Just arrived in the garage: 1971 914-4 1.7 Options

[raynekat]

Bought a 71 1.7 liter today.



Car is in relatively good shape as far as I can tell.
Likely some hell hole and rear portion of the back trunk rust repair needed, but appears to be minor.
Time will tell.

My current plans are to get the fuel system and FI sorted out (me).
It cranks over, but doesn't start.
Then go through the brakes from stem to stern (PMB).
After that....drive it.

The original color is light ivory, but has had a repaint in pearl white years ago.
Will get the body work done and do a proper respray.
I've already got a set of 15x6.5" Minilites to install.
The suspension will get a good going over....likely Elephant Racing setup.
Re-do the interior with a more supportive driver's seat.
Refreshed gauges (Hollywood Speedo) in 356 fashion.
Double wrapped RS steering wheel.
GT lightwt door panels.

Eventually, a bigger four will power the car.
Would like to keep it all 4 cylinder for the time being.
I've already got a 911 sitting in the garage that tics all the 911 boxes off.

I'll keep a log of the progress here with pics.
This is a big, big project.....no doubt.

[cary]

The day has finally come to start on Doug's car. Best we can tell it's a pretty solid car. But we won't know the truth until all the paint comes off.

The parts that are here on site were unloaded and labeled.





Initial list :

1. Replace rear tail light panel with donor.
2. Replace rear half of trunk floor. With removable heat shield
3. Install 6 motor mount
4. Cut out holes for 6 oil tank
5. Replace back portion of floorboard
6. Make passenger seat adjustable like later cars
7. Install fiberglass wood framed GT hoods
8. Make minor seal channel rust repairs on both doors.
9. See if we can do some rust repairs on both valances

Plan is to have the car stripped here on site. History has it, the list will probably get a little longer after it's stripped.

So time to dive in the deep end. I take a few minutes to survey the donor tail light panel. The rusted off trunk panel is a little concerning at first glance.





Here's why we're changing out the tail light panel and the rear half of trunk.





The rusty old trunk came out/off without any issues.
Added 7/7/2106





So on to removing the qtr. panel corners. Once again I'm using Rick's grind down and pop off spot weld removal technique. I've given it my own twist. To eliminate as much damage as I can to the piece/panel we're going to reuse. I cut down the welds on the side that will be discarded with the 3" die grinder on a mandrel. Like so ...............



I did drill an 1/8" hole in each spot weld to make sure I didn't miss any spot welds. This section is 3 layers thick in places.

Once again, to eliminate potential damage I take things out in 2-3 inches sections. You can see the remaining section of the rusty old trunk floor next to the support.



At the end of the day it came out relatively easy. A couple nicks, cuts and tears to weld up. But it's in good shape.





Tomorrow I'll get out the steam cleaner and get all the grease cleaned off. Then maybe I'll blast the paint off. That will be followed by getting the torch out to remove the corner tail light brazing.