I have seen Bernie's thread on 908 calipers. I have heard such things run about
$3000 for a set, when you can find them. Current plan is s-calipers.

I do plan to reproduce the paint scheme as closely as possible. I will make some
full size tracings of it before it gets blasted. I will be painting it myself and will
most likely use single stage paint, which is what the car has on it now.

The black pin stripes are actually plastic pin striping tape, and not paint.

I am shooting for the "just been painted and polished in 1976" look, rather
than $500 car with a $10,000 paint job look. I am sure it will end up looking
much better than the car ever did back in the day, but still have some
character. Reading some of the 906 restoration threads from gunnar racing
has given me some ideas about how race cars where prepared by the factory.
If you have never looked at www.gunnarracing.com, do it, it is a treasure trove
of pictures, information, and Porsche resto porn.

I have the reciepts with paint codes from the hardware store where they bought
the paint. They are not Porsche codes, probably just the local store's brand codes.
I think the paint for the car was about $40 in 1976...

John

Any updates John?

Here's an idea to update your Rocking Chair (Termites can be bad)

T.C.

Click to view attachment

That thing is *awesome*

Talk about a good find. Please paint it how it was, and make it look like a nice racecar.

No need for 10k paint, just clean and period correct.

TC: I like the metal rocker, no termites or rot to worry about, just need to paint
it well to protect from rust.

I have not done anything on the IMSA car for a while. Been spending all my
time getting my other 914 finished up. I am anxious to get back to work on
the IMSA car though. The break has given me time to learn more and hopefully
avoid making too many dumb mistakes on it.

John

I am looking forward to the restart of the restoration.

I have always wished to restore a car with history.

Good luck!

get to work on this car

Hey Glenn,

Good to hear from you again! I need to debug my starter and add a
full flow oil filter and my blue car should be running....

Then I will go back to the IMSA car in a big way. I need to start collecting
parts for it again. I did order some repro 908 front brake calipers from a
certain world member...

John

Here is some motivation, I finished one of my IMSA GTU cars (the Meaney/ Hendricks 914) and passed tech! I am ready to race it next spring!

Glenn, stick some Meats in the rear

T.C.

spacers

That is as wide as I can go in the class I will run, I need to put some 100mm lugs to get a proper spacer in there.

Glenn I have some 100mm studs if you need them.

T.C.

Click to view attachment

Glenn,

That looks great, you most be stoked! Do you have a build thread for the
car?

John

T.C. Thanks for the offer, I already have a set, just need to install

John, I put the car together in about 6 day so I really didn't document so well
470.29.00076 - Meaney / Hendricks IMSA Racer

A picture Eric sent me today of the 908 repro calipers he is building for the car.

Click to view attachment

These will be keeping the 914-6 GT rear calipers company that I got from TC.

I have ordered a rebuilt pedal set from Bruce Stone for the car as well.

With the Rockin 914 running now I plan to hit this car hard this spring.

The IMSA car has one big advantage over my other 914s: it is inside a garage. I
am planning for AC for this summer and maybe a little garage mahal style
remodeling.

John

John, I still have that 2.5L GTU engine, not a duel plug but has everything else. Blake and I both have other projects and are more motivated to selling it. You would have to speak to Blake since he built it. PM me if interested. Al

One thing is done for this car...

Click to view attachment

Those sure are purdy! Eric, can you make my 930 brakes look that pretty?

Click to view attachment

That's some serious PORN right there. Deserves it's own thread in the SandBox

I know of another GT build that needs these... (besides mine!)

I Don't Need No Stinkin Brakes

Unless - I ever get this car back

YEOWSTER!

i can't stop drooling!

Great news John, look forward to seeing progress!

Been stripping the car getting it ready for some repairs. Removed the old
fiberglass fenders. They were pretty trashed and had been repaired multiple
times. I will be getting new flares of the same style.

Click to view attachment

Its pretty rusty under the old flares.

Click to view attachment

The front end was destroyed in a crash and cobbled back together using angle
iron and riveted pieces of metal. I want to replace the front valence panel, front
trunk floor, and other parts the right way and am looking for the necessary metal
from a parted out car.

Click to view attachment

Will need to replace the floor pans.

Click to view attachment

Can't wait to get back to hard core welding. I need to get AC for my garage as
this summer has been brutal in forida.

John

John,

What do ya think, a month maybe 2 to get it to the paint shop?

I was thinking maybe a few hours and probably 3-4 tubes of JB Weld.

John

Nevermind my post on your other thread, I thought I had clicked on this one.

You aren't kidding about needing A/C in the garage. I added 2 more fans and still can't go out there. After the coldest Winter in history, July & August have been the hottest in history.

T.C.

Looking at the struts and sway bars on the car. Does anyone recognize this sway
bar arm? For some reason, RSR comes to my mind.

Click to view attachment

Struts are too rusty and dirty to tell what they are without cleaning. They do have
3.5" brake caliper spacing. Not sure if the struts are salvageable. I sprayed some
etching primer in there to prevent further rust.

Click to view attachment

Looks like the front right fender was replaced at some point. Kind of a hack job.

Click to view attachment

The whole front end was wrecked at some point and replaced with this aluminum
bar. I plan to replace the front trunk floor and front valence panel, then add a
GT style radiator and shroud.

Click to view attachment

I think the car started its racing career more like a normal GT and got franken14ed
later after some accident. I think the car will be much nicer if I return it to the way
a 914GT would have looked.

John

More hideous rust and damage pictures. The front trunk floor is basically falling
apart. They cut a big hole in the bulkhead in front of the oil tank for some reason,
maybe cooling because there is another hole in the floor under the oil tank?

Click to view attachment

They added these brackets and mounted driving lights that aim through holes in the
bumper. I will keep this and mount some new lights here.

Click to view attachment

I would probably be better off just replacing the entire front end of the car right in
front of the shock towers. Not sure if that is a realistic plan. I am afraid the front
suspension mounting points are shot.

Will probably piece it all back in as I can find rust free replacement sheet metal.

Hint hint. Will pay for time and shipping.

John

Been planning how the oil system will work. This is the oil tank that came with the
car. It looks like it was custom made. I am pretty sure I have seen other oil tanks
with the same shape and in the same location as the one in this car.

Click to view attachment

Here is where the tank fits in the car.

Click to view attachment

The tank has internal plates that slope down to a hole in the center. I think the
-20 fitting on the side is where oil would enter the tank and drain down into the
lower portion. The -20 fitting on the bottom is the return line to the engine. It
runs into the passenger area then into the long and out into the engine bay.

I am guessing the two fittings on the top are for engine breathers?

I am new to /6 engines and am trying to plumb the mysteries of the oil system. I
think I can use a 993 oil filter console on the engine to replace the engine mounted
oil cooler. I think the oil scavenge pump will feed oil to the front of the car into a
thermostat. The thermostat will either feed the front mounted oil cooler and then
into the side fitting of the oil tank, or it will send the oil directly into the oil tank.
From there its out the bottom of the tank and back to the pressure pump on the engine.

I'm thinking of buying a new oil cooler for the car. I have an old RX7 cooler I could
have cleaned and tested but /6 engines are too expensive to screw up with a used
$50 oil cooler.

Any advice or suggestions on the above would be appreciated.

John

John here is a diagram of oil system with cooler.
Your oil tank is most likely custom as was the norm for Private IMSA teams.
The oil would generally come into the tank at a higher level and drip thru a screen to remove air from the oil. The scavenge side of the oil pump will push the oil thru the cooler and into the tank.
Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment

This looks like an aftermarket Charley Bar, it was somewhere around 22mm.

Thanks Glenn, I was hoping you would chime in.

Do you think the top fittings were for engine breathers?

John

You're doing a great job John. This project is so cool to follow. It will take a lot to get'er done...But, in the end you're gonna have a great car with excellent stories to tell of how it came to be!

Thats an old H&H sway bar

I might have seen that car run at Sebring when I was a kid. Have to look through all my old photos.

Funny it has a speedometer in it, most race cars discard that.

It say's 914-4 on the front bumper ? you metioned it had a six?

Neat project, keep digging !

They ran it as a 4 cylinder for a while and then went to a twin plug 6.

Any period photos of the car would be greatly appreciated!

John

You are right Jeff, the Charley Bars are more refined

I wonder if the arms would fit on the new GPR bar? I'll have to take it out
and check it it fits the stock sway bar arms.

John

John,

Anything you do to this car will be an improvement on they way it was patched together by the original owner. It seems he was more concerned about being able to make the race than he was about winning the race. You could restore it to the period correct race car but that would be just a pieced together backmarker. It's cool that you have a former IMSA 914 but you run the risk of over restoring it just by giving it a decent paint job.

I hope you understand what I saying and I don't get flamed by those that don't.

Paul

Paul,

You have really put your finger on the problem. Just vacumming the sand out
of the car was over restoring it. I have convinced myself it did not start its
racing career this rusted out and patched together. With that rationalization
in place I am shooting for restoring it more to the early part of its career,
when it actually had a more complete set of 914 sheetmetal.

I am also trying to make it a working and safe race car, so all the paper thin
rusted stuff has got to go. They did not use braided covered hose in most
places but I will in the interest of safety. It is basically was a non-functional
wreck when I got it so leaving it as it was did not have much point.

I am sure the car will end up nicer than it ever was, but not as blatantly over
restored as some cars end up. I read recently that a 70s Corvette right off the
factory floor would only score about 77 in a concours today.

If people have advice or opinions then please post away.

John

John,

I'm glad you understand where I'm coming from. This was not a factory 914GT that ran at LeMans. It was more like a guys toy that happened to own a gas station in Miami. I wonder what would come back if you ran the vin# through the police data base?

Now I understand the reason you are looking for my nose. I asked my dad about shipping it from his work and he said it should be no problem. You should have in by Thanksgiving if all works out with shipping will keep you posted!

Thomas

This is a cool project.

IMO it would be appropriate to make the car appear like it did when it was campaigned in IMSA. However, updating with the best available components, as though the car had been well maintained and continually improved during its tenure, would also be correct.

The first 914 race car I ever saw was an SCCA E Production car, at a Lime Rock EMRA time trial in the mid eighties. That was enough to put me on the path I took to racing my own car in SCCA.
By the time I saw an IMSA 914 on TV (I never saw one in person), their era was past but if I were into vintage racing I think this is what I would like to play with.

......I think you have a great project there....and properly restored would be a welcome sight in vintage racing, which you would enjoy immensely....side note, I once looked for a formula super vee ( air cooled) which was in original condition., never found one. What you have found in that 914-4 is a diamond in the rough., and may well turn out to be valuable if you restore it properly. I would say that you should not do a "down and dirty" or "cheap" restoration. Take your time and do it properly. It could be way more valuable, restored, than you could imigine.

I thought they owned a jewlery business? The big guys in that era were drug smugglers
Any car that actually raced in the big races is a worthy project. Compare to your first project this is a wlk in the park.
Keep up the good work.

Thanks very much for all the comments. It helps me to decide what to do.
This car has a lot of value to me and I see myself as a caretaker. So it will
get used in appropriate events but not abused nor will it be locked away in my
motor racing heritage museum (i.e. my garage). Wouldn't it be cool if a couple
regular guys (like the original owners were) could build still build a car and
compete in the ALMS/IMSA with the big boys, which is what this car represents.
I think for a lot of closet racers, this is a common dream.

My plan is to make it look like it did when it ran Sebring, Daytona, etc. on the
outside but with the rust repaired, new components that would not have been
out of place in the late 70s, and safer than it was. So it will get the same exact
paint scheme, same type of fiberglass flares, I will repair the original front
bumper, repair the fiberglass roof, use the original fuse and switch panel,
use the custom made oil tank, use a GT style front oil cooler like they had,
use Gotti wheels like they did, keep the original roll cage, original tranny
cooler and pump, 2 fuel pumps, 2 ignition set ups, etc. No carbon fiber.

Whereever I can keep the original parts I will, and where I can't I will get similar
new or used parts. I do plan to make it safer so I will use braided fuel lines, etc.
but am looking for nickel plated fittings rather than blue and red aeroquip fittings,
which they had only a few of.

It is interesting how many companies are still in business that made parts
in the 1970s, like Koni, ATL, mocal, holley, bilstein, bosch, etc.

I could have kept it exactly as I got it, but it would only be a rusty paperweight
then, not a living, running car. I plan to bring the car back to life without over
doing it, or using stuff they never had, unless for safety.

I was also thinking we are only seeing what it looks like 30 years after they
quit racing it. Who knows when the front end crash happened that removed
so much of the original metal and caused a lot of rust to happen. It was run
in SCCA racing after the original builders sold it (they moved on to 911s).

Sorry for the long ramble, I am actually trying to keep this fun.

Today my buddy Sean (the Prawn) was over and we built a stand to get the
car off the ground so we could remove the suspension and repair the front
end damage.

Click to view attachment

You can see how little was left of the front of the car. A couple world members
are helping me out with parts cut from wrecked cars that I will post when they
get here.

Click to view attachment

Getting some serious help from Chris Foley, which is hugely appreciated.

John

> The jewelry store was a sponsor for a while, maybe after the IMSA era. They
> used to call IMSA the International Marajana Suppliers Association in the late
> 70s. Some big team principals went to jail for it. Have not found any
> dubage in the car so far.

> Most of the metal is really solid. The front and the floors are shot. What took
> me months when I was clueless I can do in hours now. All the work on the
> rockin 914 will pay off now, which was my plan all along (well, not really).
>
> John

Here we go with the wood again....sheesh.

Great project and I like your perspective on the restoration but this time, build a metal rotisserie so it won't de-lam in the Florida humidity.

Sure are a lot of great build threads on TheWorld right now.

Thanks Thomas, that is great.

John