All back in, oiled up, fuelled up and ready to see if she’ll splurt back into life tomorrow after 30 years asleep. What do you think?
Well that was what’s known as a partial success. It didn’t fire up at first - fuel was getting through but just seemed like there was no spark. Bit of a play about and I swapped the coil over for a spare and tried again. Burst into life at first crank, yay! A couple of seconds later the inspection light fell into the fan. Took out a blade on the fan. Only got myself to blame, which I’m doing a lot right now. So, anyone got a spare Type 4 fan they’d like to part with? Just need to check whether the 914 fans are the same as bus ones - I think there something stamped on it about use on injection engines only.
Bit of an update... A spare fan was sourced from the wonderful @davidoft and given a bit of spit and polish before being bolted in. Engine back in, but of fiddling and fired for the cam burn. Also burned a plastic bag that I’d left over the end of the half shaft and resting on the exhaust- doh! Made the cam burn all the more scary. I’ve dropped the oil, but not sure whether to use more break in oil next with high zinc for the first 400 miles or normal stuff - advice anyone? Also chasing oil leaks. This push rod tube is actually touching the exhaust manifold, which doesn’t seem right but there’s no adjustment to be had to move it away. The tubes are new of course but I checked their diameter and it exactly the same as the old ones. There’s a bit of a leak on this tube at the case end. But not as bad as the one next to it (which has plenty of clearance). Tubes went in with a tiny bit of Permatex - going to have to give them another go, any tips welcomed too??
Remove the Permatex and just use a little rubber grease or engine oil, and make sure there are no burrs on the chamfers in the heads or crankcase. If the pushrod tubes are slightly short you could fit shims at the crankcase end – I had to on my engine with 2mm barrel spacers. These are mine without and with spacers.
Thanks Jeff - really good advice. The heads shouldn't have moved on mine but will compare the length of the old and new ones. In the photo i think you can see that my tunes are sat in the right place (i think). Did you make your own shims? They don't seems to be available anywhere. Any views on which oil to use for the for the first run in after the cam burn?
I wanted the O-rings to sit further into the heads and made spacer rings from appropriate sized wire wrapped around a socket. I used break-in oil for the cam burn and an 1100km shake down run down to Collioure (near the Spanish border) and back, then refilled with normal 15w-40, I should have changed the oil earlier really.
Ingenious! And thanks for the gen on oil, I’ll take your guidance on that. Meanwhile I’ve been scratching my head about the interference fit between the tube and header. Had a look at the old tube and judging by the meaty dent it’s not a problem I’ve created but was there before. I can only think that the ends of the two headers were cut at the wrong angle such that the pipes tip down, and the header means back into the tube. I think it might have to stay like this for a while, perhaps with a little judicious denting of the tube to get a tiny bit of clearance.
Right, mystery solved as to why the HX headers are up against the push rod tubes on one side. At some point in its life I think this little car had a bit of a rear offside shunt - looks like the wing was replaced at some point in the past. The silencer probably took the impact too, and force went all the way down the HX and made the exhaust studs banana shape; Now, getting a 56mm AM8/M8-M8 stud replacement is harder that its looks; it’s not the same a bus engine and I can’t find any in the UK exactly like this. Any ideas anyone? Volksbolts do something that would do the job, but it would be nice to have a more pucker part..... Edit - found the right stud with Design 911 - sorted! Another edit - Design 911 don’t have them after all, so gone with Volksbolts solution.
If your still stuck I have my spare 914 engine I could rob one off or make you a new one . I replaced all mine with new made ones
Cheers for that, appreciated muchly. All four are a bit bent so ordered these from Volksbolts that arrived today - they should be fine but a little longer but shouldn’t matter. If I get stuck I’ll let you know!
@lhu1281 - btw, did you go to Brooklands the other Saturday? It was a grand day out, but missed my ambition of getting the little porker ready for it by a country mile...
No I never made it . Not really my thing but pics and videos of the day looked great ... I keep seeming to keep taking more and more bits off mine ........and spending a fortune with mr Porsche ... the Swindon dealer is also a classic centre and I always feel like a poor person going in there . It does bug me slightly that companies like volksbolt charge a fortune for what is a bit of studding .... How far off are you ... I think I have everything needed just been stripping the whole underside and painting
The PCGB are a breed apart and not really my tribe either - feels like the 914 is a poor relation which is exactly what it is really. I’m using Porsche Reading Classic for a few spenny bits like the windscreen and will be a poorer person by the time I have finished. Progress has been a bit slow for a load of personal reasons which I won’t bore you with. But I was really pleased that the engine ran with its FI working, although there are plenty of things to adjust and tune up. Just need to resolve the oil leaks and I’ll be happy to stop fiddling with the engine and move on to brakes and running gear with a view to getting it road worthy so I can do some proper sea trials. Once it’s self propelling again I can work on it on the driveway where there is a tiny bit more space rather than in the lock up at the end of the road for which I need to enlist the neighbours’ help with moving stuff to... Meanwhile the interior is out and everything is scrubbing up quite well, though will need to get the seats recovered (do you know any good seamsters?). As for the body work, I’m just going to worry about it later and make do with a flat back and polish with a blow in over the nasty bits and leave the full job to a later time. It is all just for fun after all...
I’ve just bought screen trim !!!!! My interior is fairly decent .. I did replace carpet as was missing but seats ok for now with only a few splits . They are corduroy centres witch will be changed when time allows . I also made new alloy door pockets ... 914rubber do nice seat sets but pricey ... can’t wait to smoke the tyres
With the engine back in and running I need the get the old porker roadworthy to see how well it’s actually working. That means putting the interior back in so I’ve got something to sit on. I’ve been tidying it all up so it doesn’t have to come out again. The floor is rust free, amazing really - just needs a good clean. The brown stuff is glue. The carpets are original and have come up really well (photos to come). The side bolsters on the seats have been recovered by the local upholster using a kit I bought but I’ve scrubbed up the back rest, seat and head rest and done a couple of patch repairs. The old material from the seat back has been used to stitch is a repair piece on the centre boltster (photo to come). Pretty pleased; Thought I’d clean up the seat belts too. I now know why you’re not supposed to tinker with them. I took the side cover off and this happened; To make matters worse I thought I’d take the cover off the one on the other side so I could see how the spring is supposed to go, and that one exploded in my face too. I’ve found it is possible to wind the spring up again, but it is like getting toothpaste back in its tube.... Next: rebuilding the brakes. What can go wrong?