914 Conversions dot com

The state of the engine was great with no leaks or signs of weekness. The reason we took it out in the first place was to be able to repair that nasty cut through the firewall made by the previous owner of the car.

However, given how nice the engine bay would turn out, it would be a shame to just stick the 3.2L back in without at least cleaning it up. As we took the intake system off for detailing. Ideas about a Mass Airflow Sensor system started to fly around.

While a MAS does improve performance it is a fairly significant investment with all sorts of unknown pitfalls in engine stability; the exact adverse effect I am looking for. After some research, I decided to leave it alone and save those $ for something else. It is not like the car is slow – the 914 weighs under 2000 lbs which makes it very respectable indeed.

Wes at H&H in Plano, TX has done a great job as always of making things look great.

This is how the motor looked as it came out of the car. It is fairly evident that the motor had not been detailed en route from the donor vehicle to the 914.

Let’s look at some before-and-after pictures: The above is before, below is after.

The sheet metal was exchanged to actual metal pieces and painted Seal Grey to match the new color of the car.

Here the 3.2L seen from the rear – first the before shot:

And rear “after”:

Some shots from the side, completed:

And finally, some installation pics:

This is a good shot of the Rich Johnson 914-6 mount with the motor installed.

A view of the oil lines installed.

… And a view from the top to finish off this post. Sheet metal and fan shroud in the car’s new color looks great in the redone engine compartment. I am looking forward to getting it all back together now.

When having an interest in classic cars, it is a frequent experience to see color changes that were not finalized. To me, there is nothing worse than opening a trunk or to an engine compartment only to be met with the previous and often tired color of the vehicle.
Since I had already decided I did [...]

The time leading up to the holidays provided a chance to run my completed 2.0L 4-cyl engine. Originally, this engine came about as the future power plant for my 1971 4-cyl car which remains un-restored to date.
The engine had been sitting for a while and per advice of several of my 914 mentors it was [...]

When I purchased Silver, some rather large Brembo calipers used on the Porsche 911 993-model were installed in the front. They can be seen through the wheel in the below image:

This is surely a great brake setup. The caliper mounts to the 914-6 strut with the aid of an aluminum adapter. The rotor also needs [...]

I am not looking to create a show car – I want to create a 914-6 which is sorted and easy to use, with very respectable performance and with no higher maintenance needs than, say, a 911 Carrera 3.2L from the eighties.
As such, we will not go into underside painting but rather invest in a [...]

Well – I took the plunge. Silver is coming apart for a respray. it started with a desire to redo the engine compartment, not least to fix the firewall which had been cut by the PO. As part of that work, the engine came out for some detalling work and some upgrades.

Some piece of machinery! [...]

If you’ve ever fancied the looks of early 911 wheels you are probably aware they are called Fuchs wheels. Fuchs is a German metalware company that stems back as early as 1910. Fuchs has been supplying parts to several car companies, including Porsche. Visit Fuchs here
Now, all 914 4-cylinder cars use a bolt pattern for [...]

Prior to purchasing the car, it was determined that after the conversion was completed by the PO an alternater failure had occured. Instead of dropping the engine to replace it the firewall was cut from the inside after removing the backbad, allowing the change. It was not something I cared for but you take the [...]

Sometimes things just work out. It certainly did just after I had bought the 914-6 which should become known as “Silver” to us. After the deal was completed in California, I had the car transported with a car moving company to Texas. That all went completely well and after the car arrived it could be [...]

Meet Ole Yeller, a trusted companion of my friend, 914′eener Rich Johnson since (I believe) 1976. Rich bought the car as a very young man in Little Rock, AR with only 35.000 miles on it from the original owner.
Like most, Yeller has gone through phases in her life. For instance, from ‘83 to ‘89 the [...]