We love seeing what exciting projects our customers are currently working on. Every month we would like to showcase a couple of cars in whatever state they are in - on the road or on the rack. This months submission comes from Phillip Wagner and his copper metallic 1975 2.0 914.

Phillip has owned this car since 2009 and began his restoration in 2015. The car was stripped by hand down to the original primer so that all rust could be found and remedied. He also decided to backdate the early chrome bumpers onto his car at this time. The car was painted in L99k copper metallic.

 

Since completing his restoration, Phillip participated in the Werks Reunion Amelia Island 2021 where he took 1st place in the 914 category. Very cool to see the hard work that went into restoring this car getting the recognition it deserves! Thank you for sharing Phillip and we hope to see you on the road soon.

Please submit your image and a brief summary to blake@914rubber.com. If we select your photo for the newsletter you will win a $15 914Rubber gift card!

We love seeing what exciting projects our customers are currently working on. Every month we would like to showcase a couple of cars in whatever state they are in - on the road or on the rack.

This months submission comes from Michael Hartmann who is the 3rd owner of a very special 1971 914-6 (0372).

Michael first acquired his 914-6 in February 2010. The car, which had spent its entire life in the Bay Area, was black when he bought it and in need of a full restoration.

After a false start in May of 2012 that resulted in a 61 month delay, the car went down to Auto Art Customs and the talented hands of Kent Simmons.  Kent restored the body to better than original, all metal finished and finished in Glasurit Irish Green. The car was assembled by Jim Geer, Kent Simmons, Andy Thonet and Bob Fullton. 

Michael replaced the existing Weber equipped 3.0 with a 1987 3.2 with Motronic injection, 964 cams, Ben McFarland’s custom SS full exhaust and a custom Steve Wong chip. The original tail shifter was converted to a side shift and the brakes were upgraded to 914-6 GT rears and early 911S aluminum front calipers.He also has installed a GT oil cooler up front with hard lines running behind the driver’s rocker. The Car runs around 190 degrees most of the time.

From left to right: Previous owner, Michael's brother, Michael.

Michael and his brother went back to the second owner of the car after restoration was completed. He was blown away by the completed car and appreciated the chance for him and his wife to see the car which they took their honeymoon in. Last year he was able to participate in West Coast Ramble and had a great time on the road. Since completion, Michael has put about 4,500 miles on the odometer and drives it regularly. The longest trips it has taken so far have been to LA and back, twice. This is a beautiful restoration which had a lot of hard work put into it, thanks for sharing Michael!

Please submit your image and a brief summary to blake@914rubber.com. If we select your photo for the newsletter you will win a $15 914Rubber gift card!

Say hello to our new Bumblebee 914! So first off what the heck is a Can Am or Limited Edition (LE) car?

Karl Schulz's LE Creamsicle from our Customer Car Story in May.

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!

Please submit your image and a brief summary to blake@914rubber.com. If we select your photo for the newsletter you will win a $15 914Rubber gift card!