74 Roller rebuild and Subaru conversion, 1974 rebuild and Subaru conversion project Options

[mgarrison]

Hello,

I new around here, but have been lurking for a bit trying to soak up all the 914 knowledge and information I could! I was looking into building a Factory Five 818 kit with the Subaru flat-4, but the cost of entry was a bit too high, and the time & space needed to build a car from scratch seemed overwhelming. But it got me thinking; that's basically a tube-framed 914 with an odd body. I wonder if anyone has put a Subaru flat-4 in a 914? A few Google searches later I learned that a lot of people had, and parts were out there to spend my money on!

Long story short, I found two rollers with no engines or transmissions in Tucson, AZ a couple of hours South of me. Soon I rented a car hauler for a couple of days and my "Craft Project" (my wife's label) was begun.

The rollers were a green 1971, and a red 1974. I wanted to restore the 71 because it just seemed to have more character. The 74 had been partially stripped for an electric conversion project, and seemed less "car like". Sadly, the 71 needed a bit more work than I was setup to handle. So, it had to be the 74 who I have simply labeled as "Red".

I will try to track my build process here as best I can. I tend to get working on things and forget to document things, but will try to keep track.

Here's Red when we got her home on the trailer and tucked away in the back yard for the moment.

Mike

[mgarrison]

Finally getting around to posting another update!

I removed the battery tray support and discovered some minor Hell hole issues...

Noticed some odd holes on the inner fender next to the openings for the AC tubing. Looks like they might have bolted something to the inner fender here...?


I set about removing the engine tray. Since my roller did not have engine, trans, seats, etc., I will be doing a Subaru conversion and wont need the engine tray. Cutting spot welds is quite the long, tedious process!


Finally...


I drilled a 2" inspection hole to see how bad the damage was, and that I can cut out and weld a patch back in.

Tried to take a pic to see what the inside looks like, but hard to really tell..


I rolled the 914 around to the garage so I could use the high speed air saw, and cut out the rusted sections that need to be patched up.


While I was waiting to give the compressor a break, I drilled the openings to run my coolant lines up to the front trunk.


Getting the patches to fit just right is a crazy TEDIOUS process!


In my spare time here & there, I have been working on removing seam sealer aka "Rust Hider" to get any rust addressed properly.


Is there a consensus on replacing the seam sealer? Since I am doing a Subaru conversion, I'm not concerned with looking 100% original as my roller did not have historic value. Does the sealer REALLY keep rust out? With modern rust treatment and paint products, is it still necessary?