HELP! I need a bit of advice....

rallyman · 10-21-2002, 10:19 PM

I have been earnestly disassembling my 914 to get it ready for all the work to come......BUT now I have found something bad.......

A bit of background - When I bought this car I checked it closely for rust.......none to speak of other than the rear trunk (I have the replacement panel for that) and the battery tray is rusting away (not too badly, but I have a new one t o go in). The interior was trashed and the engine was gone, but the price was right and I have all the parts from the old rusted away car to put on this one.

In all my checking I missed one thing - after I got the backpad out I discovered that the car had apparently been hit on the driver's side. It looks like the left rear fender and left door were involved. All the exterior panels line up well and the panel lines are good except the front driver's door seam is slightly bigger than it ought to be. It APPEARS that none of the suspension pickup points were involved after close inspection.

The problem is this - where the firewall meets the left rear door jamb there is a gap....abut 3/8" or so. Apparently the body shop put on a new fender and maybe a jamb, but it looks like they didn't pull out the firewall far enough to meet the jamb. It looks like hell, but a bit of welding and a back pad and it would be fine. EXCEPT for the fact that I am prolly not going to put on a back pad or engine side sound pad. So it will look like ***** out in the open!

I haven't taken the car to a body shop to check into this as it is up on stands and trying to get it anywhere will be a PITA. I'll try to post a pic or two in the AM.....In the mean time I'm looking for advice on whether I should just pass this chassis on or if it will be worth while to fix (meaning money wise!).

Thanks in advance!

derek_sf · 10-21-2002, 10:24 PM

what are your plans for the car? how nice do you want it to be? how much was your original investment? you could at least take it to a body shop and have them see if the chassis is straight. if so, maybe think about fixing the other issues. if not, maybe your best best it to start fresh (like I figured out...).

edit: ahhh, the car is not able to move, well, how hard is it for you to find a new chassis? mine was not able to move either, so it's being cut up on spot. sometimes the best thing to do under the circumstances. I didn't like the thought of dumping a ton of cash into a car which will always be wrecked.

rallyman · 10:44 PM

Derek,

I am not looking for a concours car, but I want it to look decent. I don't even really care if the seams showed from where it was patched (if that's possible) and I could have it welded to match on the passenger side if necessary.......I'm going to do the GT replica thing, but with a few twists of my own.

Initial investment was $500 for the complete car less engine - but with a complete 1.8 (unknown condition) tossed in with the deal. As I said the interior and seals were basically trash, but I have another '73 2.0 that has all but rotted away but has all the goodies on it in decent condition, plus I have a small collection of nice parts for replacement of what is not good on the rotted car - dash, seals, etc.

All I really have to do to move it is put the wheels/tires back on and it will go anywhere.....problem is I live out in the country and will have to beg borrow or steal a trailer to haul it on.......suppose I oughta get one of those one day.

I am trying to figure if I can replace the entire firewall or cut a piece in to fix the bad spot or?????? I'm not really a body repair guy and was hoping to get some idea from anyone who has any knowledge. The car shows no signs of bad tire wear from suspension / alignment problems. I wouldn't think this would be a candidate for the sawzall even if the firewall couldn't be patched unnoticeably. You'd just have to live with the look of the patch or put in a backpad.........two things I don't particularly want to do........

Oh yeah....I looked for about a year to find this chassis......I hate the thought of having to hunt down another, but........if I have to I suppose........

Thanks,

derek_sf · 10-21-2002, 10:50 PM

my car sounds somewhat like yours. it was in a significant accident and repaired less than perfect. it also had firewall problems (mine due to rust). I don't know how to weld, but I thought about learning and buying a welder. I also thought about taking mine in to be fixed in the firewall corners. neither option is cheap, unless you know someone who can make a patch and weld it for you. don't know what to say, but sounds like you're going to dump some money in it if you want a "GT" like car. I'm having a hard time thinking of where the gap is, do you have a pic? where does the rear door jam meet the firewall?

rallyman · 10-21-2002, 11:09 PM

I don't have a pic tonite, but I'll get one in the AM and post it. Where the problem is - where the 'vent' comes thru from the door jamb into the inside (near the top of the jamb) from there down to just above the engine lid release. It's not actually the whole distance, but that gives you the idea of the area. The actual area is on the firewall, just inside the jamb, at about the level of the door latch on the jamb. I hope this comes out clearer to you than it does reading it to myself!

Here try this link:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/914/Parts/Body/body_panels_rear_big.htm

if you look at the part #11 (inner fender) about midway down the front edge you will see a small piece sticking out towards the center of the car. This is pretty close to the area where the gap is. The actual gap is where part #11 meets the firewall (part #3)

Maybe this makes it a bit clearer. I hope.

Thanks.

rallyman · 10-21-2002, 11:11 PM

mebbee this will work.....

rallyman · 10-21-2002, 11:14 PM

I can't believe that actually worked......

Yeah I plan on spending some bucks on the car over time......a -6 in it, BIG brakes, nice suspension, flares (not the GT kind I think).....different things like that......and then all the little tidbits to give it the flavor of a GT.......without looking like everyother GT clone.......

derek_sf · 10-21-2002, 11:38 PM

ok I see where you mean now. I hate to say it, but I'd try and get the chassis checked for straightness. I wouldn't want to dump a bunch of money in it and then find out later there are issues. who knows what this car went through to have the gap there. how far away is the closest body shop?

rallyman · 10-21-2002, 11:44 PM

the body shop isn't that far, it's just the hassle of getting it there - trailer and all.......but I suppose that's what needs to happen.....

rallyman · 10-22-2002, 07:10 AM

Here's a pic of the damaged area.......what do you think guys? The red outline refers to the damaged area - which is not all that bad, just where there is ANY sign of damage - and the line points to where the actual gap is....

rallyman · 10-22-2002, 07:13 AM

Scratch what I said about the "red outline"....what I meant to say was the damage is confined to the seam between the inner fender and the firewall between those lines.....and the damage is not that bad except where the actual gap is.....

tbil · 10-22-2002, 08:45 AM

Just my opinion but I would get this chasis fixed as youre not going to find the "perfect" car for your project. I think youre going to find one problem or another requiring similar expense with any other car you could find. The only exception would be something already restored which would come with a higher purchase price and would be too nice to midify anyway.

Go for it and have fun. You can't take the money with you....

SummerSledSix · 10-22-2002, 09:58 AM

Craig, you may be able to use a jack to straighten out that firewall while in place. The basic idea would be to tack weld (or bolt) a piece of scrap angle iron onto the top of that hump you have outlined in red. Run a piece of 2x4 or similar diagonally (based on that dimple in the flat part of the firewall, looks like you need to stretch over AND up) from the angle iron over to the passenger side longitudinal, as far to the rear of the long. as you can. The jack goes on one end of the 2x4 or the other. Work the jack slowly, see if the seam closes. If it does, give it a small extra tweak past closed to cancel springback. Grind the weld off, then put a big "Simpson" sticker or something over it, and you're good to go.

sammyg2 · 10-22-2002, 11:18 AM

Yup, I would try to close the gap and then weld it up strong, then use a nice piece of carpet to cover up the repairs and firewall if they are not up to cosmetic snuff. You should be able to get it nice enough looknig that it would not be noticeable from the engine compartment, and the carpet will look good from the inside if you don't use a back pad.

There are body men that could make it perfect, but that takes cubic $$$$.

gint · 10-22-2002, 01:09 PM

If the suspension points are straight, get the MIG welder and the grinder out. You could probably get it good enough that a slight coat of bondo and paint would make it invisible.

But the Simpson sticker was a goos idea also.....

rallyman · 10-22-2002, 02:22 PM

Thanks for all the words of encouragement......I was starting to get really depressed about "the gap"! I was out poking around in it and just realized that half of the problem doesn't exist......it doesn't show on the firewall side....it goes into the inner fenderwell area. SO that makes that easier.

Think I'll take a combination of the ideas and try and stretch it out a bit, mebbe get me a chunk of firewall with the sawzall from D&Gs this weekend, and start practicing with the MIG (and grinder!) between now and when 'it's time'. Perhaps the cage will hide a lot of the 'blemish' and what is still visible will probably fit nicely behind a Simpsons sticker.....DOH....I mean Simpson sticker!

And if I can't get it but so good I'll take it to the body man for fine tuning.........

Thanks again!