Bringing out the dead Options

[Jeff Hail]

Bringing Out The Dead.....or how to restore a rusty 914 and convert it to a street/track car when I have time after dealing with everyone elses stuff.

My background is collision and restoration (day job) of high end automobiles for 28 years in addition to race fabrication. I jumped the fence and left that industry to pursue pretty much the same thing except on the paperwork end which is really boring and thankless. (another day job)

I look at rust like a diamond in the rough. Rust is afraid of me because it know's it cannot live in my world. Metal becomes submissive because I have confidence in my metal working talents. I will add to this post as work progress's.

I hope my years of experience can help others as I add. I believe there is a right way to repair a car and wrong way. I metal finish because in the end its cleaner, lighter and stronger. I was taught old school techniques with new school technology. A great combination. I also believe in doing a job once correctly using the highest quality materials and proper tools. Many ways to skin a cat I say. If you hold it by the tail it can still bite!

Good advice to follow:
Take measurements of the door openings and targa bar to windshield header. Cross measure then do it again to confirm. Recheck your measurements against the factory figures. Make a couple of adjustable braces for each side that attach from the upper seat belt anchors to the door hinges. I recommend cross braces also right to left. These can be made from rod or tube and turnbuckles for cheap. Racer Chris has some really nice ones with rod ends. Support the car from below equally on both sides of the undercarriage and front and rear. I do not believe jack stands can hold the proper tolerances at 4 points. It takes a minimum of 6 and preferably 8. These are all easy to do and are essential to a square and level chassis. Not everyone can afford a Cellete bench or hourly frame time at a shop for these type of do it yourself repairs. Impovisation can be done correctly and for a lot less money. Make sure your floor or platform is level.

Keep in mind that tolerances for the 914 were 7-9mm from the factory so anything you can do to make it better is worth it. 7mm by today’s standards is huge. 9mm is a Grand Canyon. Anything you can do to tighten the tolerances will provide a better end product. Exterior panels were fit with the adjust and weld method and are only a skin.

My 914 had measurements all over the place on the front end and the rust issues were all in the rear that needed correction. Car was never in any collisions.
90% of the measurements were factory assembly tolerances. Porsche's aint perfect.

I made my own dedicated bench for 911's and 914's. By some stroke of luck I ended up with a 1 mm variance in height (datum) and 2mm in length and width is zero with my own fixtures. This has been substantiated with endless anal cross measuring and factory manuals. I used a steel front suspension cross member as a front body holding fixture. I went through 4 before I found an acceptable one. The first 3 were so far off factory tolerances (4-6 mm out of square) I rejected them before I found a good one.

My bench is not for pulling. It was designed for assembly and replacement of structural parts. It will support 3,000 pounds. $350 worth of steel and another $175 in industrial castors was worth it considering its use. A stripped 914 shell is a feather and easy to roll around. When you cut and replace structural parts recheck your measurements. Control points change when you remove, replace and weld in new parts. They are easily controlled with patience.

If it does not come out perfect do not lose sleep. Remember tolerance and variance was not perfect from the factory. If you have a control point locating hole that is 14 mm a dowel or pin of 9-10mm was used during birth. That is why suspension systems are adjustable for variance and wear. You will also find center indexing points on the front and rear of the body. Easy tools to use are plumb lines, tape measures and levels if you do not have access to high end measuring equipment. You can locate and make symmetrical measurements throughout repairs. If you have one side that is undamaged or not rusted use that side as a starting point for measurements. Use panel gaps as a visual indicator during repairs and welding.

3 important factors- height, length and width. If you are me then there are 4 (Z axis) and that one will make you lose sleep!

Some pics of the beggining: A back east 914 comes to California.

[stateofidleness]

hey jeff, question. you are about where im at on my interior and im a complete noob to this stuff.

now that i know that it is ok to primer a little at a time, will you go back and reprimer the entire thing when you're done or only the areas not done?

another thing, those removable hole covers in the pans on mine are all bent and mis-shaped. is it better to try to reshape them and get a good seal on the hole (while also needs to be straightened out) or just weld a piece of flat sheet metal over the hole?

i did 2 coats of this rust converter which turned the "rust" to a primer black color. so all i need to do is light sand it and then prime? or should i do that acid thing and then sand?

really impressed with your work and focus. very inspirational.

[Jeff Hail]

hey jeff, question. you are about where im at on my interior and im a complete noob to this stuff.

now that i know that it is ok to primer a little at a time, will you go back and reprimer the entire thing when you're done or only the areas not done?

another thing, those removable hole covers in the pans on mine are all bent and mis-shaped. is it better to try to reshape them and get a good seal on the hole (while also needs to be straightened out) or just weld a piece of flat sheet metal over the hole?

i did 2 coats of this rust converter which turned the "rust" to a primer black color. so all i need to do is light sand it and then prime? or should i do that acid thing and then sand?

really impressed with your work and focus. very inspirational.

Being it is winter hours I find my daylight is short. I try to set a goal I know I can complete in a given amount of time.

When I repair an area such as the right front floor I knew I am going to have some overlap into an adjacent area. No big deal. Any primer overlap/overspray will sand off and be re-applied for instance when I do the drivers floor. I am only talking a few inches of coating so I do not worry about masking anything off here.

The need to get this area primed was it is bare and we have been having humidity in the air lately in sunny California. Moist cold air and bare metal are not friends even if it has a zinc coating.

As far as the factory resistance welder access covers I did not remove them. I removed most of the surface sealer around them but did not find any scale or corrosion. Obviously they have not leaked. I left them in and primered over them. I will apply some sealer to replace what was removed. The small 3 inch cover next to the long on mine was a little tweaked. I just took a hammer and dolly to flatten it out. No rust so no need to remove it. These will also have new seam sealer applied over these.

Rust converter is the "acid thing". You are two step's ahead.

I have to say this rust converters are a misconception. They do not turn rust back to good metal. All that is happening is the iron oxide (rust) is being converted to an iron phosphate "layer" ( a different kind of rust) similar to rust bluing on a firearm. The key to rust converters are the chemical conversion of surface scaling and then sealing it from oxygen via zinc phosphate. Without oxygen rust cannot continue. Adding a zinc layer by conversion is part of the sealing process. Zinc does not oxidize like iron will. Zinc is also used for adhesion. Best bet is to remove as much rust as possible with wire wheels, conditioning and grinding disc's. If metal has become structurally unsound, brittle or weakened due to corrosion the only way to properly repair it is to replace it. A good example is if you look at metal that is rusted and it looks like a bunch of rotten leaves in layers it is done and cannot be saved. Pits and deep scale are another thing. These can be normally ground away and or filled with welding if enough metal is present.

Ok - If it looks like all the rust is converted to rough black primer I would use an abrasive from 150 to 220 grit paper on it and score the surface lighly, just skim it. If you start seeing carrot colored rust again it was not treated sufficiently. If you see this do the conversion again. Then lightly go over it with 320. Do not worry if you remove a little of the coating. Then prime it quickly.

Another thing on converters make sure it is nutralized correctly. If it is not done right you will end up fighting two kinds or corrosion. Rust and chemical.

Can you tell I am not a big fan of rust converters? They do have there place though. Something I learned a long time ago welding. Steel melts and rust will burn (oxide).