Help - questions about resto work - 914 body

[blh914]

Hi - I have a '75 914 I am restoring - I have almost completed dis-assembly - my plan is to get the car down to the body work so I can have it bead blasted - all rust spots repaired and then coated so that it will never rust again.

Please anyone who can help answer the following questions:

1) How to I remove the dash? I've got everything removed and all the bolts that I can see at the sides, etc - now how do I get the dash out - somehow it has to be pried out?

2) How much stuff should I remove in order to restore the body?Should I remove the rear trailing arms or just leave them in place? Doors? What about the front susp. pieces?

3) What is the best way to remove all the paint and get it ready for body restoration? As I mentioned above bead blasting or??
I am thinking of purchasing a blasting kit - I have some property and could probably just do it in my back yard.

Thank you in advance,
Bret

[AaronM]

#1) Can't help you, never done it. My car doesn't get a full-on restoration for another couple of years until I'm out of college.

#2) From what I've read, remove as much as you can, but leave the doors unless you want to go through hell getting them aligned again.

#3) I've read up on this and I lean towards acid-dipping, though that is on the expensive end and it requires that you ship out the body. Bead blasting seems to be the best balance of results and economy.

Aaron

[Brad Roberts]

1. I'm betting you didnt remove the 2 nuts under the dash "pod" You cannot see them. 2 of them sit in the small trough that you can just get a finger into towards the front of the pod.

2. I can align doors in 3 minutes. Yank them.

3. Pull out all the sound deadening in floors.

4. Most paint shops dont want the car blasted. New paint sticks better to old paint. I would sand it down to the original. I think it will actually cost you less in the long run.

B

[URY914]

You really don't need to take good factory applied paint off just to spray it back on. The prep work will kill you. Fix what needs fixing, sand the old paint so the new stuff sticks and shoot it. There is no need for a bare metal resto job on a 914. I hate to say it but the car really isn't worth it.

[Bleyseng]

As Brad said, there a several plastic nuts you can't see that hold the dash on. Get a good flashlight to shine up in there to see them, kinda. I assume you have taken out the glove box, radio, gauge pod etc. Otherwise, you can't get to the others without doing that. When you get all the nuts out the dash pops out.
Geoff

[Zeke]

I guess the windshield is out, right? As far as sandblasting is concerned, it is usefull in certain tight areas. Complete stripping is overkill as mentioned. As far as trailing arms are concerned, if you are not going to put the thing on a rotisere, or do a complete blast, you can leave them on. If you take them off, do not break the three bolts on the out board side. You'll be hatin' life if you do. Ask me how I know.

When I do a car, I sand or chemically strip the exterior. I wire brush the interior and sandblast the rusty places. At this point I use polyurethane catylized primer and weld-through primer where repairs are indicated. From that point on, you can take your time and do a panel or section at a time.

[1bad914]

1) How to I remove the dash? I've got everything removed and all the bolts that I can see at the sides, etc - now how do I get the dash out - somehow it has to be pried out?

I did not pull mine for a full resto!

2) How much stuff should I remove in order to restore the body?Should I remove the rear trailing arms or just leave them in place? Doors? What about the front susp. pieces?

I would leave the suspension alone until the exterior is done then pull the suspension off and detail it seperately.

3) What is the best way to remove all the paint and get it ready for body restoration? As I mentioned above bead blasting or??
I am thinking of purchasing a blasting kit - I have some property and could probably just do it in my back yard.

I agree with Brad, don't strip it totally. The original paint is the best base for new primer/paint. Use 400 grit dry to take the car down to a flat surface. I could tell you the entire process but that is way off topic. Email me off forum if you want me to give you some pointers!

Randy

[John2kx]

Bret,

I just so happened to have a dash sitting in shop. There are nine nuts/studs on attached pics which should help in removal of this piece.

John

[John2kx]

number 4 and 5

[John2kx]

number 6 and 7

[John2kx]

8 and 9

[JWest]

And you have to take the trim off the A pillars for the dash to be able to come out.

[URY914]

If you have taken everything out of the front trunk area under the cowl (wiper motor and arms, fresh air box and hoses, wiring, etc, etc,) good luck getting it all back in and having it look and work right. And without screwing up that new paint. It was a PITA taking it all out of my car and I knew I wouldn't be putting it back in.

[gint]

I managed to remove a cherry dash pad from the 72 without removing anything but the glove box. gauge pod, lower dash pad and the radio. It wasn't fun, and installation can't be the same as removal.

[blh914]

Thank you to everyone who responded to my post - lots of good ideas and suggestions. And thanks so much to the gentleman who posted the pics. I'll let you know how it goes.

Bret