Inner Long Reinforcement Kits, Want a stiffer 914? Options

[Engman]

Well after several months, $ and patience they are done. Brad has a set - hopefully he will post some better pics of the layout. Please see http://engmanparts.com for details

[Greenbuggy]

QUOTE (Engman @ Jun 22 2004, 07:38 AM)

You definately want the pressure off the longs - use the jackstands. (yes there is still stress in the longs on the jackstands- its just much reduced due to the distances of support) M

Forgive a guy if these sound like dumb questions - I'll be posting pics/details up soon, but in short - I've got a guy who is paying me to restore his green '72 914 and he also has a parts car. As with all 914's it seems (but especially in the midwest) his car has rust and some sag, and of course that needs to be fixed.

Your products all look good, and I'll probably be making an order for your long reinforcement kit, pedal board and hell hole kit, god knows the car will need all of them. I'm determined to do this car right, and have previously resto'ed a '59 VW Type I chassied buggy that sat outside for 15 years, so I'm intimately familiar with what rust can do on a monocoque chassis and how to fix it.

That said - I have a few technical questions.

#1, I have jacks and jackstands and a smooth concrete floor to work on. Where would you suggest putting jackstands for the long repair, to keep the body straight while doing this repair? I'm guessing at the fronts and backs of the longs, but would like confirmation.

#2, the car needs floor pans repaired as well as the longs repaired. Obviously the longs will get repaired before the reinforcement plate goes on, but would it be easiest to replace the floors before or after the long reinforcement kit goes on?

#3, have any of you who have done this kit use some sort of brace where the targa top would go to keep the body straight up top while welding everything in place?

#4, lastly, I'm concerned about keeping rust away long-term for the owner of the car. I was thinking, after long repair, wire brush to bare metal, coat long in weld-thru primer, lay on reinforcement, weld in place, clean welds, POR-15 over the entire reinforced long assy, seam seal at edges, and final coat with some sort of epoxy based paint. Does this sound good to keep rust away long-term? Keep in mind that the entire underbody is also getting POR-15'ed, and that this is a midwestern car and will likely see rain and quite possibly even a little salt in the coming years.