BUILD-OFF CHALLENGE: Dirty Cossack's Build Options

[JoeDees]

I had every intention of making an introduction video, but I found that I had ruined my wide angle lens trying to film some cool shots of grinding. So while I'm waiting for the new lens to be delivered, I will go with this novel:
I bought the car about a year ago with the shortsighted intention of throwing it back together and having a driver until its turn came for rustoration. I bought the car and a carload of parts from a guy in Dallas who did some really shady work and an incredible job hiding other rust; magician style he distracted with his obvious poor work. The drivetrain was out of the car and registration said it had been sitting for 12 years, so I don’t know what made me think I could get it driving in a month… Soon after buying the car, my daily driver VW went down and needed a bunch of work and Uncle Sam gave me orders to move 800 miles. I fiddled with the 914 now and then, mostly just probing for rust, but focused my attention on prepping my other projects and VW for sale, knowing I could only bring one car with me and it had to be rolling so I couldn’t really tear into it. I’ve been here in the new, much smaller shop since June and have been slowly tearing into the 914 between honey-do new house projects, new job training, and getting the new shop in order.
As we sit now, the car is on jackstands with the rotisserie acting as additional bracing, the engine and trans are under a workbench, the bigger pieces of the car are using the extra bedroom (the one my wife says needs to be vacated when we get pregnant) and others in boxes in my closet. Tearing the car down, I’ve found almost everything worse than I expected. The gas tank is pretty nasty with rust, all 4 calipers are locked up and the wheel bearing grease congealed. Removing the bumpers I found some evidence of prior damage and filler. Further probes into the longs found some rust on the driver side, and the passenger side nearly shot. The hellhole was a known problem, and turned into a chasm. I haven’t really dove to much into the floor, but found rust around the firewall and under a seat mount. The good news seems to be in a relatively dry trunk and pedal area.
My project’s Big 5 jobs are: 1) Rust repair. 2) Body work and a complete repaint. 3) Complete overhaul of the brake system, bearings, CVs, getting the window to work and stuff like that. 4) Engine rebuild. 5) Customization: wart removal, interior work, and an attempt at making custom made bumper tops.
In this build off challenge I face multiple fronts of challenges: 1) I grew up helping my Dad fix VWs, redid a Triumph Spitfire in my early 20s with his help, and have done numerous small projects over the years, but this is my first full rustoration on my own. 2) I have a severely limited budget. I am active duty Army, and everybody knows that NCO paychecks leave much to be desired. 3) I’m often short on time. My current assignment is as an instructor requiring me to work 10-12 hour days and 50-60 hour weeks. 4) I have a bum knee that makes it almost impossible to crouch and am fighting a shoulder issue that makes working overhead painful (praying for no surgery). 5) Nothing but the windshield and fine machine work like the heads and crank will be farmed out, I’m doing this on my own.
Well this is where we are starting, and honestly, who knows where we’ll end up. I haven’t really decided on color, engine, or upgrades, though I’m leaning towards keeping the 1.7 Liter Fuel Injection unless a good deal on another engine arises. I’m also thinking of keeping the car black but going minimal chrome, but who knows what the good idea fairy will deliver. I hope you enjoy the journey as much as I do.

[JoeDees]

Post for Friday 27 May:

Shop soundtrack: my Iron Maiden Pandora station

The day's plan was to get a bunch done in the garage on my day off, but as I was taking the garbage to the street I happened to notice an odd, white spot on my DD Honda Fit's tire. Of course it was a nail. I had been planning on replacing the tires towards the end of summer anyways, hoping to milk a thousand more miles out of them; the previous owner didn't drive the car much so they had minor dry rot along with wear. The funny part is that twice over the last 2 weeks the tire went a little low but on inspection I saw nothing (could it really be possible that the nail was down both times I inspected?). Anyways, I spent quite a bit of the day dealing with this. NOTE: If you buy a Honda Fit for its incredible affordability and such, get the basic model and not the "sport," the sport's 16" wheels have a weird 185 55 tire that cost me $100+ more to replace and the ride is a little louder and worse.

But the time I did spend in the shop was spent welding up the sail panel. The piece was a little tricky in that it has a minor curvature that I think I managed to get right, but I was worried about warpage on such a broad, flattish sheet so I welded really slowly. I'm not sure if it was a heat warp or what, but the top welded edge did manage to sink and there's a bit of a low spot I think filler will fix without violating my 1/8ths inch rule (filler will be no thicker than 1/8th inch). I tried to show the low spot in the pics, but it's hard to see; though you can see the low spot on the fender top. I guess it's also worth mentioning that I filled in the little trim holes and reworked (welded a fat line and grinded) that jamb edge too. Overall it was a good day in the garage.