Yet another rescue Porsche.

[The Glademister]

Originally Posted by Jack Stands

I think you'll find the replacement panels you need at Restoration Design. You'll save a lot of time by having the proper fit replacement panels.

Thanks for the tip. I've been looking at the pieces available from a vendor in Atlanta to save on shipping costs but they didn't offer the front trunk pan. It's been an experience fabricating and welding though.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Using AA is always risky. Horror stories abound... I think (but I'm not sure) that most of their repair panels come from RD anyway.

--DD

[hightuned]

$900! Its not fair, a 914 in that condition would cost atleast $6000 on this side of the atlantic. Is it goint to be a 914-6 conversion or a renegade v8 conversion?

[The Glademister]

Originally Posted by hightuned

$900! Its not fair, a 914 in that condition would cost atleast $6000 on this side of the atlantic. Is it goint to be a 914-6 conversion or a renegade v8 conversion?

Nether Tuned. I've settled on a 2.0L re-build or long block. The SCCA class I'm targeting specs original engine with small over-bore. This one needs so much work, I think I'd be biting off too much doing the conversion. And I'll be able to keep costs down by staying with OEM motor also.

[TR]

Hi
The reason I went for Restoration Design in two orders was I figured you save hundreds on postage. If you look at their site they do a couple of packages.

There was a guy on craigs list a few weeks ago who had a lot of what you needed already cut out of the car. Sorry I didn't keep his link but I'll keep my eye open. I have also seen some unused panel's come up on ebay from abandoned projects. So keep you eye open. I missed out because I low balled on the bid.

My car didn't need any stabilisation because the box section was solid and the doors opened and closed perfectly but be careful not to remove too much sheet metal even if its rusty unless you secure the door frame from sagging.

Look up the 914 World and find the guy in the UK who has had to rebuild the whole car ground upfront to back, he gave me the inspiration to bite the bullet and just hook in.

Good onya for hanging in there.

Regards

Terry

[The Glademister]

Originally Posted by TR

Hi
The reason I went for Restoration Design in two orders was I figured you save hundreds on postage. If you look at their site they do a couple of packages.

There was a guy on craigs list a few weeks ago who had a lot of what you needed already cut out of the car. Sorry I didn't keep his link but I'll keep my eye open. I have also seen some unused panel's come up on ebay from abandoned projects. So keep you eye open. I missed out because I low balled on the bid.

My car didn't need any stabilisation because the box section was solid and the doors opened and closed perfectly but be careful not to remove too much sheet metal even if its rusty unless you secure the door frame from sagging.

Look up the 914 World and find the guy in the UK who has had to rebuild the whole car ground upfront to back, he gave me the inspiration to bite the bullet and just hook in.

Good onya for hanging in there.

Regards

Terry

I didn't see any extra support in the door frames in your photos. But I figured that was because you kept the car on stands while cutting sheet metal. Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't everything remain square with that support? I can see where a car on a rotisserie with sheet metal removed would be subject to twisting.

Agreed on Restoration Design. That company does have the most comprehensive assortment of sheet metal replacement parts.

[TR]

Hi
The box section on my car on both sides which runs up to the hell hole was rock solid on the sides and bottom that's why I didn't put a brace in the door frame. You are right though, I was very careful to jack the car so as not to put too much cross body stress on it and I kept checking the door to rear panel gap plus I didn't stand on the box section at all until the floor was fully welded in again. I also left some of the metal in the hell hole right up till when I was about to replace the patch then cut out the bad bit and welded in the new bit all in a day. This is the first 914 I have done and if I had to do it again I would weld in the outer firewall and inner fire wall first and make sure it was attached to the tunnel . For some reason the welder suggested the rear the floor and then the inner forewall and that caused an access problem with trying to bring the sheet metal forward to meet the end of the tunnel. Whist its attached it is not nearly as neat as I would have liked. I have learn't a lot from doing it and really have begun to appreciate how nice these cars are.

[The Glademister]

Originally Posted by TR

Hi
The box section on my car on both sides which runs up to the hell hole was rock solid on the sides and bottom that's why I didn't put a brace in the door frame. You are right though, I was very careful to jack the car so as not to put too much cross body stress on it and I kept checking the door to rear panel gap plus I didn't stand on the box section at all until the floor was fully welded in again. I also left some of the metal in the hell hole right up till when I was about to replace the patch then cut out the bad bit and welded in the new bit all in a day. This is the first 914 I have done and if I had to do it again I would weld in the outer firewall and inner fire wall first and make sure it was attached to the tunnel . For some reason the welder suggested the rear the floor and then the inner forewall and that caused an access problem with trying to bring the sheet metal forward to meet the end of the tunnel. Whist its attached it is not nearly as neat as I would have liked. I have learn't a lot from doing it and really have begun to appreciate how nice these cars are.

Yes, I watched with great interest in your hell hole repairs. Unfortunately mine will be even more extensive with the right suspension console needing to be replaced. Look for pictures later that show what's currently missing. Unbelievable!

It would make sense to attack the structural areas first and I believe the firewall metal on these cars is more structural than most. The good news for me is mine will never be a show car so all I have to do is make it safe, drivable and fast . Pretty is very low priority.

Next on my list is the rear trunk pan. It will be my first experience dealing with spot welds (removing and re-welding). I figure once I've done that area, I'll be ready to tackle the suspension console, engine tray, firewalls... and on... and on

[bobt4945]

just came in on your thread, i think you got a heck of a deal, CONGRATS on your find/buy. great DIY project keep us posted with your progress. good luck and GOD BLESS.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Just sitting things on jack stands isn't enough to stabilize the body enough for significant chassis welding. The usual practice is to build some fairly heavy-duty V-shaped braces from the door hinge mounts to the door latch mounts. Often, they are built with Heim joints so the lengths can be precisely adjusted. This will at least keep the door gaps consistent with what they currently are.

Make a jig for the suspension console, if you have to replace that. (Check carefully, they like to rust out from the inside!) It's important for it to be in the right location in all three axes.

Careful about the chassis bending or twisting when you weld. Metal tends to shrink when you heat and cool it. More than a few 914 people have wound up with much tighter door gaps after they have fixed some of the longitudinals, or installed braces. That's where the V-shaped braces come in very handy.

--DD

[The Glademister]

Originally Posted by Dave at Pelican Parts

Just sitting things on jack stands isn't enough to stabilize the body enough for significant chassis welding. The usual practice is to build some fairly heavy-duty V-shaped braces from the door hinge mounts to the door latch mounts. Often, they are built with Heim joints so the lengths can be precisely adjusted. This will at least keep the door gaps consistent with what they currently are.

Make a jig for the suspension console, if you have to replace that. (Check carefully, they like to rust out from the inside!) It's important for it to be in the right location in all three axes.

Careful about the chassis bending or twisting when you weld. Metal tends to shrink when you heat and cool it. More than a few 914 people have wound up with much tighter door gaps after they have fixed some of the longitudinals, or installed braces. That's where the V-shaped braces come in very handy.

--DD

Thanks for the advice on the supports Dave. Do you think those supports in the doors are needed when replacing the rear trunk pan? That's next.

I'd like to see some examples of the jig for the suspension console. Unfortunately the passenger side on mine is mostly gone. There's a long bushing welded in it's place and it looks pretty jerry rigged. Would mirror image measurements of the drivers side work or are those dimensions different?

[The Glademister]

I had an hour or so yesterday and decided to dig into the fuel tank area. There's some more rust around the air ducts but the rest of the body looks fairly decent. Peering into the tank with a flash light - it looks nice a shiny but there's some residue. I should be able to get that out with some solvent. Eventually I'll replace the tank with a fuel cell but that's going to be one of the original components used for shaking out the car. See my thread here...
'73 2.0L parts for sale
...for parts that I'm selling.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

Originally Posted by The Glademister

Thanks for the advice on the supports Dave. Do you think those supports in the doors are needed when replacing the rear trunk pan?

Those supports only keep the door opening from changing. The rear trunk pan is cantilevered well away from there, so it shouldn't have any effect on the door opening. The pan should also be supported on four sides by solid metal, at least theoretically.

I'd like to see some examples of the jig for the suspension console. ... . Would mirror image measurements of the drivers side work or are those dimensions different?

Mirror image should be close enough. I can't think offhand of any pictures I've seen of jigs for that area, come to think of it. But it's a relatively important location for the rear alignment, as changing it changes rear camber and rear toe.

--DD

[The Glademister]

Attacking the rear trunk. Stripped and rust killed the upper portion. Drilling out spot welds and preparing to replace the lower portion.

[TR]

Rip into it, F yeah.

[PFM]

GladMister,

Check your SCCA rules but MAYBE you can fit a MegaSquirt inside the original FI "ECU" box and still be legal. I am not suggesting a cheat, check the rules. I do know it would run better with a tunable EFI on it.

Enjoy the project!

[The Glademister]

Originally Posted by PFM

GladMister,

Check your SCCA rules but MAYBE you can fit a MegaSquirt inside the original FI "ECU" box and still be legal. I am not suggesting a cheat, check the rules. I do know it would run better with a tunable EFI on it.

Enjoy the project!

Thanks for that tip! I was thinking dual webers but the rules don't allow for cam changes. So if I went with Mega Squirt (rules say fuel injection and electronics are unlimited) would I be using a different throttle body and intakes? I'd need to get something, as this poor thing came with some ancient single carb mounted on the OEM plenum (getto).

Here's last night's progress...

[The Glademister]

I finally got 4 hours to really dig into the rear trunk pan and I've discovered a couple of things.
1. You can't use a chisel to break the spot welds when it's sheet metal to sheet metal. One side is going to tear. I found that out on the spot welds along the rear. I started to go along with my chisel bar and it pulled the sheet metal through the back panel. If this was a restoration I would have been angry a myself but you know what... it's a race car and it doesn't have to look pretty.
2. You can use a chisel to break welds when it's sheet metal to structural metal. I was able to do that along the cross member in the middle of the trunk. I was even able to use a big crow bar with a mallet and do some serious busting.
3. Drilling out spot welds is time consuming and tedious. But there's many areas it must be done. See #1.
4. Look at exploded diagrams before ripping into the metal. There's hidden structure you may not want to damage. I'm getting better at taking a close look at what's under as I'm going.
5. Mice can get into any hole larger than your pinky. Look at what's inside the cross member. It's a saw dust lined nest for furry pests. I believe all the rust inside is caused by rodent urine. Disgusting

The last two photos show a tricky area in the rear right corner. There's a oval structure that's formed by the side body panel to support the top of the cross member. Kind of tough to peel the sheet metal off that contour. Also note that there's a plate that supports the back half of the sway bar bracket. I just cut around that and will leave that layer of sheet metal on it. There's also a small bracket on the very back that was probably just used to aline that pan at the factory. On the left side, the same is true except the bracket is much larger and more structural. When I get to that side I'll do the same cutting around.

[The Glademister]

I finished up the rear trunk pan cut out but was unable to install the new sheet metal. Waiting on delivery of the panel flanger tool. I'll lap the top edge and spot weld. I did start in on the floor boards. Some serious ripping with a sawzaw made short work out of that. The next day I tidy upped the edges and started wire brushing rust. The wire brush reveals all! Passenger side inner clam shell has rust holes sides and bottom. Rather than replace the clam shell I decide to cut out the offending sections. The first was hopefully the most complex with two bends in the sheet metal but it goes in fairly well. Welding the bottom was very difficult and tedious. The next section is just the side so it should be quicker. Of course there was more evidence of rodent infestation with acorn shells and twigs mixed in the flakes of rust.

[Buzzbait]

Are you planning on using the horn grille assemblies? I'm in east TN. If interested in a deal contact me. dhodge30@hotmail.com