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> Bringing out the dead
Jeff Hail
post Oct 1 2007, 11:35 PM
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Bringing Out The Dead.....or how to restore a rusty 914 and convert it to a street/track car when I have time after dealing with everyone elses stuff.

My background is collision and restoration (day job) of high end automobiles for 28 years in addition to race fabrication. I jumped the fence and left that industry to pursue pretty much the same thing except on the paperwork end which is really boring and thankless. (another day job)

I look at rust like a diamond in the rough. Rust is afraid of me because it know's it cannot live in my world. Metal becomes submissive because I have confidence in my metal working talents. I will add to this post as work progress's.

I hope my years of experience can help others as I add. I believe there is a right way to repair a car and wrong way. I metal finish because in the end its cleaner, lighter and stronger. I was taught old school techniques with new school technology. A great combination. I also believe in doing a job once correctly using the highest quality materials and proper tools. Many ways to skin a cat I say. If you hold it by the tail it can still bite!

Good advice to follow:
Take measurements of the door openings and targa bar to windshield header. Cross measure then do it again to confirm. Recheck your measurements against the factory figures. Make a couple of adjustable braces for each side that attach from the upper seat belt anchors to the door hinges. I recommend cross braces also right to left. These can be made from rod or tube and turnbuckles for cheap. Racer Chris has some really nice ones with rod ends. Support the car from below equally on both sides of the undercarriage and front and rear. I do not believe jack stands can hold the proper tolerances at 4 points. It takes a minimum of 6 and preferably 8. These are all easy to do and are essential to a square and level chassis. Not everyone can afford a Cellete bench or hourly frame time at a shop for these type of do it yourself repairs. Impovisation can be done correctly and for a lot less money. Make sure your floor or platform is level.

Keep in mind that tolerances for the 914 were 7-9mm from the factory so anything you can do to make it better is worth it. 7mm by today’s standards is huge. 9mm is a Grand Canyon. Anything you can do to tighten the tolerances will provide a better end product. Exterior panels were fit with the adjust and weld method and are only a skin.

My 914 had measurements all over the place on the front end and the rust issues were all in the rear that needed correction. Car was never in any collisions.
90% of the measurements were factory assembly tolerances. Porsche's aint perfect.

I made my own dedicated bench for 911's and 914's. By some stroke of luck I ended up with a 1 mm variance in height (datum) and 2mm in length and width is zero with my own fixtures. This has been substantiated with endless anal cross measuring and factory manuals. I used a steel front suspension cross member as a front body holding fixture. I went through 4 before I found an acceptable one. The first 3 were so far off factory tolerances (4-6 mm out of square) I rejected them before I found a good one.

My bench is not for pulling. It was designed for assembly and replacement of structural parts. It will support 3,000 pounds. $350 worth of steel and another $175 in industrial castors was worth it considering its use. A stripped 914 shell is a feather and easy to roll around. When you cut and replace structural parts recheck your measurements. Control points change when you remove, replace and weld in new parts. They are easily controlled with patience.

If it does not come out perfect do not lose sleep. Remember tolerance and variance was not perfect from the factory. If you have a control point locating hole that is 14 mm a dowel or pin of 9-10mm was used during birth. That is why suspension systems are adjustable for variance and wear. You will also find center indexing points on the front and rear of the body. Easy tools to use are plumb lines, tape measures and levels if you do not have access to high end measuring equipment. You can locate and make symmetrical measurements throughout repairs. If you have one side that is undamaged or not rusted use that side as a starting point for measurements. Use panel gaps as a visual indicator during repairs and welding.

3 important factors- height, length and width. If you are me then there are 4 (Z axis) and that one will make you lose sleep!

Some pics of the beggining: A back east 914 comes to California.


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Jeff Hail
post Jan 20 2011, 02:24 AM
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Chris,
My friend really admired your pickups. He (quote) said..." simple, structurally sound design, robust and well thought out" after looking at the old factory stamped sheetmetal pickups. Like Mikey he hates everything BUT to get a compliment like that from him is real.
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Jeff Hail
post Jan 20 2011, 02:48 AM
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For us old guys who wear reader/ progressive len's. I am really a young 45 years old.

Safety glass's with magnifiers. I swiped these from the rocket scientist in exchange for installing his exhaust. Took me thirty minutes to install the silencer that was really throaty (cool facter).

I put these on and WOW. Great for welding when your eyes are old and you have to lift your welding helmet to inspect your welds. They are available in 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 power. I felt like Eddie Murphy... "I can see, I can see".

Goverment Services Pricing: $100.00 (sorry no toilet seat)

Granger/ AutoBody Toolmart $10.00


"There are Some Things Money Can't Buy. For Everything Else, there's stealing your rocket scientist pal's safety glass's". PRICELESS!!! He ain't getting them back!



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Krank
post Jan 20 2011, 08:30 PM
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And if you are working on something close just above your line of sight....wear them upside down. Yeah, I'm old too!
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Eric_Shea
post Jan 21 2011, 01:18 AM
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Get with the program...

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Jeff Hail
post Jan 23 2011, 10:47 PM
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QUOTE(Eric_Shea @ Jan 20 2011, 11:18 PM) *

Get with the program...

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I'm trying Eric. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/poke.gif)
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Jeff Hail
post Jan 23 2011, 11:04 PM
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A few hours spent today installing the outer reinforcement, finish grinding and tidying up the left side. I didn't like the condition of the pinch weld just forward of the pickup soooooooo I flat bottomed the entire rail. One big piece of 16 gauge steel shaped like a "C" , plugged, seamed welded from inside to underside to outside. Look's clean and stout. I will duplicate the same on the right side.






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Hontec
post Jan 24 2011, 04:05 AM
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Nice solution! pickups not only look way better than stock!
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P.Rocket
post Jan 26 2011, 03:25 AM
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This thread is briliant!
Very well documented.
A very useful tool for what I have in store.
My 15yo son and I just rolled the 73 914 into the shop last weekend, to lift it up on the hoist and have a look around to assess the extent of rust and poor previous repairs. Wow this will be one big project, for sure (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sawzall-smiley.gif) . Like I said to my son, atleast you'll know how to weld when we're done. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welder.gif)
Thanks for the quality information.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/farm6.static.flickr.com-8822-1296033906.1.jpg)
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Jeff Hail
post Feb 5 2011, 12:22 AM
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While waiting for my date to arrive to go out for a bite I got bored.


Installed a backer plate behind the pillar. Then butt welded the lower lock pillar in.
The bottom is loose at the sill so I can shift it as needed when the sill goes in.
Didn't even get dirty!


Bon Appétit
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sixnotfour
post Feb 5 2011, 11:26 AM
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date "oh jeff you smell great ,what cologne do you have on ?"

"Metal Man"

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Jeff Hail
post Feb 5 2011, 11:59 AM
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QUOTE(sixnotfour @ Feb 5 2011, 09:26 AM) *

date "oh jeff you smell great ,what cologne do you have on ?"

"Metal Man"


Hugo Boss -Dark Blue

Accents my Miller 180
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Jeff Hail
post Feb 5 2011, 11:27 PM
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Repeat of a previous hat trick except in reverse. A few tiny pin holes in the butt weld to fix later. I will have to stretch the bead area via hammer form a little as it sucked in from the heat. It happens.

Bottom of the lock pillar still left loose for wiggle room when I install the sill and final fitment.


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Eric_Shea
post Feb 6 2011, 03:25 PM
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(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)
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majkos
post Feb 6 2011, 10:22 PM
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You make it look Soooo easy!

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Jeff Hail
post Feb 11 2011, 07:12 PM
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Driver side sill in. Need to finish grind the plugs and pillar joint, then install the triangles.


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Jeff Hail
post Feb 11 2011, 07:14 PM
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Thats a floor Eric. Say ahh!


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Jeff Hail
post Feb 13 2011, 10:11 PM
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Chipping away one piece at a time. Metal finishing on the sill and lock pillar done. Sill triangles installed. Deleted the dome light switch holes.

Thought I had some epoxy primer left (It's somewhere or maybe I am out) Sucks because I hate using etching primer on an area thats done and wont need to come back to until final prep for paint. Oh well it will sand off easily later.


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ONTHEGRIND
post Feb 13 2011, 10:15 PM
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I am doing alot of metal work myself and have etching primer that I used on my trunk what are the benefits of using the epoxy ?
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Jeff Hail
post Feb 13 2011, 10:19 PM
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My good friend Victor Van Tress (1987 SCCA Nationals SSB champion winning 505 Turbo) snapped this photo a while back.

Awesome tow vehicle. Priceless pic. Makes you smile because you wonder what else does the owner have in his garage?





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Jeff Hail
post Feb 13 2011, 11:22 PM
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QUOTE(ONTHEGRIND @ Feb 13 2011, 08:15 PM) *

I am doing alot of metal work myself and have etching primer that I used on my trunk what are the benefits of using the epoxy ?


Etching primer is good for bare metal. Its comprised of acid, zinc and binders. SEP will fend of surface rusting but it does not seal metal as epoxy does. Being my project sits sometimes I would rather not worry whats going on under the surface over time so I use epoxy primer. Personally I think epoxy has a better bite also.

Refinishing products are meant to be applied with time limits.. and not long intervals between application of say primer's and basecoats. In my experience etching primers and 2K primers are not and do not hold up unless colorcoat/ clear applications are done in short order as moisture can penetrate if let to sit. SEP and 2K primers have good adhesion properties if top coats are applied very soon.

Additionally if filler is being applied they can be done under or on top of epoxy primer. (this one is always open to debate). I personally would never apply filler over or under etching primer... as acid can get into and soften filler.

For me I prefer metal conditioning as a separate process.

Bottom line every paint manufacturer has a system with products and the order to be used in.


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