My rusted longs, experts chime in..., rusted longs Options

[mramber]

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?

[sfrenck]

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.

['73-914kid]

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.

[SirAndy]

I'm thinking I can clean things up and weld in the Brad Mayeur kit. Thoughts? Comments?

That would be the second worst way to go about this. The worst way would be to fiberglass it over.


I wouldn't drive that car just from looking at the pictures. If the longs are that bad, there will be more rust you haven't found yet.

You *can* fix all this correctly using parts from RD but you better be damn good at welding, have the right tools and most of all, time.
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[mepstein]

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.

[sfrenck]

The days of "rust free" West coast tubs being available are largely gone..

Well I guess I'm lucky I got the last one (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

[mramber]

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

[SirAndy]

From what I have read I'm leaning toward's Brad's kit

Do more reading ...

Brad's kit is *not* for rust repair!
It's a clam shell that goes over the existing long, you know, the same long that is half missing on your car ...
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[injunmort]

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.

[mepstein]

The days of "rust free" West coast tubs being available are largely gone..

Well I guess I'm lucky I got the last one (IMG:style_emoticons/default/huh.gif)

Funny thing is I found that car on Dennis Deeds 914yahoo group. Never made it to club, world or pelican. But I agree, Scott saved thousands switching the tub. I cut up his old car and it was in even worse shape than anyone thought. Truely dangerous to drive and surprising the passenger seat didn't fall out of the pop riveted trap door.

[mramber]

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.

Thanks for the info, I've been reading this thread and its very helpful. I'll continue to read up this week and then I'm planning to remove and brace the doors so I can get ready to cut into the outer longs and see just how bad things are. We still have a lot of snow on the ground here. I was getting eager to drive once it melted, but now it looks like I have some cutting, swearing and welding to do first.

[rick 918-S]

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?sho...=226585&hl=

[mramber]

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?sho...=226585&hl=

Thanks Rick I will read up on this also. By the way, I've seen a lot of your posts and your great work. Do you ever get down to Minneapolis?

[rick 918-S]

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?sho...=226585&hl=

Thanks Rick I will read up on this also. By the way, I've seen a lot of your posts and your great work. Do you ever get down to Minneapolis?

Thanks. I get down there sometimes.

[CptTripps]

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.

[914ltd]

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.

[mramber]

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!