Upper Intake Manifold questions

[3d914]

Well got the adapter, flywheel, clutch & disk assembled. Tranny went on like a breeze once I got the spline lined up correctly.



Now just need to verify the starter. I already checked that the teeth mesh properly with the flywheel. The distance from the mounting face on the starter to the top of the teeth is 35mm and on the tranny mounting face to the rear face of the flywheel is 37mm - so I've got 2mm clearance.

Now just need to verify the amount of throw-out the starter has when engaged.

[3d914]

Got some time to test-fit the supports and drill their holes. Been looking forward to getting to this point. Next step is to drill all the holes for the extending legs and install the pins.

[intimdatr]

i just got a 914 running and driving today. Sweet little car. I couldnt believe what its gonna be like with this motor in it!

[3d914]

intimdatr, glad to hear. Post some pics of the 914 - would love to see them.

Here's some pics of my previous 914s

Sweet Ravenna - 74 2.0L with custom Fuel Injection


Signal Orange - 74 2.0L with stock FI


White - 76 2.0L with dual Delortos

[3d914]

Got the engine transferred to the cradle. Hoo-Ra!

Had to put the cradle on blocks so the engine lift would fit underneath - needed 8" of clearance.

[3d914]

Seeing things better now that the engines off the floor and on the cradle. Noticed I'll have a slight interference with the exhaust flange on the left side. That means the left support will have to come off and be trimmed.



Had to trim the back corner off to get the Y-pipe flange on. All connected up and ready to go. Even got the O2 sensors installed.

[3d914]

Not much done this weekend. Managed to sort out all the various coolant and vacuum hoses needed, so I'll be adding those over the next week or so.

Need to take time and get some gutters on the house before the serious rains come. I don't call them monsoons. Arizonians don't know what monsoons are!

[3d914]

Still working on gutters and my son's 914, but did manage to get the PCV, heater hoses, and TB-by-pass hoses hooked up. Still waiting on the oil cooler hoses to come in.

Hose details here.

[3d914]

Still working on gutters, but did get a chance to play with this Flash visualizer tool someone built for the 914. I posted to get some input on different color combos.

This looks to be my current choice - Nepal Orange over dark red.



I wanted to go with the two-color bumpers (red & yellow), but my daughter did this mod for me, but it doesn't look as good as it sounded.

[intimdatr]

I like the single tone better as well.

[3d914]

After taking care of front & rear brakes on my son's RSX, helping the wife paint, helping a friend load thirty bales of hay, changing the oil & fixing passenger window on the Windstar, I actually got some time to work on the SHO motor this weekend.

Managed to get the radiator mounting brackets cut, welded, and together.



Here's one already installed. Waiting on handles from the local ACE - they had to order three of the four I needed.

[3d914]

I like long weekends. Gives me time to do kids cars and mine. Worked on my sons Acura RSX yesterday.

Finally got the 3.2 all buttoned up for coolant and oil. Still working on wiring and fuel lines though.

Some SHO porn.


Noticed I still need a radiator cap. OK, 95% buttoned up.

[luigisho]

You're a productive feller. Kudos to you sir!

[3d914]

Thanks luigi, just worked on my son's 914 today. Finished cleaning the tranny and replacing all seals.

[intimdatr]

Ive seen one thats even cleaner and it laying in a basement waiting for a car

[3d914]

I noticed mine on the SHO motor came cleaner than his, but it wasn't anything I did differently. I noticed that these magnesium cases show dirt & grime more. I imagine it would take some searious cleaners or even media blasting to get it to look good.

Planning to paint mine once the bench test is done, and redo my seals also.

Intimdatr, what engine is going with that tranny?

[Phoenix]

I love this build.

[intimdatr]

Originally Posted by 3d914

Intimdatr, what engine is going with that tranny?

Its a super clean Short gear ratio tranny that is pair with a 105% race ready 914 with a 1.8 that needs main bearings. The trans case looks brand new.

[Shoaz]

Originally Posted by 3d914

I like long weekends. Gives me time to do kids cars and mine. Worked on my sons Acura RSX yesterday.

Finally got the 3.2 all buttoned up for coolant and oil. Still working on wiring and fuel lines though.

Some SHO porn.

Don't forget to reinforce the bracket under the alternator. A flat plate drilled to match the a/c compressor mounting holes will do it. Otherwise that cast iron is too brittle to support the motor by itself.

[3d914]

Thanks for watchin guys.

Shoaz, here's a link to the details on how I did the Alternator support. Let me know if you think that will do the job or not.

TIA

[Shoaz]

No, that doesn't address the issue with that bracket, which is that there's a torque on the bracket from the weight of the engine that will crack the bracket down the middle (between the four bolts that attach it to the block) if it isn't reinforced with something. In the OEM application the a/c compressor takes the load, but when it's gone the load can be taken up by a flat plate bolted through where the a/c compressor normally attaches, the top of which you've used for the alternator support.

Like this:

[3d914]

I follow. I'll have to work something up that doesn't interfere with my motor mounts. I suspect 1/4" plate would be sufficient. Keep you posted with what I come up with.

Thanks.

[3d914]

Took a break and went back to body work on the 914. I have a 6" x 8" section of the longitudinal to patch on one side. I'm basically replacing the jack point on this side as I never use them and they just attract rust.

The small triangular-looking piece with welds is to finish off the first of two overlapping layers of metal.

[3d914]

Then I needed to go back and fill the holes left from drilling out spot welds. Since my welder doesn't have much control (Low, Off, High) I needed a way to fill-in the holes.

I came up with a unique method. I found some steel nails with heads very near the diameter of the holes. I then place the nail pointing out with the head in the hole and use a magnet to suspend the nail in place. I then can weld around the base of the nail and it fills in nicely - then just grind off the nail that sticking out.

Seems to work pretty good.

[3d914]

OK, now the patch for the inner piece. I wanted a good fit, so I'm doing a butt-weld, without clamps, using a wire core welder - they said it couldn't be done.

Little bit of splatter, but I'm pleased with the results.

[3d914]

I had to fix a blow-out in the lower-left. It's a tight fit against the outer long, and I can't trim it back farther because the inner has a large stamped hole to the left. It patched pretty good though.

Now the grindings done and ready to fit & bend the outer long patch.

[3d914]

Working like crazy today. Seven hours in so far and I have the outer long bent into shape, fitted and ready to weld in.



Had to at least tack it in. I'll save the rest for tomorrow.

[3d914]

Finished up the weld and grinding. Tried out one of the 3M abrasive pads today. I like the finish it provides, and it doesn't heat up the metal the way the grinder wheel does. So I've been using both, one on the pneumatic die-grinder the other on my electric grinder. I use the grinding wheel to get the welds down to the metal, then use the abrasive pad to clean it up.



The few spots remaining to the left are outside the butt-weld. I was just filling in low spots on the adjacent piece - no end to it though.

[3d914]

Took a break today from my car and worked on my son's 914. Got the engine, clutch & tranny assembled. All the sheet metal for engine cooling goes on next. It's quite a bit smaller than the SHO motor. Lighter too!
Don't let its small size fool ya. Engine builders can get 200+ HP from these normally aspirated. Unfortunately the cost is up there too.

[3d914]

With the outer long done, I went back to finish up the longitudinal shelf section under the battery tray. I had this welded up, but didn't do the finish work. Now with a working compressor again I was able to get this cleaned up.

This is what it looked like with the rusted outer long cut out. You can see the inner long underneath.



Now the outer long is on. I still have to replace a section where the battery tray mounted, but I've got some surface rust to deal with and decide what needs to be cut out.



I also trimmed off the 2" shelf at the front of the engine bay. This gives me some extra clearance for accessing front of SHO motor.