Engine Cradle - Phase 1

Spent the weekend & Monday working on my son's 914. Pulling the engine to reseal everything.

I said I'd never pull another 914 engine without the use of a lift. Never say never. It went pretty well - except that he needs seals bad so everything is an oily mess.

It occurred to me that since I was building an engine cradle for the SHO project, it wouldn't be much effort to build supports that would work with the 914 engine & transaxle. I could have them done before the engine is ready to go back in.

Did manage to get some time in on the engine cradle - one of the side benefits of my son's infatuation with games.

Spent the morning cutting, beveling, and cleaning pieces for the base, and the caster extensions.

Got the base welded together and ran out of welding wire just as my son showed up.

It was a beautiful crisp morning - and by noon it felt like 70 degrees. This is why I love southern Arizona.


Time to shift gears and guide him in the rest of his engine tear-down.

More to follow . . .

Back on the 914

Well after a couple of years working on other cars (for my sons), I'm back into the saddle on my 914 project. I was doing plenty of planning/designing during that time also so the project wasn't completely idle.
Here's the engine cradle design. It's a variation on the cradle design I bought on line from Russ Green.

Since this is going to serve multiple purposes, I needed to modify a few things:

1. I need to mount engine & tranny together with flywheel & clutch
2. Use the cradle to bench-test the engine, harness, & components
3. Use the cradle to install the engine & tranny

To support the 914's transaxle I added support plates that will mount behind the bell-housing fasteners. The lower one acts as a cross-member, while the upper just tie to the support posts.

Not shown are the two additional cross members I added so that I can lift the whole assembly with my ATV lift. This will make installation much easier and safer.

I've also designed the engine bar that supports the engine in the car. It will mount in the stock position, but sitting on top of the receiver plate rather than hanging down. It looks like I can use the stock transaxle mounts, but I may need to add a small adapter plate once I do the test fit.

Now that I have the material together I can begin fabrication and assembly. Ahhh - the fun begins.

Tha Cave - Under Construction - 2

Well I reached a stage of completeness - the framework and fixed shelves are up, painted, and ready for the facing and doors. I was so thrilled to finally have all this stuff off the floor and room for two cars in the garage again.

Just in time to get pulled off for a couple of weeks to tackle another project. I'll be back.

Tha Cave - Under Construction

Well the first phase is coming along nicely. The framework for the cabinets is in place. Everything is primed and ready for paint.

The unpainted portion of the stringers doesn't get primer since I'll be gluing and fastening the faces to the framework. I've also taped those mating surfaces in preparation for paint.


I added some extra bracing in the middle of the cabinets that spanned more than 50 inches so that I can use 1/2 inch plywood for these fixed shelves instead of 3/4 inch. The 3/4 inch will be used for the adjustable shelves though. I won't be adding the adjustable shelves until I see how the space gets utilized.

You can also see the steel post legs I made to support the front of the cabinets. I used two pieces of 1-1/2 inch angle iron welded at right angles, then welded the 3/4 inch pipe with threaded foot onto the angle. The threaded foot provides the adjustment needed for a snug fit, and the angle portion is screwed to the underside of the framework. The pair of legs is duplicated on the other side, but weren't attached in the picture above (behind the engine).

Mini Man-cave

One of the key benefits to the house we bought in Benson was the over-sized, two-car garage. This means that in addition to storing stuff for the kids, I can still have room to park my wife's car and continue work on my project 914. However, to continue work on any project the space needs to be managed properly. That means cabinets for all the kids boxes, and storage for all my car parts. So to reach my goal of building the "mini man-cave", I've broken it down into a few phases:

1. Wall cabinets for storage on west & south walls
2. Concrete floor sealant
3. Semi-portable car lift
4. Driveway & canopy

Phase 1
Along the west side of the garage I have nearly 24 feet of wall space, and have already designed some built-in cabinets. Here's an image from the model that I worked up for the west wall.

I left the doors off on the right side so the structure is more visible. These cabinets start one foot above the floor and extend 9-1/2 feet to the ceiling. The upper most sections will be open without doors to use for body parts like bumpers and exhaust pieces. They're 24 inches deep, so they provide a lot of storage area.

I left two sections at the ends open to the floor to allow storage of vertical items and some hand tools. These two sections and the center (open section) will get peg-board that will be used as a mounting medium for various hangers.

The south wall is a section about 11 feet wide between the front of the garage and the entry door to the house. The cabinets here are roughly the same enclosed style, without the upper open storage area.

I'm quite pleased with the design, as my goal was to provide a maximum of storage space at a more reasonable cost compared to cabinet components sold at the local home improvement stores. They build sectional units that you connect together. The drawback is all the duplicate side-walls and backs you end up with.

I eliminate all that by building then right onto the back & side walls of the garage. I begin with 2x4 stringers, screwed to the wall studs, and run horizontally at the bottom, middle, and top of the cabinets. End panels are fastened to the side walls at the studs, and are notched for the stringers. These end panels, together with the stringers, support the cabinet frame. To provide additional support, metal legs are added at the front of the cabinets and extend to the floor to alleviate side loads on the back wall.

Here's some pictures of the right side under construction. Everything is covered with primer, and once the framework is all up, it will be painted. The outer facing and doors will likely get stain.