This month’s submission comes from Mick Hovsepian who is in the process of resurrecting his one owner 1972 914 1.7.
Mick bought the car new at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport from a Shipside Showroom back in 1972. His sole purpose for buying the car was for him and his wife to drive south to Monaco for the GP.
After the event, his 914 was shipped stateside to the Port of Jacksonville FL and then driven home to Atlanta. The car then became his daily driver for several years. In 1974, Mick decided it was time to pull his baby off the street and put her on the track to get his SCCA ticket in the Showroom Stock category. As he puts it, it was basically the SCCA's way to get new members into the club by adding a roll bar to a streetcar and going racing.
Things initially started off well in the school races at Palm Beach, where it easily beat out the D-Sports Racers, but at Road Atlanta he found the car simply did not have the power needed to be competitive. The stock fuel-injected engine was slow, even for the Showroom class, and the only way he could pass was by out-braking the other drivers in the turns. He was in desperate need of more HP.
So, Mick found an engine builder and got to work polishing, porting, Magnafluxing, and balancing. The stock fuel injection was removed, and 48 IDA Webbers were added. The engine received bigger jugs and high compression pistons and the flywheel was turned down to 12 Lbs.
While this brought him the competitive edge on the track, it was not meant to last. The upgraded pistons began to overheat and the cam and crankshafts which were original to the car caused continuous problems. Before he could get these issues sorted out, life happened. Mick found himself in the middle of a divorce, effectively ending his racing career.
The car was relegated to storage where it sat for several years. The rollbar was removed, the Webber 48s as well as the front & rear bumpers were pulled off the car and sold to local race enthusiasts.
Some 49 years later the car is now at DC Racing & Development in the capable hands of Dan Cashman. Dan builds and races 914's and services all the air-cooled Porsches as well as preparing them for racing. The old 1.7 has been rebuilt to 2.2 specs with dual 40 IDA's & a performance cam. He has also sourced a rebuilt 73 side shifter transmission to get rid of, as Mick puts it, “the fly swatter shift linkage”.
His 914 already has the upgraded 914-6/911 suspension and brakes. The body is going to be a GT Clone, though the car will be a 914-4 until he can find the right 911 engine to swap in. The oil cooler mods will all be installed without the cooler so his car will be ready for the transplant at moments notice. This is one of the more detailed builds we have featured, and we love seeing a vision come together. We look forward to seeing you on the track again soon Mick, thanks for the great submission!
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