alaska blue 914 from across the pond - … · dedicated to preserving the porsche 914 also inside...

FOURTEENER MOTORING | 1FOURTEENER MOTORING | 1

Dedicated to Preserving the Porsche 914

ALSO INSIDE

October, 2015 ● Issue 3

ALASKA BLUE 914FROM ACROSS THE PONDThis ‘73 1.7 liter goesback to its European roots

A Hip Metallic Gold ‘71Porsche 914 HistoryPainting the Project 914Recover Your Seats, Part II

OUTLAW 914?Audi-Powered,Outlaw 914

Thanks for your support. We can’t do it with-out you. To us it’s not just about selling you parts. We try to make the things you need at a price that brings a smile to your face.

914rubber.com21300 N.W. Cornell Road

Hillsboro, OR 97124

FOURTEENER MOTORING | 3

In the October Issue

Outlaw 914?Oh Yes. All Outlaw.Page 18

Back Across the Pond Page 24

Seat Revovery How-To, Part IIHistory3

Events: WerksReunion 2015Page 10


Also In This Issue

First Curve 6

Jackstands 8

New on the Market 13

First Drive: A Hip Gold Metalic 1971 14

Meet Restoration Design 16

1972 Project Car: Chapter 4 - Paint 30

914 History: A Collaborative Effort 37

© Copyright Fourteener Motoring. All rights reserved.

Fourteener Motoring Issue 3, October 2015

wwwfourteenermotoring.comFourteener Motoring Magazine is published quarterly in January, April, July, and October. If you have questions about your subscription, would like to receive a new subscription ($19.99 per year), or would like advertising informaiton, email [email protected], or write to Fourteener Motoring Magazine, P.O. Box 2304 Cornelius, NC 28031.All subscriptions are refundable if you are not100% satisfied.

Postmaster: Please send address changes to:Fourteener MotoringP.O. Box 2304Cornelius, NC 28031

Fourteener Motoring is not associatedwtih Porsche Cars North America, Inc.or any of its dealers.

Enjoy your copy of

SUBSCRIBE

the only magazinededicated exclusivelyto the Porsche 914.

- PAGE 42 -PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.


Photo taken during the 2015 Werks Reunion. Photo by Dave Kawashima.


FIRST CURVE

By Steve Martin, Publisher of Fourteener Motoring

It seems like we have lost too many members of the 914 family lately. In fact, losing even one

is too many. This is especially true of Cap’t Krusty. Learning of the passing of John Larson, aka Cap’t Krusty, was difficult for a lot of 914 enthusiasts. For weeks 914world.com threads expressed how important a role he played in so many people’s 914 lives. John brought his own flair to the 914 community, and offered his knowledge and wisdom to anyone that needed assistance.

He will certainly be missed dearly. Perhaps John, and his instrumen-tal role in the 914 community, can remind us of the true importance of the 914. The car isn’t just important because it is a great car, although it is. Nor is it just significant because it can be relatively easy to work on, al-

though that is true as well. Rather, for many of us, our cars are so important because of the people we have met by being a 914 enthusiast. The friend-ships we have made. The connections that we enjoy and rely on. Without these, owning a 914 just wouldn’t be the same.

I’d like to dedicate this issue to John Larson. As we remember Cap’t Krusty, let’s remember that he thrived on relationships he made within the Porsche community. And he contrib-uted more to that community than he ever took. Maybe the best way to honor John is to strive to live up to his high standards of giving back to the community he loved.

Save the 914,Steve


2016 PORSCHE 914

- COMING SOON -

Reserve your calendar on 914world.com

CALENDAR

or at savethe914.com TODAY!


Enjoy your copy of

SUBSCRIBE

- PAGE 42 -


JACKSTANDS

By Steve Turcotte

When Steve Martin asked me to come up with a perma-nent name for this column,

I kicked around a few ideas and I kept coming back to “Jackstands.” It’s an accepted fact that the vast major-ity of 914’s are either currently on jackstands, or will be when the flatbed drops them off. It’s been said that there are two types of 914’s, those about to come off jackstands, and those about to go on.

914 owners are pretty good-natured about the natural state of the car being up on jackstands while having some serious body/engine/suspension (take your pick) work being done. And they have gotten very creative regarding the methods of getting their cars off the ground. A floor jack and jackstands are the obvious choice, but there are two and four post lifts, scissor lifts, Rotisserie’s, wooden carts and crib-bage, ramps and concrete blocks…not to mention all the other possibilities I haven’t seen or thought of. Actually I should have called the column “2 Post Lift” given how badly I’d like to replace my jackstands with that piece

of equipment.

It would be an interesting exercise to try and come up with the percentage of known 914’s that are currently on stands and undergoing some sort of rehab. The truth of the matter is that if you performed the same exercise on any number of 40 year old models, the 914 would probably fair pretty well, given the level of enthusiasm in the community. It seems to me that 914 owners own the car as much to tinker with, as to drive. And the active 914 support community makes owning and tinkering with a 40 year old car much more enjoyable, rewarding, and ultimately successful.

When I bought my first 914, in the mid-80’s in West Palm Beach, the Internet was non-existent, and there were few resources available to a com-plete newbee like myself. It was easier to make bad decisions, which I did relentlessly, without having a support network to steer you. I really struggled to find the parts and expertise to ef-fectively sort thru the gremlins that continued to pop up, and a big move


out of state led to the sale of that 914.

Flash forward to 2012, and the stars aligned for me to acquire another 914. By this point, the Internet had led to the creation of a vibrant forum community, vendors and enthusiasts, dedicated to everything related to the Porsche 914. I’ve already had several opportunities to avail myself of the collected wisdom that can be refer-enced online and in person. My car has already spent several stints on jack-stands, from trouble shooting a faulty starter, to replacing the clutch cable, valve adjustments and oil changes, new muffler, and the list goes on. For me, and a lot of others, one of the biggest enjoyments of owning the 914, is making it work as intended.

When I peruse the forums online, I consistently find myself gravitating to threads regarding the cars undergo-ing a restoration, or rehab of specific systems. I know the list of work I need to address at some point on my own car, and seeing someone docu-ment how they tackled the job, and any issues that may have come up, is incredibly beneficial and interesting. I get inspiration by seeing someone else tackle a job I know I have to do, and I find myself more confident that I too will be able to successfully get the job done. There are now complete websites dedicated to the restoration of a 914, not to mention all the You-Tube video’s that address everything from recovering your door panels, to rebuilding your engine. Fourteener Motoring Magazine is a new contribu-

tor to this repository of information, and has already started to add to the how-to database available on the net.

Having access to professional mechan-ics who work day in and day out on the 914 is an opportunity I could only have dreamed of back in the 80’s. If only I wasn’t so young and stupid back then! I could have done a 6 conversion for a fraction of the cost today. Ah, but that’s water under the bridge, and with my current 914, I’m much more interested in keeping it stock, and trying to find the impossible-to-source parts for the car.

When you think about it, so many 914’s on jackstands is really a good thing. It means that our cars are being cared for, restored, maintained, and loved back to life. When all the newest connected cars are getting hacked, and disabled by an electromagnetic pulse, our 914’s will be out there, tearing up the empty roads, and we will all have the last laugh! Well, that is if we can get them off the jackstands . . . .


EVENTS

Tthe second annual Werks Reunion proved to be a record-setting event, with over 700 Porsches on display. Included in the field were some very impressive cars.

Along with a Porsche 918, there was a 550 spider, as well as a 904. There was even a custom car that was hand-pounded into shape by Chris Runge, created to resemble a very early, post-war Porsche race car. The red 904 was one of the most popular cars at the events, easily garnering as much attention as the 918 that sat nearby. The 550 Spyder was last driven to victory by Denise McClug-gage, who recently passed away, at Watkins Glen. Amazing cars, indeed.

Among the other Porsches were an impressive showing of 914s as well. Patrick Motorsports brought a the silver 916 clone, complete with a hardtop. They also fielded a mint green 914-6 clone. There was a very nice Bumble Bee, and many other cars worth noting. But, maybe they can best be appreciated in photos. Enjoy.

Werks Reunion 2015Photos by Dave Kawashima


Photo of Lawrence Wach. Credit: Dave Kawashima


NEWS

Tranny Linkage Cover

John Larson (aka Cap’n Krusty)April 9, 1944 - June 25, 2015

9 14 enthusiats lost a pillar of their community this sum-mer. John Larson, known to

many on 914world.com by his screen name, Cap’n Krusty, spent decades working on Porsches, and more importantly offered invaluable help to many, many other 914 enthusiasts. Although his screen name matched his fun, irreverent posts, he was far from “Krusty” in person. He was easy going, a slow easy talker, and his Porsche experience and knowledge was second to none. Some say that he forgot more about Porsche 914s than many of us will ever know.

The Larson family would like to thank all those who have given their support, words of comfort, and heartfelt condolences. John will be remembered for his infectious grin and humor; his generosity of spirit, time and talent. We hope your memories of John are as wonderful as ours.

John, we love you and miss you deeply.The Larson Family


New on the Market

Door Lock PostFresh Air Intake

Tranny Linkage Cover914rubber (914rubber.com) recently began offering this tranny linkage cover. This part is critical to keeping your shifting mechanism clean and functioning, without the wear of dirt and debris getting into the moving parts. These have been NLA for many years. And this part was made just as the factory made it.

From making parts correctly, to choosing the right materials, it’s not just a matter of making a part that looks correct. Selecting the material that will be impact resistant and still flex enough to let you install the link-age by twisting it out of the way for installation is important. 914rubber is currently working on the OEM style band clamp, and anticipates it being completed soon.

Restoration Design (restoration-design.com) recently began offering the left and right door lock post fresh-air intakes for the 914. These parts commonly rust out due to the foam that the factory installed in this area of the car. This part is a helpful addition to the parts that can be purchased when restoring your car.


FIRST DRIVE

A Hip Gold Metalic ‘71Returns to the Street

K arl Manderbach bought his 1971 914 in September of 2012, “kind of on a whim,”

as he dscribes it. He had restored a number of air-cooled Volkswagens, and had always wanted a 914. One day he came across an ad for the 914, and decided to go take a look. A few days later the deal was done.

He “coasted it” (literally) down Highway 34 to Loveland from Estes Park, Colorado. Within a couple days, he had the car stripped down to the bare shell and on a trailer to be sent off for body and paint. Karl originally intended to do a 6-cylinder conver-sion using an engine out of an 1986 911. However, as he talked to people about the car, he became convinced to restore it to stock.

Karl says that every time he spoke to someone about the car, their first question was always: What color is it? When he told them that it was yellow, but, originally metallic gold, every one of them told him: Paint it Gold! With-out a color already in his mind, he did a little research and found only three other gold 914s on the internet. Gold it would be, he decided.

Between two shops, it took close to two and a half years to complete metal repairs and paint and body. During media blasting, it was determined that the car had been painted seven times, with several iterations of reds and yel-lows. While the body was away, Karl devoted his time to hunting down parts, and prepping them for instal-lation. “Chasing parts was quite the adventure due to the fact that I had

an “early” car which made finding the correct parts even harder,” says Karl.

Throughout the restoration, Karl found that one of the hardest aspects of the process was to try to stick to his plan of returning the car to as close to stock as possible. With a few exceptions, he says he was able to ac-complish that goal. And the few things that are not stock, can be changed fairly easily. For example, for the door panels. he chose high-quality, after-market panels, similar to what is found in a 911.

Most importantly, Karl says that he learned a lot and met a lot of great Porsche enthusiasts through the resto-ration. “Each and every one of them provided some kind of guidance and have been a pleasure to get to know,” he says. “The experience of the res-toration of the car, has provided me with the knowledge and skills to make the next one even better.”

We think Karl is going to be hard-pressed to improve on the masterpiece this 914 turned out to be. Congratula-tions.



VENDOR VIEW

Meet Restoration Design

A s summer comes to a close, many Porsches come inside to be opened up. Winter is

a time of slumber, waiting for the rebirth of spring, and this holds true for many car enthusiasts and their cars.

In the small town of Guelph, On-tario, Restoration Design, Inc, is a company dedicated to supporting the “Porsche Project Car” and its pas-sionate owner. Originally producing parts solely for the Porsche 914, the de Jonge family bought the company in 2009 and has since expanded its product line to include an even wider line of 914 body panels, as well as panels for the 911/912 and the 356.

Restoration Design has made a name

for itself due to its obsession with a part’s originality and correctness, by basing all their parts off of original and NOS panels. Working in the op-posite direction from Porsche, who generally supersedes parts, Restora-tion Design has been actively creating the full variance of original factory panels for the discerning restoration-ist.

Peter de Jonge, one of Restoration Design’s owners, is a Porsche 914 fan, having personally restored his 1973 from the ground up. Being enthusi-asts and actual users of their parts has given the de Jonges special help in perfecting their product line and knowing what parts the company should provide to the community next.

The process of actually creating a new part for their product line-up is a complex task that Restoration Design has honed over the years. There are many limitations to getting a piece to market, the first of which being the acquisition of an appropriate NOS panel that can be 3D scanned.“We have a lot of sources we use to find good original panels,” says Peter, “but often it just comes down to someone knowing us, calling us up, and sending in an old panel they found.”

One of a 914 Restorer’s Most Valueable Resources


Once a panel is found and scanned, the resulting digital file is fed into one of Restoration Design’s mills. Over the next few weeks, two blank blocks of steel will be slowly milled into two die halves, and then meticulously polished by hand for production by one of the company’s employees. When the die is ready for production, it is loaded into a press and some test pieces are stamped out. If all goes well, the die will stamp out a whole run of panels for sale.

The steel used in these panels is called “galvanneal steel.” It exhibits high anti-corrosion properties, while still being easily paintable. This makes for panels that will last much longer than the original Porsche sheet metal, while still looking perfectly original.Considering the massive amount of collective effort and work, Restora-tion Design turns out new parts slowly, albeit consistently. “We have a lot of work to do, even after the part

is made,” says Mark Bolton, Resto-ration Design’s shipping manager, “We’re a small company and we can’t get bogged down with unhappy cli-ents, forcing us to go back and redo dies and products. We have to do it right the first time.”

It is true that customers are gener-ally very satisfied with Restoration Design’s parts. Randy from a local Porsche dismantler and reseller jok-ingly says that, “if you haven’t heard of Restoration Design, you’re not a real Porsche enthusiast.”

As time goes on, more and more Porsche panels on our cars will be replaced with Canadian parts. Hope-fully the next 914 you buy will still have its floors. If not, Restoration Design might be your first call.

Restoration Designrestoration-design.com519.836.3555


FEATURE

Mike & Kristi Bellis’ Outlaw 914 is what we like to refer to as a “Hover Car.” Wher-

ever he goes, people like to hover around it.

You may be the type that has a de-signer alligator belt and stands around in awe of a Bugatti in Beverly Hills. Instead, this outlaw 914 stretches a different note in your imagination:

FEATURE

builder and driver. The typical 914 drivers are people like you and me - Often comfortable stretching out our stomachs drinking beer at the West Coast Classic, and our latest 914 event T-shirt at the same time. Let your belt out a little. This is as good as it gets.

Like all true Outlaw Porsches, Mike’s creation is uniquely his own: His


OUTLAW 914?

styling, his likes, and his way. A red, white, and blue theme on a white 914 chassis - patriotic for sure, since Mike is a former Marine. Fiberglass bumpers, rockers, and valences, as well as an aggressive spoiler give it a race car vibe, but this rocket is built for duality: street and track.

The pop up headlights are gone – replaced by Nissan headlamps and

custom eyelids. Mike suggests that he wants to keep the lights, but make them pop up like stock. Everything is unique about this 914, and the lights are just another cue that this car is a special build.

Let’s hover more, shall we?The first thing that a roving 914 aficionado sees is that it’s a 914 with bolt-on flares. Racey and different, at

OH YES. ALL OUTLAW.By Rob Ways


the same time. Get closer.

There’s an Audi steering wheel and column. Audi instrument panel. You quickly look back under the engine lid to find an Audi powerplant. What’s that? You have lots of questions.

Does the 1.8 Turbo go fast? Yes. Peak horsepower of 325. What kind of transmission? Audi/Boxster 5 speed. Drive by wire? Yes. Does the steering column work in this configuration? Yes. How good does it drive? Good. Real good.

Mike admits he originally wanted to do the conversion with a Subaru engine, but he couldn’t find a decent motor without tired miles. Enter the Audi 1.8T. It, however, wasn’t exactly a plug and play exchange. You try and wire up a modern German powertrain to a vintage 70’s 914.

Luckily, Mike’s day job is in electrical construction. This is when you realize your dream of copying his master-piece is permanently under an inch of dust on jack stands in your dreams, making a nice cat nest.

The car has prior racing history, but is now doing service as a daily driver. 930 brakes. Full cage. Fire suppres-sion. Who does this, you ask? A 914 guy with seriously mad skills.Heading down the road in 1st and 2nd gear is like driving a nice, tame, well-mannered 914. The exhaust note is spunky like Demi Moore in her prime, but push hard on the wire, open up the turbo, and a screaming banshee erupts like a typhoon. Yes, that is the rear bumper of the car in front of you. Let’s see here… oh yes, 930 brakes.

Mike gets a fair amount of commen-


tary, so I will offer some too. This could be a really awesome track car. You could chew up a road course on every whim. And, in a prior life, it was a race car. It was campaigned by the previous owner with the POC in the 80’s and 90’s. In 1996, it was retired as the competition moved on to higher horsepower 6-cylinder en-gines. In 1999, the car was converted back to a street car with a 283 V8. It changed hands a bit, with a stint in Kentucky, until Mike bought it off of eBay in 2009, and the rest of this Outlaw 914 is history.

Back on the freeway, the car is calm. It’s the turbo that lies in waiting. This car is wonderful, and I mean it. Mike explains that he had the engine tuned by a professional tuner – 034 in Fremont, CA. It shows. The turbo is a GT2860. This may be the best driv-ing high-horsepower 914 on the road today. If not, it is very close.

We double back on street roads that take us to a series of stop signs. The Porsche gods are waging bets in the clouds – a grey 996 Turbo is just ahead. Yeah, that’s a red, white, and blue 914 with a big wing in your rear view mirror. He stomps on it. Well, what do you think happens next?

Yes, I could describe the adventure in great detail, but before you whip out your Porsche performance almanac to compare horsepower, let’s just cut to the chase (pun intended). You can see the 996 Turbo owner asking, what is in that? Then he went home and beat his cat. A 914 with a turbo can bend the senses, and interrupt the dollar-to-ego continuum. Poor kitty.

This 914 is a clear testament to Mike’s imagination. It’s an Outlaw 914 that is all his creation. It is a “hover car” that stands up like a window to your 914 build dreams. Do you have the mad skills?

More details and photos of Mike & Kristi Bellis’ outlaw 914 can be found at fourteenermotoring.com.


FEATURE

Mike and Kristi Bellis’ Outlaw 914.


FEATURE



FEATURE

Back Across the Pond

Oregon and Congleton Cheshire, England are thousnds of miles apart.

But the distance couldn’t keep this ‘73 1.7 liter Alaska blue 914 from making its way back across the pond to its new home.

Matt Webb searched a long time before buying his first Porsche 914. He owned numerous air-cooled Volk-swagens, including a Karmann Gia, a U.S. spec California-look bug, and a T25 Firetruck. He even had a Ginetta G32, which is a light weight mid-

engine, 2-seater similar to the 914. But he had never owned a Porsche. So when Matt went looking for a 914 last year he searched far and wide to find the right car.

“I just had to have a ‘73, but with the early looks,” Matt says. He ultimately found what he was looking for . . . in Oregon. He located the car of his dreams on Craigslist, but, the owner didn’t really want to do an overseas sale. Neither person had ever pur-chased or sold an overseas car. They decided to part ways and look for

This Alaska Blue ‘73 Took an Incredibly

By Steve Martin

Long Journey to its New Home


deals closer to home.

Time passed, and Matt looked at several other cars. Then he contacted a gentlemen who said that a friend of his had a nice Alaska blue ‘73 1.7 liter 914 that he might be selling. It turned out to be the same car that he initially found on Craigslist.

Maybe it was just meant to be. Matt really wanted this car, since it was exactly what he had been looking for. So he decided to go through the process of having the car brought to England, where he lives.

Today, it is commonplace for classic Porsches in the United States to be purchased overseas and shipped back across the Altantic Ocean. But, that doesn’t mean it is always easy. Or fast. To do it right means a lot of leg-

work, planning, and hiring a reputable transport company. It also takes a little patience and trust.

After numerous emails, and hundreds of photos, a deal was struck with the owner of the car. As it turned out, the transport of the 914 to England was hassle-free. Matt hired a compa-ny to oversee the process of moving the car first from Corvallis, Oregon to Oakland, California, a 560 mile trip on an auto transporter. Once in Oakland the 914 was packed into a container and then it made its way across the Atlantic Ocean to South-ampton, England.

After arriving in England the con-tainer was unpacked and customs clearances were obtained. Finally the ‘73 was taken to Matt’s hometown of Congleton, Cheshire, England, which


was another few hundred miles. In total the car traveled about 5,000 miles, without ever putting a mile on the odometer.

Congleton, Cheshire, England with a population of about 25,000, is known for being located on the banks of the River Dane, and is 20 miles south of Manchester. It provides a spectacular backdrop for open-air motoring.

All-in-all, the epic journey took six weeks. Matt and the seller have re-mained friends after the transaction, and regularly exchange emails about the car.

Previous to Matt buying the ‘73, the car had a comprehensive restora-tion, including stripping to a bare tub, full repaint, glass, and engiine rebuild. The 914 runs it’s original 1.7 fuel injected engine. Matt says that although he initially wanted a 2.0 liter, the condition of the overall car outweighed his need for the larger engine. He likes having an original

The’73 has had a com-plete restoration, includ-ing bare metal teardown, repaint in the original Alaska blue, and rebuild of the matching-numbers 1.7 liter, four-cylinder engine.


car. And that is exaclty what he got with this stunning 914.

Now, with the original Alaska blue paint, and matching-numbers engine, the car is almost completley origi-nal, with the exception of a couple modifications.

Since owning the car, Matt has replaced the seats, which are a mixtur

of wool inserts and leather bolsters, headrests, and backs. The headlights have also been converted to right-hand drive headlights to meet the legal requirements of the United Kingdom. He also swapped the side-markers and indicators. At this time, Matt has no other plans to modify the 914.

The car is driven on dry days, when-


ever possible. Matt also likes to attend Porsche Club GB, VW, and classic car shows with his ride, where he has already taken home some nice awards. He won joint second place in this year’s regional PCGB Cars, In The Carpark Show. He also took home 3rd place in a regional TIPEC (The Independent Porsche Enthusiats

club) event.

But his favorite place to take the car is a nice drive over the Derbyshire Staffordshire Moorlands, which con-sist of plenty of windy roads to enjoy the classic open-top, mid-engine Porsche. Although this 914 has seen more countries than many people,


The only modifi-cations Matt has made to the car have been his re-placing the seats and changing the sidemarker and front turn signal lenses.

the drives though the countriside of England are undoubtedly a highlight of its travels.

To see more photos of Matt’ Webb’s 914 visit fourteenermotoring.com.


1972 Project Car

In the last chapter of our “lite” restoration of the Silver ‘72 914, we tackled the rust. Although

compared to many 914’s this car had very little, it still had to be dealt with.

Now that we have a clean chassis, it is time for bodywork and paint. Overall the paint wasn’t very bad to begin with. But it had some dings and scratches that we couldn’t live with. We decided to strip the car, and repaint it. And so the sanding began.

When the previous owner had the car repainted, a number of years before we bought it, he had the entire car stripped. We were able to confirm how the bare metal was prepared and primed. They did an excellent job and

this made our work a lot easier.

We block-sanded the existing paint and clear coat off with 180 grit sand paper, down to the primer. Although we ended up sanding some of the primer off, we did not have to take the car to bare metal, thanks to the great work by the previous painter.

Once all of the paint was removed, we addressed the dings and dents. It never ceases to amaze me what a good paintless dent-repair expert can do. Black Forest Racing recom-mended the person they typically use, and he did a great job. He spent a few hours working on the car, and in that time was able to take two dents out of the driver’s-side door

Chapter 4: Paint


(where a motorcycle had fallen into the car while the previous owner had it parked in the garage), as well as a dent in the right rear quarter panel and a swell in the engine lid. And when I say he took the dents out, I mean when he was done they didn’t need any filler at all. None. In total it cost us about $200.00. It was money well spent in terms of the finished product and time savings.

Once the dents were removed, we sprayed the whole car with Omni 2k primer. Since this 914 is going to be a driver, we went with Omni MP282 SV High Build 2K Primer to save a little money. It costs a fraction of what Deltron primer will set you back, and much of the 2k primer ends up being blocked off anyway.

After the car was shot with primer we

began block-sanding, again. We used 280 grit, switching to 320 once we got it close to how we wanted it. In the end, we only had to go back over the car with a couple more coats of primer, since it started out so straight to begin with. We used a guide coat before finishing, and it proved to be as smooth as glass.

Prepairing a car for paint can be one of the most laborious and time consuming parts of a restoration. It is also an area where you can save money by doing the work yourself. We did the paint prep work in my garage. And once we got it pretty close, we hired someone to come help finish it. This scenario let us do most of the labor, and still produced great results.

Once the car was ready for final


paint, we got references of painters with a booth. Many paint shops don’t like to shoot cars that they haven’t prepared, for obvious reasons: They don’t know how well the prep work was done, and they make less money. But, if you ask around you can usually find someone with a good repuation that will paint the car after you prepair it.

The painter we used charged us $1,000 to go over the car one last

time with a final sanding and then paint it. To get the best possible fin-ish, we used Deltron 2000 base coat and clear coat (1972 Silver Metal-lic, L96D), which cost around $800 in materials. In total, we ended up spending about $3,000 on the paint job, including materials, preparation help, and final paint.

We will let you judge how it turned out for yourself. Next issue: Floor and trunk paint, and then reassembly.


HOW-TO

914 Seat RecoveryPart II: Center Panel and Bases

By Mark Whitesell, 914 Rubber

Time Required:3 to 5 hours per set - center section and bases.

Needed Tools:• Needle nose pliers

• Upholstery Hog rings (from old seat) or safety wire

• Upholstery glue Camie 312 or suit able replacement

Optional:• Staple gun optional

914rubber (914rubber.com) produces a wide-range of Porsche 914 parts, designed to help restore and maintain your car.

With the backs and side bol-sters done, only the center and base sections are

left to finish. These are a little more demanding than the back bolsters, however.

You will want to remove the metal at the bottom of the old center sections. This will need to be reused to secure the base of the new sections.


We now include the fiberboard to re-place the side sections. You will want to find the center of the seat and go approximately 5-1/4” inches out on each side. Place the strips on the lines. You can use glue or the staple gun to attach them initially. You will want to make sure that your center section is wide enough to “fill” the area with no gaps. I have found that there can be some minor variations depending on the condition of the foam. Once you are satisfied, you can glue/staple them in place. I glued them as that was the way the factory did it.

The next task is where it starts get-ting more difficult. The headrest needs to be attached to the foam. I have chosen to use safety wire as I have it on hand, and it allows me to tighten or loosen as I see fit. So I can suck down one side, more or less, to make it even. The hog rings are not very adjustable. After the headrest is secured to the foam/metal section you can install.

You will need to let the glue get good and tacky, as it will need to stick well as you are stretching it around. I made the mistake of being in a hurry and it wasn’t as tacky as it should have been. You will want to wait about 15 minutes for it to flash off. Tucking the edges and the top section in where you want it will take some time to make perfect. This is the time consuming aspect of the process, as you can see all the imperfections.


After the headrest is secured, the base can then be secured. Mine was miss-ing a center clip, but it still worked.

The center section was not as sup-portive as I liked, so I replaced the thin pad with some foam I cut, for a little more lumbar support.

Covering the BasesThe OEM bases actually have a tuck in the front of the cushion that requires some work to duplicate. You would think that it would be easy to

simply staple the cover over the old cushion.

Here’s where the fun begins. The first crease is held down by a series of strings that cause it to “tuck” down.

I used the same system of tying safety wire to pull it down. This al-lows for easy adjustment.


I pulled these through the flap at points that I marked off of the old cushion, to make sure they pull through the holes. I used a guide wire to pull the sections through and then tied it off to the next to create the desired tension.

This allows me to pull and tie off each section, making the tuck as pro-nounced as desired. The completed sets can then be assembled. I didn’t snap a picture of the completed seat before it was sold, but did a second

base just to show what it looks like. Therefore, the seat isn’t matched, but you can see how it looks assembled.

Allow plenty of time to do this, otherwise you will be too rushed to get the details just right. I am not an upholstery professional, and would consider myself a novice. My results could have been improved, as the tuck could have been a little better. However, the board I had was more damaged than I wanted. I didn’t have time to fabricate another. The center section didn’t get the uniform pres-sure I wanted without reinforcement. So the devil is in the details.


914 HISTORY

Most Porsche 914 enthusi-asts know that the 914 was a joint venture between

Porsche and Volkswagen. But this fact over-simplifies the birth of the classic mid-engine car. The story of how the 914 came to be sheds light on the relationship between the two automakers, as well as the unique place the 914 holds in Porsche his-tory.

It is well-known that Profes-sor Porsche was commissioned to design the VW Beetle in 1934, which catapulted him onto the world automotive stage. Although WWII put a halt to VWs progress, by 1948 the Wolfsburg Volkswagen fac-tory had been handed back to the Germans, following British control after the war. In an event that would prove to shape the early direction of Porsche, Heinz Nordhoff was appointed General Manager of the now-famous maker of the Beetle. At about the same time Ferry Porsche was beginning the company we now

know as Porsche. In starting the new sports car company, the young Porsche turned to a supplier he knew well, VW. Since it was not efficient to build every part itself, Porsche sourced many of the components for their first cars from Volkswagen. The first 356s relied heavily on VW parts, and this relationship continued well into the 1970s. In a sense, all early Porsches could be thought of as somewhat of a joint-venture with the larger VW firm.

In addition to providing parts for Porsche cars, Nordhoff allowed the fledging automaker to use its

914 HISTORY:A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT

By Steve Martin

VW General Manager Heinz Hordhoff set the course of Porsche/VW joint ventures through the decades before the 914.


extensive sales network around the world. This proved to be instrumen-tal in getting the new sports cars into the hands of customers world-wide. Perhaps more importantly, however, the VW manager sent a constant flow of commissions and consulting work to the new sports car company. Rang-ing from electrical systems, engines and transmissions, to complete cars, VW hired Porsche to handle approxi-mately sixty individual projects in the twenty years from 1948 to 1968. In

the early days of Porsche, the com-pany generated income by designing for other auto companies, and spent that money building its own world-class sports cars.

Notable projects that Porsche han-dled for VW, many of which never saw production, include an electric vehicle, the Type 402, the Type 534, and the Type 672 & 673 (which interestingly carried a rear-mounted flat-six engine). Porsche was also

The Type 534, commis-sioned by Volkswagen early in 1952, has striking siularities to the Porsche 356.


commissioned to design the Type 700 and the Type 728, as well as a replace-ment for the Beetle. Indeed, VW and Porsche worked hand-in-hand for a number of decades leading up to the seemingly inevitable joint venture that we now know as the Porsche 914.

The Type 728 is particularly interest-ing because it led to the production VW Type 3. The design was one of three (Type 672, 675, and 728) new exercises between mid-1955 and 1957. The commission called for a lightweight, unibody automobile, powered by a three or four-cylinder, air-cooled engine. The Type 728 ultimately became known as the EA 53. Seven examples were built for evaluation, with bodies provided by Porsche. Later Ghia would design the body, and the car would enter pro-duction as the VW Type 3 (Fastbacks, Squarebacks, and Notchbacks).

A primary result of the Type 728 exercise was the design of what has

come to be called the ‘underfloor engine.’ Prior to this design VW and Porsche engines utilized an upright cooling system, with the cooling fan on top. The new design moved the fan to the end of the crankshaft, and allowed the power plant to be placed under the floor. This design would prove instrumental in the 914.

Another interesting early VW exercise was the Type 411. Although Porsche played no initial role in the develop-ment of the car, it would become very important in the development of the Porsche 914.

The EA 142, as it was known, was commissioned in 1962 and was first designed by Ghia. The project soon took a new direction under the care of Carozzeria Pininfarina. The car was redesigned, and 45 different prototypes in various body configura-tions were built. Once finalized, the production result was the well-known VW 411.

The EA 53 from the Type 728 project, led to what became-known as the VW Type 3.


Many variations of the car were built. VW even considered using the 4-cylinder engine as the basis of a stretched six-cylinder powerplant.

Although Porsche played no role in the development of the 411, the engine from the car would become important to the development direc-tion of their future cars, being used in both the 912 and our beloved 914.

Next issue: We carry the history of the 914 into its development and produc-tion phases.

The VW Type 411 engine was ultimately used in the Porsche 912 and 914.



COMING SOON

Best 914? Could There Be Just One? No. We Show Off the Top 14 914s Ever.

A Pair of 914 Limited Edi-tion Beauties

Project Car: Prepping and Painting the Floors & Trunks.

How-To: Replacing the Targa Vinyl.

The Continuing Story of the History of the Porsche 914.

More News, Events, Prod-uct Reviews, How-To Ar-ticles, and 914 Information.

Coming Soon

SUBSCRIBEAND DON’T MISS

RECEIVE YOUR COPY OF

AN ISSUE

FOURTEENER MOTORINGDELIVERED TO YOUR DOORFOR JUST $19.99 PER YEAR

SUBSCRIBE TODAY ATFOURTEENERMOTORING.COM

Savethe914.com

Copyright © 2015 Save the 914. All rights reserved.

Does this situation sound familiar? Looking for an en-

gine for a Porsche 914? Have an engine you want to reunite

with the original owner? List what you are looking for, or

what you have in Fourteener Motoring’s Engine Registry.

Help! Wanted Dead or Alive

Engine #6414135. It is the original engine out

of my 1971 914-6. Some idiot took it out of the

car, probably in the 1980s when it didn’t matter.

Help me reunite the car and the engine. It will

be magical. Please call me if you happen to have

it in your car, sitting on a pallet, or propping

a door open in your shop. Email: mh94526@

gmail.com

- FourteenerMotoring.com -

Photo: Zachary Mayne

FOURTEENER MOTORING | 44 FOURTEENER MOTORING | 44

Building and Racing Porsche cars for over 3 decades.717.432.4116 aircooledracing.com1560 Old Mountain Road, Wellsville, PA

We have restored several 914’s that should have been scraped, replac-ing floors, rockers & more. We build 4-cylinder & 6-cylinder en-gines to stock, street hot rod or full race! Stop by and see us. We would love to hear about your project.

American Importer of the Original “Minilite Wheels”Custom Axle Straps & RatchetsBrad Penn 20/50 “the Green Oil,” as well as KendalCustom 914 Parts for Race and the Street

• • • •

alaska blue 914 from across the pond - … · dedicated to preserving the porsche 914 also inside...

Documents