Bringing it back:, Improved Original for 4742910780 Options

[Van B]

@wonkipop a small lift as in just big enough for one car? Ha!

[wonkipop]

@wonkipop a small lift as in just big enough for one car? Ha!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) he is a motorcycle nut like you. no need for a lift.

the lift is for the missus - just big enough for the groceries. you still have to walk up all the stairs.

his garage is too low for a lift. we actually squeezed a semi storey in above the garage.
there is a small independent apartment at ground level that wraps over the garage - he used to rent and now the other son lives in it.

an aprilia lives in the garage next to a non-descript VW passat station wagon. he could talk motor cycle sh#t with you until the cows come home. he used to have a ducatti when we first did the building. so far he hasn't managed to kill himself but he has burned his license a few times. almost impossible not to with the way he rides.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[wonkipop]

promise not to "hijack" the thread further.
but i know you are a design and chair "perv" @Van B with your F A Porsche breakfast table and chairs.
and i can see where @JeffBowlsby 's tastes are, namely the right stuff.
california once ruled the world (but not anymore).
i put it down to aerospace industries and the skunk works before sillycone valley took over.

here are a couple of other interesting ones i have.
ray and charles eames chairs.
(out of WW2 plywood splint technology for wounded soldiers and straight into post war high end west coast suburbia).

the ones that have with chrome legs are the USA herman miller "originals".
the black painted leg version is the made under license in australia "copy" from the late 50s. the late Harry Seidler, a famous australian modernist took out the license for local manufacture. they are slightly adjusted - or as Harry would say "improved" for australia. the shells are slightly smaller for smaller australian bodies (backsides) back then (though these days australians have taken over the title of the worlds most obese population - sorry Winsconsin). and the legs are slightly taller. this had something to do with preferred ht of australian dining tables in the late 50s, early 60s believe it or not. or thats the story.

most interesting part is they were made in sydney by the same company that was going to do the full bore/out of this world plywood interior for the Sydney Opera House before Jorn Utzon met his fate at the hands of that most unique breed of human beings,
the Australian Politician. Utzon left before that interior could be manufactured and installed and the whole plan was kyboshed, leaving the Opera House to receive a tacky interior by some third rate hacks from the public works department in sydney who took over the task of "finishing" that masterpiece.

A little later around 77/78 that same plywood company started building skateboard decks for Tony Alva, the famous californian swimming pool skater. these were beautiful plywood skateboard decks, the first high performance skateboard decks. I had a contact in sydney when i was a kid and we used to get the blank decks out the back door before they received their famous SCRATCH graphics and shipped back to the USA. we got em cheap, like we could actually afford them as kids. i still have one somewhere on my shelves.

i found the harry seidler eames chairs on the side of the road broken on a hard rubbish day in one of our posh suburbs back in the late 70s and threw them in my girlfriend's hi-lux ute.
then restored them. still have them. designed a table to go with them a bit later on when i had some money briefly in life.

a bit like the jack receivers on 914s, the rubber shock pads which are glue bonded to the plywood shells always fail on the eames chairs. back in the 80s i managed to score a box full of shock pads from a guy connected with the original manufacturer in sydney.
i routinely have to replace the shock pads about once a decade.

a bit like 914 maintenance. you are always dealing with a slightly flawed but nevertheless magnificent design. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

[Van B]

Never knew the connection to proper skateboard decks, pretty cool!

[wonkipop]

Never knew the connection to proper skateboard decks, pretty cool!

was all down to the currency exchange rate back then.
AUD had a fixed value pegged to the USD.
$1.50 AUD = $1.00 USD.
tony alva knew how to make a dollar.
cheaper than getting them made in the USA.
there was no question of quality.
australia had high standards = to USA manufacturing standards.
different world. china was still rice paddies and chairman mao.

but thats also why there are copies and licensing of all those things like chairs etc back in that era.

to import an eames chair from the USA direct would have made it unaffordable.
exchange rate to begin with - then hit with a 100% import duty and then a 50% sales tax on top of that. cumulative.

was still around when i bought my 914 in.
i avoided the customs duty - i had owned the car in the USA as a resident for more than 12 months. still got slugged the sales tax but i did a bit of invoicing magic on that one to reduce it slightly. still hurt the hip pocket to do it back then.

i have a special plate on the car rivetted on next to the VIN tag in the front trunk.
its a personal import plate. means the car is excempt from the australian design rules.
technically "non compliant" but permitted.

[Van B]

Found some ugliness in the back edge of the trunk that needed to be cleaned up. So, I thought I’d show off how easy the steam power washer dispenses with ziebart by way of a little before and after shot:



From there all you need is some acetone and a rag to remove the leftover residue.

[wonkipop]

not too bad.

a little bit of that went on in my rear trunk.
i did a bit of touch up rust converting 30 years ago - seemed to paralyse it.
think foam pad under carpet traps condensation?
not a problem in aus in second half of cars existence - don't have cold enough conditions.

have never wanted to attack mine aggressively.
still got a cute little stamp and piece of half century old paper tag there.




good idea to rip into yours and get that zeibart off - kill it stone dead.
we have steam pressure washer at the workshop.
they come in handy.
though i have to be careful with it as it will actually tear paint off if you get it too close to the surface being cleaned. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/blink.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Van B]

I think these issues were driven by tail light gaskets being 50yrs old and showing daylight between the housing and the panel.

[Van B]

I’m starting to like this lead free tinning to fill in rust pits that don’t rise to the level of panel replacement:

[Van B]

Well Sh!t:


I saw a repair order in the records to “repair and repaint parking damage”. I guess I just found it.

[wonkipop]

Well Sh!t:


I saw a repair order in the records to “repair and repaint parking damage”. I guess I just found it.

it is 50 years old! bound to collect some battle scars.
tricky one. do you fix now. the old expanding scenario problem.
faced similar dilemmas with falcon ute.
we did not want to "over-restore" since it was going to keep on being a work vehicle.
where do you draw the line. followed by wringing of wrists.

i guess you could tap it out a bit better and knock the bog out if its too deep.
and do a restricted repaint on that rear panel between the tail lights if you want to hit out at it now. otherwise its the slippery slope to a full strip and total repaint. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

given your original intention is just to hit those inner areas and grab the rust by the neck now and then enjoy driving again, best thing to do is hold off for the full repaint whenever you schedule that down the track!? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Van B]

The color is off anyway, it’s missing that light green hue that you can see under certain light. So, I won’t bother with a localized repaint.

Basically I’m on the fence at the moment. I suppose I need to see how easily I could source some glasurit 22 line single stage paint.

[wonkipop]

given you are a perfectionist.
(as proven by the cold start discussions)

you might need to hold back.
or otherwise you will have a bare body shell on jack stands.

could be good but will take a bit of time to plough through.

[Van B]

Got a little more progress this weekend. Could’ve been more, but I didn’t like how the restoration design jack pads fit. They didn’t have enough curve and were slightly aft tilted. So I cut off the originals cleaned them up and fitted to the new plates.

[Van B]

I also decided to reinforce the eye since the old ones are clearly prone to tearing out if looked at with more than a stern glance lol.. i bought some bushings from tractor supply and welded them on each side to build up the thickness. I also tig welded the ground edge with some high tensile rod to make up for the lack of meat on that section. In all, I’m pleased with this improvement.

[wonkipop]

I also decided to reinforce the eye since the old ones are clearly prone to tearing out if looked at with more than a stern glance lol.. i bought some bushings from tractor supply and welded them on each side to build up the thickness. I also tig welded the ground edge with some high tensile rode to make up for the lack of the meat on that section. In all, I’m pleased with this improvement.

might have to copy you.
i look at those so called jack donuts on mine with great suspicion.
what is the licensing fee for the update? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[Van B]

Ha! A four pack of bushing washers cost me about $4 at the local farm supply store. You’ll at least be lucky enough to find them in metric!

[Van B]

I know this is absolutely stupid, but I don’t care lol. I probably won’t ever use the jack points, but if I do, I will have total confidence. A little but of hammering, cutting, beveling, a mega difficult tig weld, and presto! Super strong jack points better than new!

@porschetub thanks for the cautionary tale!

[Van B]

Keeping this public journal going:

The jack points are finally sorted and extra beefy! Man when you add up the steps, it really hits home how involved some of these repairs are.


From there I moved on to the rear sway bar. The pre fab mounts that Chris was kind enough to throw in with the rear sway bar he sold me were a no go. Spacing was off on the bolts enough that the clamp wouldn’t mount. And the leg was too tall. So, new nuts and a wide leg stance were the chosen fix.

[Van B]

Then it was just a matter of getting it all aligned and welded on… without too many sparks down the shirt!


Very pleased overall. But some ziebart kept melting from inside that box section and tried to ruin my welds. Not that I was going for internet famous or anything, but I still wanted to be sure of good tie in and no porosity.