914 Body In White, chassis fixtures being made Options

[McMark]

Well, I started on this path a long time ago. Back in 2011, I pick up a Celette bench on Craigslist. I rented fixtures a few times, but along the way Celette moved everything to a newer setup/system and trashed the old fixtures.

Last year I was able to get the new style adapters but would still need to rent fixtures. So it was nice to have the capability, but rental fees meant that expediency was critical. For a project like SirAndy's 914-6 there will be a lot of measuring, checking, cutting, welding, etc. That translates to a lot of time on the bench, and the less I feel the need to rush, the better. When straightening a chassis, it's critical that you have a plan and make pulls and adjustments in the correct order.

Restoration Design just started carrying their own set of fixtures that are compatible with what I have now. They had the early 911 fixtures, but thankfully they jumped on the 914 next. So I just placed my order for these. Now I'll have everything in house to put cars up on fixtures for straightening, major rust repair, and/or cage work. This is a huge development for Original Customs.

I've always done rust repair, but this is the first time that I'll start offering a 'chassis restoration service' for both individuals and other shops. So anyone, anywhere can ship their chassis here and get back a solid and straight body, ready to build on. I'll also be on the lookout for suitable cars to straighten/repair and sell ready to run, 'off the shelf'.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/boldblue.gif) I can't wait to get started, then add early 911 and 356 fixtures...

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/www.restoration-design.com-419-1532972340.1.jpg)

[mepstein]

Wouldn’t the front towers be the same as the 911 fixtures.
Can you modify the existing fixtures rather than making new ones.

[McMark]

Nice research Mark. Guess I am back to building a set too then. I have a rust free straight car to work off of too. Really in most cases a guy doesn't need heavy fixtures designed for withstanding the pulling forces of a collision repair. Most of what we do is related to rust repair and withstanding the pulling forces of a welding process. We all know how our chassis can move around while welding.

Well, once I build mine and use them I was planning to just ship/bring everything your way. The MZ Towers make building these fixtures relatively easy. But building fixtures from scratch would be a larger endeavor. I know you're certainly up to the task, but just borrow mine when I'm done.

Wouldn’t the front towers be the same as the 911 fixtures.
Can you modify the existing fixtures rather than making new ones.

Well, remember these aren't made by Porsche people. So unfortunately, the answer is no. The setup is approached differently (see pics below), and there's no reason to expect that the 'neutral' position of the chassis, over the bench, is the same height or fore/aft location. In fact, just looking at the Celette diagrams I can tell that the 911 chassis will sit closer to the bench than a 914 chassis, which means nothing will interchange.

911 Front Shock Tower


914 Front Shock Tower