New to 914's. Gonna need advice. Any help?

[StuttgartNut]

Well been on this website for awhile now, mostly 911 forum. Now went for a ride in the renegade v8 today and im hooked.. So i will start looking for as much of a rust free car i can get, gotta run, doesnt have to be a good looker just a sound car. So im gonna slowly collect all i need and put in a folder so when time comes i can figure what to do and get going here. Ill be asking alot over the next week or so. about all kinds of things. so any help would be greatly appreciated.

First inquiry..Exterior modifications..

Flares - Glass or steel? whats the benefits of each? this is for a long term car also. whats the best price u can get each for? where from? how much roughly would it cost to put on the car? no paint just attach to body.Anything have to be careful of, do's and donts..Basically i want all the info i can get on the flare upgrade, who makes the best ect ect ect.. thanks for all the help.

Painting - Was wondering what U think on painting the top and side peices? How hard? Do's and dont's. whats a make sure thing when picking paint out for that area and the rest of car if there is any difference.

Bumpers - well considering i have the renegade v8 conversion planned for future i would need a front bumper that could be cut out or already has a grill to duct air to the radiator? dont know what all ya need so maybe you guys do. and rear bumper... it is gonna have the dual outlets so what bumper already has it or can be cut easily. i think i heard something about 916 bumpers come this way??

Any other free mods like taking off the little round blinkers i believe up front on the side in front on the front fenders? debadging? ect..

Webpages are a big help as are pics of your cars with flares and which are they(glass,steel).

Thanks again,
Danny

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2 People In The World, Those That Have Porsche's, And Those That Want Porsche's.... There IS NO Substitute!!

[This message has been edited by StuttgartNut (edited 07-11-2001).]

[toman]

I would also like some info on painting my roof and side sails...

[Wayne 962]

Suggestion: if you're set on the V8 Conversion, buy one that has been done already. You will save yourself probably $5-$10K, and will spend more time enjoying the car, rather than putting it together. Not that a conversion isn't fun, but these V8s don't hold their resale value, and you can usually pick one up on the cheap ($5-$7K from what I've seen).

Start with a good car that has been done right, and then do your mods to that. Trust me, a big project will be just that...

-Wayne

[campbellcj]

Forgive me for saying this if it ain't really true, but I suspect Sam Gore (Orange County, So Cal) might be talked out of his Vader V8 car for the right price. He was talking about starting a "new project".

It's a clean red 73 with a Chevy 350.

Chris C.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

First of all, Wayne is absolutely correct. You can pick up a V8 converted car for less than half of what it costs to convert the car. The cheaper ones are "some assembly required", but they're still a lot less than DIY. If you don't want the experience of actually doing the conversion, buy one that's done.

Flares: Steel is more solid, it stays on the car better, it dents instead of cracking. It rusts if you don't treat it properly (e.g., if you don't paint it or you prep it poorly), and it is really expensive.

Fiberglass is lighter and more fragile. It will crack rather than bending. It will never rust, but it seems to be difficult to get the fiberglass to bond with the metal without eventually cracking. The parts are a whole lot cheaper. Compare the prices:
http://www.pelicanparts.com/catalog/shopcart/9144/POR_9144_racing_pg2.htm#item18

No idea on the installation costs. Fiberglass usually takes more man-hours (==$$$) to do well than steel does. Then again, you can go with the "boy racer" look and simply use fasteners (Dzus buttons for the real racer look) to hold the glass flares on, and you don't hardly have to paint at all. But fiberglass parts almost always require some shaping to fit--they never seem to be quite right.

The roof panel is gel-coated fiberglass. Use any paint that will stick to that. Get the surface super clean, and rough it up with sandpaper. I have no idea what the "side pieces" are. If you mean the "sail panels" on the sides of the rollover hoop, they are already painted--but in many cars, they are covered by vinyl. Take the vinyl off, and it's just paint underneath. The rocker covers are steel (or aftermarket fiberglass), and are not tough to paint.

I personally don't like the look of the painted rockers and roof. I think it makes the car look too "fat". Others love it. Tastes differ. Pics of other peoples' cars (and even Photoshop) can be your friend here.

The 916 bumper has been "flared in" to the rest of the body work in the following picture:


A real 916 can be seen here:


Shaving the side markers is relatively popular. You simply remove them, and fill in the holes. Welding some sheetmetal in, then using filler to even the surface out, then painting the fender, is the usual way to go. I don't know of any susbtitute that simply plugs in and covers the hole.

--DD

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Pelican Parts 914 Tech Support

A few pics of my car: http://www.pelicanparts.com/gallery/Dave_Darling

[This message has been edited by Dave_Darling (edited 07-11-2001).]