Class for a 1974 914

[Steve Ekstrand]

Watch out for the nobility.

[Aaron McKinnon]

I've got 125HP on a good day at the crank. No way will this car compete with those... I like the idea of some fit with HIST better myself.

[Jeff Shyu]

if you're looking for competition, i honestly think you'll find more "equal ground" vehicles within PCA auto-x. doesn't carry the same recognition nor potential purse like SCCA, but you'll find more 914's in the mix.

unfortunately, i don't think the OC PCA runs any auto-x? (it's been many years since i checked though)

[Aaron McKinnon]

Well, looking at the last CSM runs it wouldn't have been that bad:

1T 369 Quoc-Viet Dang SCNAX Nissan 240sx *0.867 66.555+1 65.613 66.323 65.613 -
2 83 Art Rinner Datsun 280Z *0.867 67.625+DNF 65.980 65.751 65.751 0.138
3 396 Vincent Komara Toyota MR2 *0.867 63.772+2 67.744 65.811 65.811 0.060

I ran a 68 something for my best time, while Tom Berry drove a 64 something with me in the car.

[Aaron McKinnon]

...and just so we are clear. I'm not interested in the purse or Nationals or anything like that. I just want to be able to gauge myself against similar cars/drivers. It would be frustrating (as mentioned before by Doug) for this old girl to be blown out of the water every - single - time. I'd loose interest immediately.

[Jeff Shyu]

sorta related: did you have to dance between 2nd and 3rd? and if so, how did Tom like the 901 gear box?..

[Max Hayter]

if you're looking for competition, i honestly think you'll find more "equal ground" vehicles within PCA auto-x. doesn't carry the same recognition nor potential purse like SCCA, but you'll find more 914's in the mix.

unfortunately, i don't think the OC PCA runs any auto-x? (it's been many years since i checked though)

They certainly do - contact Steve Eguina for details (you can PM him thru this board).

[Aaron McKinnon]

I think I just scored (in trade for some stuff) a Mallory 6AL (with rev limiter is the L) as Tom was floating my valves!!! Scary! The car only has like 200 miles on it... He stayed in second the entire time punishing my valve train. I would have danced between 2nd and 3rd, but decided just to concentrate on my line and keep the revs in check in 2nd. I did float them a touch coming in the the timing lights. In an ideal world I would have been shifting, but that 901 is damn slow to shift.

I can't even tell you how much fun I had with him driving! If this deal comes through the rev limiter will help a lot...

[Jeff Shyu]

i still have a set of 2.0 heads sitting in the garage with kimco dual spring.. and arp studs..

so much for the turbo project that never got past the development stage.

[Aaron McKinnon]

They aren't worth nearly what they were back in the day thanks to Len Hoffman and Jake Raby, but they still have some value (mixed blessings here as I have a few I've horded...). Those guys have some super sweet new CNC heads that just can't be beat. All these old 2.0 heads are cracked - *ALL* of them. A new casting for the price of rebuilding a real set of old 2.0L heads is hard to pass up.

Let me know if you ever want to sell them... Two other great sites for that kind of stuff:

914club.com
914world.com

...us 914 freaks hang out there. A weird lot to say the least.

[Jeff Shyu]

my sister (jenny shyu) is still trying to get me to "re-enlist" on those boards. never really got on board after the blowout from rennlist and pelican parts.

i'm seriously considering reviving -A- 914 with a stock 2.0, and striping and bolting up the stuff i have from the other car.

[Aaron McKinnon]

No way... She is quite liked on those boards. I may have even met her some time ago at the Riverside Swap Meet that happens yearly. Small world... Be sure and find me at the next event. I'd love to meet you!

[Jeff Shyu]

yeah, i was pretty active back in the college days where i had even more time on the internet than i do now, and expendable budget to play around with the car.

funny, 10 years ago, all the olepharts were telling me (paraphrased) : stop futzing around with the car, and just drive it instead of having it break every 2 days.

i thought they were all nuts.

10 years later, i'm saying the same damn thing to all the young(er) mazda people.

i think i still own the title of the first D-Jet turbo..

[Jeff Shyu]

No way... She is quite liked on those boards.

that's what happens when you're a female that exhibits interest in cars. the male:female ratio is decidedly unfavorable to the men in the car culture.

[Aaron McKinnon]

Yeah... I'm slowly starting to tip to the dark side. Two kids have completely wiped out any budget for the car - damn thing even has used Porterfield Orange Pads on it. I still enjoy wrenching as much as driving, but the writing is on the wall. I'm getting OLD!

[Aaron McKinnon]

...and to throw out the in-the-know joke, "You can't turbo a Type IV..."

[Jeff Shyu]

...and to throw out the in-the-know joke, "You can't turbo a Type IV..."

that was actually the joke back then too.

one other junk-yard mechanic in Orange turbo'd his 1.7? with carbs, and we talked for a while, and i set out to turbo the 2.0 with the stock D-jet.

it actually would have done perfectly well at 7psi, if i just modified the sensor early on (i forget what it's called, but it's the 200 dollar part that's not made anymore, that measures vacuum, shaped like a squat soda can). being 20 something, and stupid though, i wasn't happy with 7psi, and kept adding stuff to break it more.. -_-

[Jayson Woodruff]

That's why I commented. The new CST would dig your hole even deeper by either blowing you out of the water, or you'd mod you car irreversably and expensivally to try and keep up.

The 2L is just a little to big for STS2 (soon to be renamed STS). The 914 4cyl are classed DSP in street prepared trim, which if I were you, would make my long term target. That means reading up on the SP rules and guiding your future modifications accordingly. In the mean time I'd try to get in on the HIST band wagon, beg to use a DSP index, but don't sweat it if you have to use an SM2 index (You've got plenety of wenching on the nut behind the wheel before it matters (see Tom's performance in your car)). I'd guess you'd get a good 3 to 5 years of happy regional racing out of this before you decide to build a purpose car or get tired of racing all together.

Jay W

I've got 125HP on a good day at the crank. No way will this car compete with those... I like the idea of some fit with HIST better myself.

[Steve Ekstrand]

My 914 dyno'd at 124hp on a reasonably conservative dyno. With all the suspension modes, it was a very quick car. My car was a 70 and quite light too. If I remember right it was about 1850lbs on a light fuel load and the spare and tools out. You don't always have to have a lot of HP to go fast.

[Jeff Shyu]

My 914 dyno'd at 124hp on a reasonably conservative dyno. With all the suspension modes, it was a very quick car. My car was a 70 and quite light too. If I remember right it was about 1850lbs on a light fuel load and the spare and tools out. You don't always have to have a lot of HP to go fast.

i think you may be mistaking the 914 for some other newer, lighter, more powerful car..

i don't remember the exact numbers of stock, but i remember my 914 which was relatively stripped, was still well above 2k lbs. and 125hp is considered pretty good (at least 10 years ago, i don't know what they're doing with the mega-squirt now).

[Steve Ekstrand]

My motor was pretty aggressive.

And the car was.... Uhm, spartan.

Its main problem was turning CV joints into shrapnel. The engine was pretty reliable. Just LOUD....

[Jeff Shyu]

Its main problem was turning CV joints into shrapnel. The engine was pretty reliable. Just LOUD....

i actually forgot about that. so horrendously loud. I remember going from the 914 to the MR2, and being amazed at how blissful the sound deadening was.

[Marshall Grice]

Its main problem was turning CV joints into shrapnel. The engine was pretty reliable. Just LOUD....

i actually forgot about that. so horrendously loud. I remember going from the 914 to the MR2, and being amazed at how blissful the sound deadening was.

having a dump tube on your waste gate wasn't helping matters any.

[Aaron Goldsmith]

having a dump tube on your waste gate wasn't helping matters any.

It was helping it be awesome..

[Jeff Shyu]

having a dump tube on your waste gate wasn't helping matters any.

It was helping it be awesome..

that car was definitely fun to drive on a foggy night/morning in HB.