Blue Porscheru Conversion

I started this project back in May of 2014 and wanted to share the journey with my friends and family.
There's something appealing to people about taking a left-for-dead vehicle and bringing it back to life.
I hope this build thread is a bit different than the others. It's a Subaru conversion which is not as common.

I am/was a newbie. This is my first car restoration, if you can call it that.
My welds are not pretty, but I've improved and learned throughout this process.
This is a great car for a first restoration. It's light, simple, and very cool- mid engine with a targa top.

This is the plan- We are starting with a 1971 tangerine 914 with light to moderate rust, nothing too serious.
The original engine was a 1.7. Like so many other 914's it ran but has been sitting for a long time.
The engine seems too far gone to try to rebuild it= lots of rust and corrosion.

Powerplant: 2003 Subaru Impreza TS 2.5 SOHC, Natuaral- No Turbo, Why? Plenty of Power for me and no turbo lag. See Engine Choices thread.
Transmission: Subaru 5MT 2003 Impreza TS
ECU from: 2003 Subaru Impreza TS
Electronics: Wiring Harness simplified by Small Car Performance
Axles: 944 axles and CV's with Subaru inside CV- 4 lug for now.
914 suspension.
No fender flares
Voltage Blue Metallic: (Honda color), Painted Sail Panels.

Before Pictures



The Future Look- Concepts

The 914 visualizer, a very cool app.

Current Look:











Contents

Axles
Blasting Glass Bead Videos
Battery Tray Area
Battery and Tray
Budget Scenarios
Brakes
Bumper - Valence
Clutch
Electronics
Engine Discussion
Engine Mount
Engine Work
Floor Pans and Engman Kit
Fuel Pump
Fuel Tank (Cleaning with Electrolysis)
Paint Prep and Metal Work
Paint Prep Continued
Radiator
Seats and Interior
Seats Re-upholstery Links
Transmission
Transmission Mount
Videos

This thread is for entertainment purposes only. I am not a certified mechanic.
There are many that have pioneered the suby conversion before me, but this
is my story.

Hope you enjoy this thread!

Chris

Favorite Subaru Conversion Threads:

Subaru Engine Conversion Wiki - Ultimate How-to

Engine Conversions- What's Been Done- Basics of What's Needed

Tony's Subaru Conversion Thread- EJ 2.5- Tried radiator in engine bay

Zany's Restoration Thread- EJ2.5 and Subaru 5MT transmission

Subaru 6 E30R Conversion- Engine Only

Suby Engined Rustoration- Suby 2.2 Turbo- great thread

The Sawtooth Build Thread- Green Car- Subaru Engine and Transmission

Orange 75 Project- Suby engine and transmission.

'73 Resto & Suby Six Conversion

DB Cooper Subaru tranny into a 914

Out with the old and in with the Roo, 2.5L Subaru EJ253

Subydoo Subaru EJ205 Turbo and Suby Transmission


914-6 Builds:

Signal Orange, flared- Beautiful car (by iamchappy):

The official chappy 914-6-gt-turbo carrera thread, The car is real scary to drive, clutch is broke in, im not!

Scrap Metal to 904= Awesome Metal Work Epic Scrap Metal- An Idiots Guide to Saving a Fourteener

Subaru Engine Choices - Notes from various posters

From another's Post "What you need to decide is what level of power you want. A 6 cylinder makes the car VERY quick and fast compared to stock.
Lots of fun as long as you are ready for the car to become a completely different animal. If you want the feel of an enhanced version of a stock 914 go with a 2.5."

Subaru EJ Engine Wikipedia:Subaru Engine Wiki.

Engines:

HP Weight lbs/hp
EJ22 130-160 265 1.96
EJ25 165-200 298 1.81
Ej20tt 240 275
EZ30DR 216-245 315 1.85
EG33 225-275 0.00


EJ18: Found in Imprezas from 1993-1997. Rated at 110hp and 120 ft-lbs
EJ22 Phase I: Found in Legacies from 1990-1998 and Imprezas from 1995-1998.
Comes rated at 130hp and 137 ft-lbs, 135hp and 140 ft-lbs, or 137hp and 145 ft-lbs.
EJ22 Phase II: Found in Legacies in 1999 and Imprezas from 1999-2001. Rated at 142hp and 149 ft-lbs.
EJ22-T Phase I: Found in Sport Sedan and Touring Wagons (Legacies) from 1990-1994.
Turbocharged and non-intercooled. Rated at 160hp and 181 ft-lbs. Closed
Closed deck, cast pistons, forged rods, oil squirters: turbo motor. Poor flowing heads.
EJ25 DOHC Phase I: Found in Legacies from 1996-1999, Imprezas in 1998, and Foresters in 1998.in 1997-1999.
Rated at either 155hp and 140 ft-lbs in 1996 or 165hp and 162 ft-lbs in 1997-1999.
EJ25 SOHC Phase II: Found in Legacies from 2000+, Imprezas from 1999+, and Foresters from 1999+.
Rated at 165hp and 166 ft-lbs. There was a slight compression ratio change from 1999-2000 where it went from 9.7:1 to 10.0:1.
USDM EJ20: US Domestic Market WRX. Found in 2002+ WRXs. Rated at 227hp and 217 ft-lbs. Turbocharged, intercooled, open deck, and decent heads.
EJ25T DOHC: Available in 2004 in the Forester XT. Rated at 210hp and 235 ft-lbs. Turbocharged, intercooled, VVTi (Variable Valve Timing), and drive by wire.
EJ25T-STi DOHC: Available in 2004 in the WRX STi. Rated at 300hp and 300 ft-lbs.
Turbocharged, intercooled, AVCS (Active Valve Control System), drive by wire, intercooler sprayer, and semi-closed design.
EZ30R: Canbus Electronics require an aftermarket ECU for $2,000 (Not)
Found in the 2005–2009 Legacy 3.0R, Outback 3.0R and 2006–2008 Tribeca.

EZ30D: found in 2000-2003 outback and legacy’s. At roughly 212 chp from the factory, it seems to have the lowest hp number of the bunch.
You can tell the difference between the others by the aluminum intake and its single exhaust port heads (looks like a long slot or oval)
as compared the later 6’s or the metal timing cover/size when compared to the eg33. It has two plus sides when compared to the latter EZ’s,
cheap drive by cable, non CANBUS and you can pick this up for around $1-2k. Furthermore the 212hp mark is deceiving, both the intake
and exhaust is extremely constricting on the donor car and from the swaps that have been done/dyno’d (in the Subaru world) just
upgrading to something less restrictive will put power up to 230-240 CHP.

The EZ30D (according to Ian from Coldwater914.com) ranks motor highest in comparison to the other options in this category. Due to its more modern design and timing chain
(that does not need to be service for the life of the engine) it is smaller/lighter and more reliable than the eg33. On the other hand the ECU
on the EZ30D substantially less expensive than the EZ30R and EZ36R. However to clarify it does not have the VVT or AVCS of the later EZ’s.


More on the EJ22..

The EJ22 engine is part of Subaru's EJ series that was intended to replace the EA series of engines. This particular engine was first used in 1990 in
the Subaru Legacy. It also saw use in the Outback from 1995 to 1996 and in the Impreza from 1995 to 2001. There are two generations of EJ22
available through the large inventory on eBay. The EJ221 is the first model and featured 135 boiler horsepower at 5,800 rpm. The EJ222 is the
second, starting production in 1999, and it featured 142 boiler horsepower at 5,600 rpm. All EJ series engines are horizontal flat-four cylinders
with 16 valves and both single and dual overhead camshaft configurations were produced. These engines feature two rows of two horizontally
opposed cylinders that help to balance one another while the engine is running. This makes for a smoother ride and a lighter engine as additional
balancing components are not required to keep the engine from knocking around while in operation. The EJ22 engine is efficient, reliable, and
contributes to the long life of many Subaru vehicles.

There are actually a couple different varients of EJ22's in terms of actual parts. Ive counted 4, each with different HP numbers.

Anyway, the single port heads are actually in the more recent models... 99-01 I believe. And there was discussion before about how the MY96 EJ22
had lighter weight rocker arms that might add horsepower to other model EJ22's, but thats kind of off topic...

Here are the HP/Torque numbers for various years:

99-01: Horsepower: 142 hp Max Horsepower: 5600 rpm Torque: 149 ft-lbs. Max Torque: 3600 rpm
97-98: Horsepower: 137 hp Max Horsepower: 5400 rpm Torque: 145 ft-lbs. Max Torque: 4000 rpm
95-96: Horsepower: 135 hp Max Horsepower: 5400 rpm Torque: 140 ft-lbs. Max Torque: 4400 rpm
93-94: Horsepower: 130 hp Max Horsepower: 5400 rpm Torque: 137 ft-lbs. Max Torque: 4400 rpm

The bore and stroke are same on the 93-96 2.2's, 3.82x2.95 but the compression ratio is 9.7:1 for the 95-96 as opposed to 9.5:1 for the 93-94. T
he camshaft elevation is different between the two as well as the valve spring height. The main bearing journal diameter is different along
with the connecting rod journal diameter (slightly, .0001 difference). The piston ring gap bottom compression is different between the two.
I cant tell if any part numbers are different though, im just looking at specification numbers from my chiltons guide. Sucks there isnt a newer
guide for the other models though... Cant help past MY96

Links:

Subaru 2.X Build Thread on NASIOC

Franken Motor or Mix and Match various parts Engine Build Discussion NASIOC

Franken Motor- (2.2L heads on 2.5L Block)

franken motor shopping list 2.5 block with 2.2 heads

NA Horsepower

Subaru engine swap

How to pull a WRX engine

Engine Tear Down

I want to build a 2.x engine

"Built Motor Discussion" Links to Great Threads

Pull your own motor. Lots-o-pics

Good stuff in here. Thanks.

I look forward to watching your car progress. . .

Great starter thread! Cant wait to see the work!

Budget Planning 2015 costs

A good friend told me not to add up the costs. That was good advice. I think the cost is inversely proportional to a couple of things. Do you want a show car- probably not if your are converting to a suby? How much can you do yourself? How much time do you have, or how quick do you want it. Because, I find myself skipping some of the more difficult processes and farming them out, but that's expensive. I had my wiring harness done by the pro's. That's one I don't have the time, or is too important to get wrong. The other is paining. I want the paint and body work to look right, so that's going to the pros as well. Also, the brakes and electronics- I'm going to get help with those. Here's a spreadsheet that I put together with most costs I anticipate at this point. My path is in the left column, but depending on the transmission and engine, costs vary. These are not completely accurate, ie the engine rebuild would be more expensive. But, I wanted to do a relative comparison, so the numbers compare within the various systems chosen. Also, this is not a show car, just something that will be reliable, fun and look nice.

Edit 2017: I'm now $16,000 into this project and still have not started the car. Soon though. Just goes to prove the theory about doubling your budget to get the real cost over the expected cost.

Paint for $1000 - ? Missing a "0"? Just curious.

Floor Pans

One of the first tasks was to replace the floor pans. I tried to save the old ones, but they were just too far gone. Some of the parts were usable, like the pedal cluster support and the jack stand supports. Those were removed and welded to the new floor pans. This was all done on my back underneath floor jacks, not recommended. If you want to dive right in and build your car without building a rotisserie, you are saving time now but will work much harder and lose time in the end...



The left side- worst part



The cabin. Tried cutting out portions, but the cancer kept showing up in pinholes everywhere. Sound familiar?



View from below:



I sprayed the floor pans with epoxy paint. They were purchased in front and back halves because I had trouble finding a single piece and I thought it would be easier to install- not having a rotisserie. Not a bad move looking back, but more welding.



Saved some old parts and strengthened with extra metal.



Looking back, these welds are so embarrassing. Not hot enough. I have learned a lot since.



This piece keeps you from punching through the floor with your foot



Ugly welds, I know. I thought about an ugly weld thread contest. Who makes the ugliest welds. Getting better though.

Epoxy primer, etching primer, and seem sealer oh my! Incidently, I had to grind this back off, redrill the holes and weld it back because I was off just enough that the pedal cluster did not line up correctly. Recommend welding this on after the floor pans are welded to the car. Measure thrice, cut once.



Rear panel in and Engman Kit with new metal braces sleeved over the old ones. Hope the seats still fit.



It helps to have small helpers.



And he does good work:





The firewall behind the seat was a chore with the gummy glue adhering the sound barrier. Bead blasting is the way to go- cheap, great results, fast...



A few extra brackets to tie the Engman kit to the floor pan for added strength. Already much better welds although I did not need to weld the entire length of those brackets. It's better to leave open spots for flexing. Otherwise, the metal can crack.





Jumping ahead a few months, the finished floor pans with car torn down for painting after bead blasting and first coat of epoxy primer, but we'll get to that.

If you do everything yourself, paints only about $300. You will notice that I used $1000 across the board. It's a relative comparison between using the type 4 engine with 901 tranny compared to the suby with 901 and suby with 5MT, so what I wanted to know was the difference in the paths I take to get there.

In reality, I am spending $1070 on bead blasting and first primer, $1,300 on finishing body work, and final priming, and will receive the bid shortly for the painting labor.

Some people spend $4,000 on just the paining step, but that's a lotta dough.

CR

Electronics

When you think about it...

it's pretty crazy to mate two wiring harnesses together to try to make the 914 work.

People keep telling me it's not that hard when you get the wiring diagrams together and separate the fuel injection and ecu from the 914 wiring.
We will see. At this point I have collected the wiring diagrams from the 914 and the Chilton's guides from each car.



Useful Links:

Pelican Parts Wiring Diagrams

Jeff Bowlsby has a ton of great information on his webpage on wiring harnesses,
diagrams, and sketches. He also rebuilds 914 harnesses.

Jeff Bowlsby's Technical notebook, an amazing resource for diagrams/sketches.

The guys at Outfront Motorsports will build custom harnesses with the EMS stinger.

Small Car Performance stripped my Subaru harness and provided me with the shortened oil pan and engine mount.
=Search]Small Car Harness Modification Page.

Small Car Performance harness modification kit

Small Car guide to Subaru engines. Which have immobilizers, which to choose when
deciding on a donor engine.

Subaru wiring diagrams for conversion

How to route your wiring in the 914.

For the do-it-yourselfer, I have found portions of these threads very useful:

1. Strawman build wiring information
   
2. Tony's Project
   
3. More to come...

I researched types of ECU's and decided to go with the stock ECU for my engine, a 2003 Impreza TS.
This ECU is programmable and can plug into a computer (term).

Here's some pictures of my wiring stripped out of the Porsche.
At the time, I had no idea how much of this I would be using
with the Subaru harness. Beside the 914 ECU and wires to the
engine, I will be using most of this wiring with the stripped down
Suby harness.

Subaru Harness. I wonder how many feet of wires go into this?



Speedo labeled. Unfortunately, using the Suby tranny, I won't be able to reuse the classic speedometer, although there is a guy who converts these to use the Subaru.
(Look for Link)



Another Speedo Pic. Look for Jeff Bowlsby's Tech notes linked above
for some sketches of the wiring diagrams for this.



Again, Jeff has these all sketched out.



The plan is to update the corroded fuse box...



Update to something like this:



I worked with Mao of Small Car Performance for the Subaru wiring harness.
First I ordered the harness from Ebay, which came in a large box, weighing
about 40 pounds. It was shipped to Small Car in Washington State and returned
in about a week, weighing maybe 10 pounds, and everything labeled. I had shipped
them the ECU with the harness.

Update:

It's time to get back to the wiring. We are going to replace the 914 portion of the wiring harness with new wiring and new technology. The fuse box will be replaced with blade fuses. The old wiring features multiple grounds where it's not necessary, multiple fuses for the lights and poses other issues. We thought it easier to start over. The speedometer will be replaced internally with a new VDO speedo run electronically. Here's a picture of three harnesses, the old 914, new harness, and Subaru portion.

Mayco will do it for that, or its more than enough for supplies for a diy job with cheap paint (tcpglobal)

Another frigging Subarite! Welcome to the Fraternal Order of Blasphemous Conversions. BTW, you can paint that thing for < $300 if you like any of the single stage that Tractor Supply sells. It's decent paint but no Porsche colours. Your way over priced on a few items (shifter and cooling comes to mind) but that is good because you will need it elsewhere. I like the 2.5 and almost went that route so I will be watching your build with interest. It should be WRX fast when done. You'll absolutely love the big alternator, cable shift and the reliability of modern electronics. Did Mel (Mao's American name) give you the OBD port with his harness? He wasn't making then when I made mine. You may have saved your marriage and 1/2 of your sanity by farming that out. Good call. FWIW, you may want to look at one of these which run 355's. http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/pts/5108058296.html. I'm still thinking about one. My TY7554VN2A is running 411's but If I had 355's I could idle at 50mph.

Wow! Great thread. Warrants a trip to the 'classic' when it wraps up. You have know idea how much time you have saved me when it's new engine time for the outback. Could be October. Who knows.

Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions.

As for the transmission, I went for the matching transmission pulled from the same 2003 Impreza TS shipped from Canada with the original ECU. I was concerned about the rpm's on the freeway being too high, but I think I will be alright. Calculating the rpm speed and gear ratios is another post in itself... maybe for the future.

One of the points of the budget is to see where you beat the budget, so hopefully everything comes in cheaper. The problem is there is a lot of stuff not on the list, like LED light upgrades. My budget is just that. If I want to use tractor paint, that's fine, but it's just a way to organize, a suggestion of the way others may want to set theirs up.

Check out the engine in my Christmas in April thread.

I too like the 2.5. Hopefully with headers, I can get 175 HP.

Looks like the OBD was saved out of the Suby Harness. Peace...

Grafting two electrical systems is not that hard if you know how. I did it but I was an aircraft electrician in the Marine Corps and working in the trade for 25 years.

Admittedly mine was German to German and that's a little easier. But I have the donor dash cluster, ODBII and drive by wire throttle.

Just for a reference. I bought the Sawtooth build from Dean. It has a 2001 SOHC NA 2.5 with a performance build & performance heads. Running an aftermarket Stinger ECU from Outfront. Equal length header to a single exhaust. It dyno'd at 158 to the rear wheels. It pulls great & I love driving it. So just wanted to get realistic HP numbers for you. It's fine seeing it on paper in places. It always seems to drop in the real world application though.

On all your welding of your floors & long kit. I have not seen any type of door brace. It's pretty easy to get a twist in your chassis or mess up your door gaps. Just hoping you did in fact have it braced with all your welding. If not I'll keep my fingers crossed it is all good. Looks like you did a good job installing the floors. Really great progress on your car bud. Following your thread closely

Read the first half of my progress thread for painting tips and expeced costs. I typically budget about 750 for supplies. Thats a gallon of paint, 2-3 gallons of primer, 2 gallons of plastic filler, 2 quarts of glazing putty, about 100 in sandpaper and consumables for rubbing it out. Actual paint is less than 200 single stage shipped.
http://www.tcpglobal.com/Restoration-Shop/

Click the color you want then click "AU Urethane" then single stage kit.

Shipping is like 50 bucks though because its hazardous. When I get to the pojnt of ordering I go through the site and load up on everything I need as its quality as as cheap as it comes. I also think you get a shipping break over a certain $$$.

The HP should be double the original car regardless of what I end up with at the wheels. If the original engine was rated at 80, and the new engine is rated at 165. I would assume both engines would lose a proportional amount of horsepower in the drive lines.

I was very careful on the welding. The car had bigger issues though to start with since it had been hit a couple times (and covered with bondo). The gaps are definitely off, but it's not a show car. My body guy has some tricks up his sleeve to fix this though...

My gaffes are worse then my gaps though...

We're probably going to go with a local paint store and 2 stage paint. Paint will come in about $500.

I really like your thread (link in signature line of your post). Taking interest in your radiator mounting. Where's the fill cap?

You're going to be in for a pleasant surprise. Engine's have evolved a lot since the 60's but transmissions have evolved as much or more. Manufacturers are looking for better MPG anywhere they can find it, so drive-line losses that used to be to 25 percent or more are now down to 15 percent or less. Better mileage is good, of course, but more important is that it'll feel like almost triple the horsepower instead of double. So it's going to be even more fun than you thought! Bonus!!

Fill will be similar to the Audi setup, its going to be in the engine bay and will be run on a loop system so it constantly removes air from the system. Check out Mike Bellis's setup. or the below post
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?s=&...t&p=2174608

Blasting

After hours of sanding and slow progress, I looked into other methods of paint removal. Sand Blasting can warp the metal and leave sand in the crevices . The acid bath is not too convenient where I live. Talking to a friend, he recommended these guys with a mobile bead blaster. In this method, they use tiny glass beads in water with a rust inhibitor. They will come to your home and blast your car. Here's a video of them doing my car and the website if you are in the Southern Oregon area.

www.green-cleanblasting.com Link Here


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CE9URMdOf0o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTOA89WR7PY


This process only takes a few hours and they are able to get in the crevices that are real tough to clean. Once the car is blasted, the rust inhibitor will prevent flash rust for a few days giving you time to clean the car and apply primer- we used epoxy primer. The epoxy primer hardens in about a week, so we then coated it with a urethane primer.

Blasting the car was quite revealing. The left rear quarter panel had quite a bit of bondo. In fact all the panels needed work...

Engine Work

Related Threads:

Christmas in April

Decision to Subarize or not to Subarize

Engine Choices

Poll on Best Engine Choices

Out with the old and in with the ru...



The original 1.7 has been sitting for at least a decade. It ran before it sat... sound familiar. I decided that it was not worth it to rebuild the 1.7, but to go the suby route.

All the parts you see came from the same Subaru Impreza TS (2003). I got the ECU, engine, tranny from the same car. I am replacing the head gaskets, clutch, water pump and timing belt.

SOHC NA - No Turbo, 2.5 litre, 165 HP, 164 Torque

Engine Work Videos

Subaru Engine Build Series Ratchets and Wrenches

Timing Belt Removal / Timing Belt Replacement (Timing marks at 3:50)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27egytbdxUQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgTQGko3SZM


Here's the engine- arrived from Canada in April of 2015- See Christmas in April thread.











Small Car Performance oil pan is low profile yet increases oil capacity to 5 quarts. I like that it's flat and designed to be strong enough to support the engine in needed. Engine mount is also from Small Car. It will be welded up against the stock engine bracket/brace.



Side view of the oil pan and engine mount. Notice the oil dipstick tube goes through the engine mount. Cool design.



Shiny flywheel back from the machine shop. I had the same shop machine the heads, install the head gaskets and adjust the valves.



Nest steps...

Replace timing belt and cover.
Replace manifold.
Convert transmission to 2wd- waiting for Bremar locking socket to arrive in the mail.
Mate the engine to the transmission
Fit the engine in place to weld the engine mount to the bracket.
Measure the axles to cut and respline.

Do you have the cast engine bracket or the other style? I've seldom seen the cast style weld up strong enough to the brackets to be safe enough for my tastes- not pointing fingers or anything, just curious as to what others are doing for the Subie mounting situation... Thanks!

The Small Car mounts are pretty robust steel. If that part fails you have bigger problems!!

I used it on mine, as have a few others, and, it works great especially if you want modify it. Mine was cut, sectioned, welded, to move my EG33 forward, worked great

Keep up the great build.

that blue 914 pic is at my shop...many years ago. cool memories there

Pictures!

Looks like it's welded steel to me. The cast mount is used in the later models with the pass-through hole for the shift rod on the side shifter transmission.

The plan is to follow the design of Amenson in his PorSti Build as shown in post #2.

He drills through and bolts onto the bracket rather than welding directly to it. My goal is to try to mount the engine forward as much as possible to center the engine in the engine bay and avoid cutting the trunk. Since there is no turbo, I should have enough clearance to avoid cutting the trunk even if it has to be mounted further back than I would like. The axles will need to be aligned at a slight angle for proper lubrication of the CV joints. It will be a critical step to mount the engine correctly. It is also important to get the transmission level to keep 4th and 5th gear oiled properly.

I thought I'd studied that thread over and over- somehow I missed that bit right there! That's exactly what I was looking for, and the other comments give me confidence to use that for my EG33 swap- thanks for the help!

The blue car on post #1

Concepts

Please tell me the story behind it!

Thanks!

Battery Tray Area Rehab

Most people might consider this a donor car, but I have seen them restored in worse condition. Under the battery tray it had rusted through at the top and the bottom. I cut out the hole in the top and butt welded a piece in and the covered it with a second layer. So, most of it is lap welded. The rust was treated with phosphates, rust converter. I used the Eastwood Rust encapsulator, epoxy primer, and seem sealer. Eastwood makes great products and has very helpful how-to videos. A better method would have been to cut the side panel off and replace the longs.

Rodney Adkins Lyrics: If You're Goin' Through Hell

"If you're goin' through hell keep on going
Don't slow down if you're scared don't show it
You might get out before the devil even knows you're there"


Here's some good examples of repairs:

Strawman post 22

Zaney Post No. 14

Pix of mine:



























First layer underneath



2nd Layer sleeved for added strength. No finesse here.



Car was not jacked up during repairs.







Well I hope it holds together. Another reason for 2.5 NA power rather than a big six.

I had one issue with small car mount on my swap. Oil filter clearance. Got the darn thing all welded up, and could not get the filter on the mount. Its a little tight. I will be running a Accusump so my plan is to run remote oil filters, and a cooler, with the Accusump. I should just dryjsump this thing, but then I would be into it for way more than a 911 swap.

If you read my thread, I think you will get an idea of how far the engine can go forward with the small car mount. I have almost no trunk floor cutting. Except for the clutch slave, and well that hole could have been a lot smaller. realized I never took pics of the mount its self and the issue I was having. Could have sworn I did

I also got the Smallcar mount but ended up not able to use it. It's really well-made and and compact, works well for non-turbo cars, but isn't compatible with a turbo setup where the exhaust from the left side has to cross over to the right across the front of the engine. That's right where the Smallcar mount goes. It's possible, I suppose, but would mean you'd have to relocate the turbo and do a lot of custom plumbing.

I've never seen anyone put it on their list, but one of the nice things about the non-turbo engines is that you'll end up with an equal-length exhaust, which gets rid of the typical Subaru exhaust burble. With an equal-length exhaust they sound really good when they get into the upper RPM range. My son joked about driving his 914/WRX to work and for weeks a WRX owner kept trying to spot the other turbo Subaru he was sure he was hearing come into the parking lot, never thinking it was the 914. Was startled when he finally figured it out.

By the way, with an Accusump you won't need it, but the Killerbee windage tray works pretty well to prevent oil starvation, and not too expensive.

Looks like you pushed the EG33 quite a bit forward. I was considering the Subaru tranny mount underneath my hanger bracket to use the rubber bumpers for vibration. Looks like most people mount the rubber bumpers up top like the stock position. Better Clearance?

I had no problem with oil filter clearance. My oil filter is a small one though. I'm going with stock oil filterage- no accusump.

Would like to see some pictures of the engine mount if you don't mind taking some.

The 914 visualizer in your post is very cool.

Cool Videos

Porsche 914-6 Race Practice At Targa Florio 1970 | 1969 Porsche 914 period official promotional footage


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkojP5Dyj5Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WcNBlaFqiL4


Topspeed Petrolicious the FORGOTTEN porsche | Porsche 914 International Meeting 2015 - Bad Gögging


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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2T74PHs8oTs


Brodi 914's Gone Wild Subaru Conversion SVX | vintage! The VW-Porsche 914 | drive it!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G1a7fd3Ph0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad2qOUUSHTY


1994 HSR Savannah Georgia. 914 25 year anniversary.


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


Link to_Historic Porsche Factory Photos


Link to Best 914 Ever Thread

Electrolysis Gas Tank Cleaning.

Like so many other 914's mine had a rusty fuel tank. Cleaning the inside of the gas tank is tricky since you can't reach in and sand it, so after some research I tried lots of different suggestions to try to clean it. One could combine weight training with car antiquing and shake a chain or nails or whatever inside the tank. I tried acid ie apple vinegar. None of these things seemed to work until I came across electrolysis. This is a very interesting technique. Anyone who has tried precipitating silver in chemistry class might be familiar with this technique. You take a piece of steel and suspend it in water in your gas tank with some baking soda as catalyst and it moves the rust from your tank into the water. It's pulling electrons and iron from the metal and combining it with the rust metal to create a liquid suspended iron.

My stepfather, professor emeritus in chemistry at St. Mary's College in CA explains electrolysis thus:

"Some of us used it as an introduction to electrolysis in early classes – and I believe it is still used in museums as a conservation process to “clean” up relics to remove rust without losing the underlying metal."

"You first of all have to understand the rusting process. In overall terms it is simply, iron + water + oxygen -----~ rust. However, the first step is Fe (solid) + 2 water +1 oxygen -----~2 Fe(+2) + 4OH(-). Depending on the environment, additional reactions take place, leading to the observation that most forms of rust are basically 2Fe(+3)3O(-2).xwater; this is a hard material which binds to the unoxidized metal."

"Essentially what has happened overall is the removal of electrons from the iron; that is in chemical terms you have oxidized it. To remove the rust you can reduce it; that is, give the electrons back. These set-ups that you’re working with seem to work, but the exact mechanism isn’t clear. In your case the electrons will move from the anode Fe (i.e. the steel chunk) over to the tank which needs them to convert the Fe(+3) to Fe. The chemical reactions that occur during electrolyis are complicated since both iron oxides and water can be reduced (to hydrogen in the case of water), so specific reactions can’t be written but the appearance of bubbles is usually a sign of hydrogen. The iron from the steel chunks slowly disappears over a period of time as Fe is converted to Fe (+3) and the rust should flake off the cathode as a dusty material which probably has metallic iron mixed in. Make sure your anode (+) has a good connection to your steel chunk."

Links:

Lots of links and videos on this page.

Cleaning the tank. I used a trickle charger for a couple weeks, but it was only 2 amps of power. If I did this again I would get a battery charger and try different settings for a faster process, but I was not in a big hurry. This process works great for removing rust, especially with odd shaped pieces like the pedal cluster and gas tank.



Here's another shot of the tank:



I was also able to use electolysis on the pedal cluster. In this case I dumped the cluster into a 5 gallon bucket of water and hooked up the leeds, negative to the pedal and positive to some scrap suspended into the water. Add baking soda and wait, rinse and repeat. Works great.

Maybe I will try some plating which is shown in some of those videos. Anyone have experience with plating or electolysis??

Did you sell your Smallcar engine mount after you decided not to use it or is it for sale? Long shot but I figured it's worth a try...

I'm pretty sure they're in a bin somewhere. I've moved twice since then and during that last move hurt my back, back's still not good so still have bins stacked everywhere. How patient are you?

Paint Prep and Final Metal Work

After the Bead Blasting the car was primed with a coat of epoxy primer while the final metal work was being done. After the prep work a coat of high build Urethane Primer from Eastwood was sprayed on.



About 3/8" of Primer had to be removed from the right rear quarter panel








Before and After Pix















This is about where we are with the car at this point- 2 coats of primer. Time to do some final metal work like fitting the radiator in the front and new hydraulic trunk shox.

You're doing great work. That's a really lucky car.

should have fixed the rust on the inside wheel well on the pass. side before the outer panel got welded on.

Engine Mount

The inspiration for the engine mount design comes from Amenson's Thread. I am using the Smallcar engine mount which is designed to mount a Subaru engine into a Vanagan. I am also using their oil pan which is designed together with the mount. This is a nice oil pan, aluminum, increases oil capacity to 5 Qt and yet is shorter in profile. It also provides a jack point or flat place to set your engine on the ground or a work bench.

The front part of the mount has to be cut off in order to move the engine forward in the engine bay. I flipped my Porsche engine bracket upside down to lower the engine about an inch.

I am using the Subaru Transmission which is different then Amenson's thread. He has a side shifting Porsche transmission which is really desirable. With that setup he has to put the engine in the right place to also utilize the transmission mounts and thus four mounting points for the setup. My bracket is for my 1971 with a tail shifter where the shift rods go around the bar rather than through the engine bracket bar. Which allows me to flip the bar.

Since I will be using the Subaru transmission it is important to get the transmission bracket the right height so the transmission is level to properly lube the fourth and fifth gear. Trying to get the engine in the right place to:

-avoid cutting the trunk,
-level the transmission,
-give enough clearance in front of the engine, and behind,
-align the axles properly (they need some angle, but not too much.
-measure for custom fit axles. It's a lot easier to use the Porsche tranny).




In this picture, the Porsche bracket bar is not flipped yet and you can just see the curl of the Smallcar mount touching it. The engine is still too far back. The final mount will be 2" more forward and 1" lower.



Lower side view showing the Porsche bracket and better view of the Smallcar mount. The engine is not level in this shot, or in its final position. Still assessing the position. That curved tube is for the dipstick. Once the mount is welded together, the oil pan comes with it when it is removed. You will see this in later pictures.



Welded angle iron across the mount first while the mount is still on the engine, to insure that there's no movement. Now to finish the mount, I had to remove the mount and oil pan from the engine. At this point the oil pan stays with the mount.



Notice the waterpump tube to the left. The bracket bar will need to clear that by 1/4" to get the hose on. Also, the bracket bar needs to clear the oil filter with enough room to change the filter. This required some careful fitting.



Fitting the bracket bar onto the engine mount. The waterpump tube on the left does not have the clearance yet by the blue tape. The oil filter is on the opposite side barely visible and needs as much space as possible.




Here, the mount has been removed with the oil pan. I cut the front of the mount off and welded a piece of flat steel on the front which will provide a lip for the bracket bar. I welded another piece of angle iron for the back lip, greater strength across the bottom, and to give the bar more clearance from the water pump tube.



The holes were rosette welded and new holes were drilled for the bracket. I considered welding the bracket bar to the mount, but keeping them separate is a better design as long as it is strong enough. Having the lip on each side should keep it from moving.




I welded the nuts onto the backside of the mount because they will not be accessible to the socket wrench once the mount is back on the engine. Cool design, hah? Hopefully everything fits in the right place, because I don't want to do this all over again!


Next up, fit the transmission on the engine and measure for the transmission bracket...

Turns our I'm pretty patient- your answer came in while I was still in the hospital so it got buried for two months until I was back and dug through stuff. If you've still got your mount I'd be interested in buying it if you think that it would a fit the EG33...

HOW DID THIS THREAD ESCAPE ME? I thought I kinda knew of all the 914s generally in the Grants Pass area. This one came out of the "blue" suddenly.

I am going to have to read in more detail later. The information thus far is great and gives great information on the Subie transformation including engine selection and why. The rust/body/paint work is great giving good information on what the builder was doing at different stages.

I am going to have to see this "bad boy".

Incidentally, I have a 1974 914 converted to 3.2 Sixer which is finally titled and registered in Oregon. My project has been going on for 8-10 years and should be completed ready to start the painting side by the end of 2015/2016. As you can see I am very flexible on my project.

I live in Grants Pass and would like to see your project. Can we meet sometime?

Great working project and another 914 is surviving. Keep going, Tiger!

Steve Hurt
shogun eagle

I sent you a pm .... Thanks for the encouragement.

Radiator

Some background and research:

Radiator Thread

Vent Holes

What Aluminum Radiator are you running?

Scirocco Style Radiator

Information on Cooling Systems

Will the Scirocco radiator really work

It seems there are a lot of ways to put a radiator in the front trunk. Very few people have successfully put the radiator anywhere else. I hate to lose the trunk, but possibly I can limit the damage by putting a smaller radiator between the front lights. This requires a radiator of 11" x 31" or less. Jeep Cherokee makes a radiator that is a double pass and that size. The double pass, I am assuming affectively doubles your cooling surface area.

Since my engine is a non-turbo 2.5, it's not a v8 or a turbo, and won't require nearly the same cooling capacity. The original radiator for my car is 13.38" x 27" X 0.63" or approximately 361 square inches of cooling area. Notice that it is very thin. The Scirocco style is 11" x 20" X 1.5" or affectively 440 square inches of cooling area since it is double the thickness. When I got the radiator in the mail it seems very small, which is what I wanted, but now I am second guessing myself as to whether this will really cool the engine. What do people think in this regard. Advice needed. It seems that people are running these Scirocco radiators, so they must work.

Here's some pictures of my progress so far. You can see just how small this radiator is.



This is a real simple bracket made of angle steel with two holes for the pegs on the radiator.



Another piece of angle steel (about 18-20 gauge) brackets the top of the radiator. I am intentionally not securing the radiator tightly. It needs to move in the mount because of the flex in the front of the car. If you bolt it in tight, the radiator can crack.



Picture from the back. Lot's of room in there. Hopefully not too much...




Working on the shroud. Kind of a PITA, but getting there...











This is how I decided to handle the vents.



I am planning on covering the vents with something like this to retain strength.
This is one made at 914sgonewild.com



Here it is the final cutout covers. Can you still see the triangles?



And, a shot of both:





Protected radiator hoses. These are conduit pipes split down the middle.

I finished off the radiator with an overflow tank and in-line fill.

Wow that radiator does look really small. I've been rethinking the front radiator lately. Saw a guy on FB with a suby conversion. Guy had put the radiator in front where the bumper goes. Had a 916 bumper with the fan in front of the radiator. So you saw the fan. Looked like crap but I didn't have close up pics. Since then it has had me rethinking how to do it up front. Possibly having the radiator come through the bottom of the cutout up front behind the bumper. Literally having the top of the radiator right behind the front trunk latch. It would keep 90% of the front trunk open. Since seeing that weird setup it has had me turning over ideas up front I had never considered before

I was wondering about my math. The radiator has less surface area than the stock radiator, but since it is twice as thick and double pass, you would think that it would work. Does the math work on this?