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 . . . .

[Dave_Darling]

Would a copper backer help with the blow-through issues? Or with some of the pin-hole problems?

I'm not a welder, but other folks on here have described how well a copper backer can help with some tricky welds.

--DD

[Superhawk996]

Would a copper backer help with the blow-through issues? Or with some of the pin-hole problems?

I'm not a welder, but other folks on here have described how well a copper backer can help with some tricky welds.

--DD

Indeed it does. That was part of my slow down and do it right solution.

The problem was holding the copper in place given that I can't hold it with vise grips and I can't "reach around" the cowl to hold while I weld.

I ended up using a couple of rare earth magnets to hold the copper in place. Problem is the heat of welding then destroys the magnet. Doh!

If I got desperate I was going to use cleco's to hold the copper in place but that would have entailed drilling 1/8" holes to use the cleco. That seemed like two steps forward and one step back since I would have to then fill the 1/8" holes.

Arguably, had I just backed the large gap with the copper in the 1st place, I could done the weld, and fixed the cleco holes all in less time then I spent blowing holes, creating pin holes, and then doing fix it work. Lesson learned (again (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) ) - taught by the school of hard knocks. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) Hopefully someone reads this and learns from it and/or maybe by writing it down I'll follow my own advice next time.