Adventures of an old 914-6, Keeping it in the family and making memories Options

[vintage914racer]

As a regular lurker, and occasional forum participant (primarily when I find myself in a pickle and need to "phone a friend") I've always enjoyed ongoing build and "keeping them on the road and running" threads. So in an effort to do the same for myself, and perhaps prevent haphazardly ad hoc and disjointed threads for projects and updates, I figured I'd try to pull things together into my own, ongoing thread.

This thread is about "Speedy," my 1970 factory 914-6. The car has spent more time off the road than on, but as of late I've proclaimed it's the year of Speedy and started tackling a long list of updates. Before we get into those details, here's a bit about Speedy...

My memories with Speedy go back the the mid-80's when I was a pudgy four or five year old. Back when safety was more of a suggestion than a requirement, I'd often tag along in the front seat between my mom and dad on backroad blasts and the occasional trip up to Brainerd International Raceway when IMSA used to run up there.

Why the name "Speedy?" Well I suppose because as a kid I saw the 180mph speedy, felt my dad's right foot initiate some speedy acceleration, and perhaps because I distinctly remember my mom, in the passenger seat look up from what she was reading, glance at the speedo and shriek upon the realization that we were doing 120mph. By 1980s perspective, particularly that of a 6 year old, the car was Speedy. By today's standards? I'm not sure. But it sure is fun. And for the record, I'm not typically one to name a car, but apparently I was as a youth. And its stuck.

Here's she is, for reference...



It's worth noting that my Dad bought Speedy after he overcame a horrible battle with blood cancer (where they initially gave him 60 days to live). After paying off some truly excessive hospital bills that piled up during his better part of a year spent in the hospital, Speedy was his "I kicked Cancer's ass" celebratory purchase. He bought it at Carousel Porsche Audi in Golden Valley, MN, and perhaps not by coincidence, when I was a teenager I kicked off 10 years of employment at that very same dealership.

Stay tuned for more about our early years with Speedy and my journey as caretaker...

[Freezin 914]

Not sure how I missed this thread until tonight, but a great story! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[vintage914racer]

Not sure how I missed this thread until tonight, but a great story! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

Thanks! Glad you found it.

So, when we last left off I had got the LR wheel bearing replaced and everything buttoned up. Since I had so much fun replacing the bearing, I figured I'd continue the fun and tackle the wheel bearing on the RR corner. But I decided to postpone it for a couple of days.

When I finally stopped procrastinating I convinced my apprentice to endure a few minutes in the garage and just maybe learn a little something about mechanics. Also busted knuckles and perhaps broken automotive dreams. If you're wondering what the deal is with the straw hat, don't ask me. It somehow arrived on a shelf in the garage years ago only to be found by my son. Some people have thinking caps...I suppose this is his garage hat.



As we dug in further it became apparent that this bearing hadn't been touched in a while and clearly needed replacing.



I managed to keep my apprentice interest long enough to help remove the bearing retaining plate, then he darted back inside to the comfort of the air conditioning.



Check out that filth and grime...



Not sure how long this bearing has been in there, but it wouldn't surprise me if it dated back to 1970.



After spending a couple of nights nestled between some frozen chicken breasts and what was left of the ice cream sandwiches, I rescued the new bearing from the freezer and popped it into the cleaned-up bearing housing.



You'll have to use your imagination to visualize how everything else went back together. Rest assured it all went back together with relative ease.

I had to wait until the next day to give the new bearings a maiden voyage. My neighbor pals love to comedically post on Nextdoor about my loud car if I leave after dark, and I didn't want to dare let their potential posts interfere with the latest "is it a coyote, fox or wolf" post from the unofficial Nextdoor neighborhood watch committee.