Hey all, I'm one year into owning my 73. I knew it had some rust, but I spent my first summer of ownership in denial so that I could focus on enjoying driving the car. Now that spring is approaching, I decided to go in and see just how bad things are. My first question is that my car doesn't have jack points, I assume that the po removed them. Second is the recommended repair approach. Both longs are solid from the rear until they get to the jack point area, then they are solid again up to the front. The passenger side also has rust at the very front. I'm thinking I can clean things up and weld in the Brad Mayeur kit. Thoughts? Comments?
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You really should consider buying a rust free tub from the west coast and transferring everything from your current car over to it. This was the method I used and the cost was <$3k with the tub delivered from CA to Delaware.
If you can weld and have all of the equipment / tools to do so, it may be cheaper to fix your current tub.
Just saying.... think about the options.
If you can weld, go ahead and fix that. The days of "rust free" West coast tubs being available are largely gone.. They all have rust.. not that bad, but I've never seen a "rust free" 914 that wasn't a perfect car already. I would look into the restoration design long panels, and the long sittfening kit. That would be my approach personally.
First step is to look and read all the restoration threads. That will take a couple hours and is a great education. Then you can decide how you want to adress this rust and the additional rust you will find as you start digging in to the repair. The engman panel and ones like it are to stiffen a car, not to band aid over needed rust repair. Good luck and welcome to the madness.
Yes, I can weld and plan to do the repair myself. I'm looking for advice between Restoration design and Brad Mayeur's kit. From what I have read I'm leaning toward's Brad's kit because of the way it ties into the rear suspension. I'm looking for input/experience from others that have used either of these methods
those area's need to be repaired (weld in replacement panels) regardless of a stiffeneing kit. read jeff hails Brining out the dead" that is a critical "hinge area of the unibody and the factory used multiples layers of steel through there to reinforce it. though it may not look that bad from the outside, there is a lot more going on that you cant see and needs to addressed. I am doing the same now on my 1972.
The longs will need to be repaired before the Brad Mayuer kit because you need something to weld to.
The thread may help a little.
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=226585&hl=
That's a DEEP repair. Holy cow.
I know of a real nice "issue free" 014 here in Ohio for about $4K. If you're interested...let me know. The one you have now is a project and a half.
My chassis repair panel set is not a Band-Aid. I have been installing and selling these since 1978. They are made of 11 gauge steel, tie into the outer suspension consol and provide a strong, permanent, (as steel can be) and economical repair to rust damaged longitudinals. Anyone who has replaced the outer longitudinals and lower wheel house on a 914 knows this is a labor intensive project and, as with my panels, all the adjoining panels need good, solid metal to attach to in order to restore the structural integrity. The big difference is my panels take far less time to install, cost less and, if properly installed, are stronger than the conventional repair. Something else to consider, in the future if someone wanted to do a “proper” repair, just cut the welds and remove these panels but, you will still need to deal with properly installing the reproduction lower wheelhouse, this is a patch panel, only a 1/3 the size of the original unit. I would guess today, most 914’s that need this extent of repair are probably worth less than the cost of such repair. I am not selling this system as a concourse repair but it is a reasonable and, with more than 300 sets installed, proven way to get your 914 back on the road. I know of no one who has these panels that are unhappy with the results and I’m absolutely positive this is the best solution for most 914’s that need this type of repair. Brad Mayeur, 914 Limited. 42 years as a 914 enthusiast and repair professional.
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I hate D-con! I'm cutting in to see how bad things are. Here is the front end of the passenger side. solid metal from just in front of the jack post all the way up to just behind the extra metal piece behind the front wheel. That was toast so I cut it out to see what was behind it. Not too bad, rusted through in the corner but the area is small everything else around it is solid. Then I saw the green pellets and I started to dig with a screwdriver. Out came a waterfall of D-con that piled up on the floor, thanks to the PO and his pet mice!
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