914-6 2.7 Euro RS Twin Plug Project, sleeper 914 with a twin plug surprise Options

[davehg]

New member, long time lurker here. I'll be posting another 914-6 conversion project shortly, but posting a thanks for now for all the great info I've come across here.

I took the easy way into 914-6 ownership - I bought a completed car that was a track car whose PO had done the hard work. This car has a 3.2L engine, injected, with large riveted composite flares, and a pretty austere race-friendly interior with racing seats, roll cage, and little else - not even side windows or carpeting or panels. This car I refer to as the Outlaw - it's a middle finger to the purists and I absolutely love it.

But...I wanted a clean and pretty "cars and coffee" version. There's not a ton of value restoring the Outlaw. The Outlaw's body is fine, but it is purposely built.

I had bought a project from a local Porschephile who had too many nice projects (356, pre-73 911). his goal was originally to do a big Raby 4. He had stripped, prepped, and beautifully painted a really nice shell, and spent a small fortune getting the original bumpers and details correct. He had a set of mint Fuchs 14" wheels, bits and pieces from 2 interiors, and was really only missing the engine and some trim/interior bits. A deal was struck, trailer was hitched, boxes moved, and now it's my problem.

The conversion wisdom here seems to be to go big - 3.0l or more. But I have a big engine car. This is intended to be just a Sunday cruiser, no track time. Plus, I have access to perfectly nice prepped 2.7L that has case guards installed, a 911s cam, and the work mostly done, for a decent price, and it would sound just swell with PMOs. So I am heading this route. I am taking my time with the Pretty Car - not going to be concours but a great looking driver with super clean details, no flares, and more along the lines of an original -6 with a bit more oomph. I'll detail the suspension bits so it looks pretty on a lift, and I need to think through the oil cooling issues - it doesn't get super hot in the PNW but for a few days a year, and if I can avoid the expense of a front mounted cooler and running lines that would be just swell.

At least that's my current plan. We'll see where my budget leads. I have a good start - great primed and painted rust free shell, all the expensive body work complete, an engine lined up, and a clear vision of where I want to go.

Looking forward to the collective input and experience when I get started this winter.

[davehg]

For the interior, I struggled on whether to go completely stock with a back pad, or follow what I did for the 3.2 (Perlon, no back pad). Lots of research and discussion with my interior guy, but I finally decided to go with Lakewell carpet (they are in Belgium and one of the top Porsche interior providers).

I chose the charcoal hargaan velour which is used in the 911, and really makes the interior pop. The quality is on par with 911 OEM and very much an upgrade over stock Porsche 914 stuff I've used, and much more stout than Perlon. It took a while to make it to the states, and I had to email them to get enough fabric for the back pad, which my upholstery shop custom stitched. Note how they covered the center beam and the rear lower B panel gap with vinyl that looks more like leather. We used All City Convertibles, which many Rgruppe folks use in the PNW. Matt, the owner, loves Porsches and has done many cars including several that were in Panorama and Excellence.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699734162.1.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699734163.2.jpg)

Since I have an early car, had to weld in the adjuster to enable the passenger seat to tilt.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699734163.3.jpg)

For the doors, I dropped the idea of using RS doors. I have these in my 3.2 and while they work for that car, this car has more of a touring feel rather than a race car feel. I had a set of AppBiz door panels, but their fit and finish was not up to the rest of the interior standards, so they were recovered and refit.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699734163.4.jpg)

The dash was a fun part. I had earlier found a complete wiring harness on Bay and this was scavenged for the switches and various bits. Went with a mostly stock dash, but decided to do a GT style fuel gauge rather than a multi gauge (I was inspired by Bernie's legendary GT build). Bernie had an angled mount welded up to accept a fuel gauge (though I really wanted to do a silver dot mod - maybe one day), and it turned out awesome as the interior shop was able to mold the basket weave around it.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699734163.5.jpg)

I used 914Rubber parts liberally here, including some of the A and B pillar parts, and the targa pad. I struggled with their dash pad - the early cars may have fitment issues, and there was a sizable gap from the stock knee bar pad with their replacement dash. Mine may be an exception as I see many others without the fitment problem (later cars I think). You can see the bow in the dash pad, and numerous efforts to refit it didn't work.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699734163.6.jpg)


Again, Bernie to the rescue as he sourced an OEM dash that fit perfectly. I didn't have the same issues with the targa bar pads, which fit great and look good, as do the stock visors.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699734163.7.jpg)


I was planning on using the stock seats, but they don't have much lateral support. I do drives with fellow RGruppe guys and we can get a bit spirited, so I looked at various options. GTS Classic is not producing seats any longer (I think they just sell kits now). Then a pair of OEM Scheel Mann seats, reupholstered in original fabric, fell into my lap for a decent price. They look and feel excellent. Note the seatbelts - four point Sparco belts attached using Mittlemotor harness mounts on the rear firewall. I hope to replace the sparco labels with some Repa labels just to be more period correct.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699734803.1.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699734163.8.jpg)