Resurrecting a Bumblebee and me, A slackers attempt at keeping Pandora in the box Options

[KELTY360]

So it's time to get off my ass and deal with this rare gem that has wandered into my garage. Much to the skepticism of some, it's an original 21,000 mile LE that was parked by the original owner in 1988 and didn't move til his heir's sold the car and the new owner moved it from Honolulu to Pt. Townsend, WA in late summer 2022. My somewhat accidental purchase is documented in a previous thread: Low mileage LE?

For those who don't know me, I'm a longtime 914 believer since purchasing a Sunflower Yellow 1.7 brand new in 1973. I've since owned a variety of these little cars, currently holding a '74 2.0 and the LE. I've also encountered a couple of major oral surgeries over the last year that have put me in a state of slow recovery that leads to my personal resurrection. I didn't really intend to buy the LE but that ship has sailed and I'm trying to bring it back to life for my own resurgence, with the help of some friends of course.

The car is very solid and straight with minimal corrosion, as verified by @Root_Werks and @Greenie . My plan at present is to get it sorted out mechanically and some cosmetics, without performing a complete restoration. I do not plan on keeping the car when the plan is done. So, anyone who's interested in a very original, documented and compete LE is welcome to contact me. In this thread I'll be posting a list of parts needed and pictures and descriptions of work planned or completed.

I'll end this long post with an obligatory pic so I don't get the dreaded TTIWWP emogi. Many more pics to follow as I progress.

[Geezer914]

Nice find. I would check the inside of the fuel tank by removing the filler neck and using a flash light. Can't be too sure if the car was sitting all those years. Also spray some fogging oil in the cylinders before cranking it over.

[KELTY360]

Also spray some fogging oil in the cylinders before cranking it over.

It’s been started and driven many times since it’s deep sleep.

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions. Certainly illustrates the difficulty of resisting mission creep. I don’t want to cross the line into restoration but there’s lots of value judgements along the way. Take the rocker covers for example; I recognize the importance of clean rockers but I also don’t want to impair the originality of the rivets on the covers. The battery tray is cleanly intact and the hell hole is very solid. The jack posts are not compromised and viewing the longs and underbody show no signs of problems. So, my educated guess is that if I pulled the rockers I’d see shiny black paint.

[JeffBowlsby]

Also spray some fogging oil in the cylinders before cranking it over.

It’s been started and driven many times since it’s deep sleep.

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions. Certainly illustrates the difficulty of resisting mission creep. I don’t want to cross the line into restoration but there’s lots of value judgements along the way. Take the rocker covers for example; I recognize the importance of clean rockers but I also don’t want to impair the originality of the rivets on the covers. The battery tray is cleanly intact and the hell hole is very solid. The jack posts are not compromised and viewing the longs and underbody show no signs of problems. So, my educated guess is that if I pulled the rockers I’d see shiny black paint.

Nothing precious or sacred about common aluminum rivets, especially when the health of structural elements are unknown. I encourage you to R/R the rivets and confirm if those screws into the chassis bottom below can be removed. They are known to rust in place.

[KELTY360]

Also spray some fogging oil in the cylinders before cranking it over.

It’s been started and driven many times since it’s deep sleep.

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions. Certainly illustrates the difficulty of resisting mission creep. I don’t want to cross the line into restoration but there’s lots of value judgements along the way. Take the rocker covers for example; I recognize the importance of clean rockers but I also don’t want to impair the originality of the rivets on the covers. The battery tray is cleanly intact and the hell hole is very solid. The jack posts are not compromised and viewing the longs and underbody show no signs of problems. So, my educated guess is that if I pulled the rockers I’d see shiny black paint.

Nothing precious or sacred about common aluminum rivets, especially when the health of structural elements are unknown. I encourage you to R/R the rivets and confirm if those screws into the chassis bottom below can be removed. They are known to rust in place.

Makes sense. It can’t hurt to post pics after I wax the longs. If the longs are as nice as I think they are it would only ad to the value.

[wonkipop]

Also spray some fogging oil in the cylinders before cranking it over.

It’s been started and driven many times since it’s deep sleep.

I appreciate all the comments and suggestions. Certainly illustrates the difficulty of resisting mission creep. I don’t want to cross the line into restoration but there’s lots of value judgements along the way. Take the rocker covers for example; I recognize the importance of clean rockers but I also don’t want to impair the originality of the rivets on the covers. The battery tray is cleanly intact and the hell hole is very solid. The jack posts are not compromised and viewing the longs and underbody show no signs of problems. So, my educated guess is that if I pulled the rockers I’d see shiny black paint.

Nothing precious or sacred about common aluminum rivets, especially when the health of structural elements are unknown. I encourage you to R/R the rivets and confirm if those screws into the chassis bottom below can be removed. They are known to rust in place.

Makes sense. It can’t hurt to post pics after I wax the longs. If the longs are as nice as I think they are it would only ad to the value.

it was in hawaii. may not be salt on the roads but a sh$tload in the atmosphere coming off the spray at pipeline and mr lightning bolt/late take-offs tail fin. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif)
best to have a peek in there. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)