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]

This cowl area has taken way too much time.

A few lessons that I've had to remember the hard way. I knew better but sometimes you get in a hurry and try to shortcut things. It rarely works.

1) Panel fit up is paramount. you have to have gaps that are 1mm or less to get a nice weld.
2) Use lots and lots of tack welds. Don't leave big gaps between the tacks. This helps eliminate warping and more importantly as the tacks increase in number, it yields more heat transfer paths to prevent burn through. When you think you have enough, double it!
3) Do very short welds between the sport welds with minimal filler. if more filler is needed its easier to add more later.

I disregarded all three of these points and have regretted my choice! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif)

I initially mis-trimmed the lower cowl a little bit under size. This lead to a 2-3mm gap. I should have just closed the gap up to 1mm and then had to bend the flanges down to the floorpan to make up for it.

Instead, I fitted the flange to the floorpan and then let the gap be 2-3 mm. This was a critical mistake. Trying to fill a gap this large is just asking for trouble.

I then did a awful lot of tack welds to bridge the gap . . . but not enough. I began to rush the job and wanted to get er' welded up. When I tried to close the open spaces between the tack welds I just ended up burning holes. This cowl sheet metal is only 0.036" thickness. Not very tolerant of being overheated.

To further compound my mistakes, I ended up having to add lots of filler rod to keep from burning holes. This leads to big booger looking welds and the need to grind welds which is very time consuming.

I then went back and ground down all the excess filler only to rediscover lots of pin holes that didn't fully fuse due to the large gap between the panels and the rapid addition of filler.

Then tried to fill the pin holes and proceeded to blow more holes now that the weld was thinned excessively. This was a viscous circle.

At some point you just realize you are making a mess and need to stop the madness.

It took several welding sessions just forcing myself to slow down and to fix my mistakes as best I could. Ultimately I ended up putting a light in the gas tank area so I could see the pin holes and then carefully filled them.