1973 2.0L Rustoration, Restoration turned OT garage build Options

[Superhawk996]

I purchased my first 914 back in 1987 (1973 1.7L) and had that car for nearly a decade and I personally put over 100,000 miles on it before it ultimately fell victim to a negligent driver that drove into the back end of it at about 40 mph while the vehicle was stopped at a red light. That rear end crash totaled the vehicle but what is amazing is how well it crumpled (early crush zones!) due to the kink in the frame where the halfshafts are. Everyone walked away unharmed.

I replaced it with a 1991 Miata. Great car in its own right but I've always missed my 914.

Purchased this "replacement" in May 2018 as a known poster child for a complete right side longitudinal rustoration.

This vehicle had been put into storage inside a pole barn around 2004 as far as I can tell.

Vehicle initially purchased in non-running condition:
Engine couldn't be started.
Transmission shift linkage was disconnected
Half shafts and CV's were in pieces, and the wheel stubs were not installed therefore the vehicle couldn't even be rolled without risking having the rear wheel separate from within the bearing.
Fiberglass laid into the floorpan . . . that can't be a good sign.

Vehicle looks great . . . until I got under it.

I spent the better part of the summer putting the items above back together and trying to confirm that it would:
1) Run under its own power
2) Drive though the neighborhood and shift though all gears.



Looks pretty nice eh?

Here is what is lurking underneath once the rockers came off.



and when I started cutting back the rust. Oh my . . . .

[Superhawk996]

The other thing that has derailed my effort to get the long in place is that the Tin Worms have consumed the lower 1" of just about the entire perimeter.

I suspect that someone repeatedly left the Targa off this vehicle and it got filled with water. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/mad.gif) leading to all the corrosion on the lower 1" of the entire floor pan.




So before I can weld in the longitudinal I need to get some solid metal back in the lower cowl and wheelhouse area.

I started to fabricate the lower couple inches of the longitudinal outer.




But the more I got to thinking about doing a from scratch fabrication I decided to see if I could find some donor sheet metal. The tight radius bends and the compound curvature of the wheelhouse weld flange was just going to be agonizingly slow to do from scratch.