Starting a 1971 IMSA 914 Restoration, A privateer run 914 with Sebring and Daytona history Options

[FourBlades]

I have reached a major milestone: the fuel and oil lines in the front of the car are all
made up and attached for the first time! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Of course, it will all come apart again for painting later...

I did not like the way the fuel system routing was working out. The lines were too
long and I did not like having any fuel system components in front of the fuel cell. So
I took it all apart and did some measuring and mock ups.



I realized I could make it all fit under the cowl, much like how the original builders had
it set up. Here is how it turned out:



Using the old fuel lines I was able to make up all the new lines without having to use
any new AN line, except for the lines connecting to the Tangerine Racing fuel lines with
AN fittings from Chris Foley. I needed several feet of new line for each of those. I can
make the -6 lines with fittings at both ends in about 10 minutes or less (total guess).
I never really timed it but it does not take that long per line.

I will add Adel clamps or bolts to hold each component place. I will attach the fuel
lines in strategic places so nothing can rub on the steering or sway bar, etc.



Here is a diagram of the layout fuel system. I realize if I put the front of the car at
the bottom of the diagram it would match the photos better. You get the idea. The
check valves are there so that if one fuel pump is dead or turned off, the other one
can still pump fuel without it just going back into the fuel cell.



I also changed the routing of the oil lines so that the oil goes through the oil filter
before going to the thermostat and radiator. Someone made that suggestion, can't
recall who, but thanks for the tip. Here is a diagram of the oil line layout.



Really stoked to have this part done.

John

[FourBlades]

Took it all out again to clean up and paint the front trunk area. It only took about an
hour to remove everything with the help of a battery powered impact tool.



Welded all the unneeded holes in the top of the firewall.



You can see the oil cooler shroud I made from sheet aluminum. I started with the
fiberglass shroud available from various sellers. It ended up being too tall and going
too far back to accomodate the larger fuel cell I had ordered. So I made my own with
sheet metal sides with welded on nuts and sheet aluminum top pieces. The front piece
is designed to be removable with the fuel cell in the car to replace the oil cooler if
needed.



John

[FourBlades]

All the oil cooler shroud removed...



Now to clean this all up and paint it with some battleship grey automotive paint.

Working with a local hot rod paint shop. They are trying to match the original silver
and yellow colors on a sample of the body work I left with them. The paint tech first
reaction to the silver was "roofing paint". (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Who knows, that could be what they used. The paint job is pretty skillfully applied with
no runs and very even coverage.

John

[FourBlades]

Boneyard of cutoffs and leftovers from fuel system redesign. Not too much got wasted
and I like the routing and lengths much better. The hose fittings are reusable and will
be needed for the engine bay routing.



Starting to pressure test all the fuel lines. After this photo was taken I went up to 90 psi
without any bubbles forming. I will test all of the components before putting them back
in the car and pouring in actual gasoline.



John

[ThePaintedMan]

So good to see you making progress again, John. Really sorry as I had no idea the challenges you faced over the past few years. Hope we get together sooner rather than later - haven't seen you guys in a long time!

Quick note - might be worth it to inspect those fittings before you reuse them. I know that the o-rings inside of them break down over time and they can be replaced with kits available online. One of them cost a friend a $6k engine!

[914 Ranch]

Gosh, this is so good to see. Thanks for posting, the progress is great and that warms my heart because it tells me that your doing much better. Are you planning on attending any events in the future? I'm going to the Route 66 on the 20th and probably won't be back till after the 4th, going Grand Touring in the GT4, coast to coast and back. Haven't seen those people in 12 years. It will be nice to catch up. I'll make an effort to talk to you when I get home.
Looking forward to seeing you.
Joe

[9146GUY]

John just a suggestion, maybe you already covered it earlier but make sure the oil tank is higher than than the oil pump in the car. Gravity will get oil to the pump that way. Also make sure the feed side from the tank to the engine is -16. It needs to be that size for the length of the run. Return lines can be -12.
I had a customer that I built an engine for and he was going to put it in a 4 conversion to a 6. When he brought me the motor back mostly blown up I asked him where the oil tank was located and guess what. The oil tank was located too low in the car, below the pump.
Good to see an old car being brought back as it was in the day.

[racerbvd]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[FourBlades]

Hey guys thanks for the feedback.

9146Guy: Yes, the oil tank is pretty high in the car, about the level of the standard gas tank in a 914. I am using -16 return line to the engine. Thanks for the tips, keep them coming! I am trying to learn the intricacies of Porsche race car construction from wherever I can. Always eager for more advice.

I am glad I tested all my braided lines. All my hose ends and hoses were good, but the fuel Y block I had leaked like a sieve. Whoever was working that day ran the tap way too far into the block causing the two hose ends to collide and gall each other up:



It felt like the pipe threads were bottoming out and sealing, but really the ends were colliding and messing each other up. I have another y fitting I am using instead.

Painted the front trunk area.



Started to re-install everything.



John

[FourBlades]

Working my way from front to back, trying to seal up the driver's compartment from the front trunk and engine bay. Welded up more holes and primed the footwell area.



All this welding and grinding just takes forever...

WHEEL and TIRE sizes?

I have 12x15 Gottis J55As for the rear wheels. The Yokohama tires on them are another 1.5 inches wider at 13.5 inches and they rub on the inside. Not sure I can space them our any farther. There is a company in France still selling Gotti wheel components, so I may be able to get narrower barrels and seals are rebuild these to be 10x15s. Anyone have any advice on how easy or hard this would be to do?

There are also not many tire choices available in R15 size, looks like Hosier A7 and R7 are about it (345R15). The R7s would be an ok choice I think.

This same French company still sells wheels with a range of sizes and fitments, including R16 size. I am considering going for a set of those maybe 10x16 to increase the range of tires I can get. I want to stay with wheel sizes and style from the late 70s to early 80s and I really like the look of the Gottis.

What are people running on their 914 race cars these days for wheel and tire sizes?

I can use some advice here...

John

[FourBlades]

Link to the source for Gotti wheels:

http://www.gbsalpine.com/wheel/gotti/eng.html

Enjoying the rain today, which is cooling things off.



John

[stownsen914]

Looks like the car is coming along well!

I've heard of that supplier of Gotti parts, but no experience. I recall that at one time Jongbloed used the same rim halves as Gottis. Jongbloed is still around - give them a call.

On my 914 racecar, I run 16 x 11 and 16 x 12.5, but it's not really vintage focused and has really wide bodywork. There may be more options in the 16" sizes than 15, but if you are open to running slicks, look into Avon tires. They have lots of sizes including wide 15" tires.

Scott

[FourBlades]

Been working steadily on the passenger compartment of the car. Welding up many holes to the engine compartment, etc. One large issue was the hole that was cut to access the front of the engine. A cover was made by the original builders with dzus fasteners from the cut off piece:



I liked the dzus fasteners, but there was up to 1/2 inch of gaps around the edges where it was cut. It also was pretty warped and did not fit well or securely. I decided to add strips of metal around the edges to form a flange and completely close up the hole.

This proved to be more challenging than I thought it would...



Shaping and plug welding on the metal was easy enough but it proved very difficult to get the piece to fit nicely into the hole. There are lots of curves and contours it has to fit around on all sides. In the end I welded bolts to the engine side of the hole to snug down the cover. This allows it to be removed using an impact in a minute or so but still fit nice and tightly. I have 1/16 inch high temp rubber gasket to put in between to make a really good seal (not done this yet).



This took a lot of putting it on, taking it off, using the shrinker here and there, hammering, swearing and the whole process generally being a pain in the butt. Here is the engine side, where I reinforced each bolt with a little metal pad.



The hole of course is way bigger than needed to access the front of the engine, but it will make it nice to work on it. I could have welded the original piece on and cut a smaller hole more like most people create, but this is how the car was done originally and I wanted to keep it like this. Dzus fasteners would have been nice too, but I don't think they would hold it as securely and in the age of battery impacts I don't think it will take much longer to get it off.

The square hole in the middle is also original to the car, which I decided to leave.

John

[FourBlades]

Been starting on the transmission for this car. I pressure cleaned what is supposed to be the better of the two spares I have. Someone painted this transmission silver in the past and some of the paint came off. I like the patina look it has. I got a rebuilt starter and some re-plated mounting hardware from Bruce Stone.



I also replaced the bushings in the shift rod using the two different size sockets method and a shop press. This makes it pretty easy, I have no idea how I did this on my other 914 back when I did not have a press.



The cold chisel is for refreshing the stake marks in the center of the roll pin so that it does not slide out. I am sure it will rust itself in there soon enough and be a pain to get out again next time. Pelican sells brass inserts, which look sweet but I did not see until after I replaced these with the plastic ones. The old bushings basically crumbled into dust in my hands.

John

[Root_Werks]

This is really coming along! You are truly saving a piece of history here.

[Cairo94507]

I really enjoy watching this restoration as it moves along. Nice work. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Dion]

John, I’m really enjoying this. Progress is looking great. So cool seeing IMSA history being saved. Loved going to Pocono seeing these and March’s & 962’s. Carry on! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)
Dion

[tscrihfield]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

John, this brings me a huge amount of joy to see! I look forward to the day we see this thing driving!!!

Glad to hear your health is improving, cheers!

Thomas

[FourBlades]

Thanks for the support everyone! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

Your front end panel lives on as you see Thomas. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer3.gif)

How are your own projects going?

John

[FourBlades]

Here is a video of the engine I am planning to use in this car. It was built by Blake Meredith, and he allowed me to share this video. The sound synch is off at the beginning of the video probably due to my amateur conversion of the video format.

https://youtu.be/-MJCXKLQLoY

A few specs on the engine from Blake:

Built on a 4R case with 87.5mm big dome pistons, a boat tailed case and polished stock rods. Blake added added ARP rod and head bolts, had the case line bored and cylinder registers decked by CE. The whole assembly has been balanced. It has Nickies by LN Engineering on it. The comp ratio is 9.9 to 1. It has 46I 40E valves with 36mm ports on the intake and exhaust. It has GE40 cams with Jerry Wood valve springs and titanium retainers. It has the tall 36mm intake manifolds with 40mm Webers on it.

It sounds awesome and I can't wait to get it in the car! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chowtime.gif)

John