914-6/904 project begins Options

[sixnotfour]

Adam, you have to admit , those first Cut pics are pretty ......

carry on, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) its your 914, or was (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

[Unobtanium-inc]

Adam, you have to admit , those first Cut pics are pretty ......

carry on, (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) its your 914, or was (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)

Yeah, it was a little scary, but I feel like I have kind of crossed the Rubicon and there is a certain relief and freedom in that. I was hoping to get some more work done this week, but I'm hitting the road again tomorrow, have to pick up a 60 Roadster down south.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Found some time yesterday to get some cutting done. I was able to start playing with lowering the rear shock towers. The side oil tank might be a problem. I was hoping to leave it alone but it looks like I might have to move it inwards, so the rear body work can clear. I ran out of day, but at least I got some time in.

[Mueller]

Any progress in the last few weeks?

I take it you've seen this guys website for his 904 build?

http://members.shaw.ca/p904/

[Unobtanium-inc]

Yeah, that's who I got my body from.

I broke away from getting cars out the door and spent part of yesterday and all of today fitting the tail. I was hoping to get away with not having to move the oil tank, but it was just in the wrong spot, so it is now moved.
I had to do some more trimming on the rear and the Supertraps were at the wrong angle, so I removed them for the time being. I'll either modify the angle later or get new ones. My new problem is the rain hats on the carbs are too high. I played around with ideas and I think the simplest thing to do is take off the velocity stacks and cut down the air filer, lowering the whole rain hat, it's worth a try anyway. The worst that could happen is I ruin two air cleaners.
It was good to get back on the project, the 550 build was sucking up all my extra time.

[wingnut86]

Good work so far. Enjoy the feed immensely...

[Cracker]

Adam - So after all that crap and alternative solutions being sought, you've ended up cutting the IMSA car to bits? Really? Wow.

Tony

[Unobtanium-inc]

Adam - So after all that crap and alternative solutions being sought, you've ended up cutting the IMSA car to bits? Really? Wow.

Tony

Tony-
I have to say I'm impressed, in a world where people never live up to their nick-names, but you do!
Ok, so I'll bite.
When a few people expressed outrage at my plan for the car I offered anyone who was interested two choices.
1. Trade me their six conversion.
2. Buy mine for enough for me to replace it.

No one offered to trade me a running and driving car. No one offered to buy my car for enough to replace it. And the last chance was one person expressed interest in it and asked for a few alternatives on how to buy it. I gave him 3 which I felt were very reasonable. This was a solution worked out behind the scenes on this board. I presented the choices and never heard anything back. Months went by before I actually started cutting on the car.
So, Tony, what would you have done? Lost thousands of dollars? Given the car away? No one with a comparable car wanted to trade, or take a hit on their car. Before I bought this one I tried to buy several from people on this board and all the cars I was offered were not finished projects that were all double what I paid for this car. So if no one in the 914 World wants to take a hit, why should I?

Now can we get back to my build now, I don't think there is really anything else to be said, the car has been chopped and on it's way into becoming the 904. I have reached the point of no return, so moving forward, if you don't agree with this project, don't click on it, it's really that simple.

[r_towle]

With all that cutting, I sure hope you plan to close up some panels so it sort of looks right....or sort of complete. I assume you will build a cage for structure....but damn, seems like you should just cut the back all the way off....start with just tubing...I would

You might be able to put in the 964 (I think) rear suspension on a decent tube section for the rear....and eliminate the 914 rear suspension, which sucks anyways...

From what I have seen, the 964 uses uppper and lower control arms all mounted to horizontal tubes....

It might be a lot (tons) easier to line that up, then weld the tubes to the 914 at the firewall....



rich

[Unobtanium-inc]

With all that cutting, I sure hope you plan to close up some panels so it sort of looks right....or sort of complete. I assume you will build a cage for structure....but damn, seems like you should just cut the back all the way off....start with just tubing...I would

You might be able to put in the 964 (I think) rear suspension on a decent tube section for the rear....and eliminate the 914 rear suspension, which sucks anyways...

From what I have seen, the 964 uses uppper and lower control arms all mounted to horizontal tubes....

It might be a lot (tons) easier to line that up, then weld the tubes to the 914 at the firewall....



rich

R-
Do you mean under the bodywork? Or the bodywork itself? The body wraps most of the car, as you can see on the mock up chassis. Most of what will be done underneath will be for strength, as far as making it look 904, that will be tough, they have a completely different suspension setup and frame. I quickly learned this was going to be a look replica, not an exact one. But luckily just like when the guy came up to me at a show and after looking at my 356 commented that he couldn't live with those flat floors, he would change them if it was his car. I told him that "I can see the floors when I'm driving, and that's what I do with my cars, drive them"
So with this car I'm not getting too crazy with what it looks like under the skin.
I do like the tube idea though!

[r_towle]

Not intended to give you shut, just saying I hope you have a plan to finish off underneath so when you open the rear deck up it has a good appearance.....no need to be stock, just done.

Again, tubes in the rear may just make this easier....

[Unobtanium-inc]

Not intended to give you shut, just saying I hope you have a plan to finish off underneath so when you open the rear deck up it has a good appearance.....no need to be stock, just done.

Again, tubes in the rear may just make this easier....

You may be onto something my friend, I've only just started down the path.

[r_towle]

Somebody on here, might be the Audi turbo build, did a 964 rear suspension....
It looks like a rectangle off the firewall with tubing, simple to lay out, simple to keep square....

Do some searching...it's worth the look, it's a tube framed car, but for your project I was just seeing it make sense in the rear....

[r_towle]

Here is the teaser, but some discussion on a Miata rear suspension...
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...0Audi&st=30

Then the detailed build
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...p;#entry1534277

[mgp4591]

Somebody on here, might be the Audi turbo build, did a 964 rear suspension....
It looks like a rectangle off the firewall with tubing, simple to lay out, simple to keep square....

Do some searching...it's worth the look, it's a tube framed car, but for your project I was just seeing it make sense in the rear....

Wasn't that a V8 car he was building then ended up selling it off?

[Unobtanium-inc]

Ok, I said enough was enough and threw my phone in the toilet today and said,
"I'm working on my car!!!"
I have to say it was very satisfying to get back on it, I think I'm going to do the same tomorrow.
My latest hurdle was once I got the rear end dry fitted it was sitting too high. I couldn't lower the motor and I didn't want to give up running Weber's so I consulted with my mechanic on what my options were. After putting our heads together we decided if we took out the velocity stacks we could lower the rain hats. While I would lose a few horsepower the car has plenty to spare. Once decided on this course I had to figure out how to do it. I cut the K&N filer in half and it fit well and then I took the studs the rain hats sit on and trimmed them. This involved hacksawing and JB welding. Once I prove this as a working system I will probably get K&N to make me the correct height air cleaners and maybe make better rain hat studs, though these may work. With that done the rear end was fitting at a much better angle. The other option we toyed with was running the velocity stacks out of the body like a 906, but with the rear grill it would have been awkward.
Once this was done I started on cutting the sheet metal off the front but ran out of day. Tomorrow will be a little dull, it will take me awhile to dis-mantle the fire suppression system and take out the fuel cell. I don't think the out-dated fire system will be missed and the fuel cell is huge, like something you would need to run the Dakar Rally. I figure after lunch I can start getting the rest of the sheet metal gone and hopefully if I'm real lucky I can pack up and get the shocks off to Elephant Racing for their haircuts. After that I'm out of time, hitting the road again on Monday, picking up a very cool and rare 356, so rare I've never had one like it before.

[Unobtanium-inc]

Ran out of day and the fire system took some slow brain work to figure out how to get it out. It was still fully pressurized so I didn't want a face full of Halon. It came out in one piece, I'll take it to Hershey this year to see if anyone can't live without it. Also got the massive fuel cell. The rest of the day was taken up with measurements, figuring out where to trim the front and how much can be saved. When I chopped the test body I wasn't really thinking about how much to leave since I just wanted to see if the body would fit. Now that I want to save as much of the original body as possible and want to save as much structure as I can the cuts are getting much more deliberate and surgical.

Hopefully I can make more time next week.

[Larmo63]

Most of us here are probably holding our tongues on what we think about what you did to this historic IMSA car. I started out thinking that you could basically do whatever you wanted with your own car(s). After seeing the destruction, I've completely changed my mind.

I think this looks like a full on abortion. You could have cut apart ANY old 914 to make this mess, for that matter.

What you did to this historic car is a disgrace. The Porsche Gods will not bless this tragedy.

Go take a selfie.

[Cracker]

What a shame that that the only thing left of a historic race car is a POS. I tried (along with others I am sure) to make Adam "more than whole" in an attempt to save this race car (and restore it to its former glory) from the demolition we now see unfolding before our eyes. He was more interested in doubling his purchase price (yada, yada, yada)...it was both his RIGHT and his decision to move forward. It was also a horrible decision on his part to actually follow-through with the "transformation to nothing" as we can all clearly now see (and already knew). Nothing has been gained by doing this but everything has been lost...

The results I see here are utterly abysmal. So sad. No holding back my tongue here...

Tony

PS: The "hacksaw" and "Sawsall" pictures Adam posted couldn't be more accurate - a true clusterfuck of monumental proportions!

Adam - So after all that crap and alternative solutions being sought, you've ended up cutting the IMSA car to bits? Really? Wow.

Tony

[sb914]

Most of us here probably are holding our tongues on what we think about what you did to this historic IMSA car. I started out thinking that you could basically do whatever you wanted with your own car(s). After seeing the destruction, I've completely changed my mind.

I think this looks like a full on abortion. You could have cut apart ANY old 914 to make this mess for that matter.

What you did to this historic car is a disgrace. The Porsche Gods will not bless this tragedy.

Go take a selfie.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif) with ALL the resources he has,Could have used any old beater.