Suby-engined rustoration, 21-Sep-2024 update: more racing-related carnage! Options

[strawman]

Hi All --

This is my second post, but I've been lurking on this fine website for a while now. I've wanted a 914 since I was in high school, but always seemed to stumble upon other projects... until recently.

My neighbor gave me this 1973 Porsche 914 about a month ago. He told me he blew a head gasket and parked it in his parents' driveway in 1992. When his parents finally told him to move it or they were calling a local junkyard, he offered it to me since he knows I'm a gearhead. In for a penny, in for a pound...

I hauled it home, knowing that it has some rust issues in the battery area and rear trunk. But it appears to have never been in a wreck and it is complete. It turns out that an exhaust stud pulled, so he coulda fixed it for a couple hundred and probably kept another 914 from languishing but I guess all things happen for a reason (namely, so I would undertake this project!).

I sold the engine to a local Craigslister for use in his Meyers Manx dune buggy, and bought a wrecked but running 1993 Subaru Legacy turbo wagon. This is the closed-deck 2.2 liter engine, and 250 hp is easy with boost control and an open exhaust. I've already done a Subaru into a VW Vanagon and my daily driver is a 1992 Suby Legacy, so this won't be too much of a stretch for me. I plan to use the Suby 5-speed transmission (out of a 1998 Suby Forester) with the Aussie-sourced RWD elimination coupler and custom-mated 914/Suby axles.

I've got a suburban home with a crowded two-car garage (my 125 shifter kart and my daughter's FJA kart will likely get lonely!), a MIG welder, and a wide assortment of air/power/hand tools -- so the adventure begins! This project will likely take a year to finish, so please be patient.

I've attached some pics of the car as found in the driveway, some rust areas and the rear trunk repairs I've started. I'll chronicle the build as I go, so feel free to chime in!

Geoff

[strawman]

I picked up a 1976 911 roller for parts a couple of weeks ago -- primarily for the fake Fuchs (it turns out they're only 15x7 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) ), Porsche rear reflector, and to get the rim-centering rear hubs for my 5-bolt rear suspension conversion.

I have been busy stripping parts to sell (I've actually netted money for my project on this deal (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif)), so I haven't worked on the 914 in a while. Here are a couple of pics of that hulk:





This means that I'll have a spare set of 1969-73 hubs, brakes, rotors (non-vented) and parking brakes (shoes, hardware and cables). Anyone interested? I paid $75, so I'd want the same... I'll put this in the Classified section later, but I thought I'd let any bored souls who have been following this thread have a crack at this setup first. PM me if you're interested.

My hip replacement surgery is tomorrow morning, so I'll be in lala land for the next few days and prolly won't be able to respond to PMs for a week.