Front fender to Cowl Joint Options

[DennisO]

Hi All,

I'm new to the 914 world. I've played with 356s and 911s for years, but never had a 914. I've always liked the 914, as friends had them when I was in high school. I recently bought a '75 1.7L project (Nepal Orange) that has been sitting in Central Calif since 2002. Overall, it does appear to be in decent shape for a car this old. It will require a complete restoration and my plans are turn to turn into a nice driver. I just started to disassemble the car and I am finding some rust but a vast majority of what I finding appears to be just surface rust. Hopefully as I complete the disassembly and engine removal I won't find any nasty surprises. The only accident damage I've found is the front corner of the driver's finder has been replaced. The rest of the car looks extremely straight.

As I removed the front hood, I noticed that both front fenders have cracks in the seam where it meets the cowl. Attached are pictures of the area that I'm concerned about. Are these normal for a 914 or is this a sign of accident damage? Thanks in advance.