Chassis stiffness

[jaykay]

Originally Posted by rfuerst911sc

For those of you that have owned 914's in the past and are familiar with the website 914world there was a gentleman with a last name of Engman ( now deceased ) that manufactured what was called " the Engman kit " to help strengthen the tub on 914's . Many called it a clam shell but basically it was a very heavy duty L shaped piece of metal . It was aprox. 1.5 " wide at the top and sat on the horizontal portion of the interior rocker structure . It was aprox. 3 - 4 " deep and that portion went against the vertical portion of the rocker . The L pieces had many holes drilled into them and that's where you welded them to the rockers . The pieces were long enough to go from the door posts at the front to the firewall . It also included a piece that went on the bottom of the firewall .

When all 3 pieces were welded in they provided a big increase in chassis stiffness , I installed one on my GT clone with a 3.0 911 engine and the difference was VERY easy to feel . Now to be fair we also are talking a chassis that was designed and built 40 + years ago . But the principle may apply to the Boxster chassis also .

It would be good to see a conceptual sketch of this if you are so inclined. Might be Boxster viable for those with no cage; performing a comprehensive canyon carver build. I will try and search up the kit.

I must say I am very drawn to 914-6 GTs and would consider building a clone someday. I believe the actual cars had a full cage and fixed roof so stiffness should have not been an issue?

Most feel they are ugly cars but I think they are fantastic looking. If you able to find a car that won't corrode and carry out this mod, one could have a very nice GT clone sans cage and a removable top...

[rfuerst911sc]

Originally Posted by jaykay

It would be good to see a conceptual sketch of this if you are so inclined. Might be Boxster viable for those with no cage; performing a comprehensive canyon carver build. I will try and search up the kit.

I must say I am very drawn to 914-6 GTs and would consider building a clone someday. I believe the actual cars had a full cage and fixed roof so stiffness should have not been an issue?

Most feel they are ugly cars but I think they are fantastic looking. If you able to find a car that won't corrode and carry out this mod, one could have a very nice GT clone sans cage and a removable top...

I may be wrong but the only 914-6 GT's that came from Porsche with a cage were race cars the street cars had no cage . When folks started sticking hyped up sixes in that chassis they started to increase the torsional flex . Even guys with high HP fours were looking for solutions for the chassis flex . Mr. Engman saw an opportunity to come up with a solution and here we are . No it does not replace a full roll bar/cage but for a hot street car/AX machine his kit worked well .

[mikefocke]

A 914 that won't rust is an impossible find. They rusted. Just google 914 and hell hole. A rust free 4 cylinder can be $25k and you don't want to even think of the 914-6's prices.

Owned a '70 4 cylinder. Sold it maybe a week before the warranty ran out. The joke at work was the dealer had installed a name plate with my name on it as it was there so often. Audi had just come out with a $3500 can and the dealers went from selling $6+k 911/912s to two cheaper cars and their service and parts departments were overwhelmed. Mine was showing signs of rust after 2 years as a daily/only (I took it to go skiing a lot) and a doctor-to-be from Philadelphia bought my $3600 car for $2100 and I was glad to be done with it. Even though it was surely the most fun car I ever owned. Bought a BMW and curiously enough stopped getting tickets.