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 also decided to modify the coolant crossover pipe to remove the rear water heater inlet (I'll pull hot water from near the radiator up front for cabin heat) and to move the two sensors over toward the other cylinder banks to provide clearance for the reversed intake. I probably could've bent the sensor leads down to clear the intake, but I didn't want to stress/damage the sensors. I actually started by modifying the EJ22T turbo coolant pipe by drilling/tapping holes in the factory-supplied bosses, but then realized that the normally-aspirated EJ22 coolant pipe already has the sensors in the correct position. So I picked one up at the local Pick-n-Pull for $10.

The rear water heater inlet is brazed in, so I heated it up slowly and yanked/turned it until it slid out. The hole is the PERFECT size for a 3/8" pipe plug, so I picked up a tap and brass plug from my friendly Ace hardware store. Here is a pic of the tapped hole.



The front water inlet actually bends upward a bit, which puts it relatively close to one of the fuel rail supply lines. I'm sure it would not be a problem to leave it like it is, but I like the idea of nice, cool (non-heated!) fuel. I plan to cut the pipe at its lower point to provide a bit more clearance, and to weld on a "lip" (to help secure the coolant hose). We have an aluminum MIG setup at work, so I'll try my hand at that next weekend -- lucky I now have a spare to practice on! Below you can see the Sharpie line depicting where I'll weld this lip and then cut the pipe.



I plan to pick up some steel this week so that I can begin fabricating the engine/transmission mount next weekend.

I've got what I consider to be some good news for those of you considering the Suby trans. I think Porscharu's magic flanges are a great option, but I don't like the idea of using the relatively weak 100mm CVs, as described elsewhere on this site by Paul Sayegh. I also have two sets of 911 axles with 108mm CVs, so I really want the option of using 108mm 911/930 CVs to work out. Some of the 2WD Subaru Legacy and Impreza models came with huge inner "tripod" joints and very large diameter axle shafts. My micrometer says the Subaru axle shaft is large enough in diameter (1.13") to be cut off at the outer joint and machined/splined to use the 28-spline 930 CV at the wheel end. I'll need to borrow my friend's non-Chinese built calipers to verify. At the very least, the diameter is large enough to have the Suby inner and 911 outer axle shaft ends welded together. If that option doesn't pan out, EMPI sells 930 CVs and custom-length 28-spline axle shafts that can be used as blanks. EMPI also lists the Suby 2WD inner joint as a separate part on their website, so I'll pick up a pair of those for my eventual Frankenaxles.

More to come...