Driver's Side Engine Bay Tidy

Phew...there's a lot of stuff to do to the Engine Bay for a 6-cyl conversion!

Here's where the 4-cyl mount was - now chopped off and replaced with a fresh bit of steel. I've seen 914 conversions with bits of the original mount still hanging on but I think it's worth making it tidy and I'm sure the mount gave some extra integrity to the chassis so I decided to plate over where it used to be.

When I was cleaning-up the Firewall I chopped off one of the Relay Board mounting arms for better access (yes, fascinating!) so I had to weld it back on. I mocked up a dummy of the relay board using thin plywood just to make sure the position and spacing was spot on.

I had to do a bit of fabricating to the mount as I'd cut it short. You can also see the large hole for the 6-cyl Oil Tank being cut; this is where the oil filter goes. I used HSS hole-saws..surprise surprise…they great for cutting holes!

Here's the hole in the shelf…50mm diameter.

Here's an overview of the whole area being cleaned up. The holes are 73mm, 50mm, 100mm and I need to add another hole below the large one when I install the Tank.

All neatly epoxy primed.

I also took the opportunity to put down another coat of epoxy in the rear trunk while I was at it!

Restoration Design Engine Shelf Installation

After I had finished up the reinforcement where the engine mount had been, I needed to install the Engine Shelf. This is the shelf which is critical for cooling the engine - it effectively separates the cooler  lower part of the engine from the hotter upper part.

So I wire-brushed away the primer to expose bare metal where I needed to weld the Shelf in place and then sprayed Weld-Thru primer onto these areas.

I needed to fabricate the rear 'box' to which the Shelf fixes. Here's how it looks on the driver's side. I needed to make the mirror of this for the passenger side so I referenced it closely to make the net of the box and the box itself.

Here's the metal cut and ready to bend. there are a couple of tricky bends in this box, almost like pleats in trousers, which took a bit of trial and error to get right.

But I got there in the end and tacked the box in place.

Then came the Engine Shelf itself. I had the driver's side shelf to reference for positioning but it took a lot of patience to get it right…and even after it was done I reckon it may be a few mils lower in the back than it could be. But as it houses a rubber seal that sits between the shelf and engine tin, I reckon it's close enough….gulp, fingers crossed!

Here's the shelf in place..

I took the opportunity to weld in place the Battery Tray Support before epoxy primering the whole thing. I decided to do the battery support and tray separately so I could throughly epoxy behind the support.

All nicely painted up…next up is the Battery Tray which is super easy.

Motor Mount Removal and Reinforcement

Obviously, because this car is going to have a 6cyl engine, I don't need the mounts for the original 4cyl engine - so out they come! Almost in one piece surprisingly, so I may be able to sell them on… Here's how the chassis member looked after the mount was removed. You can see where I drilled out all the spot welds.

Then I coated it with weld-thru primer..

…and fabricated a section to reinforce where the mount had been…

…and welded it in.

Next up..the engine shelf.

Early Christmas Present...

Christmas came a little early this year with the arrival of the ultimate..or at least, my ultimate 'boy's toy'!

I've been keeping an eye on the 914World website classified section for a 914 with a more powerful 6 cyl 911 engine. After much deliberation and soul-searching I realised if I am to stand any chance of creating my dream car I needed to buy all the bits in one go. Buying components individually, mostly from the US, is so expensive. The solution of buying it all in one go, in one complete car, makes LOADS of sense.

My goal has always been to make a powerful 914, with the emphasis on the driving experience over whether or not it was concourse perfection. 

So I didn't want a 'finished beauty'; I've always wanted to make my own car. In all honesty, (and Alberto, I'm sorry if this is a disappointment), I will most likely transfer the mechanicals of this 'new' car into the shell I am modifying in my garage now - I really can only afford to run one car. I had toyed with the idea of Subaru power but it always felt like a compromise when I really wanted true Porsche 6cyl power; and this car gives me that opportunity.

I bought this car from a really nice guy in Lake Forest, California, USA. Alberto, thanks for all your help with the sale. It took over 12 weeks to arrive and is currently laid up in my Father-In-Law's garage about 10 miles away. I'm in the process of getting it registered and making it road legal for the UK - then, come the Spring, I'll get it out on the roads - I cannot wait! I'll basically drive it for as long as it takes me to complete the shell in my garage before doing the swap. 

"Why not restore this 'new' car?" you may ask..well it's a good question! The answer is simply because I have done so much to the other shell. The 'new' car is in great shape and is a dry Californian car but it would need all of the modifications I have done to the other shell…chassis stiffening, suspension re-inforcement, paint stripping & re-painting, trunk floor, any and all rust repair etc etc. I've put nearly 4 years grind into the 'old' shell which I don't want to have to do again.

I don't know what I will do the with orange shell once it's off the road exactly. It'd be nice to hang onto it for 'insurance'…but I will likely sell it on to another guy like me who can restore it - it's a solid shell like I said. I also have a decent 2.0L 4cyl that can go back into it…anyone interested?!

Forward Cabin Clean-Up and Paint

Time to get the cabin cleaned up and first coat of epoxy on. I stripped off the original floor tar coating and paint more than a year ago. It had been protected from surface-rusting with a layer of cheap rattle-can solvent primer. So for this job, I needed to clean off that primer with thinners and then de-greaser. Again, vapour mask firmly on, I got to work and used up a couple of bin bags full of cheap kitchen roll.

The Thinners got all of the cheap primer off and then I wiped with degreaser prior to spraying the 2 part  Epoxy Primer. Gotta love that bright shiny steel…shame to cover it up really.

Then came the Epoxy. First pass was with the car right way up…then I let it dry. I sanded any drips, de-greased again, turned the car over and sprayed on a second coat of Epoxy. It was a good idea to do it both ways up as it's easy to miss undercut areas when you spray from one angle alone.

Job done… I plugged screw holes with rolled up electrical tape to stop the thick primer getting into them. If they get clogged with paint it can be difficult to screw back whatever it is that needs to go back!

Time to

Front Trunk Wall Clean-Up

Paint-stripped, wire-brushed and thoroughly cleaned the Front Trunk Wall…I had already done this some time ago and sprayed a rattle-can etch-primer on it but I wanted to get it Epoxied having discovered the stuff since. Epoxy Primer, particularly the Lechler stuff is fantastic!

Removing the old etch-primer was a matter of wiping it off with thinners and degreaser on kitchen roll...VAPOUR MASK FIRMLY ON!

Here's the wall cleaned-up, ready for primering…

..and here it is painted.

Fuel Tank Compartment Clean-Up and Paint

I often forget to take pics of jobs before I work on them..believe me, they can look a bit of a mess! And the clean shiny metal or smooth paint does little to show the grind and sweat gone into getting it like that!

Just cleaning the Fuel Tank Compartment here took the best part of 2 solid days work… First slapping on the heavy-duty paint stripper, then scraping it off by hand with a number of stainless steel scouring pads. You do that all over 2 or 3 times to get as much of the paint off as you can…and remember this compartment is full of little crevices and overhangs and is a bit of a bl**dy nightmare.

Next, onto the wire-brush on the angle grinder. It spins at super high speed so little bits of wire from the brush fly off and embed themselves in your clothes or sometimes in your face! Always wear goggles and ear-guards!!!

The cup-brushes often catch and kick-back so watch out for that…all takes a bit of practice and you never really master it.

I also cleaned out the mastic seam sealer so I could brush out any rust and also make sure the epoxy paint readily filled the seams. The factory seam-sealed before primer and paint so if water did get under it, it wreaked havoc. I figured this was the best way but I'll be sure to re-seal later.

Here are some detail pics under the cowling.. (top - passenger side : bottom - driver side)

So after a properly thorough clean with firstly thinners and then de-greaser (and I mean properly, at least 5 times all over!).. it's ready to paint. Remember to wear a good Vapour Mask!!

I had read on 914World that one guy applied an acid-etch to the metal like Phosphoric Acid or other branded acid solutions before applying the Epoxy Primer. The goal being to create microscopic pits for the paint to key to. So I experimented with this in the engine compartment. The Phosphoric Acid fizzed and gassed (keep that Vapour mask on!!) and left the metal super shiny. But it started to rust almost instantaneously..it went a light reddish colour all over. So I'm still not sure about it to be honest. I've not had problems so far when I haven't acid etched and I'm not convinced the surface rusting is a good thing..

Other folks have said not to acid-etch before Epoxy as it can create more problems than benefits through chemical reactions upsetting the adherence. I think in future I probably won't do it…

So here's the Fuel Tank Compartment epoxy primered…

tags: acid etch epoxy primer wire cup brush porsche 914 world vapour mask fuel tank compartment