Hi World, I am moving on to the next phase of my project, and have enough things planned that I will call it phase 2. Hopefully this thread will motivate me to see it through quicker, and maybe help someone else at the same time.

Phase 1 was my 7 year adventure taking a banged up 73 roller and installing a SBC, renegade kit, and Sheridan body kit. Here is basically what it looks like now

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Had fun driving it for a summer and a winter, then realized I am ready to start the next round of upgrades. The list in no particular order and consists of:
Heat and a/c
Audi 01E install
Fuel injection
Boxster brakes
Fix passenger door gap

Time and money varies, so no timeline for when it will get done, but my wife's 62 Lincoln is next in line so I do have some encouragement to finish!

After driving it one year I quickly realized I am getting too old to enjoy it living in the desert without heat and a/c. I just finished the under dash blower unit install with heat, and to make room for the a/c compressor I decided to switch from a mechanical to electric water pump.

I went with the Vintage Air Heritage series under dash unit. Fits, and puts out plenty of air.

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I went back and forth on where to pull the water from, and eventually settled on running the lines through the passenger long.

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For pic above, take note of the 2 black components connected to the heater hose. The first one, closest to the long is the heater control valve, and the next one partially hidden behind the radiator hose is a booster pump; more to come on that.

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I know there are a number of electric water pumps on the market, but the Davies Craig caught my eye and is the one I went with. Pretty slick little unit that uses pulse wave modulation (PWM) to hit the target temp, which should help on the efficiency side. It also has as a control module that allows you to set your target temp, and control the radiator fans. Set it and forget it in theory. Here it is installed

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Yes that is a drop of water below it, yes it drives me nuts, and yes it will be fixed

The pump looks lower then it really is compared to the engine bar, but I am going to secure it with a mount higher to be safe.

I was pretty proud of these adapters I made, even though they don't look all that impressive! The tube was too thick to put a DIY bead in, so I welded a bead around it. Seems to be sealing good so far.

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As I mentioned the waterpump uses PWM, which basically means cycling between off and on. For DC motors that is a better approach then say trying to control the RPM with varying voltage.

Because of this I was concerned my heater core would not see a consistent flow of hot water through it, and consequently may lead to inconsistent heat flowing out of the blower. Probably wouldn't have mattered, but I am a bit anal by nature so I decided to account for it.

I installed the booster pump shown in the previous post, and added an Arduino UNO to control it. I tapped into the potentiometer wire from the heater valve, and the more you turn the heat knob up the more the booster pump flows. This also seems to be working well.

Can you provide more detail on the booster pump for the electrically impaired

I know these cars are small, and was reminded of that many times on this project trying to add all the components, running wire and keeping it out of sight. I know there is not much room under and behind the seats, but turns out it was one of my better options. I didn't want to overload my fuse panel, so I added a power distribution block for positive and negative cables runs under the seat. Leaves some room for growth too (no idea whatelse I made decide to add).

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(Above) The small black box under the bass box houses my Arduino, a motor shield, and a few other components for the booster pump control.

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(Above) Wires for blower tucked up out of the way behind it.

[quote name='djway' date='Oct 22 2019, 08:38 PM' post='2756568']
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Can you provide more detail on the booster pump for the electrically impaired
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Something tells me I butchered the quote...

Sure, I'll try. In a car with a mechanical water pump there is constant pressure in the coolant system, including the heater lines. When you adjust your heat setting in tbe cabin it is typically opening a valve on the heater hose to allow coolant to flow through your heater core.

With my water pump using pulse wave modulation, it may be on for 10 seconds, off for 20, on for 10, off for 20 and so on. So if I turn my heater to full hot, which opens the valve completely, it would not gauruntee that water was constantly flowing through my heater core.

So the little booster pump I have is a simple 12 volt pump that flows about 4-5 gallons per minute at max capacity. It works independent of the water pump, and is controlled by the heat setting on the blower unit in the cabin. Turns out I also use PWM to control the booster pump, but don't worry about that for now! Just know that when I select max heat the booster pump flows to it's max capacity, and as you lower the heat it slows down.

Hope that helps

Yep, I butchered the quote. Hopefully will live and learn as this progresses.

The heater is just in time for winter use, so a/c will be done before next summer. I usually completely underestimate how much work all this will be, but the a/c shouldn't be bad. I'll need to build a custom compressor mount (nothing fancy), then acquire the parts: compressor, lines, evaporator, a few odds and ends. I had the forethought to prerun the wires needed for the trinary switch and clutch, so that should save some time.

I would also like to attempt the Audi 01E trans install next year. Here is what my rebuilt unit looks like. I had 100 mm axle stubs installed to match up with my Renegade axles.

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The challenges for me will be building the trans mounts, and the cable shifter linkage. I plan to use a Boxster S shifter and cables. I will definitely be asking for help when I get there.

Love everything about this! Good choice on the pump.

Thanks Andrew - I am pretty sure I got the water pump idea from you

Removed

Thanks for the information.
Another question, can you get the hot water from up front near the radiator?

Thanks for sharing, interesting to see your innovation; and, it was great seeing your car at the WCR in Monrovia. That is one cool car

I would have rather tapped into the water lines up front but chose not to for a couple reasons. In the frunk area I felt like it would clutter it up too much with the lines, valve, and booster pump. I also didn't want to cut into that area unless I had to. If I had pre-planned this before I did the bodywork and paint I probably would have went that route.

It would have been great if I could have tapped in under the car near the steering rack, but space was an issue again. I plan to add a hydraulic clutch m/c soon and need to save some room in that area.

Thanks Jim, it was great meeting you at WCR this year; I dig your car too!

I am not too far from you and have a sbc 914 project.

I have a OE1 and a Boxster S trans. I just bought the Renegade trans mount for the Boxster Trans.

I have been following you build, looks like a good project! Luckily you are ahead of me on the trans so I am sure I will learn some useful things from you.

Heat worked great this winter and I got to drive a bunch more than last year. Finally got started on the air conditioning this weekend. These are some of the parts I have to work with:

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My Renegade setup has the double v-belt crank pulley to drive the alternator and water pump. Both grooves are for 13/32" belts. The AC compressor I got has a (double) v-belt groove pulley made for 17/32" belts. I researched sizes the best I could and decided a 13/32" belt should work. Was happy to see it doesn't bottom out in the groove.

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I made a template for my brackets, fit looked good, made the cuts and mounted the compressor. Was happy with the placement and then decided to put on an old belt to see what size I may need... the shift rod was in the way . It's always something right?

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All was not lost since I had another bracket, and one will be cut down substantially for the rear brace. Second attempt made everything fit well, and the compromise was moving the compressor closer to the header pipe than I would have chosen. There is a few inches clearance so I am going to call that good; time will tell.

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Looks like a fun project, will be watching for sure.

Very COOL!!

I got John to go with the Davis Craig system also for his 350 swap.



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I think you will be happy with this system. I don't have a lot of miles on mine yet but so far so good.

I got alittle more done tonight routing the suction and discharge hose through the driver long. The larger suction hose is going to enter the cabin on the horizontal shelf behind the gas tank; directly above the evap. The discharge hose is going behind the tank, down and under it out the front bulk head to the condenser.

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Putting fittings on this under the car will be a pain in the ass.

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Unfortunately this side exit head on the compressor isn't going to work. Sanden recommends not rotating the fittings past 90 degrees. Tempted as I am to try it my guess is oil will pour out when I install the fittings, or may make the vacuum and fill process difficult. Rotating it 90 degrees clockwise points the fittings right at the exhaust. I decided to swap out the head for a rear exit setup which should put the fittings in a better place.

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.....................watching this .......... really interesting way to deal with AC and I'm thinking how it could work for my v8 too

Got some more work done the past couple days. Condenser is plumbed and wiring for trinary switch almost complete. I used a couple aluminum tubes for simplicity and to help where the rubber hose might have kinked.

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Everything is a compromise right? I decided to go with the smaller condenser for a couple reasons. I didn't like the options I had for mounting the receiver/drier outside the current location; a lot of heat behind radiator and no room inside the cabin. The condenser is a high efficiency one, so not overly concerned with its ability to cool the small interior.

I have heard of many people having issues keeping their V8 engines cool, and I have never had a problem. Hopefully this won't be the start of any

Condenser hoses go under and then up behind the tank. The #6 then goes down into the cab to connect to the evaporator. Pretty tight but kept everything tidy.

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Here's a pic of the hose going to the evap. It's high enough where your feet clear it when seated, but low enough that I am concerned someone my break it some point. I'll probably try to make a cover to give it some protection.

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That's it for today. May be able to get the compressor mounted and final connections made tomorrow.

Very Nice!!!

Very Nice!!!

That's a tidy install!

Got some more work done the past couple weekends. The next step was getting the #10 suction hose connected to the back of the evaporator. I rerouted it from the heater channel exiting the long and under the dash. This reduced the number of holes to drill - more better.

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Then it was working on the business end. Here is the Sanden compressor with the mount finished and the new back on it for the rear hose connections.

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I realized after I painted it that the compressor needs to ground through the mount for the clutch, hence the attempt at removing paint in a circular fashion. This is a case of function over form

Crimping the hose connections was a bit of a pain under the car, but the engine bar made a nice mount for me to clamp the tool on so I could wrench it.

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And here are a couple pics from above and below with everything connected.

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After all that work I was definitely sweating the vacuum test. I took my time on everything but there are so many places a leak could exist. I bought a new hose kit from Harbor Freight (big spender) to replace my old one that had bad hoses.

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I connected and drew some vacuum, sealed the valve, turned off the pump, and watched the system slowly lose vacuum WTF. Walked away and slept on it for the night. The next day I thought maybe, just made be it was the HF hose kit and not all my custom work (cocky I know). After some tests sure enough the new quick disconnect couplers that attach to the high and low pressure ports were bad. Luckily my old ones still worked, so on they went and to my surprise it held pressure! Around 26 inches of vacuum after letting it rest for 45 minutes.

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After I get the water pump reinstalled I will be able to fill it and enjoy some cool air. Just in time as it got into the 90's this past weekend.

Your going to love the AC. One of the best upgrades a man can do.

I like the way you v8 car is coming along. 1st rate in my book

Bob B

I have to thank you Kent for documenting your AC install - definitely helped me get through this.

Been a crazy last few weeks with work and projects around the house. Found a few hours here and there to (mostly) finish the a/c install. But before we get to that I had these arrive recently:

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I am hoping they are the answer to my door gap nightmare.

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If interested you can look here for some background http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...=326911&hl=

Ok back to the a/c. I decided to go a different route with the engine coolant lines. I had been running the Renegade setup which was fine, but I found some AN fittings that looked like they would cleanup the install. The pic below shows the old (bottom) to new setup.

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It was a pricey detour, and the verdict is still out if it was a good decision. It did clean up the install, so as long as leaks don't develop I should be good. The new pipe was running on top of the main wire harness, so I ran a thermal blanket around the wire to protect it.

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I added the freon and after a couple failed attempts getting my radiator hoses to seal properly I was able to test drive it yesterday. It is always a good feeling to get back on the road after some down time, however, I want to get a few trips out of the way before I fully trust that it will be reliable.

Two things I need to address, one being the alternator capacity and the other the engine temp. The car struggled to stay at the correct operating temp, and that was with the fans running almost full-time. I have a hunch there is still some air in the system, so hopefully after a few iterations I can get it fully bled which should get the temps back under control. If not then putting that hot a/c condenser directly in front of my radiator might have tipped the scales.

My 80 amp alternator seems to struggle to keep up with the radiator fans, blower motor, water pump, fuel pump, amps, etc, etc. New 140 amp alternator on its way and will hopefully get that installed this weekend.

Very nice Josh. Clean install!!!

Now we can say you and Kent have some of the COOLEST 914's around.

I'm envious of you two.

Oscar

Been a few months since I have done much work but I have been having fun driving! A/C seems to be working well but may need a few more tweaks down the road. Went on a long road trip last month and the cab got heat soaked; AC was still blowing cold but it was getting hot inside. If anyone has any ideas I am open ears, and I am thinking a couple of things may help:

1) I need to make a panel to seal off the opening between my radiator and forward bulkhead in front of the gas tank so the hot air only escapes through the cutouts by the tires. Relying on my fiberglass hood to do that job isn't working well, especially at speed when the increased pressure is pushing the hood up.

2) Additional thermo mat in the cab couldn't hurt. I have a decent amount on the floors, the front/rear firewall, and inside the doors. I forgot to put some under the targa top.

Next up is installing the Brad Mayeur 914LTD Long kit to fix my passenger door gap. It has been very hot here the past couple weeks (in the desert, go figure) so work is going slower than I would like. So far I removed the door sill supports and the jack points and rough fitted the stiffners in place.

Getting to this point wasn't too bad but the jack points proved to be a delicate operation. With the Sheridan kit (soon to be known as 914rubber kit?!) in place, I had limited access to remove them. An extended reach disk grinder, a die grinder, and sawsall made it happen. A small blemish here or there but in general I didn't butcher anything too bad.

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I know many of you have installed these before. The instructions read fairly straight forward, but I am wondering if I need to allow the gap to be a smidgeon large when welding it in so the gap settles to the right amount when the full weight is back on the wheels? I don't want to overthink it, but this seems like a case where I only get one shot to make it right.

Okay this is how I did it on my auto-X car.

I supported the middle let both ends droop. That opened up the gap, I then took my Porta Power and used it to get the gaps where I wanted them. One end up on the Roll bar, top off, and the other in the foot well. Had a board down there to spread the load. And just pumped it until I got the gap I wanted.

I went to harbor freight and bought the biggest C-clamps they had, I used three of them per log. Screws on the outside will clear the threshold and get back under to hold the log in place. Clamp it to and take your time on the welding, I also did the engmann kit at the same time, now Maddoog makes them.

Hope that helps

Oh yes. BTDT. In my case the tank would get so hot that the gas, being pre-heated, would vapor lock after 45 minutes or so unless it was cold outside. I chased it for months before realizing I had created the problem. I ran 4500 miles w/o a problem until I changed radiators in anticipation of a future AC install. And along with the larger radiator I increase the opening in the grille thus violating the 20% rule which I had adhered to during the original conversion. My intake allowed too much air into the trunk and the excess would escape over the gas tank and into the cabin. What seems like heat soak in the cabin happens when the heated air from the radiator is passing over a tank full of hot gasoline. You'll need to balance that out by increasing your fender well outlets or ducting your intake air out the fender wells. If increasing the fender well cutouts doesn't work you need to get a pressure differential gage to check that the there is negative side (the area where the wheels are) and a positive area in the trunk. I've read comments about flares interfering with this but cannot confirm as there just isn't much reliable info out there. I can say that every conversion I've been in has some "overflow" of warm air into the cabin. If you duct and it is sealed you will have 0% overflow. This was the best thing I ever did to mine. The AC was the 2nd best improvement. I choose aluminum because I had a little experience with it and all the tools to do so. Otherwise, I might have chosen some flexible AC/Heat duct or canvas. Canvas being the more durable of the two and less likely to tear.

Thanks for the additional info Stephen. Based on your method it sounds like I don't need to account for additional movement once I go from having it supported in the air to back on the wheels.

My gap opens to the desired amount just by jacking up the side of the car, so I will support it in the middle (front and rear) and use a jack or stand under the trans to maintain the gap.

Just picked up 3 huge C-clamps and an F-clamp to boot so hopefully I can move to the next step soon.

Alright, Kent I think I have some work to do. Luckily I have not had a problem with vapor lock to date. I hadn't thought about measuring the pressure differential and that could potentially be a fun project. With all the body work done I will try the duct option first and see if that makes any improvements. Summer is getting close to over so maybe by next year I can fit that into the list of things to do!

Make sure you measure everything, and they stay there once you jack it and support it. This is a measure 20 times, do a small weld, and hen take more measurements.

I have the same issue on my Subie conversion. The bulkhead seal makes a big difference, if you can get it to seal. Also, make sure to close off all the original heat/fresh air holes. That’s how the hot air is getting in the cabin. I saw that You currently have an AC hose coming in through one, so that might be tricky. If you’ve taken out the original fresh air blower and diverter valves, you’ll have eight openings to block off- 4 on each side: a round opening by the fender wall where the hot air came from the stock motor; above it a smaller round hole for the side dash vents; oval hole where the diverter valves were mounted; And, the defroster openings. Maddog makes a kit to seal off all the openings except the defrosters. Without the air box installed, outside air will come though the cowl grill and into the cabin through all those, and any other, openings. I was surprised how much air gets in, even with the roof on and windows closed.

I my case blocking off all holes didn’t help much. My tank was too hot to touch with my bare hand for more than a few seconds. It radiated heat to the firewall itself. The firewall was hot to the touch as well. If your going to duck it then don’t worry about checking pressure differential. Ducking will eliminate the problem entirely.

Appreciate the comments on how to keep the hot air out of the cabin. I am going to make sure all the original holes for the heater are sealed (have the block off kit installed but may have missed some). I’ll also duct it to force the air out the wheel well vents.

Back to the long support and question on this brace that supports the jack donut. I have a little ‘while I’m in there’ on my mind and thinking I might as well straighten it out if it isn’t too difficult. Is it just some spot welds around the perimeter or does the donut need to come off separate? I figure it will be easier to straighten out if it is removed. Thoughts? Maybe I should just leave it alone and press...

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