Around June of 2001 I did a fairly extensive repair and upgrade on the breaking system, after my rotors and pads got cooked in a towing incident.
I decided that as long as I was going to take the thing apart to turn the rotors and re-pack the bearings I'd try a few things to improve breaking. (The stock setup on the 914 is wholly inadequate to stop the car in a reasonable distance.) After reading a number of places about the improvements that could be had by converting the front calipers to units from a BMW 320i, I decided to give the conversion a try. (The why's and how's are available in a Pelican Parts tech article Here.) While I was stripping the system, I discovered that my master cylinder was fixing to catch the last train west, so it was upgraded to the 19mm version off of the 911's of the same vintage. (It's a direct bolt-in piece, and the 19mm is actually cheaper--go figure.) I also rebuilt the pedal cluster, using the improved bronze bushing manufactured by Weltmeister, and commonly available for the 911. (Also an interchangeable part.)
The whole project (old calipers, caliper lacquer, machine work, pads, break fluid, master cylinder, bushings, etc...) cost a little under $500, and took me a month or so, due to having to order parts and get things in and out of the machine shops.
Results: The project was well worth the time and effort. The car will actually stop when you hit the brakes. : ) And that is a rather desirable trait in my opinion. I didn’t encounter any major issues during the project, it was quite straightforward and well worth it for the improvements I got out of it.
914 Front Brake Conversion