Introducing "Dirty Penny" - Former $2010[$2012] GRM Project, Running. Driving. Boosting. FUN! Options

[jpnovak]

I wanted to introduce myself as a new member to the World. I am new to the 914 but not new to air-cooled. I have two 1971 911s; a T - soft-window targa and an ST-replica track car. I am sure I have seen many of you on Pelican. With the 911 I have done it all, rust repair, paint, engines, transmissions and chassis setup. I felt it was time for something new.

Introducing my new project. "Dirty Penny"

Penny is a 1975 Porsche 914. She has been sitting unattended for a while. I found her at a friends house under the old oak tree. Penny is wearing copper metallic paint and had a white interior. Penny arrived without a heart. I am going to give her new life.

Penny will be built as a Grassroots Motorsports $2010 Challenge car. For those not familiar that means you have $2010 to build a car where it competes in a concours, drag race and autocross. The prize? Notoriety in GRM and ridicule from those who already think you are nuts and cheap. My wife doesn't affectionately call me Fred Sanford for nothing. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

Here are a few pictures of Penny being unearthed from her previous home. The TX sun has not been kind to the paint, nor the interior. However, the dry climate has left her remarkably rust free. There is rust in the Hell Hole that has been previously cut out yet never welded back in. Rot is almost non-existent.

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How much money I have left to spend on the project.

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The plan is simple to do well at the Challenge. Get a car that handles well. Strip the weight out of it. give it some extra HP. Let's see... A 914 handles well. they are already pretty light. but the Type IV doesn't lend itself to high HP without major $$$.

A bit of late night ebay browsing and I came across a JDM Subaru EJ20G drivetrain. Yes, that's what I need. ITs still a flat-4 - yet has to be water cooled and makes 140+ HP/L in stock trim. I like it. The vendor was in Dallas which means reduced shipping costs. Yep, that's the rule. you must account for ALL purchases.

The new heart and soul... Oh yeah it will have soul!

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to be honest, work has been crazy and I have 13 months to build the car. Progress won't be fast. I am excited to make this go forward. The challenge of swapping the entire drivetrain begins with connections. The engine mounts are easy. Trying to get the shift linkage, clutch linkage and throttle cable done on the cheap is not so easy. I know there is a wealth of information on this site. Thanks to all those who have traveled this road before me.

Until the next update...

Now I have to figure out how to post images on this site rather than link external.

[jpnovak]

Ready, Steady, GO!

So, Last night I discovered a dead fuel pump. I picked up a new one this morning on the way to work. My Local CarQuest will usually have what I want on the shelf. In this case, it was a nice, large replacement fuel pump. Worth the money.

Tonight I went out to troubleshoot. I connected the laptop and spun the motor. I thought this was a good time to verify signals since there was no fuel in the system. All sensors seem to be working just fine. HMM no tach signal. Bummer. I get out the O-scope and start testing. (see John, these are so useful) Crank position sensor is sending a nice strong signal. Cool. Cam sensor. Not so good. No signal at all. I check continuity between the plug and the ECU. Yep, All good. Must be a bad sensor. So, I swap the cam sensor between the old motor and the new one. Now I have a good clean signal.

Next, I swapped in the new fuel pump. Nothing like the smell of rancid gas. I drained about a half gallon into a container and it is indeed filled with a watery mess. Ethanol in fuel does cause problems and is probably the reason my fuel pump was dead. At least I replaced all the fuel lines when I cleaned the tank a few years ago. Now the pump Whirrs away and is relatively quiet compared to the previous one. While I was testing the pumps I also looked for fuel leaks. Aside from a few bubbles working their way through the fuel rail mounted regulator all was good.

I went back and turned the key. Tach signal was good and then the engine started to sputter. It was too late to fire it up but I know I will be able to start it easily once everything is connected.

Tomorrow I will start to connect up the vacuum hoses that run between the manifold, ECU, turbos, wastegates and BOVs. Its a mess on the top of the motor right now. There are also some breather tubes to connect and some water lines to plug. None of this is difficult, just time consuming.

I am hoping to take Penny around the block this weekend.

WooHoo!