where to begin?

[9fourteen]

I purschased this '74 914 last October and it's just been sitting in the garage since. I drove it a few times until it developed a bad oil leak. The weather has improved and it's time to get started. I only paid a $1000 for it and I think I got a pretty good deal. The car is excatly the way it was when I purchased it. The question is where should I begin. I was planning on tearing it down completely and then totally rebuilding it. The magnitude of the project doesn't bother me but is it really necessary. The car is in pretty good shape except for it looks like it's starting to sag, needs new floor pans, and some engine work. (Mainly fixing the oil leak) What do you guys think? Total tear down and rebuild or just fix what's broken and get it repainted?







Thanks,

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The 914 uses unibody construction. As such, it is not nearly as easy to replace the floorpans (and other structural parts) as it is in, for example, a Bug. You wind up cutting out the bad metal and welding in new.

Making sure everything lines up correctly when you're done is important, and not completely trivial. Lots of jigs and measurement fixtures are a good idea.

Some links to help with the dimensions:
Pelican's chassis dimensions page
914 Club dimensions pages
914 Club underbody dimensions page

Good luck!!

--DD

[peter carroll]

Looks nice from the pictures. What worries me is the sag you speak of. This is essentially the worst thing, in my opinion, that can be wrong with a 914. If you haven't already, take off the removable rockers and get a good look at what is going on under the car. Many a 914 has been scrapped due to bad sag. Many have bought these cars only to be disappointed due to this problem. Goodluck! Pete(finally an owner of 2 Eastcoast cars with no structural issues.)

[9fourteen]

the sag concerns me too. There is rust underneith. It seems to only be on the driver side tho. You can see in the picture that the driver door gap is messed up. On the passanger side it looks perfect. This was the main reason why I was thinking of tearing it down. Totally strip the chassis and see what I have to work with. Should make it much easier to fix what needs fixing. Every other part of the car is solid. As you can see the rear trunk is clean and the front looks just as good. It's just the middle on the drivers side.

[cshogen]

It's very odd that the rust/sag is on the driver's side, as it is usually the passenger side that is bad due to the battery being on that side and rainwater washing acid down the longitudinal.

I agree with Peter, you should take some time to look the car over really well. Many 914s look great until you poke around with an ice pick underneath. You can fix pretty much anything, but it's a very difficult task if the rust is bad.

Sorry if I seem negative, I've had my share of rusty ones and they were a helluva lot of fun anyway.

Good Luck,

[Zeke]

You can do a hell of a lot of work to repair the car w/o totally stripping to the shell. I'd say do what was mentioned, take off the rockers and see if you can get by with a clamshell repair and some floor work. But do pull the engine/trans so you can fully assess the body and the engine separately.

[9fourteen]

I took off the rocker panels to see what was underneath. I guess somebody already did a repair job trying to reinforce the chassis. Looks solid though. Don't understand the rivets. It's welded in place aswell. The door was my only clue that there was any sag. Is it possible when they did the repair they didn't get it completely straight and that is why the door gap is uneven. There is also some body work around the door. Maybe they just got too much body filler in there which cause the door gap to look uneven. Who knows. The floor pan and jack points are pretty much gone. I knew that when I bought it and I hopefully can just weld in some new sheet metal.

I think all this answers my question. This car is already hacked up and there would be no point in doing any kindof full restoration on it. I think I'll just do what needs to be done to make sure it won't break in half, clean it up, get it sprayed, and have fun with it. (and save for a 911)

[tryan]

looks terminal. it can be fixed with money. a welder. money. replacement panels. money. time. money. did i say money?

[M. Hendrix]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 9fourteen
[B] (and save for a 911)QUOTE]



What is a 911?



M

[Bleyseng]

If you have a MIG welder you can do most of this yourself. Go order pans and other pieces you need. Get a spot weld cutter and cut the rusty metal panels out and replace. Floor pans aren't too bad to do. I would redo the driver's long right so the car is straight otherwise it's lookin not too good...
Geoff

[Kevin Powers]

if you only paid a grand and you're not TOO attached to this particular car start fresh. others have paid much more for a car in similar condition. you will throw alot of money at this one to correct the problems that you have found up to this point. price out the replacement items and make rational decission not an emotional one.

[karlp]

9fourteen-
I can't see where the rivets are, but they were probably used to hold a piece in place prior to welding. I've used self drilling screws, welded the repair piece at the edges, then pulled the screws and welded the holes up. All out of sight behind the rockers.
If it were me (and it is not ) I'd think of the 5 year plan. I bet you can stiffen that frame up well enough to drive it for at least 5 years while saving for what you really want. And have fun doing it.

Karl P.

[GWN7]

Try lining the door up by jacking up on that side. If it moves and lines up you will know that you have a lot of work to do. But it can be done. You can also get sag in a door if someone hangs on it & bends the hinges.

A 911? Isn't that what people take parts off of when they can't find the real VW parts for their 914's?

[Jim Smolka]

Hendrik,

A 911 is like a 914-6 except the motor is all the way in the back and facing the wrong way Also, know to be a victim of LTSOS, then they go backwards in the direction they were last traveling

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

"LTSOS"... Does the first 'S' there stand for "Sudden"? I think I have the rest figured out.

This is also sometimes referred to as "TTOS"--Trailing Throttle OverSteer.

--DD

[Jim Smolka]

Dave,

Yes, Lift Throttle, Sudden Over Steer....

[Conrad W Peden]

I've said it before and I'll say it agian:

Not to be a downer but....

What you have there can easily turn into this: passenger side or otherwise. This car was a free complete 73 2.0L, so I deemed it worthy of resto.