Restoration thread for original 914/6, Have to start somewhere Options

[michel richard]

So,

I bought an original 914-6 tub and a couple of mountains of parts in Alabama, and I got them back home. The thread relating that story is here: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act=...8&hl=original+6

Now, I have to restore it, and I figure that doing a build thread like others have done may be interesting to members, and may be motivating for me. So here it goes.

I got two things done since I got the car home.

1) I built a rotisserie as per AA plans, except I did not put the diagonals on. The drawings and instructions are here:
http://www.autoatlanta.com/tech/rotisserie_build.html
The steel turned out to be more expensive than I thought, but now that it's built, I realize how useful it's going to be.

2) I got my paperwork organized.
Went to the SAAQ (our dmv) on Saturday, near my house. Lady really gave me the runaround, because I don't have a title (Alalbama does'nt issue titles for cars built before '75).
Tried another office today. This lady actually pulled out the procedures manual. Went to the section on importing US cars and Titles. No luck, until she stumbled a section "exemptions". Lo and behold, the first subsection was titled "Alabama" i.e. the first state in alphabetical order ! Sure enough it said "no title required for cars pre-1975-model-year"
I was pleasantly surprised - this is a manual, in French, in Quebec !
Within minutes, I had a license plate ! although I obviously need to get a technical inspection done before I can drive the car on the road.

3) Next step will be to take care of the old paint and the light rust. Spoke to someone nearby who can sandblast it. His advice was to sandblast, except for the "thin" parts, hoods etc . . . which he said would "wave", and to use stripper on those. I've real all the threads about media blasting, sandblasting, dipping etc . . . but I'm tempted to do it his way, to a large extent because it seems to be what's available locally.

I'll update the thread as progress is made.

Michel Richard

[michel richard]

The good news is that the floor pans under the passenger compartment, the longitudinals, inside and outside, the center tunnel and the bulkheads are all in very good shape.

Once again, I'm North of the US Northeast (in Montreal) which means I've never ever come close to seeing a stripped 914 that looks as good as this one. Any '70 914 that was used in the winter, here, must've been rustier than this in 1973 !

The bad news is that there is a little more rust than I expected: I should really be replacing both the front and rear trunk floors . . . although I might be able to repair the rear.
If I can find a front trunk floor, new or used, I'll be well on my way.

As for the dry ice blasting, I'm a little disapointed right now. It looks like the process is'nt quite strong enough to really clean everything. It did get rid of most of the rust but the body man who came and looked at the frame this afternoon said a lot more work would be needed before the tub could be ready for primer and paint, even disregarding the need to fix the trunks.

So it looks like I'll have the tub primered, so it doe'nt rust anymore while I chase trunk floors and fix them. I'll then need to remove the primer, really prep the steel and primer again.

Sure sounds like a lot of work, but I'm not sure I have a lot of choice.