Picked up a '74 1.8 Options

[designerguy90]

Hello all!

I just picked up a 74 1.8 in Olympic Blue from Charleston SC last Tuesday! It was a pretty fun trip, drove down truck and trailer with a couple buddies and drove back with it to Chicagoland

She's definitely a 10 footer at this point, some dings and dents and some paint issues (but it is original paint) and I since I did PCA concours this year in my 968, I think I may do autox next year, simply based on the body condition.

The p/o put suspension/brakes out of a 71 S on the car and 15x7.5 Fuchs all around, though I have to still confirm if they are real Fuchs. Mechanically the car is sound, though I'm having my mechanic give it a once over to make sure. The body has no rot, though there is some bubbling under the sail panel vinyl, which I'm going to take care of once I get my vinyl kit in.

Any thoughts or suggestions on making the car more autox suitable?

And or fun I think I'm gonna put some gulf roundrels on the front fenders, thinking about an orange arrow like the 908/3 too

Ill try and upload a few more pics when Im able. This car has been a blast the few days Ive had it thus far and I am enjoying it much more than the 968.v (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif)

[Johny Blackstain]

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Like your Gulf colors idea, why not take it all the way & do the wheels, rockers & bumpers in orange as well? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

[Mike Bellis]

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[designerguy90]

Thanks guys! Yeah, I'm definitely considering doing the bumpers and rockers in orange too! I may sell the wheels if they are real Fuchs just to have a little bit of extra $ for the project, and buy a set of replicas put some decent tires on them.

[Mike Bellis]

Keep the Fuchs if they are real. They are far superior to the replicas and will make your car worth more in the long run.

[era vulgaris]

I drove down from Raleigh to look at that car at the end of August. I spent a couple hours with the seller, Jeff, combing over the car.

Check your passenger side longitudinal, just below the jack receiver. There is a patch panel riveted on, that's cleverly disguised. I missed it the first time I looked at that area.
Did he mention to you that he had welded in a new jack receiver and "pyramid" because the original one had rusted out?
Also, when I looked at the car there was a black rubbery goo coating in the passenger side front corner of the hell hole, where the longitudinal meets the firewall. After I passed on the car, Jeff called me back about an hour into my drive back to Raleigh and said he'd scraped all the goo out and that it looked good in that area. I don't know if he told you all this, but you might want to carefully inspect that area just to be sure it's solid.

The driver's side rear trunk hinge also appeared to have broken off at some point and was re-welded in slightly the wrong position. If you look up inside the rear fender you can see a hole behind the hinge point, and there's paint in the engine bay that was sprayed on and dripped down to cover the re-weld. Also, the panel gaps on the rear trunk lid will show you that the driver's side is further from the engine lid than the passenger side.

The interior was immaculate, looked like it had just come off the showroom floor!

Mechanically, the car was solid though.

He told me they were 15x8 Fuchs, and suspension/brakes from a 911S, he didn't know which year.

How'd you like that "touch up" paint? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

[mepstein]

How do you get 7" (or larger) fuchs under a stock body without pulling the fenders and keeping the original paint from cracking?

[era vulgaris]

How do you get 7" (or larger) fuchs under a stock body without pulling the fenders and keeping the original paint from cracking?

I asked him that because I've got 15x7's on my flared car, and he just shrugged and said they were 15x8. I was skeptical.

[Spoke]

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Nice car.

There will be things that need attention on the car. Make a list of the items and hit them one at a time.

Take lots of pics. This group is very helpful but not much for reading essays. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[oakpark]

Sorry we didn't see you at Porsche's and Pastries Saturday. IO'm sure you'll make us raise our game in concours next year.

[designerguy90]

I went outside and looked, and i see the reweld on the hinge, I saw the hole in the fender but couldnt figure out what it was too/ from. And I looked for the patch panel, found it, and a spot where it appears either the rocker or long was patched and repaired (much better by the looks of things too. I think this car is going to be a bigger project than I had expected (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) If I absolutely had to, worst case cutting and rewelding rocker/long on the side, how much am I looking at to have a competent person do it. I can weld, but Im not expert by any means.

He did tell me he replaced the pyramid, maybe thats what Im seeing was patched. I looked in the hell hole area and it appeared pretty solid, no rust i could see or feel. And yeah, the "touch up paint" was not quite a match, but I have some on order thats correct for olympic blue.

I am gonna pull a wheel off early this week to figure out what they are. I cant believe 7 or 8 in, those are things you put on a flared car lol.




Yeah I hope to have the car ready-ish for concours season next year, but Im gonna focus on it being solid first, which might be somewhat daunting. You arent gonna have to worry about me making you raise the bar anytime soon (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[76-914]

You've got rot under that sail panel. Remove the rear tire and look up from beneath. There is a damned piece of sponge like sound deadner that soaks up water from the tire in the rain and then holds it fostering a rust area. The areas will be about 1.5" x 4-8" long.

[designerguy90]

I looked up into the wells, no visible rust or rot in there, but I peeled back the vinyl on the drivers side and found a small hole that had been filled and covered in glue. Once I get my vinyl kit in, both sides are coming off and the rust is getting removed and metal welded in place and sealed. I am also looking into chassis stiffening kits for the longs as a precaution to the repairs that have already been made; any suggestions as which to buy?

-Alex

[EdwardBlume]

It's a little known fact that Olympic blue 914s are just better!

Enjoy!