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.