 Need some advice, How to deal with the rust-bucket |
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| pib |
 Apr 4 2006, 11:31 AM
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#1
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Re Member  Group: Members Posts: 116 Joined: 5-February 06 From: Monterey, CA Member No.: 5,530  |
As it turns out, the 'rust-free' '75 I bought has more than a little rust... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sad.gif)
From what I've seen so far, the bottom of the firewall needs to be replaced, as do parts of the pan on the drivers side. There is also rust visible inside the tunnel. On the other hand, the trunks are solid, and there's no rust under the battery tray, the body is straight, and mechanically it's in pretty good shape. This being my first 914, and my first restoration, I'm reaching out for a little advice from those of you who have been there and done that. So, where do I start? The way I see it I've got 3 options. 1- Sell it for whatever I can get and go look for a more solid car. (and no doubt lose money in the process) 2- Clear out the garage, buy a pile of new tools, and rip into it. (and probably not finish it for a couple years) 3- Find a shop to do the rustoration for me. I kind of like the idea of ripping it apart (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sawzall-smiley.gif) and rebuilding it myself, but I've never tackled anything that big before. I've never welded before, though I'd like to learn. I'm just not sure that I'd trust my newbie welding skills when it comes to the structural integrity of something I plan on driving my kids around in. I'd also rather be driving it again in months, rather than years. I think I'd like to get an estimate from someplace before I decide, so I can at least have some idea of the cost before I decide how ambitious I am. So I guess my question is, what kind of shop does this sort of thing? It seems like a body shop is the obvious answer, but do they generally deal with dropping the motor and all the mechanical stuff involved? Or do I need to be looking for a specialist of some kind that would handle the whole thing? Or would you recommend that I strip the whole thing myself and just haul the shell over to them? I haven't really started looking for a shop yet, so any recommendations near Monterey would be greatly appreciated. Any other advice would be great too. I've learned a lot lurking around here, and it looks like I'm about to learn a hell of a lot more. So thanks to all of you who make this such a great (non) club! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/beerchug.gif) |
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Replies(1 - 19)
| drewvw |
Apr 4 2006, 11:52 AM
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#2
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new england car guy Group: Members Posts: 1,631 Joined: 24-February 06 From: Boston, MA Member No.: 5,630 Region Association: North East States |
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/thisthreadisworthlesswithoutpics.gif)
Curious to see how bad your teener got it.... |
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| pib |
Apr 4 2006, 12:10 PM
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#3
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Re Member Group: Members Posts: 116 Joined: 5-February 06 From: Monterey, CA Member No.: 5,530 |
Only have a couple here at work.
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| pib |
Apr 4 2006, 12:11 PM
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#4
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Re Member Group: Members Posts: 116 Joined: 5-February 06 From: Monterey, CA Member No.: 5,530 |
one more...
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| rjames |
Apr 4 2006, 01:06 PM
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#5
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I'm made of metal Group: Members Posts: 3,948 Joined: 24-July 05 From: Shoreline, WA Member No.: 4,467 Region Association: Pacific Northwest 
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Hey, that's my car! How did you get into my garage?
The more work you do yourself, the cheaper it will be. (re: dropping the engine) I don't know what you paid for your ride, but I'm guessing that if you found one with less rust issues, you'd pay a lot more for it.... and the difference is probably around the same amount of $$ or more then you'd spend to repair it yourself. |
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| Mueller |
Apr 4 2006, 01:33 PM
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#6
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914 Freak! Group: Members Posts: 17,146 Joined: 4-January 03 From: Antioch, CA Member No.: 87 Region Association: None
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Not many regular body shops are going to want to drop the engine and transmission and then repair that section.
You are looking at some serious money to pay someone to repair that correctly.....I'd guess in the $2000 range I'd take pictures of the damage and ask a few shops, chances are most of them will no bid it. |
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| pib |
Apr 4 2006, 01:35 PM
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#7
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Re Member Group: Members Posts: 116 Joined: 5-February 06 From: Monterey, CA Member No.: 5,530 |
Well, not so much a car right now... it's more like a coffee table for my garage... And I agree, the more work I do the less it'll cost. But I'd rather get it done and be driving it sooner. I tend to be really good at starting projects and ripping things apart, and very slow at getting them back together. Ultimately I guess I'm wondering if it's easier to find a rust-free shell somewhere and use that as a starting point, or is it better to just deal with what I have? I've been looking at things like a Rotisserie and then I saw this post and I have to wonder if it might be worth something like $700 for the two of them, and a drive to Vegas and Phoenix (or somewhere)...I'm ready for a road trip. I was ready for some mechanical and cosmetic work...but the rust has really bummed me out. |
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| r_towle |
Apr 4 2006, 01:37 PM
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#8
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Custom Member Group: Members Posts: 24,585 Joined: 9-January 03 From: Taxachusetts Member No.: 124 Region Association: North East States
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Consider asking McMark to do it...I think he is the west coast rust repair dude.
Rich |
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| ty914 |
Apr 4 2006, 01:41 PM
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#9
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Member Group: Members Posts: 87 Joined: 23-August 05 From: Memphis, Tennessee USA Member No.: 4,646 |
It may not be as bad as you think...I am working on my first restoration. I have worked on cars and painted them but this is my first time taking it this far.
You will need a lot of tools and a lot of time. If you like taking things appart, breaking them, fixing them, putting them back together a few times then go for it. Sometimes I use this equation when I am trying to figure out if I want to do a project. 1) Do I have the extra time (most of the time YES) 2) How long will it take me to do it 3) How long will it take a professional to do it 4) What will it cost me 5) How many extra days of real work would I have to do to pay a professional vs. how many days it will take me to do it. Lots to think about...also once you grind some of the rust away it might clean up fine. Unless the metal is really thin or you have holes you might not need to do a ton of patch work. |
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| John |
Apr 4 2006, 01:46 PM
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#10
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member? what's a member? Group: Members Posts: 3,393 Joined: 30-January 04 From: Evansville, IN (SIRPCA) Member No.: 1,615 Region Association: None |
Does the car run?
Does it drive? Drive it around while you find a more rust free car/tub. It looks like the inner and outer firewall (and at least some of the center tunnel are rusted through). Is that a CA car or is it a transplanted Midwest car? It looks worse than any of ours (and they probably spent 10+ years driving in the salt/snow/muck before they were replaced as daily drivers). That area can be patched back together but it is time consuming and not very easy (=$$$). Good luck to you in finding a better starting point. Just my free advice... |
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| pib |
Apr 4 2006, 01:50 PM
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#11
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Re Member Group: Members Posts: 116 Joined: 5-February 06 From: Monterey, CA Member No.: 5,530 |
Hi Mueller (and thanks again!) That's what I was guessing too. I'm sure I could do the tear-down, and I really would like to learn some of the skills required to fix it all, it's just a bit of a big step. And of course, it'll tie up the garage for quite a while, and my wife has a new car on the way that she wants to park in there. There's also a bit of a longer back-story, but I'll spare you, it'll sound like I'm whining too much. The end of the story is that the dealer I bought the car from has offered to re-sell it for me. I just don't feel right about passing my problems on to the next sucker. And I can't see anyone else paying the $4500.00 that I did for it (remember, it was rust-free at the time (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/av-943.gif) ). So I'm on the fence. I guess I was hoping for someone to pop up with " Hey I know this guy near Monterey who rebuilds 914's and does amazing work..." (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/screwy.gif) |
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| tdgray |
Apr 4 2006, 01:52 PM
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#12
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Thank God Nemo is not here to see this Group: Members Posts: 9,705 Joined: 5-August 03 From: Akron, OH Member No.: 984 Region Association: None |
Hah (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/huh.gif) That's not rust... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/screwy.gif)
You want rust look at my progress thread. Seriously. Until you really probe (read: grind, sand poke holes etc) you are not going to know what the extent is. Then you can determine HOW you will deal with it. It may turn out that you can just wait until you are ready to do a full tear down and paint in a few years. Of course... after you do this you'll probably put in a six and then a 911 front end and sway bars and a roll cage and a .... (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif) |
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| jd74914 |
Apr 4 2006, 01:59 PM
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#13
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Its alive Group: Members Posts: 4,780 Joined: 16-February 04 From: CT Member No.: 1,659 Region Association: North East States |
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/agree.gif) I've fixed almost all of the rust on mine, and it was much worse than any pictures there. I say go for it if you have the time and the $$ for tools. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/cool.gif) |
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| rjames |
Apr 4 2006, 02:01 PM
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#14
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I'm made of metal Group: Members Posts: 3,948 Joined: 24-July 05 From: Shoreline, WA Member No.: 4,467 Region Association: Pacific Northwest
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What do the longs look like?
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| pib |
Apr 4 2006, 02:08 PM
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#15
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Re Member Group: Members Posts: 116 Joined: 5-February 06 From: Monterey, CA Member No.: 5,530 |
Wow, you guys post faster than I do...
ty914: I usually have more money than time...not really much of either. But good advice, thanks. johnman: It runs fine, drives ok. I discovered the rust because of a broken clutch cable. That was the first time I jacked it up and crawled under it, and the pictures above are what I saw. I've poked around since I took those, and it's worse than those pictures show. Since then, I've sorted out the clutch cable enough to make it driveable again, but I don't think I want trust it that way for too long. It's been a CA car all it's life. First sold in SF, I'm the 4th owner, not counting the @#!& car dealer. There was no rust to be seen in the front or rear trunk, jack points, or battery tray, so I thought I got lucky. That and the fact that my wife said 'yes' sealed the deal. I have my truck back, so I don't really need the teener for transportation, just need to decide what to do. Maybe I just need a (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/alfred.gif) to get started. |
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| pib |
Apr 4 2006, 02:27 PM
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#16
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Re Member Group: Members Posts: 116 Joined: 5-February 06 From: Monterey, CA Member No.: 5,530 |
No idea...I haven't really dug that deep into it yet. Forgive me for sounding like the newbie but...how do you check? Do the side valences need to come off? I've poked around under the door areas on both sides with a screwdriver, and everything there seemed solid enough. tdgray: I read your thread, it's looking really nice! But what you went through is pretty much what I'm afraid of finding on mine...not sure I'm ready for all of that. |
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| tdsmoonchild |
Apr 4 2006, 02:28 PM
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#17
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Terry Group: Members Posts: 197 Joined: 18-January 06 From: Duncanville,TX Member No.: 5,431 |
I'm doing mine. Just suck it up and (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/sawzall-smiley.gif) then (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/welder.gif) !!!!!! |
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| rjames |
Apr 4 2006, 02:28 PM
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#18
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I'm made of metal Group: Members Posts: 3,948 Joined: 24-July 05 From: Shoreline, WA Member No.: 4,467 Region Association: Pacific Northwest
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If there is truly no rust in the other areas you mentioned, I'll be happy to help get you started! (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/alfred.gif) To check out the longs you'll need to remove the outer rocker panels. There are screws on the bottom that might come out nicely or break off nicely, either way take the panels off and have a look. Post pics if you can. |
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| drewvw |
Apr 4 2006, 02:39 PM
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#19
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new england car guy Group: Members Posts: 1,631 Joined: 24-February 06 From: Boston, MA Member No.: 5,630 Region Association: North East States |
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/agree.gif) If you didn't live in california that wouldn't be considered that bad at all!!! |
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| pib |
Apr 4 2006, 02:40 PM
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#20
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Re Member Group: Members Posts: 116 Joined: 5-February 06 From: Monterey, CA Member No.: 5,530 |
Well thank you all for the multiple (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/alfred.gif) I'll look at the longs tonight. Anyone have good welder recommendations? What to get, what to avoid? (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/welder.gif)
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