My rustastic build thread, restoration of my 73 1.7lt Options

[kphimself]

I decided to start a build thread like so many others in the hopes of motivation and some usefull advice. I bought the car back in febuary and tinkered with it since then but due to health problems and work i was unable to do much. I now have some time to put toward it and im excited to get to work. Last week i pulled the rocker covers off to check out the rust. It turned out not to be as bad as i had thought. The longs are rusted out near the jack post, worse on the drivers side, the battery tray is mostly gone. Friday i pulled out the interior and spend the weekend making new upholstery. This is the first time i've ever attempented to do this. It didnt come out perfect but its better then what was in there and it only cost around 120 bucks which is much cheaper then what local shops whated to do it. So far i have the area around the seats done and the material cut out for the seats but i needed to take a break from it and watch some football (drinking beer and doing upholstery dont mix, welding on the other hand).

[kphimself]

So i tried to replace the brakes but nobody sales rear brake calipers for 914's does anyone know anyone that sells them? Mine leak out the e-brake adjuster and the rebuild kits don't seem to have the parts to fix that. Not only that but i perfer not to cut corners on things like brakes being that peoples lives are on the line. Well i'm off to replace the suspension and the brake lines.

[Mike Bellis]

Eric Shea will restore your callipers to a better than new condition. His work is awesome!

[kphimself]

these ones are pretty much screwed, very rusted cylinders, plus i prefer to have new or remanufactured ones. Like is said peoples lives are on the line so i don't play around with them. I've found on other restoration "people rebuild things" and the product turns out to be garbage and your out X amount of dollars. I would rather just get new ones.

[AndyB]

these ones are pretty much screwed, very rusted cylinders, plus i prefer to have new or remanufactured ones. Like is said peoples lives are on the line so i don't play around with them. I've found on other restoration "people rebuild things" and the product turns out to be garbage and your out X amount of dollars. I would rather just get new ones.

Eric Shea does brakes and they are basically brand new brakes by the time he gets done with them. There is a plethera of knowledge on this website. Its your car you do what you feel comfortable with. But always remember there are alot more people that have been there and done that. Some of them this isnt their first rodeo. oh and (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png)

[Valy]

these ones are pretty much screwed, very rusted cylinders, plus i prefer to have new or remanufactured ones. Like is said peoples lives are on the line so i don't play around with them. I've found on other restoration "people rebuild things" and the product turns out to be garbage and your out X amount of dollars. I would rather just get new ones.

I was in the same situation as you 6 mo ago.
I started with the front ones and tried to buy rebuild calipers. The rebuilt ones were junk, even more then the ones I originally had (but returned them as core). I exchanged FIVE sets of calipers till I got a good set!!! Most of the calipers had weak bolts (DIN8.8 instead of 12.8) This means only 60% of retaining power between the two halves of the caliper. I could die using those!

For the rear ones, I decided to do them myself. Sorry but I can only trust myself after all I've been through. I ordered a brake set on eBay, one that has all the o-rings. The leak from the adjuster is just a small o-ring inside.
I also used a hone to clean the rust from inside the cylinder and polished the pistons with my drill and a rug.

Now I have brakes!

[kphimself]

Thanks, one of my chief concerns is that they were rebuilt from the last owner becouse one side has a torq head and the other is a hex head bolt that seems to be crushed into the calipers. I really don't think these can be fixed. The tube for the bleed seems to be crushed becouse of the use of hex bolts. Is there any other calipers from other cars that will work on these? Ive been restoring cars since i was in high school and i never pick "normal" cars, i like the off brands, Internationals, Studebakers ect... so i'm no stranger to making other things work. I'm yet to find an interchange manuel for foreign cars however. Does one exhist?

[kphimself]

these ones are pretty much screwed, very rusted cylinders, plus i prefer to have new or remanufactured ones. Like is said peoples lives are on the line so i don't play around with them. I've found on other restoration "people rebuild things" and the product turns out to be garbage and your out X amount of dollars. I would rather just get new ones.

I was in the same situation as you 6 mo ago.
I started with the front ones and tried to buy rebuild calipers. The rebuilt ones were junk, even more then the ones I originally had (but returned them as core). I exchanged FIVE sets of calipers till I got a good set!!! Most of the calipers had weak bolts (DIN8.8 instead of 12.8) This means only 60% of retaining power between the two halves of the caliper. I could die using those!

For the rear ones, I decided to do them myself. Sorry but I can only trust myself after all I've been through. I ordered a brake set on eBay, one that has all the o-rings. The leak from the adjuster is just a small o-ring inside.
I also used a hone to clean the rust from inside the cylinder and polished the pistons with my drill and a rug.

Now I have brakes!

the three kits i've bought don't have the o ring for the ebrake, i have the tools to do it. Just can't get the right parts, plus the one can't be fixed, it aslo has weak bolts in it.

[rick 918-S]

these ones are pretty much screwed, very rusted cylinders, plus i prefer to have new or remanufactured ones. Like is said peoples lives are on the line so i don't play around with them. I've found on other restoration "people rebuild things" and the product turns out to be garbage and your out X amount of dollars. I would rather just get new ones.

I was in the same situation as you 6 mo ago.
I started with the front ones and tried to buy rebuild calipers. The rebuilt ones were junk, even more then the ones I originally had (but returned them as core). I exchanged FIVE sets of calipers till I got a good set!!! Most of the calipers had weak bolts (DIN8.8 instead of 12.8) This means only 60% of retaining power between the two halves of the caliper. I could die using those!

For the rear ones, I decided to do them myself. Sorry but I can only trust myself after all I've been through. I ordered a brake set on eBay, one that has all the o-rings. The leak from the adjuster is just a small o-ring inside.
I also used a hone to clean the rust from inside the cylinder and polished the pistons with my drill and a rug.

Now I have brakes!

the three kits i've bought don't have the o ring for the ebrake, i have the tools to do it. Just can't get the right parts, plus the one can't be fixed, it aslo has weak bolts in it.

Eric Shea can sell you the correct kits with all the "O" rings. Contact him. You won't be sorry.

[dlee6204]

Why don't you just buy a set of rebuildable cores if you don't think yours are rebuildable? I know a lot of us have spare calipers lying around that would good to rebuild.

[kphimself]

Do you have his contact info?

[kphimself]

Why don't you just buy a set of rebuildable cores if you don't think yours are rebuildable? I know a lot of us have spare calipers lying around that would good to rebuild.

I'm all about that, i've seen company's that do that and i wouldn't mind having some extra parts. If you know anyone that wants to sell a set let me know.

[jetboy]

Eric Shea's website for teener services - http://www.pmbperformance.com/teener.html

and for brake rebuilding- http://www.pmbperformance.com/calipers.html

[rick 918-S]

Why don't you just buy a set of rebuildable cores if you don't think yours are rebuildable? I know a lot of us have spare calipers lying around that would good to rebuild.

I'm all about that, i've seen company's that do that and i wouldn't mind having some extra parts. If you know anyone that wants to sell a set let me know.

Check the parts section of the classifieds here for used core calipers:

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showforum=18

Check the member vendor section for Eric Shea's info.

http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showforum=4

He has several posts there. Click on his name under the topic starter heading. You will see a PM tab. Click on it and send him a PM. Or look at the bottom of any of his posts. His web site and phone info will be there.

http://www.pmbperformance.com/catalog.html

Oh, and (IMG:style_emoticons/default/welcome.png)

You can also use the search function.

[scotty b]

My shop is right up the road from you ( Cahrles City ) and I have a pile of old calipers you are welcome to peruse. I can also show you what to expect when you get into the rust repairs. I am currently repairing this one ofr a guy in Richmond.

[kphimself]

Thanks, and thanks for the advice. So my plan for this week is to remove the engine agian and get the car ready to go home (North Carolina) for rust repiar floor pan replacement and paint this week. I'm hoping to be able to take a few weeks of vacation since i have a few months worth on the books. Paint and body work is more my thing, i love doing mechanical work but i'm not as good at it as i am paint and body work. I've spent the last 9 months collecting parts for the car so i could do everything all at one time. I've found if you spend too long between projects you tend to forget alot of knowledge you've gained. It becomes easy to forget to tighten up bolts and replace clips and things that you have broken and forgot about. I really want to have the car finished before i go in for shoulder surgery next month.

[kphimself]

My shop is right up the road from you ( Cahrles City ) and I have a pile of old calipers you are welcome to peruse. I can also show you what to expect when you get into the rust repairs. I am currently repairing this one ofr a guy in Richmond.

Awsome, I"m sure thats about what mine is going to look like when i get into it. I would love to get some new (old) calipers. Hell if you ever need a hand let me know, i love working on old cars and the battle against rust. I'm all about learning new things, this is my first 914 and i have alot to learn.

[kphimself]

Got the suspension, the ball joints changed out along with the pad behind the seats today. I was wanting to pull the engine today but due to a broked garage door i couldn't use the lift. Maybe tomorrow i'll be able to do that. I'm looking forward to making the rust repairs and doing the body work.

[kphimself]

I pulled out the engine this afternoon. Got that down to just over an hour. The CV joints were another story. It looks like the PO tried to use an allen wrench making the bolts impossible to remove. Last time i ran into this issue, on the transmission, i was able to get them out using an bolt extractor but there isn't enough room to use an easy out. Does anyone have any ideas on a easy way to remove them? I really don't wanna drill them out.
On a good note i figured out why my shifter has a huge amout of play in it, the bushings that connect the tail shaft to the shaft that runs through the tunnel. They seemed in good shape the last time i had the engine out but somehow they turned to dust. I knew i should of replaced them last time i had the engine out but i couldn't figure out how to remove them, i guess leaving them sit for 8 months will take care of that for you.
Now the next thing i need to is finish the upholstery and kill time till vacation at which time i will attack the rust and lay down some paint.

[kphimself]

well had to brake out the cut off wheel to get the rails off the seats, the prongs are totally rusted off so i'm going to have to fab up some new ones. I think i'm going to call it a night and leave the seats for tomorrow.