Hell-hole repair shop Options

[ThePaintedMan]

If the remainder of the outside of the long is in good shape, you can potentially save yourself some effort by drilling out the spot welds, rather than cutting right into the long. Do a search here to find out how to drill them out the right way. Rick likes to grind them down, while others like to use a spot weld cutting bit. These are available online, but harbor freight has them as well, though I can't comment on the quality. You'll also need a punch to put a small indentation in the top of each spot weld for the bit to have something to center on.

Of course before you do ANY of this, you need to look into bracing the car between the door mounting post and the rear door latch.

[last337]

If the remainder of the outside of the long is in good shape, you can potentially save yourself some effort by drilling out the spot welds, rather than cutting right into the long. Do a search here to find out how to drill them out the right way. Rick likes to grind them down, while others like to use a spot weld cutting bit. These are available online, but harbor freight has them as well, though I can't comment on the quality. You'll also need a punch to put a small indentation in the top of each spot weld for the bit to have something to center on.

Of course before you do ANY of this, you need to look into bracing the car between the door mounting post and the rear door latch.

Is this to keep the car true as I start to cut? I saw someone used what looked like all-thread and some turnbuckles with one end mounted to the door hinge and the other the seatbelt mount.

[ThePaintedMan]

Is this to keep the car true as I start to cut? I saw someone used what looked like all-thread and some turnbuckles with one end mounted to the door hinge and the other the seatbelt mount.

That is correct, except the preferred location is the door hinges and the door latch striker area. My first welding on my car was when I made these very braces. However, since they are so crucial to keeping your door gaps correct and any twist out of the chassis while you do your repairs, maybe you want to consider buying a well-made set that you can then re-sell here. Tangerine Racing makes them and if I had it to do over again, that's the route I would have gone.

[r_towle]

Door hinges panel and latch panel move quite a bit.
Show more pics of the area and be prepared to build a real bracing system welded to the inside of the long, with diagonals and measurements all around to keep the car square.

Weld slowly.
To much heat and the longs shrink which closes the door gaps at the bottom and can twist you chassis.

Many here have done this repair, and many learned to weld on a 914.
Listen to advice, many scars are here, and lots of people will warn you about mistakes that they have made, so pst pics and don't take short cuts....it will be fine.