OT: Working on my shop car, The wagon Porsche never built. . . Options

[aircooledtechguy]

I've had a long term project going now to turn my '67 Squareback into my shop car. While I love driving my 914, it has limitations as a daily parts hauler. I love old styling with new technology and updates, so my goal is to turn my humble Square into the wagon that Porsche never made. I want it to drive and handle more like a Porsche than a VW wagon and it's got to be a true "Sleeper" (not a real problem; since it's a wagon). (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1324689630.1.jpg)
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This has been a 4-5 phase project.

Phase-1 - Convert it to Porsche 914 2.0L motor. Make it physically adapted to the car and running MS2 w/ Ford EDIS ignition. Get it tuned to be a daily driver. DONE!!

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1324689631.3.jpg)

Phase-2 - Make the motor look good and freshen it up with new P&Cs. The heads were freshened only about 2K miles before I got it, by me when it was in a clients 914 that he converted to Subie power. I noticed that once I had a few miles on it myself, it was using a bit of oil. So I upgraded to a new set of 96mm P&Cs. So now it's a 2056.




I had my local powder coater do all the tins in black and the plenum and runners in grey for a stock look. I'm running T-4 H/Es with a modified bus header and a Summit Racing Flow Master clone muffler. So I had those ceramic coated in black so they are not attention grabbers from the back. This car is a sleeper (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)



DONE!!

Phase-3 - Convert the rear suspension to the later style IRS and install a Porsche 923 trans out of a Porsche 912E. The rear suspension is DONE!! While at it, I upgraded it with 914 rear brakes, urethane bushings, adjustable spring plates and a rear sway bar. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1324689632.4.jpg)

Since the trans is taller than a stock 4-speed and cutting into the car can't happen due to rear seat issues. I gained the 1.5" I needed by spacing the body off the rear suspension with spacers. So here I sit, on the final leg of phase-3. I now need to couple the motor/trans and lift it into it's final place and fab rear engine hanger mounts for the rear bar. It's late and I'm tired. . .

Phase-4 - Front suspension upgrade. Currently in-work

Phase-5 - Paint so it doesn't look so crappy, though it does add to the "sleeper" persona. . .

Stay tuned for more later. . .

[aircooledtechguy]

The relentless quest for more power and speed continues. . .

Ever since installing the 5-speed, I was forced to go back to using the stock Porsche flywheel. It's a nice forged piece, but damn this thing is boat anchor @ 17+# compared to the conversion flywheel I had on it that weighed in at about 12.5#. Believe it or not, when I had to switch back to the Porsche flywheel (due to installing the Porsche 5-speed), I also upgraded to the larger P&C set upping my displacement 85cc and the car got a bit SLOWER. . . This COULD NOT STAND!! So I did some calling around and found a local place to lighten a spare Porsche flywheel I had laying around. They were able to conservatively shave a full 5.5# off and still leave me tons of meat on it. I'll bet they could have gotten another 2# if they had not conservatively done it. Next time, I'll tell them to go crazy with it!!

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1348070677.1.jpg)
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I'm SUPER happy with the results. Instead of using HP and torque to spin that heavy flywheel, the motor can now put that lost energy to my tires, and these things are gonna pay for their past 6 months of laziness. :twisted: The car is MUCH quicker getting to a given speed. It's lighter, but not so light that it is jerky to drive and still drives like stock. Coincidentally, I had the opportunity on the way in this morning to test the added acceleration against a guy in a winged H*nda fart-car. I don't think he ever had the chance to see that I have a blue trunk lid that doesn't match the rest of the car. . . (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

I also removed my rear hub assemblies and modified them for Porsche 930 press-in wheel studs. One thing VW really missed the boat on is using wheel bolts instead of studs and nuts. I only did the rears for now since I'm planning to change the entire front-end this winter. Instead of using steel nuts, I modified a set of Porsche alloy nuts on my lathe for use with the long studs. Now tire changing will be a breeze. Especially since I have to use 1/4" wheel spacers on the back. What a PITA to hold the wheel AND spacer when using the lug bolts. . . :evil: BTW: the photo makes it look like the lugs are not pressed in straight, but that is just an illusion due to zooming in for the photo (I blame the jerk behind the lens (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) ).

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/images.thesamba.com-9730-1348070678.3.jpg)
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The final thing was that I made a significant change to the end of the shift linkage where it mates to the Porsche trans-axle. Over the past 6 months, I had come to realize that my dimensions were off just slightly on a couple things and this resulted in a "compressed" shift pattern which sometimes made 2nd to 3rd and 5th to 4th gear changes a bit tricky. So after lots of thought and staring at it from underneath, I realized the error and corrected them. Thankfully it turned out to be a fairly simple fix after some careful measuring, cutting and welding. The result is that now it shifts *EXACTLY* like a stock Porsche 911. All gears are super positive, the shift pattern is spread out like stock and I have not missed a shift since, even in fast power-shifting. I even had a client stop by who drives a Porsche 911SC with the same trans and shifter and asked him to shift it through the gears and tell me what he thought. He said it felt better than his Porsche!! That's what I was going for, so the design is finalized and I can put the shifting to bed once and for all. 8)