Rick in Southwest Missouri

Been driving my speedster more.  Seems like there's always something to do to it. Hoping to get the bumpers on soon.  Very surprised how well these cars handle!

Looks great! Specs? Motor? Make? Brakes? Trans?

TRP posted:

Looks great! Specs? Motor? Make? Brakes? Trans?

Did ALB steal Ted’s moniker?

Robert M posted:

TRP posted:

Looks great! Specs? Motor? Make? Brakes? Trans?

Did ALB steal Ted’s moniker?

I doubt it- I was here first!

Can’t be ALB - he woulda been asking how many lightening holes were in it.

It is a CMC, 1835 cc dual 40 mm carburetors.   Stock short axle, swing axle transmission.  Empi deluxe wide five 4 wheel  disk brakes with 185 tires.

I'm going to try and get the bumpers on next.  I have both bumpers with brackets and chrome over riders.  Anyone have any advice installing the bumpers?   I always get nervous when I start cutting / drilling the body.

I did my bumper bracket holes from the inside out.  

Used a short length of 1/4” flat stock I had to lie against the bolt-on bumper bracket - the one that bolts to the frame - so that I could locate where the metal bumper brackets wanted to go through the body when mounted.  Pushing the flat stock up against the inside of the body, I could use a sharpie to outline the metal bar, then carefully drilled four tiny locating holes in the corners.  Lots of measuring, adjusting and moving from side-to-side til I was satisfied that both brackets would be the same height from the bottom of the headlight buckets before I drilled/cut anything.

Once that was done I moved outside and used a Dremel and cut-off wheel to cut the vertical sides and cut the top and bottom with a Dremel 1/8” rasp bit.

if you make the rectangular hole slightly bigger in each direction, you can get a VW bumper bracket rubber seal and modify it to lie flat against the body, then stick it to the bracket and body with clear or black silicon caulk.  That will prevent the bracket from vibrating against the body when moving.

Gordon Nichols posted:

I did my bumper bracket holes from the inside out.  

Used a short length of 1/4” flat stock I had to lie against the bolt-on bumper bracket - the one that bolts to the frame - so that I could locate where the metal bumper brackets wanted to go through the body when mounted.  Pushing the flat stock up against the inside of the body, I could use a sharpie to outline the metal bar, then carefully drilled four tiny locating holes in the corners.  Lots of measuring, adjusting and moving from side-to-side til I was satisfied that both brackets would be the same height from the bottom of the headlight buckets before I drilled/cut anything.

Once that was done I moved outside and used a Dremel and cut-off wheel to cut the vertical sides and cut the top and bottom with a Dremel 1/8” rasp bit.

if you make the rectangular hole slightly bigger in each direction, you can get a VW bumper bracket rubber seal and modify it to lie flat against the body, then stick it to the bracket and body with clear or black silicon caulk.  That will prevent the bracket from vibrating against the body when moving.

This sounds like a good way to do this.  I appreciate the advice as seems much simpler than what the manual says to do. Thanks.

Thought I would share this with you all. I am planning to pull my car to a VW show this weekend . I purchased this fancy lightbar from a company called Towmate.  The magnet bases  will adapt  to two very strong suction cups, so works great with fiberglass cars.  The lights are controlled by a wireless plug at the receiver, so no wires!  I just hooked a beetle tow bar up to my truck and off I go.

I like that it stands high - line of sight. ...you can also use a trailer flat 4 plug that is easily wired to the... Brake switch wire, taillights, L and R signals that can all be wired front under the dash,  the flat 4 wire is stored next to the battery.

No wires, eh? Love me some suction cups, but I'd tether that to a seat belt loop or something. 

WHEELS!   Lately I've  been seeing some chatter on here concerning  different wheels and options.   I decided to paint my wheels and brakes a little different and ditch the the hubcaps. Seemed kind of funny to have wide 5 setup with disk brakes  and cover it all up with $10 hubcaps.

"Seemed kind of funny to have wide 5 setup with disk brakes  and cover it all up with $10 hubcaps."

Yes, indeed!

What's up with that early production 914?

Yeah, and that engine on the bench looks like it has a Berg Extractor Exhaust on it, too.

Dude needs more tools, though.......    

Thanks!  The engine is for a 1968 912 I am restoring.   It was recently rebuilt so still admiring it on my bench. 

The 914 is 1970 survivor car.  Completely original inside and out with low miles .  It is still fuel injected and very reliable.   Most people that visit do not like it as it doesn't share the same sexey lines as the speedster....but still fun to drive.  Thanks for noticing , folks on this site have good taste! 

The wide 5 wheels look good naked, and the 914 is pretty cool too! Is that a 356/912 engine on the bench?

ALB posted:

The wide 5 wheels look good naked, and the 914 is pretty cool too! Is that a 356/912 engine on the bench?

Thanks , yes it is a 356 engine. 

Very nice 914. I had and restored a 74 2.0. It also was still injected. I loved that car.

Carlos G posted:

Very nice 914. I had and restored a 74 2.0. It also was still injected. I loved that car.

I like the wheels on that 914. I have been considering changing the wheels on mine.  Mine is so original it makes for a hard decision.  If I do  change the wheels i would like to go with the Porsche fuch wheels.  There is a kit  made that is fairly simple to change the 4 lug to porsche 5 lug on 914s.  Here is a pic I found of one green like mine. I prefer the fuch setup personally.

Fuchs rule  

Fuchs, besides being the iconic Porsche wheel, are very light and strong. The nice thing, @Reddy1, is if you saved the hubs and wheels it would be easy to return the car to stock should the need ever arise. But 914's do look sooo bitchin' with alloys!

Yoda out _{(for now, but back you know I will be!)}

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..............

Everyone on here knows that I am a "Fan Boy" for Fuchs wheels.  I love them on a Speedster and the occasional 550 Spyder (and I have them on my Speedster because I think they look good AND it pisses off the 911 Purists...).

I looked at both of those photos and I tend to like the original trim rings/hubcaps better.  They just display a cleaner, more understated line.  I know they look "dated", but, heck!  It's an old car!    From the 1970's!

Now, you also have to realize that "Porsche" people (meaning anyone with a 911-derivative and a long nose to look down) will look at it and will see a little, boxy, wedge-shaped Volkswagen sitting there because, after all, if it ain't a 911 it ain't diddly, right?  So I'm hoping that bench engine has some 'Gnads in it and can at least surprise the 911 snotty people in gears 1 - 2.  They'll catch up at the top end of #3, but that's to be expected (3X your horsepower, after all) but they probably can't drive a corner line for beans so you'll have them there, anyway.

I zoomed in on the engine and it looks gorgeous.  Is it running Zenith carbs?  They look a little fuzzy when I zoom.  There are a couple of shops within an easy drive for me that do 356/912 engine rebuilds, as well as the seemingly all-too-frequently rebuilt 4-Cam engines, and when done right they are beautiful little mills.  That car should be a lot of fun for ya.   Enjoy!

As original as your car is, I'd personally keep those capped steelies.

It looks damn good like that. If I'd ever could get my hands on a first gen 911 or 912, they'd be running the capped steelies.

But, if your bound to change to 5 lug, you might as well do brakes, suspension, side shift tranny and a pumpin type IV.

The 2.0 fuchs on my car came with the car and I removed any remnants of color from the background. To my eye, these wheels look goofy with a high contrasting background. Something about having just 4 spokes, like old 4 lug Cragars on a Pinto.

The Mahle's look good too.