Hi 914 World -
A bit of an intro, if you'll indulge me.
I've always been a believer in fate and karma. A believer in serendipity. A believer that the universe presents thing to us for a reason. Sometimes good, sometimes not. Fortunately, the journey of adventure I'm about to begin is one of the good ones!

Maybe a year or so ago, @Krieger Andy calls and says he has a buddy looking to buy a rear valance for a 914 and do I have one I'd sell. I said that I do, give my contact info to your friend. A few days later, this guy calls and we arrange for him to come by the Red Barn and see if the valance meets his needs. He arrives and we start "the dance of the car guys"! He talks about his car experiences, I talk about mine. We talk 356s. We talk 911s. We talk 914s. Obviously, we have a ton in common, including a love for my LS build. He pours over my car, noticing not only the big stuff, but all the little things I've done, too. On this day, he buys the valance and we agree we'll stay in touch. And we do!
Over the course of the following months, he stops by pretty regularly, I visit his place and it's clear that beyond the car stuff, he's a good guy, we get along well and we're going to be friends.

So, one day, we're chatting about RacerBenz. my 2001 Mercedes CL500, Corvette suspension, mid engine, center seat track car build. Yes, I know, a horrific waste of time and money. But anyway, I say "What would be cool is to build "Benzo Ferrari! Find a Ferrari engine and trans and..." He interrupts and says "I have one! From a 360 Modena. And the trans, harnesses, ECUs, etc. I'd love to see it get used for something. Why don't you come get it?"

Wait, what?

Fast forward to last week where I do just that. Here's what's in the Red Barn now: 3.6 liters, 400 hp and 275 lb/ft of Italian automotive porn.

You need help.

As those who've followed my LS build know, I'm a sucker for what I call "style points". You can imagine how long I sat in the shop just staring at this contraption. It is spectacular. The finishes look so purposeful. It really does look like it was plucked from a race car, not a production car.

It's sitting there and all I can think is "there's just no way it'd fit in a 914".
But at the same time, there's my car, drive train out for the latest round of upgrades. How could I not at least try?

Hmmm, this looks more promising than I expected.

That is a Monstrous engine!

Well, would you look at that! It fits.

@76-914 @Root_Werks You're right, I do need help. What time can you be here?

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But wait, it gets better!
I forward these pics to the engine owner and we talk, basically agreeing "I'm in if you're in!" But, I tell him, while it looks good in the pics, to REALLY make it work, I'd have to chop all that rear X-bracing out of my chassis. And I'm not going to do that.

He reminds me that he has a '72 914 chassis with GT flares, metal finished valances and rockers, chassis stiffening on the longs, 5-lug and essentially ready for paint.
We went and looked at it today. It's as nice a chassis as I've ever seen.

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So. There it is: the next build.
There is one major thing that could bring this to a screeching halt. Most critically, the very first step is the engine is going to a Ferrari expert for a quick look-see. If there are any show-stoppers, this engine is this chassis won't happen. Should that be the case, the good news is there's a Porsche 3.6 sitting in the wings.

So, no chassis cutting is happening until we know the Ferrari engine, she is good!
We hope to have that done in the next couple weeks. And assuming it's all a GO, my outrageous goal is:

Debut the running/driving car at Red Rocks Classic in Sept.

Wish me luck!

How does 2:30 work Chris? Say around July 2024. Busy until then. Can't wait to hear it run.

This is going to be amazing! Hope it stays the factory color.

@markhoward Mark - Interesting, as you already know, in that the COA shows it as Paint to Sample / 9990. The paint tag supports this, too. No specific color called out but the factory color looks like Raspberry.

That’s some of the best valance work I’ve seen!

I’m completely down for this project!!!!

And there is so much room on either side of the engine for a pair of GT35 turbos…

Exactly (in a good way)

I would put a Porsche six in the flared 914 and build a tube frame car without any bodywork to showcase the engine.

It's all my fault! Two wild and crazy guys

@Krieger Andy - first it's suggesting my cross-member mod, next this match making! I sooooo owe you!

That's awesome! Do it!

-Steve

I'd totally paint it Rosso Red.



To match the intake of course...

Are the output flanges in line with the hubs ? they look a bit to the rear.
What's the taped up hole in the top of the trans ?

@tygaboy
I was wrong about the year btw., it looks like the Playboy raspberry cars were from '73, not '75.

Built date should be around 10/72 and the VIN close to 4732905940 ...

Beware of Ferrari fanatics named Guido.

@tygaboy - Man, that is a nice, straight, perfect looking chassis. I like the idea about painting her Rosso Red.

I really do think you need to expand the Red Barn, like double it's size. Wait, was that too much?

The lines on that thing are amazing. Very high quality work. Would be an awesome build. Hope the engine checks out!

Hope the engine checks out - this will be cool.

I figured some of you might like this - thanks for the encouragement.

A couple things:
- Color: The owner is a fan of "nothing to give away what's up until you're right there on the car". For this reason, it absolutely won't be painted red. Too obvious a choice. But near 100% probability it'll be a Ferrari color. The owner is a fan of blue (me too!) and the current leaders are something along the lines of "Blu Scozia" or "Tour de France Blue". Look them up - both great colors.

- History: The chassis is PTS what looks like Raspberry and there's some speculation it might have been a Playboy car. @SirAndy Andy, I'll be in touch with more details to see if we do have something with an interesting history. But even if that's the case, the car has been flared and prepped for a /6 swap so, Ferrari engine swap aside, it won't be going back to anywhere near factory spec. Interestingly - and those who've followed my LS build will see why I think this build was fated to happen - this chassis has had its fire wall cut out and modified! It has subsequently been replaced with an NOS firewall but, come on! Are you kidding me?!?

- My involvement. At this point, I'm only building the car and don't own any of what you're seeing. This may change. We may partner on it, we may work out a trade. Lots of stuff, lots to work out. But one thing for sure, it's gonna be a fun project and learning experience.

Wow. I hope it is good, but the back up plan is nice too. Some cool stuff happening at the Red Barn

A pink 914 with a Ferrari engine...that would be something.

@rgalla9146 - An acceptable axle angle was one of the first items to verify. The Ferrari output flanges look like they'll sit a bit further forward than those of my LS/Boxster. And I'd moved my LS drive train forward 1.5" from where the Renegade kit puts it.
Short answer is that fore/aft is well within range. Up/down should be OK but until the package is positioned and the chassis is at ride height, I won't have those specifics.
But there are high angle CVs available for the off road market that should be able to handle this set up - if that's even needed. Onward!

You'll have to have some hidden GoPros when you pull into a Ferrari gathering.....
....... especially when you lift the hood
Priceless.

If you decide against the flared body because the engine or something doesn’t check out I am interested in it.

What a cool project, looking forward to it !

Antoine

Another typical Tygaboy post: virtually no 914 content! (but the gear heads will likely love it!)
I figured folks might enjoy some additional info and a closer look at the 360 engine/trans so here you go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDNVP4PwC0k

Great Video..DrySump Tank built into trans,,crazy...cool..

flat plane crank and 8500 rpm - audio porn.

Well stated.

How about i start sending you $300 a month from now to . . . uh . . . . forever and we'll start a payment plan while you build it.

My bet on the hollow rear trans cover is to meet rear impact requirement. Want energy absorbed before the impact sled hits the "solid" transaxle and begins to push the whole engine / transaxle forward to passenger compartment.

Because it was such a cool picture. I end up just standing there, staring at it. It is so crazy cool... I am so fortunate to have this sort of stuff essentially fall into my lap. Yes, I'm sure there are more than a couple frustrating days ahead but, this build simply has to happen.

100%

That 914 could be the ultimate "sleeper". Even flared it will sail under the radar of most until they hear that engine. By then, it's too late.

The stars align again. I can't remember if I mentioned this yet but:
Turns out a recent acquaintance is a Motec dealer and owns a 360 Challenge car and a 360 street car! He knows these engines.
I had a nice, long chat with him yesterday and he's agreed to come by, inspect the engine, provide a list of "to do before firing" items and, once the parts are here, perhaps even do the work.
Progress!

That is great! I would love to be able to be there when you fire that baby for the first time.

And I thought my flat fan and ITB conversion was mega cool...


Betty and I have been debating going to Red Rocks or to Okteenerfest this year. If this is going to be at Red Rocks, I want to see it in person.

This is such an awesome project, I’m waiting for the clever name….

914 Modena

@Cairo - Michael, I suspect that, as with my LS build, I'll schedule the first start. Anyone who'd like to be here is welcome to attend.

@infraredcalvin - I'm sure we'll come up with something, sooner or later. I've noodled on a couple, including Project 2.538 which is how many time 360 goes into 914.
Or maybe "NARF"? Too bad that's not currently available as a CA vanity plate. Yes, I checked.
But NARPOFF (Not A Real Porsche Or F-ing Ferrari) is!
So clearly a ways to go. Feel free to submit your suggestions!

@ClayPerrine Clay, the goal is to have it running/driving at that point. Given the focus I'm putting on this project, within a few weeks I should have a pretty good idea if that'll be doable. I'll be posting progress as it's made and if that timing starts to look at all questionable, I'll let everyone know. Now, if you're looking for a lousy excuse to treat Betty to a Napa area wine country vacation...

And if it's far enough along to be worth looking at, I may trailer it to WCR so folks can check it out. Big if and may, but we'll see.

Moteena

Mule = donkey + horse