PMB Coachwerks #009, The Orange Beast Options

[Eric_Shea]

Meet PMB Coachwerks #009. Kelly Thorson’s 3.2 Twin Plug “Animal”. A beast refined yet, untamed. Kelly came to us with a dream and a vision of the 914-6 he always wanted. Today, he took the keys to the finished product.





Again, an owners vision creates the masterpiece. It’s easy to think “all 914’s are the same” especially when you stick a later model big six in a wide body chassis but, it’s the little things, the details, that really make a build and, they tend to make an awesome “dream car”.





So what do we have here? Excess, that’s what. Where do you want to start? How about the engine? That’s the heart of the matter and the embodiment of “excess”. When the car came to us it basically had a stock 3.2 Carrera motor. It had its issues and, when we finally got it apart, it was just in the nick of time. A rocker arm shaft nut was laying in the head. Off to the Professor it went. Twin Plug, Mod 906 Cams, High Compression Pistons, all topped off with a state of the art Rasant fuel injection system feeding PMO throttle bodies. She breaths through a modified set of M&B Specialties stainless heat exchangers that have been opened up to 3” throughout. The sound is intoxicating.





A 914/901 transmission with a Rennshift console, balsa wood knob and CFR shift linkage make it really precise and notchie. No wheelies allowed in first gear with this motor but, 2nd, 3rd and 4th are simply heaven (5th is the period at the end of the sentence as you watch another victim disappear in the rear view mirror).

Boxster brakes, Porterfield pads, Tarett Sway bar, Elephant bushings and Bilstein shocks and inserts down below. 7&8” Fuchs with a 944 offset in the rear. Love that combo.

Wide body metal flares, custom GT cooler opening in a chromed steel front bumper. Getty GT front hood and positive stripes but... our favorite feature is the new rear valance with dual 3” sport tips exiting through the valance for a subtle touch reminiscent of the original 914-6.








Inside Kelly selected custom leather GT seats with embroidered orange 914 silhouette’s. The same silhouettes adorn the custom 10k tach. Radio delete because the symphony is 6” behind your seat! A leather dash and full on 914-6 left hand key and steering column will leave the purists running to the VIN to do a double take.









Some of the more dramatic touches reside where most wont see them. Jaws drop when he opens the trunks. Custom diamond pleated covers adorn both trunks with, of course, orange stitching to match the classic Signal Orange paint. Dig deeper and you’ll find the custom oil cooler shroud that Mark DeBernardi developed when Kelly first got the car.













We feel truly blessed to have been able to put this one together for one of the nicest guys on the planet. Kelly’s been a 914 guy through and through for decades and this is the culmination of his dreams over the years. Gorgeous? Yes! Handles like a dream? Yep. Fast? Ummmmm... hell yeah!