Hellhole and Longs Inspection when looking at a car, How to inspect the Hellhole and Left/Pass Long? Options

[J-Gaz]

I've been reading up on 914s for the better part of 2-3 years. Maybe longer.
I've been shopping and looking at them locally here in the Puget Sound for over a year now.

Lots of cars seem to be really rusty... and bondo'd or repainted [AKA covered up] under the battery, in the hellhole, in the rear trunk, the lower Bulkhead etc - the usual spots people tell you to look for.

I even saw one where someone bondo'd up the hips where the longs, floor pan, and bulkhead meet - underneath the car... and coated with an undercoat - but the bondo was clearly flaking off, and they did a piss-poor job with their putty spreader, leaving tool marks everywhere.

I still haven't found a 'good way' to inspect the Left/Pass Long. To me - that's the actual 'HellHole' as the battery tin isn't as difficult to get to. But when it starts to leak down into the long, and eat it apart - that's the crux of it.

No one seems interested in removing the rocker for me either, and even when I squeeze my head to attempt to observe the jacking point, I can't see much.

Plus, there doesn't seem to be a good way to inspect inside the left long when I'm out looking at these 'projects' - because all of them seem to be, no matter what price point I look at... a project.

Any tips or tricks to help inspect these areas when I'm meeting people to see about a purchase?

Should I get a cheap borescope? IF so, where can I access the long to insert the camera?

Really appreciate it.

J.

[Chad911sc]

I ran into the same thing when I bought mine. I would say if you see rot in the Hell hole, battery tray missing and not clean metal below it, you can pretty much bet that the long below is suffering. I spent 6 months repairing mine and getting the frame straight and true. It’s a huge job that I do not ever want to do again. Definitely be picky and take your time with a fine tooth comb. From 10 feet mine looked perfect, but I found hidden treasures of disrepair everywhere over the last year of restoration.