Bringing out the dead Options

[Jeff Hail]

Bringing Out The Dead.....or how to restore a rusty 914 and convert it to a street/track car when I have time after dealing with everyone elses stuff.

My background is collision and restoration (day job) of high end automobiles for 28 years in addition to race fabrication. I jumped the fence and left that industry to pursue pretty much the same thing except on the paperwork end which is really boring and thankless. (another day job)

I look at rust like a diamond in the rough. Rust is afraid of me because it know's it cannot live in my world. Metal becomes submissive because I have confidence in my metal working talents. I will add to this post as work progress's.

I hope my years of experience can help others as I add. I believe there is a right way to repair a car and wrong way. I metal finish because in the end its cleaner, lighter and stronger. I was taught old school techniques with new school technology. A great combination. I also believe in doing a job once correctly using the highest quality materials and proper tools. Many ways to skin a cat I say. If you hold it by the tail it can still bite!

Good advice to follow:
Take measurements of the door openings and targa bar to windshield header. Cross measure then do it again to confirm. Recheck your measurements against the factory figures. Make a couple of adjustable braces for each side that attach from the upper seat belt anchors to the door hinges. I recommend cross braces also right to left. These can be made from rod or tube and turnbuckles for cheap. Racer Chris has some really nice ones with rod ends. Support the car from below equally on both sides of the undercarriage and front and rear. I do not believe jack stands can hold the proper tolerances at 4 points. It takes a minimum of 6 and preferably 8. These are all easy to do and are essential to a square and level chassis. Not everyone can afford a Cellete bench or hourly frame time at a shop for these type of do it yourself repairs. Impovisation can be done correctly and for a lot less money. Make sure your floor or platform is level.

Keep in mind that tolerances for the 914 were 7-9mm from the factory so anything you can do to make it better is worth it. 7mm by today’s standards is huge. 9mm is a Grand Canyon. Anything you can do to tighten the tolerances will provide a better end product. Exterior panels were fit with the adjust and weld method and are only a skin.

My 914 had measurements all over the place on the front end and the rust issues were all in the rear that needed correction. Car was never in any collisions.
90% of the measurements were factory assembly tolerances. Porsche's aint perfect.

I made my own dedicated bench for 911's and 914's. By some stroke of luck I ended up with a 1 mm variance in height (datum) and 2mm in length and width is zero with my own fixtures. This has been substantiated with endless anal cross measuring and factory manuals. I used a steel front suspension cross member as a front body holding fixture. I went through 4 before I found an acceptable one. The first 3 were so far off factory tolerances (4-6 mm out of square) I rejected them before I found a good one.

My bench is not for pulling. It was designed for assembly and replacement of structural parts. It will support 3,000 pounds. $350 worth of steel and another $175 in industrial castors was worth it considering its use. A stripped 914 shell is a feather and easy to roll around. When you cut and replace structural parts recheck your measurements. Control points change when you remove, replace and weld in new parts. They are easily controlled with patience.

If it does not come out perfect do not lose sleep. Remember tolerance and variance was not perfect from the factory. If you have a control point locating hole that is 14 mm a dowel or pin of 9-10mm was used during birth. That is why suspension systems are adjustable for variance and wear. You will also find center indexing points on the front and rear of the body. Easy tools to use are plumb lines, tape measures and levels if you do not have access to high end measuring equipment. You can locate and make symmetrical measurements throughout repairs. If you have one side that is undamaged or not rusted use that side as a starting point for measurements. Use panel gaps as a visual indicator during repairs and welding.

3 important factors- height, length and width. If you are me then there are 4 (Z axis) and that one will make you lose sleep!

Some pics of the beggining: A back east 914 comes to California.

[FourBlades]

Is that -16?

John

[johnhora]

Way back Machine

Have to weld up those trick rear backing plates. For some reason on 914's they are prone to fatigue cracks. This stuff is really thin. I measured it at 25 gauge at the thinnest area. My Miller 180 was turned down to under 1. About as low as it would go.

I'm not even going to use these on my car with the 911 rear parking brake mod.
Maybe someone here will end up with them? You never know? I might throw them in with the lot of parts going to the powder coater and then offer them up.

Jeff...what did those backing plate come off??....Thanks...John

[Jeff Hail]

Is that -16?

John

Yes sir John

[Jeff Hail]

Way back Machine

Have to weld up those trick rear backing plates. For some reason on 914's they are prone to fatigue cracks. This stuff is really thin. I measured it at 25 gauge at the thinnest area. My Miller 180 was turned down to under 1. About as low as it would go.

I'm not even going to use these on my car with the 911 rear parking brake mod.
Maybe someone here will end up with them? You never know? I might throw them in with the lot of parts going to the powder coater and then offer them up.

Jeff...what did those backing plate come off??....Thanks...John

A 914.

[Jeff Hail]

Back on metal.

Slicing some 16 guage


Sheet metal Origami

[Jeff Hail]

I usually don't buy tools or equipment from HF other than disposables (nitrile gloves etc).

A couple of weeks ago I stopped in for a tent sale and picked up a "Scratch and Dent" welder cart. For a whopping $39.99 I nabbed the double wall cart with drawers. Its actually built pretty solid. It was missing the cable management hooks on one side but other than that I still can't find the scratch or the dent.

[Jeff Hail]

A couple hours later and a little re-paint, clearcoat, a call to my Miller rep for some decals and now a decent matching cart.

[KELTY360]

It even matches the blue tarp that's covering your car. Do we get to see what's underneath soon? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Jeff Hail]

It even matches the blue tarp that's covering your car. Do we get to see what's underneath soon? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

I really don't use it as a tarp. I use it as a tent when I media blast small areas. Keeps the little meteors from getting all over the place. Everything falls to the floor. Sweep, sift and reload.

[mrbubblehead]

nice score on the cart jeff. i ended up building my own.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/i722.photobucket.com-12492-1424572949.1.jpg)

[Jeff Hail]

Way cool. I was going to build one or buy a used pit cart but space is the final frontier.

[Maltese Falcon]

Gotta have my drink holder for iced TEA !

[veekry9]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrlvqib94xQ

Simple. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)
Battery-weld
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PV5oLPLUzrM
Tools n more

[914forme]

Jeff, what color and who's product did you use for the green on your struts. Mine is original, faded and looks like crap.

And nice redo on the Harbor Freight Cabinet. If I payed $40 for the cart I would buy it also. Their tool chest seem to be the one thing they tend to over build. I have seen tons of people use their cabinets for the bases of benches, etc..

[Jeff Hail]

[quote name='914forme' date='Feb 24 2015, 06:41 AM' post='2150933']
Jeff, what color and who's product did you use for the green on your struts. Mine is original, faded and looks like crap.

PPG 46180


You can buy rattle cans of Farm and Implement Green that are pretty close.

[914forme]

[quote name='Jeff Hail' date='Feb 24 2015, 08:53 PM' post='2151177']
[quote name='914forme' date='Feb 24 2015, 06:41 AM' post='2150933']
Jeff, what color and who's product did you use for the green on your struts. Mine is original, faded and looks like crap.

PPG 46180


You can buy rattle cans of Farm and Implement Green that are pretty close.
[/quote]
Ha, I should have know, JD Green.

I shop that isle all the time, Signal Orange happens to be very close to Minneapolis-Moline Gold.

Thanks for the tip.

[Jeff Hail]

I did not realize how long its been since my last post. See what happens when you get to 50? Time flys when you're having fun.

[mepstein]

Jeff - first post Oct 2 2007, 12:35 AM (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)

[KELTY360]

Couple weeks?

[0396]

I did not realize how long its been since my last post. See what happens when you get to 50? Time flys when you're having fun.

Jeff,
Long time no talk. I'mhappy to see your enjoying life vs primary focusing on your 914.
All the best.