Ex BUILD-OFF CHALLENGE: Brett's 914, Got engine installed and working on wiring! Options

[brettrarnold]

Background
This car was the first car that Brett drove when he was 13 and was given to us in 2014. It had been sitting idle back in Indiana under a family friend's carport for the past 15 years before Brett went back to Indiana and towed it out to Colorado with his father in July 2014. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif)

When we got it, we didn't have a garage to work on it and it sat idle being stored outside for another year until we could afford a house with a garage. Colorado is pretty expensive so after we got a house with a garage, we then needed to save up more money to work on it.

Also I must mention in my ignorance, there were 3 distinct phases of thinking for getting this car fixed which I now find funny and are listed below

Phase 1: I will tow this car out to Colorado and get it the engine running for maybe $2,000 and have a working car.
Phase 2: Holy shit after researching this is impossible and will have to pay somebody to fix it for $15-20k.
Phase 3: I have enough local support and 914world resources and can fix this myself for around $10-15k.

Build-Off Challenge
So Amy and I are going to be tackling different aspects of this car so the posts will be coming from both of us. I will handling the rust/engine work and Amy will be on Interior and Exterior. Also she may help with some of the posting so we will start each post with name.

Brett
Step 1 (Complete) was to remove the engine and assess the frame rust situation. Never having removed an engine from a car, this was an extremely daunting task. The steps listed in Pelican Parts tutorial - 914 Engine Removal Made Easy is by far the most difficult thing I have done to a vehicle thus far. Hell I don't even know the difference between a camshaft and a carburetor much less a CV joint or a clutch cable. But after staring at it for about 2 weeks, I decided to just start unhooking shit and labeling. Made a ton of progress and finally got the engine about 95% unhooked. Had a friend come over to help me out and we actually got it out. WOOHOO!!!

Step 2 (Complete) is to strip out all the interior. I ordered chassis braces and other misc items from Tangerine racing and am still in the process of identifying all the rust areas that need repair.

[brettrarnold]

Rust Update.

While im waiting for chassis braces to arrive, here are some photos of the rust that that I have to tackle. My plan of attack is to cut along the red lines with a grinder, but my friend mentioned that it may be beneficial to cut rounded. I have no welding experience so any feedback would be welcomed.

My plan parts list is as follows:
Rear floor pan
Right Rocker Panel
inner longitude member passenger side

Is there anything else I am missing?

-Brett

[JamesM]

For someone that has never pulled an engine that looks like a pretty insane amount of rust repair to undertake. Bravo for trying to save the car, but man, I have scrapped multiple chassis for having rust issues that don't come near this.


For some reason though i really dig the paint scheme and interior color of this car. Best of luck with it.

[brettrarnold]

For someone that has never pulled an engine that looks like a pretty insane amount of rust repair to undertake. Bravo for trying to save the car, but man, I have scrapped multiple chassis for having rust issues that don't come near this.


For some reason though i really dig the paint scheme and interior color of this car. Best of luck with it.

Trust me I feel the same way, I stared at the stupid how-to guide for pulling the engine for literally 2 weeks, overwhelmed, but once I started getting into it, it wasn't so bad. This has been such a great learning experience for me thus far.

As for the paint, hoping to save the paint scheme but we'll see how difficult it is to match once I cut out part of the body to tackle the rust. Luckily I have a lot of great resources helping me get this baby back on the road. Thanks for the feedback!

-Brett