'73 Resto & Suby 6 Conversion, or a primer on "How to convert your 914 to a Subaru 3.0" Options

[76-914]

What's it been? A year since I got Blackie running. I finally get it tuned to a daily driver status and should have been happy as a Lark then but what do I do? I sold the engine (w/90 hour's on the Hobbs) on the last Dawn Patrol GMR run. So I pulled the engine and began preparing Blackie for her transformation.


Before I go any further check out my Jack Stands. Min height 19.5", 12 ton and should hold up to a 6.7 quake or direct nuclear attack.


And out she comes.




One thing you have to love about these cars is that you can remove an interior in 15 minutes. 30 min's if you have a console. This was one shot before the interior is gutted.

and an hour later I'm scraping tar floorboards.

[76-914]

So after a couple of hours this is what I found beneath the tar. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) A little surface rust that should brush off with a cup brush. I did not skin the tunnel as it is above any suspect areas and I have looked inside the tunnel before with a camera. The two floorboards together yielded 9.8 lb's of tar.
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[76-914]

So the pans look great but look what I found. I had heard that these engine/firewall blankets were nothing but a water trap and now I'm a believer. I guess I should be happy that this is as bad as it gets. Just a little more (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smash.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif) . BTW, is the firewall 16 or 18ga? Here are 2 pic's of the R side:


And the R side:




It's going to be colder than a well diggers ass in January the next few days so I may lay off the car a few days but after it's cleaned, primed it's time for the Engman Kit.

['73-914kid]

Only 90 hours on the engine..? I think I have somewhere around 230 hours on my engine since you gave me that hobbs meter, and I've had the meter installed for half as long as the motor was in your car.. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wacko.gif)


Good to see you making progress on this though Kent. I want a ride once it's finished (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[mrbubblehead]

Whats your plan Kent?

[76-914]

Plan? I knew I forgot something, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif) The plan, quite simply put, is more power.
A 6 cyl, most likely a 3.3 Suby as SVX's are plentiful and cheap or 3.0 with a Suby 5-6 speed trans, A/C and a suspension upgrade in a narrow bodied sleeper. I'm not ruling out a 3.2 w/ Motronic but I doubt one of those is going to land on my plate. Keep in mind that I have CSOB eating habits. The other part of my plan is to educate myself and to have fun while I'm doing it. I look at my '73 as a blank slate awaiting my decision. But no matter which route I go I need to install this Engman kit and some of RacerChris' reinforcement parts.

[76-914]

Before the fitting can happen I need to locate the weld areas so they can be cleaned and prepped. A black felt tip works but a white one would have been better with a black paint job. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif)



I needed to remove a bit of the polyurethane foot material now or put the fire out later.



With all the weld areas marked it is just a matter of hitting it with a steel cup brush.



Just about then Ceasar (phatt911)pulls up with Dave (silverinsocal) and his brother-in-law to help me with my conversion. You see, I needed to sell my 4 cylinder as I now have no use for it. Beside it was time. I had 90.2 hr's on it since rebuild. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) No worries. I enjoy the build more than the ride. And with all this new work I should be one happy guy for the next year or so. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) So adios engine y vaya con Dios, Ceasar.

[76-914]

So, weld areas are sanded, cleaned and hit with some Weld thru Primer.


Now the pieces can begin to be fitted. All seam sealer needs to be removed before they fit correctly. And in my case just a tad bit of trimming of the piece(s).

[76-914]

There are places that need to be bent or formed and it looks like I will need to do a few spot welds before I begin manipulating the pieces for final fit. The parts are pre cut to allow easy bending and forming. You can see the slots in the pieces that allow this.

[Cairo94507]

Nice work and pictures. Keep 'em coming please.

[Chris H.]

Awesome. I need to do an Engman kit myself. You'll be ahead of me in a week!

[76-914]

Awesome. I need to do an Engman kit myself. You'll be ahead of me in a week!

I think not. Your way ahead of me. Hey Chris, IYDM, how much did your 3.3 and related goodies cost? Are you going MR 2 or Mitsu for your shifter?

[Chris H.]

Sure no prob. I have learned that no matter how cheap you think it will be ...it will always fall into line with most other options.

The car was $600. It was mechanically great but cosmetically not so good. I was able to drive it home which was a plus. Most important thing is to listen and observe the engine...when you start it, it should idle about 1500 or so, then settle to a very even idle of 800ish. Watch the temp and look under it for leaks. You should be able to tell if it's strong or not. Expect to change the seals unless you get lucky like BIGKAT and find one that is practically new. These leak oil just like 911 engines after a while.

At this point the stuff has totaled:

Car - $600
WRX Trans and flywheel - $800
coldwaterconversions stuff (everything but the hard engine mounts) $1375
Custom exhaust and related goodies, plus another mount - $350
Engine seals, timing belt, spark plugs, etc ~$400ish
1990-1992 Honda Accord shifter - $40 shipped

Still need radiator hoses, cable shift linkage, cables, some CV joints, a clutch disc, slave cylinder, etc. Probably another $800 or so.

Keep in mind that you can part out the SVX and recoup some costs. All of the small stuff can be sold (switches, controls, mirrors, interior stuff, lenses). The differentials, axles/cv's and most importantly a good trans are worth $. Also the leather interiors are very desirable. SVXWorld.com is a good place to sell stuff. Just wait til I am done (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (Kidding, it doesn't matter there are several part-outs on there now). A metal scrapper paid $150 for the shell. I'll sell my current TIV engine, side shift trans, linkage, etc. (hey side shift conversion people!)and should be looking pretty good. I will also do a 5 lug conversion. Already bought the wheels. Got a great line on the rest as well... I figure the net will be $6k ish...so let's call it $12k. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

The cool thing about the SVX is it's very powerful in stock form so you can use most of the stock components as well as the niceties like air cond, real heater, etc. You can also use the fuel pump which makes it convenient. And they are pretty cheap. They are extremely similar to 914's. Manufactured roughly the same number of years, quirky but cool, a little too expensive when new, all years are identical shells with small cosmetic revisions each year. They are in the same place 914's were in the late '90's...lots of part-outs, not a lot of love, small following of fanatics... weird....

[76-914]

Thx Chris. Great info. I didn't know about the Honda shifter so I'll be watching your thread. Bigcat is a wealth of info for sure. I'll end up PM'ing him to death before this is over. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif)

Edit: ordered the 5" firewall section from Restoration Design. I'm glad they are an active member here because that "shipping quoted after the sale" would have scared the crap out of me, otherwise.

[Chris H.]

Yeah even if mine takes too long and costs too much it's been worth it to get to know so many talented people.

Good luck with the firewall replacement. At least you found it before it did any damage to the floors.

[Elliot Cannon]

You actually trust those jack stands?? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/screwy.gif)

[Dasnowman]

There are places that need to be bent or formed and it looks like I will need to do a few spot welds before I begin manipulating the pieces for final fit. The parts are pre cut to allow easy bending and forming. You can see the slots in the pieces that allow this.

How are you going to weld it to prevent unibody warping and the gaps getting mis-aligned?

I was thinking of just doing the spot and stitch welding. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ar15.gif)

[76-914]

Now that this Artic cold spell has passed I was able to get a few hours in towards installing the stiffies. I think that sounds current, don't you? I mean no one says vegetables anymore. It's always veggies. So why should they be called stiffners. I suppose one would have to be careful and reference each as a "right or left' stiffie while never using the generic term "a long stiffie". I decided before I began welding I should prep the floors for paint. I pulled the pedal assm and it was junky looking but not as bad as it looks here. It will clean up nicely should it be needed.


The pedal area had a little surface rust but it's a bitch to grind in that area so I phosfo'd it after a light brushing and then shot some primer/sealer on it.

[76-914]

A few shots of the rear stiffie after most of the welds on the face but before the top piece is bent over and welded.



And after the top tab is bent and welded in a few more spots. That's as far as I'm going today but there will be a few more welds/grinding then on to the "right long stiffie".

[Jeffs9146]

OK this is the first time I have seen this thread and I have to say it........don't climb under the car on those jack stands!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

This is a must read! Jack Stands