74 Roller rebuild and Subaru conversion, 1974 rebuild and Subaru conversion project Options

[mgarrison]

Hello,

I new around here, but have been lurking for a bit trying to soak up all the 914 knowledge and information I could! I was looking into building a Factory Five 818 kit with the Subaru flat-4, but the cost of entry was a bit too high, and the time & space needed to build a car from scratch seemed overwhelming. But it got me thinking; that's basically a tube-framed 914 with an odd body. I wonder if anyone has put a Subaru flat-4 in a 914? A few Google searches later I learned that a lot of people had, and parts were out there to spend my money on!

Long story short, I found two rollers with no engines or transmissions in Tucson, AZ a couple of hours South of me. Soon I rented a car hauler for a couple of days and my "Craft Project" (my wife's label) was begun.

The rollers were a green 1971, and a red 1974. I wanted to restore the 71 because it just seemed to have more character. The 74 had been partially stripped for an electric conversion project, and seemed less "car like". Sadly, the 71 needed a bit more work than I was setup to handle. So, it had to be the 74 who I have simply labeled as "Red".

I will try to track my build process here as best I can. I tend to get working on things and forget to document things, but will try to keep track.

Here's Red when we got her home on the trailer and tucked away in the back yard for the moment.

Mike

[Literati914]

..
Does anybody have any amazing, creative ideas on how to clean out the tunnel area if you are not replacing any of the floor? Bit of a mess in there, and impossible to get to. Some kind of chimney sweep brush hooked to a drill???

I'd like to know the same. I did get mine pretty clean though by using a shop-vac with a small wand/nozzle (shift rod, etc. removed)... I'm thinking next I'll use a landscape leaf blower and blast it from the Shift rod hole (@ the engine compartment) forward, and from the rear access hole in the tunnel - blow towards the pedal cluster area. Then I was thinking I'd maybe attach a cloth/sponge (soaked in diluted phosphoric acid solution) to the end of a long flexible rod .. and work it up in there everywhere, to stop/kill surface rust. Let that dry then use 'internal frame rust paint' paint from Eastwoods to spray for future protection (it comes with a long flexible applicator hose/nozzle w/ a fan pattern). Heck I might even go with a spray-on wax product after that (I forget the name), which is made for such situations. That's my plan so far - anyone got a better solution, we're all ears !