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]

The moment of truth on the first start up.

and my first drive.

The car was finished, and it was spectacular!

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699735988.1.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699735988.2.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699735988.3.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699735988.4.jpg)

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699735988.5.jpg)

I finished it off with a sticker that inspired my build.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699739136.1.jpg)

At Rennsport many years back, I met Don Leatherwood, who was Brumos' racing crew chief and responsible for their many cars including the many #59 914-6s. I talked at length with Don about 914s and my project - probably one of the nicest guys, and he introduced me to Hurley Haywood who had nice things to say about his time racing in a 914. That, coupled with seeing the Troutman 914, inspired me to choose the 914 as my first Porsche despite everyone else pushing me to get a longhood 911.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i.imgur.com-21443-1699735988.6.jpg)

What's left? Affixing the gold 914 vw emblem on the rear, a few minor teething niggles, and mostly getting enough seat time so I can hit redline. And upholstering a set of speaker grill covers in black leather to hide the air pipes for the heat.

Lots of folks to thank along the way here:

- Bruce Stone and Rich at 914werke for lots of hard to find bits
- Ben McFarland for the oil tank, heat exchangers, and the muffler (it sounds perfect on this car)
- Mikey and the team at 914Rubber - they came through with many hard to find pieces and their customer service is terrific - this build would be near impossible without their many great parts
- so many in the 914 community for advice and inspiring thread builds
- probably thank my wife too for not asking what it cost (The first number is at least a six and very likely a 7 - there's no shortcuts to a build of this quality.)

My build goal shifted over time when I first started this project. I wanted initially just to do a narrow body 914 conversion that was nicer and less aggressive than my 914 3.2 build (it's a track beast). Over time, as I did more research, I thought it would be cool to build the car Porsche might have built if they continued the 914-6 past 1972. In 1973, they introduced the 2.7 in the 911 Carrera RS, which they continued until 1976 (albeit as an MFI motor in Europe and a CIS motor in the US).

So I thought - how cool if Porsche had built a 914-6 RS touring, which wouldn't be the wide body GT build of the 916 or the Brutus car, but a narrow body, purpose-built touring car. It would have absolutely used the 2.7 of the early G bodied cars, though I doubt it would've ever been offered as a twin plug (that was a racing thing). Once you've driven and heard a twin plug, you can't get that sound out of your head, and that's why I knew I needed to include in my build. My first true experience with a Porsche was as a passenger in Chad McQueen's twin plug 2.5 short stroke, and that sound never leaves you (it was my ring tone for a while).

In the time I started this project, I've added a 74 911s to the garage. Next week, it goes in for an engine swap, from the stock 2.7CIS to a proper 2.7 RS MFI build. Like this build, I'm going for the car that Porsche didn't build - a narrow bodied touring car without the boy-racer wings and hips (very much in the vein of the current GT3 RS Touring). It will be fun to sample that 2.7 MFI and compare to this twin plug 2.7 (and my experience in the 911's current 2.7 CIS, which will be stored as it is numbers matching).