Fred's Backyard LE Restoration Options

[friethmiller]

So, I finally decided to create a build thread for my 2nd 914.

Quick Story: Last summer (6/2022), I found this car listed on FB Marketplace and it intrigued me. It was listed as a ’72 but some of the pictures were telling me that this thing was probably a ’74 and possibly an LE. Against my better judgement, I decided to call. The man who owned the car told me that it was, in fact, an LE and that the “72” was a misprint. I told him I’d come pick it up and pay him his asking price of $1000. So, I rented a U-Haul trailer for $68 (incl. insurance), and drove 4 hours from Austin to Leonard, TX, which is about an hour northwest of Dallas. Got the car home without issue and shoved it into a storage unit for a month while I got thing prepared at my house/garage. Unfortunately for me, I had promised my wife that I wouldn't restore another car "in our garage". So, I'm stuck in the backyard [for now] attempting to restore a very rusty, old car. It’s kind of a pain when it rains and have to cover everything up, but I prefer being outside.

Condition: Poor! To say that the floor pans were a little rough, was an understatement. The car had been sitting in a field with all the doors/hoods off for years. This is never a good thing. When I saw the car in person, it had about 5 inches of wet leaves in the bottom. The trunk replacement was a "hack" with no welds to the transmission support. I can’t imagine driving the thing with the backend loose like that. The hell hole was in horrible condition with about ¾ of the passenger side longitudinal ripped open with rust. The list goes on. However, it did have its original 2.0L (minus FI) + transmission, and the dealer installed A/C. To be honest, the condition didn't bother me at all. I love restoring and repairing these cars. Plus the COA (or whatever they call it now) came back as a CanAm package car. This thing needs to be saved! I’m going to do my best to bring back this bumblebee. I've got a lot of pictures to post but here are some of the initial pics.

[technicalninja]

What you are accomplishing with this thread has changed my opinion about you...

The sheet metal restoration you have "in progress" is one of the HARDER jobs for any tech out there.

You're VAPORIZING it!

I pray I can do work to your quality level, and I will be your "student" regarding this type of work.

When you come up to have me check out/recharge the 914 you will be the student.

We will do the work with inexpensive tools that you can afford.
I will show you the "tricks", give you an 'understanding of how refrigerant systems work'.
Give you most of the knowledge and sources you will need.

When we finish, I will EXPECT you to do your AC work YOURSELF from that point on...
I will not give you any slack about that.
Weather you know it or not, you are a FULL tech and will be treated as such.
This is both a blessing and a CURSE!

I have a "nice filter" that I use on the forums and with my customers.
For my buddies, my friends, my equals I DO NOT.
You screw up, like filling your diesel gas tank with DEF, I will never let it go...
From now on my friend Leonard will hear "Piss in the gas tank again?"

You're in that group now!

Most customers I have wait in the office, you will be expected to be in the shop actually working on your own car.

I'm POSITIVE that it will not phase you at all. You'll end up saying "Damn, that's easier than I thought. There's nothing to it..."

I will need multiple hours of instruction and assistance in my metalwork progression.

You'll get the AC stuff down in a couple of hours tops!

The AC knowledge will apply to everything you own in the future. If you're not doing the work yourself, you will be able to tell if the shop that is doing the work has a clue about what they are doing (this is a HUGE problem) and is honest.

Happy New Year!