How much trouble am I in?

[Fred Flintstone]

Bought a '75 1.8L last August. Started disassembly around Christmas and found more problems than anticipated. Check out the pics (click for larger ones - about 100K each).




Engine


The infamous battery acid damage


Homemade muffler


Why I chose my user name

[Joe Bob]

Looks like ya got a parts car....where are ya located?

[Germain]

hmm. Battry fix is less the $5.00 if you can cut and weld. The floor boards look like they need replacing, no?

I'd say to each his own. I would prob buy another car with a better body based on the pictures. However you didn't say anything about the condition of the engine. If the car dirves good I would keep it. Otherwise I think I'd use it as a parts car.

Or, you can do what I did the first time, rebuild the whole dang thing. It took me alot of work, but I got it done. Cost me about $2200 for the engine/body work. Did ALL of it myself. Would never do it again.

[TomInVegas]

Looks like mine only a little worse. I did the same thing. Started fixing a few things and then found out about the rust. It really dosen't look that bad there but you need to check the longitudninals. I'd have a shop that's familiar with Porsches check it out. If it's too far gone then you've got a major task to repair it but if all the rust you have is in the pictures then it's fixable. I'd guess it would cost $500-750 to fix. The floor pans are available here on the Pelican site and a couple of others as well as the battery tray but the biggest cost will be the labor. Don't give up just yet. It may still be worth fixing. I don't know where you're located, but there should be someone who can recomend a good shop or someone who's on this site may be nearby that can take a look at it for you.

Tom
Las Vegas, NV
74 2.0

Fred,

From the looks of those floorpans you could push your stompers right through the floor and go as fast as you and Barney can run.
Then you wouldn't have to fix motor, muffler, ....




Looks like a parts car to me,
ShawnO

Hey, where is your spirit of adventure, boys? This car is an opportunity, not a castoff! Engine looks like it ran fine 10 or 15 years ago, and you gotta know that the pure Yankee ingenuity that would compel someone to build their own muffler from the sweat of their brow must be coursing thru every sinew of that piece. No, friends, I say encourage the lad to rebuild this as a
testament to determination, and an invaluable chance to learn welding, fabrication, bondo, sanding, painting, and the other black arts. And then one crisp but sunny day in a far off spring, when the birds are singing praises to the new morning and there is that faint bit of early moisture in the air, he can feel the true joy of life starting that resurrection up for the first time.

But then again, maybe an compression check now would be a good idea.

[Fred Flintstone]

Parts car? NO WAY!! As slowlane says it's "an opportunity."

First of all, I only paid $500 for my baby. Second, it's a father-son bonding, learn about cars, welding, etc. project. Figuring 2-3 years 'til completion.

As for the engine, right now it is overfilled with oil. Haven't tried to crank it yet, but we are planning a complete rebuild anyway maybe with one of Raby's 2270 kits.

The longitudinals seem to be in pretty good shape. Some rust but not too much. For example, before the seats came out we could stand in them (each of us is 200lbs+) and the doors close fine and windows roll with no binding.

Lots of work to be done. To be viewed as a valuable learning experience.

[Joe Bob]

It depends on where he is located.....if he is in California, that car is a throw away. That's whay I asked where he lives....

If he is back east, has a lot of time on his hands, is a good welder, it's a limitted edition, and/or he has the willingness to do it for the experience....go for it....

You have to face it....that car will far exceed it's finished value in repairs. In my experience that car is a donor vehicle.....there are too many rust free cars available for 3,000 or less to mess with that.

But hey....it's YOUR ride. Do what ya want....

[green71]

I have to agree w/mikez. Your own labor skills & spunk are going to count for a lot. If you can repair the rust, you'll have a good tub & something to work with. Some unexpected costs that nailed me were early-type motor/tranny mounts, some weatherstripping, clutch/flywheel package, and a few others.

At the end of the day, Fred, you're right: it could be a great father/son project. It could also be a good place to hide your money. Ultimately it's gonna be a h*llafun car!

Good luck,

Mark

[roadtrp204]

Go crazy with an awl or ice pick and poke at everything under the car. (Lower rear of front inner fender wells, lower side of side jack ports, rear bend in the logitudes, reinforcement on underside of pan for pedal cluster, inner bend of rear logitudes, right rear suspention mount, and rear half of the rear trunk come to mind.)Try to jack up the car using the factory jack ports on the sides of the rockers. The rear half of the rear truck floor in another place to look. My rear passenger floor rusted out in my possession and I live in the dessert! Rain water came in through a bad window seal and sat under the carpet for a year or so but it was limited to just the rear half of the passenger floor. Replacement was a not bad, about a 3 out of 10 on the difficulty scale. Cleaning the rust for a clean weld was where all the work was at, mig welders hate rust and are not to fond of chemically converted rust (save that for after the welding is done).

Side note: out of the three mig welders I use, Miller, Dent Fix, and Lincoln, the Lincoln weldpac 100 with the gas kit has proven the most capable at welding thin sheet metal with light amounts of rust on it.

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I'm with MikeZ. In California, this would be a good excuse for a Sawz-All party. But as I found out in Illinois (visiting Brad Mayeur--well worth the trip if you're within a few hours of East Peoria), that's just a half-step shy of a daily driver in the Midwest.

To me, this thing has "Cheap Charlie" written all over it. Cheap-o single carb setup, and really cheap homemade muffler... Hmm, it doesn't have the really cheap-ass 009 distributor, so maybe it's not all bad...

Still, as a project it will be a real learning experience!!

--DD

[karlp]

Fred-
I say have fun with it, if no others are around.
I got mine for less $, but the right rear wheel was cocked up into the wheel well because the longitudinal broke just behind the door. Lots of cutting and welding, floor pans were the least of it.
Now, I did not exactly use original Porsche replacement parts, but you can't tell unless I pull over and let ya crawl underneath.
Drive it every day, unless I'm fixing it!!

Karl P.

[sharper]

Karl, I would be interested in hearing how you fixed your longitudinal. I actually have two cars that look similiar to the pics above. The problem I have run into is finding a replacement part for the section of the longitudinal from the battery through the firewall. I am on the look out for a better chasis because of that.

[24flys]

hey dave,

I live about an hour and a half from peoria. Your right, that's what they look like in illinois, good thing I got mine in Arizona. Rust is not a good thing! I'd say part it out. It's gonna cost a lot of money to fix it up.

24flys

[Rouser]

Gracious ... I have a '74 parts car in better shape. Believe me, after a while, you're going to want to "learn" on something else.

It's going to cost WAY too much in time and money to bring that example back up to speed (pardon my pun), regardless of how much of the work you do yourself. Unless it has a history of some rock-star/actor/president/gangster dying in it, restoring this one will hollow out your pockets, fast.

Perform a hunt for a better (less rusted?) example (maybe a 73-74 2.0L), than cannibalize/merge the best of the two. Either that, or start a neighborhood "Save The 914" movement.

[Paint Legend]

Wasn't it Neil Young who said " its better to burn out, than it is to rust".

Regards,
Tom

[campbellcj]

[flying9142_2]

One of the first cars I did alot of MAJOR work on was a rusted out 914 ( this was outside of Pittsburgh Pa ) . This 914 sat there on the corner by my house everyday...tried to buy it when I was 14 , guy wouldnt sell....bought it 2 years later from him , Decaying at a fast rate. It was not a show piece but it was a driver . Made my own floor pans , rockers , quarterpanels ( lowers ) not too mention the battery area , longitudes etc .
All I know is it kept me off the streets and out of trouble .
Worked on it day and night ...as a mtter of fact IF you look at the parting shot in the last page of Road and Track ( last months issue I think ) you will see the very same exact 914 I brought back from the dead.....sold it when I left Pa...it ended up in Florida...but I think it is done now !!

White with orange , red and yellow strips....yeah I know like I said it was my first...it was different .

please tell me someone saw the issue...Dad stole my copy as a keepsake....of our father n son project .

Road and Track

[URY914]

I saw the R&T copy, there were several posts about it when it first came out. I think it was also in Car and Driver, but a smaller picture. Hey the 916 was on the front cover and your car was in the back. That must be good for something.

[CoolTool]

Fred,
I have a 73 that is in the process of going through the thing you are fixing to go through. I got mine because it was the first and only 914 I had ever seen. My wife actually made me get it for her. Mine had been used on a farm as a go cart for the farmers kids, and had sat parked outside with no windshield for about 5 years before I got it. It was also in just about as bad as shape! So far it hasn't been that bad. Only reason I am still doing it is because in the Texas panhandle, the 914's are RARE!!! Closest wrecking yard I have found that even knows what a 914 is is about 6 hours away! E-mail me at CoolTool3@yahoo.com if you want to see a few more pics of my 914 before and where it is now!