dansvan AK907 build thread Options

[dansvan]

Hello all. Thought I'd post some pics along the way to maybe help provide some ideas and thoughts for others on their current or future builds. Building it how I want, as each builder should.

I live In Eagle River, Alaska. About 15 mins outside of Anchorage, our largest city. Still... more people have been at a single concert in Central Park in New York than live in our entire state.

I purchased this 72 from a member on here that drug it out of the woods in Fairbanks. Fairbanks is 360 miles away and is our second largest city. I drove up and got it last summer. For an Alaskan car it actually was in remarkable condition, probably due to the drier climate up there.

Heres a few pics to start with.
Former owner bringing it home.






pics he sent me of its condition

[dansvan]

Heres a pic of me bringing it home.

[flmont]

I like the motor home..also !!

[dansvan]

I like the motor home..also !!

Thanks! 78 Sportscoach. We love that thing.

I'm not real good at taking pics in the process of working on the 914. I'll post what I do have up to this point when I get a chance. I really struggle with posting pis of my projects because I feel a lot of people are "look at me" and "i'm so cool" "please accept me" with their pic posting. I could honestly care less what others opinions of my thought process and work are. But I do get alot of ideas and inspiration from this board and others and thought I'd post some of the build in the event it may help others.

[Cracker]

Double post...sorry!

T

[Cracker]

Welcome our Northern friend! I dig the Motorhome too...its "younger" than your teener! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Tony

[dansvan]

Heres an earlier pic. At this point all the factory sound deadening has been removed from the floor. A few small holes patched, primed with rustoleum, painted with rustoleum, and covered in new sound deadening. Pass side seat mounts were replaced. The front rotors were turned, BMW 320 front calipers and pads installed, new larger master cylinder, upgraded tie rod ends, new front struts, the hole in the front trunk floor welded closed where the ac was previously installed. Stainless brake lines replaced the rubber pieces. The tires were mounted and that rear flare is just sitting there for mock up. Ended up using different flares. I think I had started on the hell hole too at that point. Broken windshield was removed and new one is sitting safely in storage.

[Mueller]

wow, Alaska? Not going to see many other 914s up there for sure.

Those tires look good on there, should be a fun car when done.

[dansvan]

Yep. Don't see a lot of them that's for sure.

Here's a pic of the hell hole repaired. Sheet metal welded in, mixed rustoleum primer with some Acetone in a spray bottle and just hosed everything down till it ran out the bottom. Sprayed it in any nook and crannie I could find.


Here's a pic of a front flare being mocked up. I installed the lower front spoiler. Not sure I'll leave it on. I'm bolting the flares on, that look suits me better.

[dansvan]

Here's the 14mm studs I'm using along with the open ended lug nuts. The fronts are longer than the tears as I'll be using a small spacer to move the wheel out closer to the flare lip. You can see the larger BMW calipers as well.

[dansvan]

Here's another pic. I hammered out the dents in the bumper, more rustoleum primer and satin black paint. I reinstalled the bumper cap it came with. I used door edge guard on the flare edges. Looks better to me than welting. Stainless socket head bolts to hold them on.

[dansvan]

Here's a pic of the fender cut out. I used rivnuts to thread the fasteners holding the flares on into.

[dansvan]

Another flare pic.

[ndfrigi]

Nice progress sir!

The wheels installed seems exactly from my previous project car that is owned now by Mark S.




now looks like this after 2 years of work by sir Mark S. It came back to my place after 2 yrs and helped him fixed the engine and now it is driveable.

[AZBanks]

You are not going to win any concours and the purists may scoff at it but I like what you have done so far. It looks like a car meant to be driven. I can't wait to see the combination of the bolt on flares with the wheels you have once it is on the ground. Setting the right ride height will do a lot to make or break how it looks in the end.

[dansvan]

I agree on the wheels. I'm hoping the finished product will be to my liking as I do like the wheels and they fit the "look" I'm after. Kind of a barn find type of car that was built in the eighties and then put away wet. I dig the cars scars. The places it's scratched and worn. The faded paint and the imperfections that all tell a story. I know it sat in the Alaskan woods forgotten for a long time. But before that? Was it driven to Ak? If so, when? My folks drove up here in 1971. That road was gravel the entire way. There are a lot of really fine examples of close to perfect 914s and I admire all of them. I just want that well worn leather jacket look combined with the look of what I would have done with what was available back then.

If these 14" and 15" wheels just don't pull it off I may put some (GASP) phone dials on it...

Oh, and just a cool side note I think, these wheels are Carroll Shelby wheels. Kinda neat. I got them off of a Porsche powered Cimbria kit car.

[Chris H.]

Those wheels look great. 15" are fine and make for a decently smooth ride. Caroll Shelby made some nice aftermarket wheels for the 914. They also made a set of pretty aggressive looking 8 spoke wheels that were fairly wide too. Another cool option would be centerlines. Most people have at least 2 sets of wheels (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) .

What's the engine plan?

[dansvan]

I'm thinking Chryser 2.2 Turbo II that I have sitting in the corner. The 1.7 the car came with will need to be soaked for awhile to get the pistons loose. The 1.8 that I have is in decent condition and I am slowly gathering parts for a turbo build on it. Just got word that the 1.8 heads were cracked around the plug holes, to go with its sunken intake seats. Go figure. Meanwhile I have the KEP adapter and clutch assy for the 2.2 from an earlier project. 200 easy hp with minimal muss or fuss. We shall see.

[dansvan]

Got the rear rotors turned, calipers rebuilt and new pads installed. Put the stainless brake hoses on and good parking brake cables from my donor car. New 140lb springs and struts installed. I ended up using 11" flares from Rennspeed as the 9" ones wouldn't cover the tire/wheel combo. I'm also installing Boxster air scoops to feed the radiator on the driver side and intercooler on the pass side. Here's some more pics.

[dansvan]