BUILD-OFF CHALLENGE: New 914 owner...what have I gone and done! Options

[Dave_Darling]

Good lord! If I ever wind up able to buy my wife an old Bugatti, I think you'd be the person I chose to restore it! Even over most professional shops!!

--DD

[Andyrew]

I agree! I would love to be able to have the dedication and time into my project that you did! No corners cut for you!

Congrats on the MOT pass! Now start driving it!

[Frankvw]

Darren, it is really cool to see/follow the work you are doing. Good to see your health is not holding you back, you are doing a great job.
Thanks for sharing it all with us.
Good you have MOT now, so more driving soon ! Too bad summer is almost over (the little English summer you are having)...
Looking forward to the next updates !

[jkb944t]

Awesome job on your car! It simply looks amazing!

Jeff B

[Darren C]

Month 12,

Thanks again guy’s for the kind words. Like I said earlier, there’s some really great work gone on this last 12 months in the 2016 Build-off-Challenge, I’ve really enjoyed seeing and reading others progress on their 14’s.

So on to month 12 and to September 14th final round of judging.

This takes me up to day 350 of my 914 ownership and 11 ½ months of the build. I did a rough count and I believe I found on average 6 hours a day, every week day and somewhere around 26 hours each weekend (not counting my visit to ER when I had the TIA stroke) to work relentlessly on the car. This didn’t include maybe 30 minutes a day writing up my diary for 914world.

So all in all I reckon to take my 914 from an unloved wreck that hadn’t been driven in 7 years, to a car that anyone of us would be proud of, took me 2800 man hours.
Plus 175 hours sat at my PC writing this diary and uploading pictures!

Not forgetting that 90% of this build was done in a 16ft x 8ft garage a block away from my house with no power or light.

As an overseas participant and due to the time line of my build I wasn't eligible to ANY of the great vendor deals or discounts on offer.

So what you see is purely for benefit to others as I took no personal gain from being a participant in this contest. (Apart from maybe a tee shirt to come. I presume we get these at the end Steve? after the final results?)

So…..to bring us up to date:

Day 337

V5 (UK title) arrived in the mail today. Hooray! The car is now legitimate and legal to use on UK roads.
The paperwork got passed real quickly as I sent a COA, a NOVA (Notification of Vehicle Arrival in UK document) and a letter from Customs and Excise to say all taxes had been paid, which made it all real easy to process.

I’d had a plan for the UK number plates (licence plates) since the car arrived in UK and had been itching to put it all together. This is why I restored the original US plate support frames.
My car was a 1 owner California car from Desert Hot Springs just East of Los Angeles. The COA said that the dealership was Los Angeles. Old US cars had bezels from the supplying dealers or custom bezels fitted by the owner. These vary in style and quality. The early ones I found are the nicest and are a good quality item.
I managed to track down a set of period repro VW-Porsche dealership bezels from the early 1970’s from a dealership in Los Angeles
Being a California State car it had originally Blue and Yellow licence plates and the Bezel has a California Blue colour enamel infill.
This I thought would look great on an Alaska Blue car, and be appropriate in many ways.
In UK we have a standard format for reflective Perspex plates (amber at the rear and white at the front) These have to be purchased (with all relevant documents) from a DVLA approved supplier and must meet regulations for size, shape & font. These UK plates wouldn’t fit in a US bezel, but there is an exception to our law if a car was first registered outside the UK and or, is constructed in such a way that a standard plate wouldn’t fit the manufacturers position on the car. I used this law (the former) to get plates made up that comply with the colour and font, but are reduced in size to fit the bezel.
It was my homage to the cars origin and the US.
The licence numbers issued in UK fit certain formats depending on age of vehicle, so a 74 car has 3 letters, 3 numbers and a single letter designating the year of manufacture. The last 2 letters of the 3 are a code for the issuing County. The numbers are sequential to how many plates of those 3 letters have been issued. The first letter moves through the alphabet (somewhat randomly) when 999 is reached.
So what is seemingly a random licence number does hold a lot of information. That said, like in US we can purchase combinations (keeping within formats and rules) that can spell names or words etc. But for now I’m just happy to get a licence plate number and title document that allows me to drive the car.

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I’m really pleased how they came out and they certainly finish the car off in a “faithful to its history” kinda way. I drilled out the US licence plate bracket where the self tapping screws wound in and fitted M6 rivet-nuts so I could use some nice Stainless dome head bolts to hold them on.

In the picture above you can see the “orange peel” in my paint job that been really bugging me, so I now began the mass “flat & polish” by hand exercise to give a glass surface finish.

Day 338

Spent 7 hours today with 1200 grit wet & dry, a rubber sanding block and warm soapy water flatting the driver’s rear quarter. A small amount of washing-up liquid soap (for dishes) in the water helps lubricate and stops “pick up” on the paper so it lasts longer and reduces risk of a pick up scratch.

Day 339

Spent 7 hours today with 1200 grit wet & dry, a rubber sanding block and warm soapy water flatting the driver’s door with mirror removed and handle taped up to avoid contact. I got late into the night so no pictures I’m afraid, it was by flashlight again.

Day 340

Spent 7 hours today with 1200 grit wet & dry, a rubber sanding block and warm soapy water flatting the driver’s front wing.

Day 341

Spent 7 hours today in (daylight for once) wet & drying the passenger side rear quarter panel.

Day 342

Into week 2 of early mornings before work, flatting down a single panel with 1200 wet & dry by hand. On average 3 hours hand flatting and then after work 4 hours hand polishing (as I have no power in the garage I cant use any machine mops, plus I don’t want swirl marks) with various grades of rubbing paste, T cut and polishes, linear motions at 45 degree increments between changing paste grades.
Last week I managed to finish the Drivers rear quarter, door and wing. Over the weekend I completed the passenger rear quarter.
This morning at 4:30am with the aid of my torch I started the passenger door.

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After work today I polished and polished until 10pm by hand & flashlight to complete the door.

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None of this is for the faint hearted, it's far, far too easy to rub right through the paint and that would be a disaster. Super care needs to be taken after every couple of rubs with the paper, an old chamois was used to dry the panel to see if all the high spots were gone, any places I’d missed, so only just enough surface was removed to give a smooth glass finish.

It’s bloomin hard graft and I can hardly lift my aching arms and bend my fingers but the glass like result, I think, is absolutely stunning.
On the flip side it does show the slightest dent in the car and I’ve discovered some very, very tiny carpark door dents in the drivers door that you couldn’t see before, and they are now driving me to distraction! :-)

Day 343

Spent 7 hours today with 1200 grit wet & dry, a rubber sanding block and warm soapy water flatting the Passenger front wing.

Day 345
After 2 solid weeks flatting and polishing by hand the results are beginning to show.
This morning I was giving the sides of the car their first wax polish after all the wet & dry and paste, when I happened to look down and the car had vanished.

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I stepped back in amazement, but the car had just disappeared into the floor.

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For an Alaska blue metallic paint (not just a plain colour like black which is easier to get a mirror effect from) I think I’m starting to loose all traces of orange peel to achieve the flawless mirror result I was looking for.

So late morning today I took the car out on its maiden voyage (other than MOT and a few tests around the block) and met up with fellow UK Fourteeners and drove to East Wittering for lunch. It was great to be in Convoy with a group of 914’s, and quite a spectacle it was.
The cars running a little rich at the moment so a little more jetting and twiddling to do, but apart from that all seems good.
It was a real experience throwing the little car around the country lanes. I can now see why everyone raves about the handling….great fun!

Fellow owner Kev Clarke said

“Today it was a real pleasure to see Darren finally drives his 914 on its first proper outing on a drive with other 914 owners, on a run to the south coast to have lunch together at Billy’s on the Beach.

Darren joined the 914 convoy (that had driven down from the outskirts of London) in Boxgrove.

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It was a great to see Darren drive his 914, he had a big grin on his face and you could see he was really enjoying the 914 driving experience.”

Day 346

Now this might be a little shocking......

After exchanging some emails over the last few weeks.......

This afternoon I drove the 914 to Porsche Centre Portsmouth and did a straight swap (no money exchanged hands) for a brand new Black Edition Boxster. I cant believe how big it is in comparison to the 914. I can barely fit it in the garage with only mm to spare; let alone open a door to climb in and out of it!

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I left the little 914 with the guy’s who’d flown over from Stuttgart Museum.

Day 347

What a day the little 914 & I have been lucky to have had…

This evening was the Porsche Centre Portsmouth Launch of the new 718 Boxster. Some very special cars had been brought down by Porsche from their Museum. Upstairs at Portsmouth there was a small collection of flat 4 engined vehicles to demonstrate Porsche history of the flat 4 leading to the new flat 4, 718 Boxster.
The word had spread from the guy’s in the parts department at Porsche Centre Portsmouth, to the halls of the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart, that there was some crazy guy who kept coming in to buy 914 parts, and that his year long restoration had finished to coincide with the 718 launch. After dropping the car off it was fully inspected by the Porsche Dealership staff and the guy’s from Stuttgart, who unanimously agreed it was of “museum quality” and worthy to be displayed as part of the 4 cylinder lineage exhibition

I was genuinely chuffed to bits to have my car involved and spent the evening waxing lyrically about all things 914 to the VIP guests and stunned to hear many of the kind comments from VIP’s, Porsche GB & museum staff who absolutely loved my car!
It was fantastic to fly the flag for the 14 and to see that it is really starting to generate a true appreciation in the halls of Porsche.

What a great experience this 914 ownership is…..first time out, a fantastic day at the Witterings and the second rubbing shoulders with Porsche Stuttgart Museum 550’s.

Here’s a few pictures from this evening.

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The 914 is having another sleep-over with it’s new mates tonight and I have the Black Edition Boxster courtesy car until tomorrow when I go pick up my car….you kinda guessed I wouldn’t have swapped it for a Boxster....surely

Mind you.....I wonder if the keys will be in the 550 tomorrow morning early on?

Day 348

The car spent another day & night on display at Porsche Centre today as the rain & drizzle didn’t stop all day and I didn’t want to drive in it un-necessarily.
This meant I kept the Boxster another day & Porsche were absolutely fine with it.

Day 349

This morning I picked up my son in the Boxster and drove a while in the cloudless blue skies before handing it back and returning home in the 914.
I gave it a thorough clean and wax before I put it to bed.

Day 350

I had an odd issue that came to light the yesterday when driving the 914 for the first few times.
The engine ran roughly, and spluttered at odd times then ran well???
When I got back from Porsche Centre the car stalled twice while manoeuvring into my garage. Everytime I selected reverse gear it stalled???

On the third attempt I noticed the Voltmeter drop to 9V as soon as reverse was engaged and my foot was on the brake. 10V when foot on the brake, 9V when selecting reverse with foot on the brake, then stall. Foot off brake and in Neutral I had between 13 & 14V.
Dropping to 9V or below was not enough for the ignition coil to operate.

Fortunately I’d had this issue (without the benefit of a Voltmeter in the car) many, many years ago in a Beetle. It was the Voltage regulator.

I'd also noticed while working on the 914 that the regulator was getting quite hot, so I'd had my suspicions.

I found a replacement on-line using the Bosch part number from a UK company “Just Kampers” for £26. It turned up yesterday in the post and was made by Beru.
The casing is much shorter in height so I suspect it’s electronic.
Now, as always there’s a catch.
The 3 pins on the underside are about 5mm further along than the Bosch one, so it plugs into the relay board easy but the two screws don’t line up to attach it.
I ran the car and tested it first, and all was good, so I very carefully re-drilled and fitted the screws a little further along from where they were originally.
The bonus is….with a shorter regulator the relay board cover goes on and off a lot easier!
So now I consistently have between 13 & 14V with engine running, dropping to around 12.5V when the brake pedal is pressed with reverse selected and turning the headlights on.

The other snag I’ve found since driving the car is that the time clock gears must be worn as the hands get so far then the clock makes a whirring noise but the hands stop moving. There’s always something or another after rebuilding a car.
Again fortunately I’ve found a NOS never fitted clock (at a very reasonable price) on US ebay. My New old stock Time Clock arrived today in the mail.

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Swapped it over and now I have a fully working clock.

I suppose its all part of a “shakedown” period finding all these little defects in a car that was off the road for 7 years then torn apart for restoration.


So that brings us right up to date, day 350 of ownership and day 350 of the 12 month Build-off-Challenge.
This has been a real-time diary of saving a 914, over 11 ½ months from arrival in UK.

I have tried to pitch my rambles at a level that everyone can understand and enjoy. I hope it inspires those with no technical ability and proves interesting to those with more 914 knowledge than I.

This is my first 914, and everything has been a learning curve, yet I feel I know the car inside and out at the end of this journey.

But this is certainly not the end, there’s the rest of the month to go.

Stay tuned in and I’m sure to spend a few more hours yet on the car and share them with you.

Kind regards
Darren

[Darren C]

To celebrate 9-14 day (and because I liked very much John’s (Garland) photo montage in the main thread) I thought I post a few of my favourite pictures from my build. Some that I’ve posted before and some you guy’s haven’t seen yet….

Starting with my very favourite picture…..enjoy

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[Mueller]

Almost speechless!

Superb job on the vehicle and the documentation!

[matthepcat]

Darren,

Have you considered doing this type of work for a living? It takes a special personality type to restore at this level, mostly by yourself. What I enjoyed about this build was learning the finite details of the 914 construction(as all the tenners I have owned have been modified many times over). Thanks for documenting.

[Darren C]

Thanks for the kind words.

I've often thought of doing this kind of thing for a living, but when I left school I started a coachbuilders apprenticeship, as great as it was & as much as I learned, I hated every minute. When the hobby or passion in your life becomes a necessity, the fire can easily be extinguished.
Restoring cars for me is my therapy from a high stress career. Ultimately (and as I've just turned the wrong side of 50) I'd like to maybe do this on my own terms when the house is paid off, as a step towards retirement etc when it doesn't have to be a necessity. Unfortunately divorce moved the light at the end of my tunnel a little further away but I'll get there one day. For now though, its nice to restore cars on my terms and not to a deadline.
Good business is about cost, profit, delivering on time and meeting customer expectations. All of these things create compromise; especially so in the unknown quantity that is restoring old motorcars. I hate compromise (in an Indiana Jones "I hate snakes, why did it have to be snakes" kinda way)
I hope this explains where I am on this Matt.

Besides, I'd make a lousy businessman as I help most people fix their cars and parts mailed to me and offer help and advice for free, or in return for donations to charity.

[KELTY360]

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[Andyrew]

Congrats on all your hard work and accomplishment Darren!

I really think you deserve the win. Ive always given you top marks on the voting as your dedication and documentation are amazing! I love the car and the end result as well! You made some fantastic choices along the way and you do the community proud!

Congrats! Its a beautiful car!

[Frankvw]

Darren, your post is really great and I learned some things from your documented work. Thanks.
When I read the part :
"This afternoon I drove the 914 to Porsche Centre Portsmouth and did a straight swap (no money exchanged hands) for a brand new Black Edition Boxster"
I was flabbergasted....really ??? but a few lines down I saw what the deal was about, that is really cool. Maybe they let you drive the spider, who knows :-)
Thanks, nice work and good to see you are back on your feet with your health as well. All the best !

[Stoddy]

Darren, I've only just joined the 914 world after recently buying a 73 1.7 from an importer here in the UK. That's a truly outstanding degree of dedication and attention to detail.
Congratulations on it's completion!

I hope your health is still good and the car still going strong. maybe I'll see you on the road once mine is done.

Thank you for your thread.


Stoddy.

[Coondog]

What a great read for the second time........ (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[ctc911ctc]

Re-read this, WOW.


Very, very cool - can you comment on other cars you have re-furbished?

Love that you got the inside Stugart guys all excited!

CTC911CTC

[FlacaProductions]

I just finished this thread for the first time over the space of about 4 days. It's riveting. The sheer determination, patience, knowledge, patience and more patience is amazing. What's really interesting is that it appears that Darren hasn't been active on the boards for quite a while now...July of 2019.

[ValcoOscar]

Darren was at my house several months back (while visiting from UK) as we were attempting to start Jeffrey's car. He's a very interesting guy and jumped right in getting his hands dirty. Extremely knowledgable!!! He showed us some pictures of his car collection...very impressive!!

This is what he's working on now with Ant.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UEmJBdRG37s&t=106s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-EoUzrh4cw


You can see Darren @ 2:00 mark

Oscar

[Darren C]

Hi Everyone,

Just checking in.

I hope everyone is well and keeping safe in these strange times we all find ourselves in.

Time to stay at home & reflect on all the things dear to us

We're all in this together

Best Wishes to everyone on 914World and their families from here in UK

[MM1]

Fantastic thread! My favorite color too . . .thank you for sharing, Darren - well done, Sir!

[Archie]

Hello Darren,

Expat Brit in Canada here in the process of restoring a '72 1.7L in Blood Orange, which, interestingly, is a fruit that I've never seen over here! Exquisite work on your car which I shall try and emulate!