my road race SBC V8 Porsche 914 [Archive]

byndbad914

02-13-2009, 01:11 PM

I wish... it grew in weight a fair amount with all of the modifications. It is around 2580lbs right now. It was 2350lbs on the dot with a stock 914 chassis before I went tube chassis, dry sump, twin oil coolers, added a splitter and wing, etc. I figured it would go up a couple hundred pounds in doing so and it went up around 300lbs in the end and I did some creative light weighting to get it back down a bit.

It is worth the extra weight of course for safety, rigidity (you could feel the car wrapping up coming out of corners with the stock tub) and handling with the extra 40lbs of wing/splitter stuff. And I think if I really work at it and/or just throw money at more fiberglass parts, I could get another 100lbs out of it.

Still a rocket ship of a car at sea level (used to live in SoCal) when it was making the full 525HP (about 5lb/HP) - at a mile high here in CO I am down about 100HP. Still fast at about 6lb/HP tho' and corners really well which is the fun part :thumbsup:

my YouTube channel with some vids :unibrow: http://www.youtube.com/byndbad914

Flash68

02-13-2009, 03:52 PM

Thanks! You'll like this photo given your 996TT... went to the drag strip here in Denver just for fun with a friend racing his car and this guy got behind me. The AWD made a huge difference, we both ran 114mph but he did it at 11.97 sec and I did a 12.78 burning rubber most of the way :D Fun to have back to back Porsches run the same mph tho'!

Very nice! I actually have my front diff and driveshaft removed so I am RWD. :D

byndbad914

11-16-2010, 06:06 PM

so the car was apart for just over a year (from Aug 09 - Oct 10) while I completely redesigned the suspension to be dual A front and rear v. the strut/5-link setup in the above photos. Added Penske DA shocks as well as new CCW wheels as I had a significant reduction in scrub radius, driving me to all new front wheels, and the rear had longer arms as well now, also driving the centers out.

I did all of the design and a lot of fab work myself in a rather modest garage, and had a machinist friend helping me with stuff requiring tight tolerances, lathing, etc and he did the final welding of everything for me as he is a certified welder, I am certifiable, but not at welding :lol:

The car now has 2.5" front ground clearance and 3.25" rear, so it is low enough I can nearly step right into it over the door bars :unibrow:

Here is some vid from an open track day on Halloween - note I had significant (and I mean bad) understeer so I certainly have tuning to do, but that was expected as the first setup is always a guess. Also the vid was rather shaky as it is hand-held so I edited it as best as I can. Before too many nausea comments start flying, I ordered a GoPro Hero HD cam and it just showed up yesterday AM so already started toying with it and will get much better footage, and in car, at a later date.

vid 1 has some out of car with a quick in car with my friend as a passenger
http://www.youtube.com/user/byndbad914?feature=mhum#p/a/u/1/z8S9v2LkacM

part 2 is all watching the car chase down other guys :cool:
http://www.youtube.com/user/byndbad914?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/eEkrIEixEuQ

Top Fuel Tom

11-17-2010, 07:07 PM

Nice! :thumbsup:

byndbad914

11-22-2010, 02:04 AM

thanks Tom!

Got the car out for another track day on Sat - weather was great and some good cars were out at the track.

After taking forever to process, then have it take almost forever to upload to YouTube only to fail at the end, then reload again, I finally have the fourth session up online. Eesh. It does have a 480p max, I am not going to bother with trying a 1080p again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SliMdISeDmI

Not the most exciting thing you will ever watch :) So bummed I didn't get my next and last session on vid (my 8GB card is clearly not enough so I need to bring a spare) as it would be much more exciting as the two Porsches at the beginning of this vid, the SCCA T1 Nat'l Champ and I were out there really working thru the traffic and having a good time. All four of us were the fastest fendered cars on the track and running within 1 second of each other.

For me to be less than a half second off the pace of the SCCA T1 champ, who was running below his record pace (he was high 57s, record he holds on this track is low 58s but I have seen him run a high 57, just not in the race) and know I still have suspension tuning to do, I feel really good about the car. I honestly believe the car has a second in it with tuning and I certainly have a second in me with more seat time, so I may just have a low 56 car here, which is getting into Porsche Cup car territory (the Cup car in this vid was 4 seconds off their typical pace).

Payton King

11-24-2010, 08:02 AM

cars of all times. Would love to see more detailed photos of frame and suspension. What transaxle are you running again?

marks914

11-24-2010, 09:56 AM

Good to see the car rolling again!
I wish we had a bigger track around here, the small course at Waterford just isn't enough to get up to speed

Mark

http://inlinethumb32.webshots.com/45855/2775651000057582025S200x200Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2775651000057582025PdPDRa)
http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/9685/2363509080057582025S200x200Q85.jpg (http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2363509080057582025fWXsqD)

byndbad914

11-24-2010, 11:36 AM

thanks Payton - that is a huge compliment :thumbsup: I have a Mendeola S4 sequential transaxle with a custom ring and pinion. Those boxes are typically used for off road applications (I am only the second guy to use it for a road race car, the other guy is in Europe) so the in-stock R&Ps tend to be really low for 35"+ tall tires v. a short little Porsche tire (23.5"). I think I have the shifter stops a little out of adjustment (this is only the 3rd track day with the new box) so I missed the downshift to 2nd a couple times in the vid you might notice. I missed 2nd last track day too and figured I just need to get used to it but then I thought about the shifter stops the other day.

Mark - I hear you about track size. To be honest, the tracks here seem small to me coming from SoCal where I had access to Buttonwillow and especially Willow Springs (WSIR). I would hit 160 mph in the straight at WSIR having about 100 more HP at the lower altitude and a faster turn at entry and exit. Here I hit around 130-135mph depending on how well I get the turn into the straight. I specifically geared the new tranny down since both tracks here have about the same top speed for me (the other ~ 140 at end of straight).

edit - a few folks on the Porsche forums are asking for details on the susp, etc as well, so I hope to get some video footage of the car over the winter here while I tear into it and give everything the annual inspection, change the fluids, etc.

Payton King

12-03-2010, 11:26 AM

Looking forward to the updates and pics.

conekiller13

12-13-2010, 06:48 PM

Looking forward to the updates and pics.

+1 or more......

tellyv

12-20-2010, 10:02 AM

I've been considering doing a 928 ls swap if I can find some money!

byndbad914

12-20-2010, 06:49 PM

yeah, those 928 swaps are pretty cool, with the rear transaxle it's a bit like a Vette in a Porsche body.

as for the pix/vid I have to admit the weather is really holding up well here in Denver this winter so I haven't torn into the car at all, in fact, did some more setup work and have it ready to hit the track if a nice day happens to line up with the test and tune days. We have had 60deg days each week but the track days end up being in the 30s, so I have been hoping for those to line up.

byndbad914

01-15-2011, 07:15 PM

Took the car out to the track on 12/28/10 - there had been no snow until this last week tho' it was cold (49 deg). Max tire temps were about 120 deg on the fronts and 140 deg on the rears, so grip was minimized but I ended up turning one lap of 1:59.9 - fastest lap yet and only 1/2 second off the SCCA Super Production record at that track.

The guy with the record was there that day taking tire temps and helping me out :D He said he has already picked up 2 seconds on his tho' since the record set, we'll see. He has a V8 914 as well with a 650HP all aluminum 400 SBC (brodix block, dart heads, big solid roller cam).

Anyway, now that it snowed I got the car apart to redo the wheel bearings front and rear so here are shots of the suspension as promised. The rears I had the uprights out so I could press the bearings out, I will try to remember to put some shots of them reinstalled here in the next week (new bearings in transit)

The next to the last shot of just the rear hubs shows the spacer that Jim Patrick (Patrick Motorsports) makes to run late model Carrera hubs with a stock 914 bearing. There is one that goes on the stub axle as well when it is all bolted together.

Payton King

01-17-2011, 08:36 AM

Did you have to move the seating forward to get the V8 in there?

byndbad914

01-17-2011, 10:37 PM

not really. having a tube chassis I moved the engine forward a couple inches and did a custom firewall, so the seat is basically exactly where it used to be because I gained the engine clearance with a custom firewall. Guys put SBCs in 914s all the time with no cutting, but I wanted to move the engine as far forward as possible for better weight distribution. I am 57.5% rear weight now vs. almost 59% before.h

Payton King

01-21-2011, 07:16 AM

Everytime I look at it on am search out 914's for sale.

vinz68

01-21-2011, 07:36 AM

Really cool car:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

brandon8350

02-22-2011, 01:19 PM

I have been thinking of doing the same kind of idea I have been wanting to build a mid engine car

G-Body

08-09-2011, 05:20 PM

Sweet ass ride whats the specs on the engine.

byndbad914

08-09-2011, 09:12 PM

thanks!

engine is a de-stroked 400, so 4.155 bore 2-bolt main block that I machined and added splay main billet caps 2-3-4 with a stock steel, large journal 327 crank. I run bearing spacers on the mains. 6" H-beams with flattop SRP pistons that give me 10.5:1 with the heads I am using.

I stuck with a solid tappet cam for longevity v. roller (tho' now rollers are getting really good longevity with lifter tech getting better and better and oiling to the rollers during idle). Cam is a "short-track" circle track cam that works great for road racing as well = 256/264 @ .050 with around .550" lift and 105 l/c. The lift could be much better with a roller of course.

Nonetheless, when I lived in SoCal I dyno'd at near perfect sea level so with a little less than 1% correction factor it came in at 525HP/438 ft-lbs at 7100/5000 rpm.

Now that I am used to the power and also moved to a higher altitude where I lost 20%, if I were to do it again I would use a 350 crank and domes for 12:5:1.

On another note, I managed to split the Mendeola case nearly in half after only 15hrs of use :mad: $6K later it is now a 5spd with much closer gear ratios so we will see how that all works out. Sucks to have a bone stock 930 trans last 5 years including 2 years at sea level with 100 more HP and have this one last 15 hrs so I am a bit wary to see how this all pans out... I have taken it out one time since getting it in the car in June and it does appear to shift way better (the S4 would NOT downshift and that is why it broke, I was told that was my fault of course) and shifted up/down every time and never missed a gear, so again, we'll see how this all pans out but I am a bit perturbed to know I spent $16K on a trans that wouldn't shift for crap and now knowing the S5 is 1000% better, yes, 1000%.

Lastly, I have been busy reconfiguring the car over the 5 months it took to get the trans fixed to be SCCA legal for Super Production (plan to get it through tech here in the next few weeks) so hope to get out there next year into some W2W action again. Turns out I have to take their SCCA driver's school they only offer in the first few months of the year - I was trying to make the Labor Day weekend race and found that out a week ago unfortunately.

Flash68

08-10-2011, 12:10 PM

That's gotta be a fun motor. I've got a big roller cammed 377 and she loves to rev! :thumbsup:

byndbad914

08-10-2011, 10:10 PM

yep, again, if I had it to do over I would have gone with the 350 crank for a 377, more compression, and a roller cam as well. When I first built it I was worried about transaxles staying together so I cut the torque down. Now that I am a mile high, I could use the extra 24 cubes to get the lost power back (it's a 353 with the 327 crank) :D

byndbad914

09-01-2011, 11:59 PM

went out for another test and tune on 8/19 and got some decent in car footage of the car on the track. I put it up in 720p (tried 1080p but YouTube squished the video to 4:3 for some reason), so if you download the higher def you can enlarge the image and get a little bit of a feel like you are along for the ride.

I also had an SCCA tech come over to my house last Monday and he issued a log book for the car, approved and stamped the chassis, but did give me a list of to-do's to fully comply before I can race. Small stuff so just some over-the-winter tasks. It will be a Super Production car and we will see how that all goes - the record at the track in the vid in SP is by a V8 914 owned by a guy I have befriended (and driven by the tech actually) at 1:57.4 and I ran consistent 1:57s throughout the day and a fastest lap of 1:55.0! Who was timing me? Yep, the guy with the record haha, so he is doing updates to his car over the winter as well to be prepared for me next year. Should be awesome to have some W2W action again.

my channel. Make sure to watch it on 720p

http://www.youtube.com/user/byndbad914?feature=mhee

RS_Customs

09-02-2011, 09:29 AM

Very cool! Nice long in car video. Look smooth on the track.

Good luck with chasing/defending the fast lap time. Any links to the other 914 that your going to be battling it out with?

Not sure if your able to field complaints, but did you talk to anyone about the yellow vett? You have video proof lol.

Robert

byndbad914

09-03-2011, 02:06 AM

don't know of any vid of the other car.

as for the Vette, I just let it go. It is open lapping so you unfortunately there isn't a board or anything to approach about clearly being clueless. I could have complained to management, but again, I just let it go.

byndbad914

10-02-2011, 01:34 PM

Took some video of an open track day this last Friday. There are three of my most consistent, fastest laps to date, all in the 1:55s. I ran one 1:55 the last time I went out with consistent 1:57s after I put some old radials I had laying around on the car from a couple years back, so I got the most out of them the last track day. This time they held on for about 4 laps in the morning, and then just got greasier and greasier as the track and the day warmed up.

So I have three clean laps back to back at the beginning, a slightly slower overall time lap as the fourth but there was some neat traffic so I left it in and it was my fastest shot down the bobsled to hell and sliding back up the hill, then some footage of traffic to see some cars, general bloopers and random chaos with yet another Vette guy with a fast car, pitiful driver out in the fast group :rolleyes:

And then I realized upon editing that I left the camera on when I finished, so I got a bunch of footage of various folks coming up and asking questions, talking about the car when they thought I couldn't hear which is always funny, but I threw in one snippet of a corner worker that worked down in that area I would go sliding through and the open wheeler spins.

The springs are getting stiff enough that I know I have to get the right camber set on the car, some new radials, then monkey with tire pressures. I suspect that I am in the "1/2 psi makes a big difference" spring rate range.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lg8SkOZVLBs

Flash68

10-02-2011, 11:13 PM

Great video! That thing flies and looks like a handful at the same time. Nice commentary and captioning. :lol:

How in the hell are they grouping people for that day? Your car, open wheel cars and a damn 4x4 pickup all in the same group? That looks dangerous... how many groups/sessions were there?

byndbad914

10-03-2011, 12:16 AM

that is an "open track day", so literally anybody can come out with any car and run on the track. Makes it sketchy so that is why many times you will hear me off the throttle and carefully passing cars, going in on them and hoping they see me before the turn. If you dart in like a bat out of hell, they may just turn into you.

So, at the drivers' meeting before the track goes live, they talk about etiquette, hand signals if you want someone to pass you or if you are exiting to the pits, so forth, then they talk about two groups: fast group and slow group. The irritating part is that it is basically an honor system. If you are getting pass a lot in the fast group, you should step down. If you are passing like crazy in slow group, maybe step up. Problem is you get self-serving bungholes no matter what you do, and those people go out in the fast group because they can just do as they please - when you are the slowest person, the track looks wide open to you. I have never been like that, maybe just raised better, but I worry about being in others' way; if I have a GT2 Cup car behind me, I point by and maintain speed or even slow to let them by, not drag race them and force them into a bad line and sketchy situation at the next turn like the Vette and the open wheel guy that went off the track after I passed him. I like to have faster guys on the track, gives me something to let by and then try to keep up and see their line.

Just a different perspective, I am out there to learn something and get better, some are just out their to serve their own needs and F everyone else. Sad really.

So I like to poke at that on the vids - maybe others can pick up on the not so subtle hints haha. I get the point there are slower guys than me, but if you aren't trying and clearly just clueless or so selfish to not care, I am going to rip away :unibrow:

As for the open wheelers, in the AM drivers' meeting, there was only 4 guys, so they couldn't really make a group just for them, so they were advised to run in the fast group and we know to watch out for them since they are so low you may not see them. They were also really good about allowing me by, pointing by, staying on line so I could safely pass, so forth so I don't mind them at all - that one guy just would not stay on line or let me by so I cut him nice and tight after driving me deep into that tight corner. Him going off track and not me is just a nice piece of karma :thumbsup:

byndbad914

08-21-2012, 04:10 PM

Took the car out after not tracking it in almost a year (!!) so I was a bit rusty and running 2 minute laps in the first session. And I dropped the air chuck right on the windshield while airing up the slicks and cracked the crap out of it on the passenger side. My cousin was out from Iowa so I took him out for two sessions while I knocked the rust off my hands.

Finally in the fourth session as the temperature went well into the upper 80s and both me and the car were running hot (300deg oil temps and I could barely swallow after 20 minutes on track!) I ran a 1:54.97 and backed it up with a 1:55.12 IIRC, so two of my fastest laps yet! I overfilled my trans (the first time I have ever done that one) so I was puking trans fluid out the breather and probably oiling my own tires as every lap I went a little slower and the rear got looser and looser :rolleyes:

I put Goodyears on which I have never used before and eesh, they will required a LOT more camber than the Hoosiers. The wear pattern was way off so I believe with about a degree more neg camber all around I can maybe dip into the 53s. That is Porsche Cup Car territory :yes:

I will post some vid on Youtube in the next week or so after I get a chance to edit all of it down. Fast group was actually all fast people as well as fast cars for once which was awesome, so I had pretty much a wide open track and found that I could pass the others and not worry they would freak out and run into me. And giving my cousin some rides with lap times that would break the Super Production record for the track was the best part :thumbsup:

Gonna make it tough tearing that car apart to build a 66 Nova instead next year. I am going to try to track it a few more times this Fall to wring out all I can before moving on...

byndbad914

08-27-2012, 01:14 PM

Got a chance to edit video over the weekend so there are two new vids up on YouTube. Here is my channel:

http://www.youtube.com/user/byndbad914?feature=mhee

can check out the first one which is just the fast laps but I mixed in-car footage with footage my cousin Dylan shot from the flag tower, then there is one with Dylan in the passenger seat and it also has the fast laps but in-car footage only.

Payton King

09-04-2012, 09:13 AM

Why are you building another car? Selling the 914 or just retiring it?

byndbad914

09-04-2012, 11:15 PM

basically retiring it. I might sell it if the right offer came in, but since I can reuse every part except the body and cage, the price I would want would be high because I would need replacement value to make sense. It is hard to do tho' because literally every time I go to the track I have made some change and just go faster and faster. I have yet to go to the track and go slower in the last 5 years since doing the full tube chassis. And it seems to be 2 seconds every time - if I get 2 more seconds out of it I am running with $300K Porsches!

But, alas, it is one of those things - I have been messing with 914s since the mid 90s and the V8 race car since 2000 and it was just time to move on to something else I have been wanting. It was either do a 70 Mustang fastback (I had that before the 914 and still love those cars) or, after following builds like John's (novanutcase) and so forth, a 66 or 67 Nova. The Nova made the most sense as the next step because I already have an engine and the trans will adapt much like a Vette.

Lastly, as funny as it sounds, I have never built a full chassis with my own hands start to finish and I really want to work through that just to learn it. I have been around it a lot and know how to get things square, but still expect to waste a fair amount of steel teaching myself :D

Sieg

09-05-2012, 12:23 AM

Good job on the wheel! The car looks like it's a great track car. :thumbsup:

Pssst - Your steering wheel is upside down. :D

Payton King

09-05-2012, 07:55 AM

Love the updates and the track video, but I understand that sometimes you just need a change. So little time and so many cars to build. First gen Camaros apparently are just my thing and about to start a full frame 68. Going to try and make it as wide and light as possible.

When will you start? Make sure you post it up in the project section. Really needed to post this entire thread there even though it was a race car...still one of my favorites ever.

byndbad914

09-05-2012, 09:04 PM

Sieg - you aren't the first to notice the wheel. I broke the top half the last track day I was out right above the three spokes, and since I will go to a nicer wood wheel design in the Nova, I just flipped it over to the rigid half :lol: Gotta make due for a couple more track days this year.

Payton - thanks for the compliments on the car! A full frame 68 would be pretty cool as well. I plan to grab the car the weekend after SEMA and trailer it back here to CO. I will plan to get started on it over the winter - they are predicting a light winter and if so I will track the 914 for as long as the weather holds out. Once I am done with the track days, the engine and trans will come out of the 914 and mock up can begin. I will mostly be plotting and planning at first as every day I come up with a better idea than I had the day before, so I want to try to capture all of that brainstorming first, then cut metal.

Sieg

09-06-2012, 02:08 AM

Perfect! :thumbsup:

Payton King

09-06-2012, 09:06 AM

I will be there with Ron and his blue Mustang...he is doing the OPTIMA event.

gnx7

09-06-2012, 02:52 PM

This is a bad ass little car.

Take it to Thunderhill/Infineon at sea level and lets see what it can do :)

byndbad914

09-06-2012, 05:00 PM

Payton - yeah I will definitely be there Thursday and Friday. I meet my friends out there every year (one of them owns a shop I worked at with him back in the 90s in SoCal) and normally ride over to CA with them afterward for a few days. This time I will drive down with my enclosed trailer to then go get the Nova.

Have my list of vendors I am going to try to hit to get recommendations on the Nova project :yes: I am not going to the Optima event tho' - I am going straight to CA after and then the looooonnnnnggg drive back with the trailer and car.

gnx7 - I actually first built the car while living in LA and let me tell you, I can seriously feel the HP difference after moving to a mile high. Lost over 100HP! At Willow Springs I could hit 165 in the straight. That is when I decided I had better build a full tube chassis :_paranoid I tried to get one test and tune in before I moved but the car broke just out of T4 - totally long story - so I never got a chance to really run it there. I could run 135mph in the long sweeper turn and added a wing when I did the tube chassis, so expectations were closer to 155-160mph with a settled rear end.

Trust me, if I had room for both cars in my trailer I would take the 914 to WSIR this November while picking up the Nova and just see how nuts it would be.

byndbad914

09-16-2012, 11:53 AM

The latest track day adventure. Had a couple friends out and was going to split the first session of the day giving them both a quick ride while I warmed up the tires... turns out to not be the case but also get to learn a new lesson.

It gets a little long waiting for the tow truck but you can hear my thoughts as I try to figure out what must have happened. The problem with having new parts on the car mixed with previous issues = can put you on the wrong scent. Once I determined what the real issue was, every whacky thing that was happening made sense of course.

check out my channel -
http://www.youtube.com/user/byndbad914?feature=mhee

byndbad914

12-03-2012, 06:06 PM

Apparently the Mendeola's violently fast shifts take their toll on parts, here is what I finally found after cutting and beating on the rear hub for a couple hours to get it apart. The freakin' nut that holds it all together had to be cut in two places and I still had to beat both halves off with a hammer and punch!

The wheel flange was completely broken in half so the splined portion was left engaging the stub axle while the whole wheel assy was literally only held in place by the large nut. You can see the broken section with one of the bearing races stuck on the stub axle in the pics.

F'd up part is I spent 2 hrs trying to get that assembly apart without messing up the wheel flange; I expected to reuse it and figured something broke on the stub axle. :mad: Turns out 10 minutes ripping a cutoff wheel into that mess would have been the better alternative.

byndbad914

08-15-2013, 12:50 AM

I had stripped the car down to build a 66 Nova with the parts for road racing but full interior and glass for street use as well. I had all the suspension tacked into the Nova, then sort of out of the blue, got an email from a guy that had came across some extra cash and wondered if I still wanted to sell the roller. So, I took all the susp back out of the Nova, put it back, and sold the roller on Memorial Day weekend. Car will hit the track in the Southwest roughly next summer with the new owner.

On a good note, I got Forgelines today built to fit my 2011 Z06 Carbon Edition with the 395mm rotors (that I picked up literally the same day I delivered the 914 and only 15 miles apart) and these are what I am using on the Nova (295 fronts/335 rears, same width as the slicks I had on the 914). Since I had already built the suspension up from my custom stuff I had in the Porsche then took it all back out of the Nova - turns out I could literally have reused everything from the Porsche with C6 Vette spindles and stock Vette wheel offsets. I had designed that suspension for the Porsche without much info on a Vette but decent info on a modern Porsche... and just having an idea of how suspension works... turns out the A arm ratios match the Vette, caster within a degree, kingpin inclination the same as a C6 Vette and the spindle height is literally within 1/8" of my spindles I designed and machined. Guess that explains why the car picked up nearly 10 seconds on the track when I put the new suspension in!

Good news is this means the Nova should be nearly as impressive for cornering tho' it will likely be a bit slower with about 2" narrower track width than the flared 914, a bit heavier and taller. This time I am hoping to make inboard shock mounting work out as well; already designed the rockers. The sequential transaxle in the rear of the Nova should be cool.

Link to the Nova project...
http://www.lateral-g.net/forums/showthread.php4?t=40070