Intro from Montana: '73 2.0L rustoration thread Options

[914_7T3]

Getting so close (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

That's what I was going to say......


Looking Great and Almost there!!!

[bbrock]

I'm going to skip details to get caught up. There's been a flurry of activity and I haven't done a great job taking pics.

Issues with the 914Rubber roll bar pads have been documented in a couple other threads and they are working on a fix. I couldn't wait so did a bit of carving and got it to work. It isn't perfect, but still a big improvement over my original cracked pad.



Last weekend I hooked up the little ground wire trick to fire up the fuel pump.



Turned on the key and nothing happened. I was getting 12 volts at the pump, but the original 3-port pump that I had bench tested a couple months ago is locked up for some reason. No sense fiddling with a sketchy pump, so I ordered a new Bosch pump which arrived on Friday. Of course the new pump is a 2-port inline, so I got to crawl under the car for some re-plumbing. Cramped quarters but not too hard. The return line and Y- fitting came out and the return hard line was routed straight to the tank.



Then the pump was plumbed and wired. The cool little hard to find original pump plug came off along with the NOS boot I had shipped all the way from Latvia. I made up a little jumper harness with period correct connectors.



And the new pump is installed. Now turning the key gives the most satisfying little whir. I realize I have a crappy hose clamp on the pump inlet. That inlet is a weird size that a 3/8" hose will barely stretch over and this was the only clamp I had on hand that was large enough. It will do for testing but will get replaced.



First drink in 35 years.



Moving to the rear, I had to re-fabricate the bracket for the pressure regulator to drop it to a lower position so it didn't interfere with vacuum lines. No pics. I also connected all the fuel hose in the rear and fired up the pump. No leaks up front but there were a few drips in the rear, mostly from not tightening the hose clamps far enough. The plugs on the carb fuel inlet filters were also leaking, so I dabbed them with some aeronautic sealant and re-tightened. With the leaks plugged, I adjusted the fuel pressure to 3.5 psi.



Then a bunch of futzing around. Checking fittings. Setting static timing. The Pertronix III was hard to static time because it didn't zero out my DMM like regular points do when they make contact. I could hear it spark when it went past the trigger point though so set it there. I wound up pulling the carbs off for a final clean just to make sure no crap found its way into the combustion chambers. A whole bunch of other stuff done just checking and double checking. Finally, I was out of excuses so this happened.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFkiGmbiPCE


It runs like crap. The timing is clearly off, but I managed to run the cam break-in sequence. Then I adjusted the timing a little by ear and got it to run somewhat more smoothly and even idle (roughly) without backfiring. I didn't want to run it too much more before changing the oil and filter so will do that before putting a timing light on to set the timing and then tuning the carbs. There is still that air cleaner to deal with and I have a plan. Of course, I do have an oil leak. The #3 exhaust push rod tube is leaking at the head. I used 914Rubber's viton seals and the fancy O-ring grease. All the others are dry as a bone, but there had to be that one. At least it is one that can come out without dropping the engine. Anyway, just 13 days past her 48th birthday, she has a heartbeat again! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dance.gif)

[Dion]

Bloody fantastic!!! Happy for ya mate! A little bit more tinkering and you are there.
Congrats. Yes that was quite the fireworks show. Glad that towel didn’t catch.
Better get one of Garolds engine bay covers to protect that fab paint.
Again congrats buddy (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[930cabman]

"First drink in 35 years", it's been a long road indeed.

Congrats, soon you will be rolling down the road

[Superhawk996]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/dance.gif)

Nice job - gotta be a good feeling!

Next order of business . . . Can't wait to see a video of your car on the road!

[jaredmcginness]

And another huge line checked off the whiteboard for this car!

[mb911]

Looks great. Happy to see your almost caught up. I have had a bunch of teething issues and still working through that.

[Arno914]

My name is Brent and I’m new to 914 World but certainly not to 914s. My 1973 2.0L has being lying dormant and neglected for over thirty years now...

Long way since then. I followed your story with great interest, thank you for the effort of sharing. Congratulations! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Cairo94507]

It's alive! Congratulations on hearing it run after 35 years. Truly amazing work and I look forward to the driving video. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[bbrock]

Bloody fantastic!!! Happy for ya mate! A little bit more tinkering and you are there.
Congrats. Yes that was quite the fireworks show. Glad that towel didn’t catch.
Better get one of Garolds engine bay covers to protect that fab paint.
Again congrats buddy (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Thanks all. I don't think it has sunk in yet that I have a running engine. It has been a long road indeed. A lot of progress made but I don't think I'm any less clueless now than when I wrote that first line in this thread. Thanks all for taking the journey with me.

Yes, I was watching that towel closely and had a fire extinguisher at the ready. The towel was to protect the roll bar paint from the cobbled together string that substituted for an accelerator cable. I'm waiting for Perry to have another batch of Garold's Mom's service blankets ready. In the mean time, I have a moving blanket I throw over the rear deck and clip to the front edge of the trunk lid when working back there.

A huge oversight was that I neglected to snap a photo of @mb911 's muffler mounted on the rear but I will remedy that soon. The loud pings at the end of the video as the car begins to cool down are from the muffler cooling from its first heat cycle.

[tygaboy]

Brent - You've done it! Not that we had any doubts. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)
Nervous making when you're working up to that first fire, or in your case, multiple fires! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy11.gif)

Gigantic congrats and THANKS for all your reference-level documentation of the journey.

Would there be value in having a "sticky" for worthy build threads? If so, Brent's gets my vote.

Now, you only have through page 99 to get a first drive! Go, go GO!

[ndfrigi]

[quote name='bbrock' date='Apr 18 2021, 10:10 PM' post='2909111']
I'm going to skip details to get caught up. There's been a flurry of activity and I haven't done a great job taking pics.

Issues with the 914Rubber roll bar pads have been documented in a couple other threads and they are working on a fix. I couldn't wait so did a bit of carving and got it to work. It isn't perfect, but still a big improvement over my original cracked pad.



Last weekend I hooked up the little ground wire trick to fire up the fuel pump.



Turned on the key and nothing happened. I was getting 12 volts at the pump, but the original 3-port pump that I had bench tested a couple months ago is locked up for some reason. No sense fiddling with a sketchy pump, so I ordered a new Bosch pump which arrived on Friday. Of course the new pump is a 2-port inline, so I got to crawl under the car for some re-plumbing. Cramped quarters but not too hard. The return line and Y- fitting came out and the return hard line was routed straight to the tank.



Then the pump was plumbed and wired. The cool little hard to find original pump plug came off along with the NOS boot I had shipped all the way from Latvia. I made up a little jumper harness with period correct connectors.



And the new pump is installed. Now turning the key gives the most satisfying little whir. I realize I have a crappy hose clamp on the pump inlet. That inlet is a weird size that a 3/8" hose will barely stretch over and this was the only clamp I had on hand that was large enough. It will do for testing but will get replaced.




I think this kind of filter you need.

[bbrock]

I think this kind of filter you need.

Thanks. I looked into that but that filter won't work well with the new pump because the outlet on the filter is smaller than the inlet on the pump. The original pump had a 8mm (~5/16") inlet so the filter doubled as reducer to adapt the larger 9.5mm (~3/8") supply line from the tank to the pump. The filter I have (NAPA Gold) has 3/8" nipples on both sides which fits better. It is rated for FI although I don't really need an FI filter since I'm running carbs at 3.5 psi, but NAPA does make this same filter with a metal canister for a dollar more. If I ever go back to FI, I will run that for extra measure. I opted for the plastic version for now so I could monitor how well the fuel is flowing (as a check for hose kinks etc. ) and see what is coming out of the tank for the first few hundred miles.

I have a second filter in the engine bay in the original stock location that I will eventually swap out for the stock filter you posted because I do have an adapter fitting to reduce the 3/8" supply line coming out of the tunnel to 5/16" to connect to the hard lines running up through the engine shelf. Switching to the stock filter will let me eliminate the adapter and reduce the number of connections that could fail.

[KELTY360]

Kudos Brent! Not only have you worked through a myriad of thorny issues, seemingly unfixable glitches and esoteric quandries; but you've documented them to the benefit of serious restorers and slackers alike.....what an achievement!

However, I have to agree with the sentiments expressed regarding that three mile gravel road you must traverse to get to modern pavement. Sure, my Syncro Westy handled the ruts, puddles and washboard without incident, but I still winced at the sound of stones bouncing off my undercarriage. I think you're underestimating the psychological angst you'll experience as you listen to the rattling of debris attacking the underside of that pristine work of art. Fortunately you have a support group here to help you get over the trauma. We're here for you bud.

[bbrock]

Kudos Brent! Not only have you worked through a myriad of thorny issues, seemingly unfixable glitches and esoteric quandries; but you've documented them to the benefit of serious restorers and slackers alike.....what an achievement!

However, I have to agree with the sentiments expressed regarding that three mile gravel road you must traverse to get to modern pavement. Sure, my Syncro Westy handled the ruts, puddles and washboard without incident, but I still winced at the sound of stones bouncing off my undercarriage. I think you're underestimating the psychological angst you'll experience as you listen to the rattling of debris attacking the underside of that pristine work of art. Fortunately you have a support group here to help you get over the trauma. We're here for you bud.

Ha ha. I've said it before but you had the good luck of driving this road during a 20 year historic low point in its maintenance. I won't go through the details of the perfect storm of events that caused it, but I will agree that the road you drove on was brutal, and not at all acceptable. The following year wasn't much better, but we (the road district) have been playing catch up and have a ways to go, but luckily, the road has been improving. The raptor on the undercarriage is tough stuff. We'll survive. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif)

[930cabman]

1915 posts, what an adventure

[Morph914]

Wow!!! Congrats on a job well done. That had to be both nerve racking and exciting at the same time to turn that key.
Thank you for all the time spent to post your journey, I have referred to it often.
I hope to be where your at in a couple of months.

Cheers,
John

[914_7T3]

Brent, just watched the start-up video and another major milestone along the journey achieved!

Other than laying down color after the bodywork, this is another "BIG ONE", congratulations!!!

Getting closer to (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[bigkensteele]

Fantastic job!! One step closer.

Glad to know that mine is not the only one that pops, tinks, clicks, clinks and clacks for a few minutes after it is shut off.

[dr.tim]

Well, it seems an eastward trip is in my future.

Good work, friend.