A quick hello, Trying to get my 914 back on the road Options

[Rusty_Rivets]

Hi everyone.

I've owned my 1973 914/4 2.0 since 1993. Around 2013, I noticed that the longs had weakened to the point that the doors were no longer fitting properly, and I bought a set of repair panels from Brad Mayeur. Never got them installed because life got in the way, as it sometimes does. I decided that this will be the year that I get back at it. It's one of 3 project cars wedged into a 2 car garage, and it's the only one lined up with a door. So the other 2 cars are trapped until I get the 914 moved out. So that's part of the incentive.



This is an older pic because I don't have enough room to take a current picture of it because of the junk piled around it.

[StarBear]

Glad you’re finally getting around to it. Lots of work and fun ahead!
Is the car in the VIN database?

[FlacaProductions]

Excellent - welcome - you're in the right place. Ask questions here - many times, if you have a very specific question you can always start a new thread just for that question and then move back here to keep this one complete.

Also - it can be a bit tricky to search here but I've found that using this link works well: https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=0024083458981...772:ajvfxschcgc

[SO.O.C914er]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) welcome to our mid-engine madness!

[krazykonrad]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png) Welcome aboard!

[mepstein]

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Don’t just lay the repair pieces over rusty metal. Fix the longs and then use the reinforcement. It’s the only correct way to repair the car.

[Root_Werks]

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Will be good to see your 914 getting fixed up! We love pictures here.

-Dan

[930cabman]

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Yep, she's a project for sure

keep us posted during the adventure

[Rusty_Rivets]

Thanks for the welcome.

Here's a bit of backstory on the car. My wife had been looking for a car, and somehow we ended up at the shop that did the service work on my daily driver. The owner of the shop was a big Porsche fan, and he had a couple of 914's that he was fixing up to sell. My wife decided that she wanted a 914. I thought she was insane; why on earth would anyone want a 914? Needless to say, against my better judgement, we bought it. A few months later she realized that it was not a winter car and she wanted to trade it in on something else. But by that time I'd fallen in love with it, so we kept it and it's mine now.

In reply to some of the questions and comments:

The VIN is in the database.

I do intend to get the longs fixed properly (and other rusty parts fixed), but will still use the repair panels for added strength. Where I live, we have some really bad roads with potholes that actively jump out in front of your car. I suspect that a big reason why I need to get this repair done is because of an incident a few years ago. I was driving on a secondary highway at night, in spring, after the spring thaw when the highways tend to develop a lot of potholes. I didn't see it coming, and I hit a huge pothole/crater hard enough that it broke the passenger side hinge on the frunk lid. I now suspect it also broke a lot of other body welds, though I didn't realize it at the time. But not long afterwards, I started to notice that the doors weren't closing properly. So I think the added strength of the repair panels will be worthwhile.

My top priority is to strengthen the longs and any other structural parts that need it. But I also want to have a chance to drive this car before the kids take my driver's license away. So it's not going to be a multi-year tear down and rebuild (at least I hope not). I'd like to get it on the road as soon as practical. It will probably end up being a project where I work on different sections of the car in stages, while keeping it in a state that it's still driveable.

I took a few pictures this afternoon, and will post them later.

[TRP]

Hey Rusty! Welcome to the fun house. Post questions if you have any, should be a rewarding project once completed.

What year? Are you still running the D-Jet? How's the battery area and the area?

Cant wait to see the project take shape.

Ted

[Rusty_Rivets]

Oops, sorry Ted, I forgot to mention in my first post, it's a 1973. I've now edited the original post to include the year.

I'm still running the D-Jet, but I'm looking at switching to a Microsquirt eventually. (I found Greg Amy's blog, and I really like how he did his.) The last time it ran, the D-Jet was working fairly well, other than a somewhat unpredictable idle.

The one thing I hate, and am very paranoid about, is all the rubber fuel lines on these cars. I replaced the plastic lines from the gas tank with steel years ago, but I'd like to get rid of as much rubber hose in the engine compartment as I can.

As for the battery area, the PO had removed the battery tray from the engine compartment and moved the battery to the trunk, because he said he'd seen too many cooked batteries on these cars. That area of the engine compartment doesn't look too terrible, but I haven't poked it with a stick yet. So the jury is still out.

I wasn't crazy about the battery being in the trunk because it was a bit tall and interfered with the targa top when it was stored in there. I'd intended to move the battery to the front of the car. I got as far as installing a bracket for it, and running some battery cable. But since then, I've had second thoughts about it. I realized I could go to a different battery that's not as tall, and keep it in the trunk.

Some of the pictures that I took earlier today show the engine compartment and rear trunk. I'll try to get them posted tonight.

[Rusty_Rivets]

As promised, here are some pictures.

First, so you understand the absolute mess that I have in my garage right now. Three cars in a two car garage, and junk piled everywhere. Leftovers from woodworking projects, and miscellaneous furniture left over from moving two elderly family members from their homes to seniors homes. The entire garage is a tripping hazard, and my first job is to get rid of the junk.



I managed to wiggle myself to the front of the car and took some pics of the frunk. These show the battery bracket that I installed for the possible relocation of the battery.






Some closeups of the inside corners. I'm hoping the rust is mostly surface rust.






More pics to come.

[Rusty_Rivets]

Engine bay pics
Note battery mount has been removed.

[Rusty_Rivets]

Pics of the trunk with the carpet removed.

The under padding is still in good shape, though a bit brittle. I had to be careful taking it out.

You can see where the PO extended the battery positive cable and where he grounded the negative. I have no idea whether it's a good ground point or not.


The rear left and right corners showing some rust.




In the next few days, I'll try to get the rocker panels off, so I can see what the longs look like.

[Root_Werks]

Only rust I'm seeing is the rear trunk and it isn't that bad. One panel would make that good as new (looks like anyway).

With battery tech being what it is, would ditch the remove battery locations and put the factory battery tray back. There's no need to worry about acid anymore.

So far, looking pretty solid. Wonder what the longs look like after you mentioned door issues.

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-Dan

[brant]

Pull the rocker covers and take pics of the longs

[rick 918-S]

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[Rusty_Rivets]

Will try to get the rocker panels off next, but not sure how the PO attached them. Looks like they sprayed them with that textured stone guard paint, and I can't see or feel the fasteners. Could be a few days, because I've got relatives staying for the weekend.

[Rusty_Rivets]

I had a few minutes this evening, was able to get the driver's side rocker off, and took some quick pics. Definitely rusted through in a few places. Probed it a bit with a screwdriver, but need a more thorough examination. All I got were side pics. I'll need to raise the car in order to get decent pics from underneath.

[mepstein]

The driver side long will give you a small preview of the damage on the passenger side. The passenger side always has more damage because rain water washes over the battery and the acidic water washes over the right side long and inner and outer suspension consoles. It's a 914 story that's been told hundreds of times. Your statement about the door gaps changing just verifies that the entire right side of the car (and maybe/probably the left) is failing. It's a really big repair. Not just a good amount of money in replacement sheet metal but hundreds of hours of metalwork. Read up about engine shelf repair and inner and outer suspension console repair/replacement. You will also need space to store the engine and trans and space to work around the car. Do you have space to store your other cars outside the garage for the next year or three.

There are dozens of threads showing the repairs needed. One that's easy for me to remember is digging into hell - http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?sho...gging+into+hell

So my suggestion, before you jack up the car, pull the engine and trans and spread the car throughout your garage is to take some time to read through some of the many ruststoration threads and decide if this is a project you want in your life.

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