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914/6 GT Build


crsedge
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Hi All,

I have been meaning to document the process of this build for 8 months now after purchasing a 1976 914 2.0 fuel injected car as a base. This is my 3rd 914, I keep gravitating back to them!!

This car was imported into WA in the early 1980s and was converted to RHD and remained with the one owner since then. It had a massive file with even the sales documentation when first purchased in the US, and a massive box of spares that I shoehorned into the front boot!

I bought this car sight unseen on the Trading Post (of all places), flew to Armidale NNSW and drove the car home to Melbourne. It was quite the trip, made all the more special when Apple Maps took me across 3x causeways that were underwater, with one of them requiring a fair bow wave to get through and the feeling of losing traction with the ground on that particular crossing.... After a quick change of underwear, the journey continued and it didn't miss a beat :)

I drove it for approximately a year whilst I planned the build and commenced the purchasing of the required parts, with most unfortunately coming from the U.S. and incurring horrendous freight and currency conversion costs

This is the starting photo tucked up in the garage at home

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And this the absolute inspiration :) !!

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The first step was the tear down...

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I then rolled her out into the lane way and stripped the paint off, not worrying about the guards as these are to be removed in favour of the steel GT flares!

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One of my first purchases from the U.S. was a set of the required 15x 7" and 8" fuchs. This was them when they landed-

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I then set about the process of restoration of the rims, a fairly involved process but very worthwhile- you can't beat a set of anodised Fuchs on an early P-car :)

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The next step was to change from the VW 4 stud hubs to the Porsche 5 stud hubs as per the 914/6 build, so off she went-

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...and voila (albeit that the rears were rubbing in the narrow body guise)!

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So off to the next stage- the steel flares from Auto Atlanta, a necessity for the true GT build

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The motor has now recently been dropped in preparation for the 6 cylinder P motor (still to be finalised)-

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The later model 914s had the horrendous and terribly heavy impact bumpers which needed to be removed and backdated to the earlier steel variety for the build. I located these locally (and the bumper tops) and had the bumpers chrome stripped and copper plated ready for when they will be painted black

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Then the cutting of the front for the oil cooler set up from Patrick's Motorsports- I gritted my teeth when taking to it with the grinder. 

The first cut was in the spare wheel section, slowly, slowly...-

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And then the front section...

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Next job is the through bonnet fuel filler, more cutting....

Cheers

Craig

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Thanks for sharing this build, please keep the content and updates coming. 

Have you tackled a lot of the tasks yourself and on previous builds or are you picking up new skills as you go along? 

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4 hours ago, Asyd said:

Hi crsedge,

looking forward to this build with interest.

Newbie question, why the copper plating?

cheers

Hi Asyd,

Copper was the finish recommended by the bumper restorers, providing the best surface for the paint to adhere to the steel bumper.

Cheers

Craig

2 hours ago, poli84 said:

Thanks for sharing this build, please keep the content and updates coming. 

Have you tackled a lot of the tasks yourself and on previous builds or are you picking up new skills as you go along? 

Hi Poli84,

I have been more hands-on with this build than previous P restos so am picking up some new skills, which I have been really enjoying.

I will however not be tackling everything, would prefer to leave the more difficult tasks to the professionals from a quality finish and time availability perspective! :)

Cheers

Craig

2 hours ago, rafikdous said:

Great start Craig, looking forward to the rest of the build

Thanks Raf!

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Awesome, Craig. It looks like we're both under the pump now for Australia Day.... 

Regarding your 2.0L engine, was it good before you took it out? I saw that you drove from NSW without any issues. I have no idea what mine's like as it's been sitting untouched for so long. I may be looking for a backup plan if I find out that mine's either toast or too costly to rebuild. 

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Thanks Luke.

Yes motor in excellent condition, it was in the car up until about 4 weeks ago with the car driven semi-regularly on club rego right up until the build commenced.

It didn't miss a beat, it was only removed because of my desire to build a sympathetic 914/6 GT and needing a 6 cylinder to do so! :)

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  • 3 weeks later...

So some updates :)

First update is the installation of the GT front bonnet pins- this surprisingly took some time to get them in the correct positions, drill, and then cut, fashion and weld the supports in place for each pin-

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As part of this work, one of the small three areas in the whole car affected by rust had to be repaired- this was part of the frame surrounding the front right headlight-

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The offending piece was cut out...

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...and new metal fashioned into place. You can see the corner section fashioned to hold the bonnet pin in this photo-

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Good as gold :)

 

Next was the through bonnet fuel filler, one of my favourite parts of a 914/6 GT build....

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... and viola! :)

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  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Wow your 914 looks awesome. I am wondering if you restored the Fuchs yourself or got them done and if so by who. They look fantastic. I have a set on my 911 that need a resto and I’m going through the process of trying to strip and polish them myself and then get them anodised or just try and find someone to do the complete job. The only thing I know is that I want the finished product to look like yours.

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11 minutes ago, TDW911 said:

Wow your 914 looks awesome. I am wondering if you restored the Fuchs yourself or got them done and if so by who. They look fantastic. I have a set on my 911 that need a resto and I’m going through the process of trying to strip and polish them myself and then get them anodised or just try and find someone to do the complete job. The only thing I know is that I want the finished product to look like yours.

Thanks :)

I went through the process of undertaking all the ground work myself- blasting, sanding any scrapes scrapes, took it to the polishers, then to Melbourne Anodising.

I then taped each wheel up myself and got a painter to paint them :)

I have done this a few times now so am becoming a mini-expert :)

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Thanks for the info. That exactly what I needed to know. I’m pretty handy and not afraid of some elbow grease so I think I’ll follow your lead. If they come half as good as yours I’ll be a happy man. Thanks again for your help.

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