on the right side of the engine bay. I cleaned up the surface rust near the battery box area and cut out the bad parts. Got my pattern made, but need to cut it out.

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I did get the remaining piece for the hole in the lower-left recut, fit and partially welded. I'll get more pics when both pieces are done - this will wrap up the right side. Can't wait to get this side done. Been too long. And I still have to come back and do reinforcements.

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I was working on my son's 914 engine for a couple of days, but need to replace the alternator bracket. So I decided to continue on the SHO wiring for the engine. Had to build two custom cables to connect the Engine harness to the DIS (Distributorless Ignition module). Since the DIS will be mounted to the firewall, I added some mounting plates (upper and lower) on the engine cradle for components like this; fuel pump, ECU, etc.

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Fuel pump is next.

Been a busy week at work so not gettin much time for teener stuff. Did get my PCM (ECU) wiring harness spec'd out and labeled. All items marked in blue will go, but nothings getting cut until the test run is completed.

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I will also want to complete the test install of the engine before deciding where other engine components will go. So this harness is a rough draft. There are several components like the DIS that get mounted in the engine bay.

Big question is locating the battery. I'm planning on using the power distribution box from the SHO and the new style 914 fuse/relay panel. (Thanks Engman) I want the fuse/relay panel somewhere other than under the front dash - so I was thinking - front trunk/drivers side.

If the distribution box is up front also, then it makes sense to put the batt up front. If the distribution box is in back (engine bay or trunk) that makes a long run for primary power to the fuse/relay panel - but not that different from stock arrangement.

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Not much happening today. Finished up some welding and did some running around to get small parts to mount fuel pump temporarily on engine cradle. Also started wiring diagram for fuse/relay panel and how it all ties to the SHO power distribution box.

I'll post some details once I get the diagram done.

Got to work for a couple hours this evening. The son's 914 now has gear oil in the tranny and I got the fuel pump mounted on the engine cradle.

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Got the fuel lines connected up. One will just run from the the FP into a gas can, and of course the return will run directly into the can.

Also built me a mount for the PCM up front. There are a couple of open loops in the back and I'll use a small bungie cord to hold it. All my small cords disappeared somewhere.

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Built some brackets to support the component harness. One also provides a mounting place for the IMRC. I'll need to extend that wiring for its connector, but I'm gonna need to do that for final install anyhoo. Also took care of one of the main grounds in harness - one to the engine block & one to the cradle frame. You can barely see the connector on the PS bracket in the lower-left.

I'm thinking I'll do one more bracket that extends back and up (at the left side of pic) so that I can drop straight down for the various relays - since that's where the CCRM connector is at.

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I finished my instrument panel yesterday. It's just tac-welded on back for the moment. I plan to drill holes to mount it to the angle then grind off the welds. Got a SHO tach sourced and need to start locating an ignition switch and some idiot lights for oil pressure, hi & low speed cooling fans. I'll also use two separate switches for BOO & Clutch position.

Almost forgot I mounted the main power distribution box (lower-right, previous post) as well. I'm using nine of the SHO's stock 12 fuses. One 40amp will power the 914's internal fuse/relay panel. Also have plenty of fusing for upgrade head-lights & driving lights. Of course with associated relays. By the time I'm done, I look to have over dozen relays. Now I just have to package them all.

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Continuing to get things connected up between the engine harness and the main PCM (ECU) harness. Just using crimp connections for the bench test. I'll sort out routing and final harness once the motor is test fit in the engine bay.

Well finally got the patches on the right side of the engine bay done. Had some time last weekend to fit & spot weld this patch in. Got around to finishing off the welding & grinding tonight.

Piece was a pain in the a$$ to fit because of bends and contour, but a close fit makes the finish welding so much easier.

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Went from this . . .


to this . . . so I'm happy.
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Decided to roll out the 914-SHO and shoot some primer on the repairs made so far. Also gives me a chance to cleanup well, dust the car off, and regroup.

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Also decided to do some work on the son's teener. It needed the cobwebs cleaned off. Rolled it into the working spot and will get the engine/tranny installed this weekend. Should have it running by next.

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Got the son's teener runnin. Took it out for a short drive and some pics. Sure miss the low ride of a 914.

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Nothing special this weekend. I had a little time this weekend to continue working on wiring for the bench test. Still waiting to get the switches and misc gauges I need. Picked up a nice instrument cluster for the SHO. I'm actually going to see if I can use more of the cluster. It's a very close fit to the stock 914.

I've decided not to tear it apart just for the tach, but I'll find a way to mount the whole cluster on the test stand and connect to just the tach. Maybe use a couple of idiot lights and the CEL light.

Spent the last couple of weekends finishing up the wiring. Got everything hooked up except the battery positive, related fusable links, and the ignition switch. Been a challenge finding a multi-deck, 3-position ignition switch to mount on the stand.

Right side
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Left side
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Decided to use the SHO instrument panel as-is which saved worrying about other gauges/senders. Looks funny, but it will work fine.

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