914 Body In White, chassis fixtures being made Options

[McMark]

Well, I started on this path a long time ago. Back in 2011, I pick up a Celette bench on Craigslist. I rented fixtures a few times, but along the way Celette moved everything to a newer setup/system and trashed the old fixtures.

Last year I was able to get the new style adapters but would still need to rent fixtures. So it was nice to have the capability, but rental fees meant that expediency was critical. For a project like SirAndy's 914-6 there will be a lot of measuring, checking, cutting, welding, etc. That translates to a lot of time on the bench, and the less I feel the need to rush, the better. When straightening a chassis, it's critical that you have a plan and make pulls and adjustments in the correct order.

Restoration Design just started carrying their own set of fixtures that are compatible with what I have now. They had the early 911 fixtures, but thankfully they jumped on the 914 next. So I just placed my order for these. Now I'll have everything in house to put cars up on fixtures for straightening, major rust repair, and/or cage work. This is a huge development for Original Customs.

I've always done rust repair, but this is the first time that I'll start offering a 'chassis restoration service' for both individuals and other shops. So anyone, anywhere can ship their chassis here and get back a solid and straight body, ready to build on. I'll also be on the lookout for suitable cars to straighten/repair and sell ready to run, 'off the shelf'.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/boldblue.gif) I can't wait to get started, then add early 911 and 356 fixtures...

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads_offsite/www.restoration-design.com-419-1532972340.1.jpg)

[mepstein]

Wouldn’t the front towers be the same as the 911 fixtures.
Can you modify the existing fixtures rather than making new ones.

[McMark]

Nice research Mark. Guess I am back to building a set too then. I have a rust free straight car to work off of too. Really in most cases a guy doesn't need heavy fixtures designed for withstanding the pulling forces of a collision repair. Most of what we do is related to rust repair and withstanding the pulling forces of a welding process. We all know how our chassis can move around while welding.

Well, once I build mine and use them I was planning to just ship/bring everything your way. The MZ Towers make building these fixtures relatively easy. But building fixtures from scratch would be a larger endeavor. I know you're certainly up to the task, but just borrow mine when I'm done.

Wouldn’t the front towers be the same as the 911 fixtures.
Can you modify the existing fixtures rather than making new ones.

Well, remember these aren't made by Porsche people. So unfortunately, the answer is no. The setup is approached differently (see pics below), and there's no reason to expect that the 'neutral' position of the chassis, over the bench, is the same height or fore/aft location. In fact, just looking at the Celette diagrams I can tell that the 911 chassis will sit closer to the bench than a 914 chassis, which means nothing will interchange.

911 Front Shock Tower


914 Front Shock Tower

[rick 918-S]

Nice research Mark. Guess I am back to building a set too then. I have a rust free straight car to work off of too. Really in most cases a guy doesn't need heavy fixtures designed for withstanding the pulling forces of a collision repair. Most of what we do is related to rust repair and withstanding the pulling forces of a welding process. We all know how our chassis can move around while welding.

Well, once I build mine and use them I was planning to just ship/bring everything your way. The MZ Towers make building these fixtures relatively easy. But building fixtures from scratch would be a larger endeavor. I know you're certainly up to the task, but just borrow mine when I'm done.

Cool,

I have rent money waiting. I will be laid up for awhile anyway. Gettin my own fixture installed the end of the month. LMK your projected time line. I have Juergen's car disassembled and ready to bench.

BTW: Need my windshield jig? I can send it to you.

[McMark]

Got all the modeling done and got all the plates laser cut from 5/8" steel. Ordered 20' of 40mm solid steel rod. This stuff is all seriously heavy. I packed half of the steel plate parts into a 12"x6" box, and I could barely pick it up. Definitely confidence inspiring. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/gunner.gif)

I checked all the laser cutting first to make sure bolt holes were going to line up and to make sure I didn't make any other mistakes. One set of plates I made a dumb mistake, and the trailing arm bracket with the three holes didn't quite line up, so I had to fix and reorder those. But the second version came back perfectly. The laser shop also accidentally drilled holes on 2 sets of plates to 12mm instead of 10mm, so I got those redone as well.

I spent all of Sunday and Monday double checking the car on the bench, and then getting started making fixtures. The laser cut plates are working out just like I expected and I've got 4 fixtures made and it's working really well. Each piece has quite a bit of work. The front shock fixtures had to have the large circle piece machined with a specific angle on the outer edge. And the other fixtures pictured are for the two bolts where the steering rack/cover mount. That little ring had to be trimmed from 5/8" plate down to 10mm thick, as well as machined on the ID and OD to size. Oh, and drilling the 12mm pin hole through to 40mm rod is no joke. Those take 10-15m per hole going slow and letting the bit cool periodically.

So far everything has worked out. Each piece or process I make/do is working out. At the risk of sounding self-promotional, it's very satisfying to be able to see the payoff from all these years of experience with various fabrication skills. While these fixtures are fairly simple in appearance, the need for accuracy is where it gets tricky. I was really afraid of drilling the pin hole in the rod. Getting that perfect is terribly challenging. Being off by less than 1° would be make the piece unusable, and it MUST be drilled last.

I've gotta step away from fixtures for a couple days to get an engine test fired with my fuel injection set up, as well as build the bottom end of a 2270 engine. But I'm planning to be back building fixtures on Friday and should have all the critical ones done next week. I need to outsource machining on a couple pieces because my mini-lathe is not big enough to hold the piece. And there are a coupe plates that need to be a specific thickness and flatness. So those will need to go to a surface grinder.

Thanks for all the encouragement. This has been a huge delay and a ton of effort, but I appreciate all the positive comments. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/grouphug.gif)

BTW: Need my windshield jig? I can send it to you.

I gotta make my own. I want a full set of Celette and body fixtures on hand here when I'm done. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/chowtime.gif)