That is a really pretty motor.

That is gorgeous!

Thanks. The intake does a great job of covering all the wiring and plumbing.

I'm guessing it was Dana who broke into my garage and started tearing into my Matchbox

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HAHAHA, The resemblance is uncanny!

I finally finished a tough semester and I leave for a month long stay in Rome in 13 days so I decided to really push to make some progress on the car before I leave.
I took a big leap and decided to take the car to the next level and go with a full tube chassis in the rear. I will be able to drop a ton of weight and can custom build everything to mount the Subie engine rather than relying on a conversion kit.

I would love to go with a double a-arm set-up in the rear but with out a chassis bench I don't feel like it's something I can do right. Since I will be retaining the stock swing arms I had to build a couple jigs to locate the swing arm mounts on the new frame. In addition to the jigs I took hundreds of measurements to make sure everything ends up where it needs to be.
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I will be raising the swing arm mounts 2" so the swing arm sits level at the cars lowered ride height.
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After a couple hours of careful cutting the two halves were separated.
No turning back now!
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Here is what I am working with, I managed to remove the rear half of the car without hitting the jigs and according to my measurements the swing arm mounts are right where they should be.
The tubes of the rear frame will tie into my existing cage and into the longs.
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The Renegade conversion cradle weighs 28 pounds and the bare rear section I removed without suspension, lid, or diffuser weighed 144.4 pounds, I would be amazed if the new tube frame and f/g fenders weigh half that.
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I couldn't resist mocking up the 2 Anklebiters in the garage shot
Stay tuned, lots of work on its way!
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Holy !

That's something I didn't expect. Looking forward to the (re)build!

Holy crap! You've got stones the size of boulders. This pic reminds me of the old vaudeville magicians that sawed their assistants in half. Rock on!

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Did you cut it with the saw hanging on the wall?

I agree, you're very brave!

HAHAHA, I suppose I should put a not safe for purists warning on this!
Don't worry, it will be done perfectly, no corners will be cut.
On the bright side I got a kick ass 914 trailer out of the deal!

Tis but a scratch!
A scratch? Your car is cut in two!
No, it isn't!
Well, what's that then?

Sorry, that's what through my head when I saw that pic, Monty Python aside you sir are crazy (in a good way)

Ferg

Uh.. you cut it in half to do... what?

Lighter, faster, better, give me a week or so, I have things planned

Holy Snikeys

Bullshit, he's doin a limo. And while the guys are away in Tahoe his going to get it done and claim the first right to a 914 Limo. He scheemed and waited till they were gone. This is going to divide 914 world into 914 universe and 914 world. Oh the drama.

Gee thanks a lot, way to ruin the surprise!

Are you going to use the existing rear bodywork for a mold to do the whole ass end in FG?

You do realize it's not stock anymore.....right?

Yeah that whole stock thing kinda went out the window huh
I am thinking about a one piece tilt rear like a 904, probably f/g, same shape as before.

I thought you didn't like fiberglass... ?

I really do hate the stuff but I think it is the best way to get a single piece light weight body. I have done the finishing bodywork on a couple 550 replicas and I think I can get the glass quality pretty good. I would love to roll one out of aluminum on an english wheel but I want to finish this thing before I'm 90!

Wow. Just discovered this thread and read all 27 pages. I couldn't believe my eyes when I got to that last little cut... Amazing stuff. Thanks for doing it and sharing it.

That would rock. I would love to be able to tip the whole back end up and have complete access to everything around the drivetrain. (ala 904, 550, Ford GT, etc.)

i see nothing wrong with your pic, sir.
unless you mind that i found some parts even you didn't know you had!

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btw, see if you can adjust the cam to keep from blowing out the highlights-

thefleur

I built the trailing arm mounts today.

I welded threaded 10mm X 1.50 couplers in between two 1/8" steel plates.
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Then wrapped the coupler sandwich in 1/8" steel and tacked it all in place. I tacked it together with a nice gap so I can finish the pieces without taking off much of the weld.
I tacked inside as much as I could as well then shot some weldable primer inside before everything was sealed in.
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And here is the finished product, The tranny mounts are the same shape and almost done, I will post pics of them when they are done.
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Here is how they will mount only 2" higher.
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I also mocked up the drivetrain today.
The renegade kit moves the whole drivetrain forward 1.5" and I am keeping that position, however I moved the drivetrain up 3/4" so everything clears the belly pan.
After I finish the tranny mounts I will start mocking up some bars.

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wow. huge stones. that is right on! thank you for keeping this thread.

double a-arms..

Rich

sounds good, send me a check

Perfect time to go Suby 5 speed!!!

Awesome work, Dana!

he would have to move the motor backwards about 2 inches if he did that.

Great ideas.
How does the rh kit move the drive train forward 1.5 and still use the stock axles? I intend to use the suby 05 legacy tranny with the obx lsd and still angle the axles forward some. I haven't decided on the axle length yet because I also want new trailing arms to do away with the spacers on the axle hubs. Now would also be a good time to make some new trailing arms if you don't want to go to a arms. Think about all the benefits of the suby tranny while you are a this stage. I don't know how strong they are but suby now has a 6 spd that is the same size as the 5 spd, they also have the cvt, paddle shift?. The only thing about the six spd is in the light car it might be usless unless the tires are a bigger diameter. I think the leg tranny also has a 4:11 so you might want the wrx 3:90.

My opinion on the squeal is it's the aluminum slickness. nascar uses ati and there is no motor made that can't benefit from a front balancer especially one that has the oil pump right behind it.

The renegade v8 kits move everything back 1.5", the subie kit moves it all forward 1.5" I have never seen that degree of angle cause problems with the renegade high power axles.
I have been thinking a lot about the subie tranny, I am not ready to pull the trigger on one now, it is tempting but the beauty of a tube frame is it will be easy to adapt to new drivetrains in the future. If the 914 tranny can't do the job once I get this thing running I will lop off some tubes and start thinking about other options.

Does the rh use higher angle cvs? I was hoping to use 100mm bus cvs and at least go 2-3 inches forward of the axle centerline. Someone here is using 944 stubs that have the cv built in and are welding adapters on the inside to move the cv toward the tranny some. That will get it out of the bearing carrier some and give a little more room for the angle of the axle. I know a angled cv wastes a little power but the binding is my concern, I didn't really want to go to high angle 930 cv's unless it's the only way.

Nice job on the arm pivot mount. Just think, if you had a rear subframe made out of aluminum and those were billet with helicoils.

I am pretty sure they are just bus CVs and axles, I have not gone farther than 1.5" in either direction but I would have to think that is pretty close to their limit

I think blind chicken racing has the angles of most or all of the porsche cv's listed mainly for offroad stuff. Actually the t4 has more angle than the t2. http://blindchickenracing.com/How_to/CVJoi..._joints_101.htm

I welded in the rear frame mounts, The entire back half of the frame and the body attached to it will be removable for easy access and/or replacement.
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The couplers are really machined well and are guaranteed to some ridiculously high shear strength.
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I also fabbed up the tranny mounts, the tranny mounts are oriented in the stock direction but I put them under the tranny rather than hanging it from them.
This location will work much better for the cage design I have in mind.
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I moved the swing arm mounts up 2" so the swing arm sits level at ride height and ran the main tube back to the tranny mounts.
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Very cool! Nice ideas and execution.

I finished up the passenger side "frame rail" and moved on to the drivers side.
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I then wrapped up the drivers side.
When I get back from Rome in a month I will build the X-Brace and the lower tube that will connect to the tranny.
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Porsche needs to hire you and have you in charge of the 918 or 'modern 914' project!
This is insane!!!

Say 'Hi' to Roma for me.

Nate

Breathtaking

Wow Dana

WHAT A SURPRISE!!! I LOVE IT!!! Very, very nice adaption and goes beyond the normal car conversions, either body and/or engine configurations. I love projects that are being developed/are developed such as this one. Warms my heart to see engineering and project execution done with such talent, thought, and . . . . . . . . .! Keep going!!

You probably are doing what a lot of us would like to do - I am pulling for you, Tiger.

Steve Hurt

Like building a house, everything starts with the foundation. You've shown us part of the framing, but not the foundation. What is happening forward of the firewall?