BUILD-OFF CHALLENGE: Another 914-GT Conversion Project, I finally drove it this weekend! Options

[jkb944t]

Fortunately the PO just screwed them in so moving them won’t be too difficult. One of them may be located alright but I am positive the other one is incorrect since it binds when moving it up and down.

Since there doesn’t appear to be documented locations I will proceed with putting the trunk and engine bay lid back on as suggested to get the locations verified.

Jeff B

[jkb944t]

I was able to finally get the inner wheelhouse welded in and the door latch reinstalled. That was a lot harder than I anticipated. It finally warmed up enough yesterday to epoxy prime that area so I can finally reinstall the outer fender section.







Jeff B

[OllieG]

Nice neat looking job, but I'd get those door openings braced if I were you.

[pete000]

NICE WORK !

[Vysoc]

I have many of the same issues...enjoying the photo's. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

Vysoc (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

[jkb944t]

I am making some more progress and will hopefully be taking the 914 to get media blasted in the near future. My son said he could transport it to the blaster but not when it was so high on the rotisserie.



I built a wooden frame under it to support it while I redid the rotisserie ends to allow it to be lowered.

Do I get extra points for the highest homemade jack stand?

Anyway after some significant cutting and welding to the rotisserie I ended up with the modifications below.





Now I am able to lower my 914 to transport it and then raise it back up to media blast the bottom of the car. As most everything we do this modification took me longer than anticipated but now I can get back to finishing the metal work up.

Jeff B

[trojanhorsepower]

Oh man, that's cool!

[jkb944t]

I finished up the clutch tube repair and closed up the hole.



Then I added an additional support just to make sure it doesn’t flex.



Last night I finished welding the trunk support plate in. We are finally having some nice weather that makes getting this work done a lot nicer.



Jeff B

[PanelBilly]

The sooner you get it blasted the better. It just makes it easier to see where rust has done its damage. Have it lightly painted with a decent coat of quality primer. You can grind it off where you need to weld and it will prevent the growth of surface rust

[jkb944t]

I made some more progress this week. I finally got the front tow hook fabricated and welded the nuts in place.



Then I welded it to the lower front valence that I had reinforced previously.



Test fit the modified tow hook in place and everything fit perfectly.



The next item to work on is the battery tray assembly. I think I will keep it in the stock location but modify it so that I can bolt it in instead of welding it in. That should make painting the area easier and allow me to remove it if necessary. I saw it was done this way on the 914-6 GT website. Any thoughts on this idea are welcomed.

Jeff B

[3d914]

Jeff, nice solution to the tow hook. I often wondered if that stock one didn't need some extra reinforcement. Great job on the car. Keep the pics coming.

[jkb944t]

I added a reinforcement plate inside the mounting housing too just to make sure it wouldn't flex too much.

Thanks for the encouragement. I plan the keep chipping away on this project until I get it finished.

Jeff B

[OllieG]

The next item to work on is the battery tray assembly. I think I will keep it in the stock location but modify it so that I can bolt it in instead of welding it in. That should make painting the area easier and allow me to remove it if necessary. I saw it was done this way on the 914-6 GT website. Any thoughts on this idea are welcomed.

Keep up the good work Jeff!

I recently welded in the battery support on mine then epoxy primered it before I attach the tray itself. Hmmm, wondering about your bolted tray idea; might be a good idea for painting and cleaning behind later I suppose. I'm going to think about that for my build..

[jkb944t]

I went ahead with the bolt in battery tray idea this week. I drilled and tapped five 6mm holes into the reinforced frame section of the car to mount the lower part of the battery box.



Then I drilled two holes through the top part of the battery tray for 8mm bolts and welded the nuts on the back side of the inner fender well.



I added clearance holes in the top of the lower battery tray support to accept five 6mm studs that I had stud welded to the bottom of the battery tray.



The test fit looks like everything will fit well once it is painted.



Jeff B

[jkb944t]

Moved to the front of the car and removed the front bumper support that was slightly bent most likely from a previous fender bender. Media blasted the surface rust and then applied epoxy primer then welded the bumper support back in.





Applied epoxy primer to the inside of the new fender section before spending many hours lining it up with the door gap and fender flare.



Thanks to everyone for their input on setting this gap. I finally welded the fender to the flare and finish ground the weld.





Still have to finish all the spot welds around the outside of the fender section.

Then the next step is to put the rear trunk back on and figure out where to locate the hinge support that is broken off. Not looking forward to this step for some reason.

Jeff B

[jkb944t]

I fabricated an engine mount that was as close to the original as possible and then welded it in.



Somewhere along my cars history a PO modified the firewall for some reason.



I decided that the best option was to cut the area out and put a plate over it so that I can service the 6 cylinder that will be going in the car.



The top of the hole is 5.25 wide and the bottom of the hole is 5.62 wide. It hole is 6.75 high and the bottom edge of the hole is 10.12 up from the top of the center tunnel.



This weekend my granddaughter stayed with us and she helped me clean up the garage and get the car ready to go to the media blaster.



My son let me borrow a car hauler and we loaded the car up on the rotisserie.





The car looks great after it was media blasted and then we dropped it off at the painter.



Now I just have to wait for it to get painted which from past experience may be a lot longer that what the painter estimates. I hope he gets it done since I have a lot of assembly time to get this done in time for the 914 Build Challenge!

Jeff B

[914forme]

Wow great build, and excellent work. Your ahead of me, and a few others.

[jkb944t]

Wow great build, and excellent work. Your ahead of me, and a few others.

Trust me, I have a very long way to go!

Jeff B

[OllieG]

Great thread, continuing to watch with interest... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

Like the idea of removing the bumper supports to access under the headlight buckets..I was wondering how to clean-up under there.

Keep it up! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[falcor75]

Great work (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)