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

[kphimself]

Today was a productive day. Found more rust as always. The hell hole had some work done in the past with some bad welding so i fabricated some new metal for that area however my welder is being a POS so i didn't even try to do any welding today. The weather should be good over the weekend so i should be able to get lots of work done. My primer, paint and clear coat came in along with my outer longs and jack points so that was a great surprise. However my stock pile of 18 gauge steel is running low and my supplier is closed on the weekend, its going to be a close one. I would hate to start cutting into the car and not have the materials to put it back together, i don't wanna leave it all hacked up for any length of time. I might just have to hold off on making a new battery tray and mount to conserve steel till monday. On a crappy note after removing the paint on my door it had a massive amount of work done on it with like 5 lbs of bondo on it so i'm going to have to take the skin off and fix that up properly. I really hate taking the skin off doors but i think its the only way im going to be able to get the dents out. To make matters worse just as i was getting into my groove and making progress i ran out of sanding discs for my die grinder so i had to stop and make a trip into town and donate to the red army for some more (harbor freight). I wish the Eastwood company had a store in my town that would be soo awsome. Well here are some progress pics from today.

[kphimself]

I got that nasty rust taken care of in the engine compartment today just need to make a new shelf for in there. Took the door off and started cutting the 8 million spot welds in the sill. The guy that did that must of been getting paid by the weld or something. There seemed to be no rime or reason for where he put them too. Alot are an 1/8 of and inch apart and some area's go 3 inches without any. Finished up patching up the holes in the trunk as well. In the morning i plan on taking the passenger side door off and putting my braces in and cutting out a section of the quarter panel so i can get to my rust "issues". On a side note my dads super annoying neighbor stopped by to slow down progress. He asked what kind of car i was working on and i told them and he replied "i thought you were an american, you know we fought them in the 2 world war don't you" I reminded him he drives a nissan and "we" were at war with them too and by we i mean perhaps your father or maybe my grandfather since you weren't old enough to fight and i wasn't born yet. I can't stand that jerk. I have 4 garage doors and there is a reason i keep the 2 in the front shut.

[kphimself]

Well the car is braced up and ready to be put up on stands. My shoulder was bugging the crap out of me so i wasn't very productive today. I did what felt like alot of work but it doesn't look like much. I got the heat shield off from under the trunk so i could clean that area up. The trunk has been sanded inside along with the under side of both trunk lids and ready for primer. I didn't want to jack the car up until i had a full day to make repairs due to lack of space i need the car half way out of the garage so i might do that in the morning. The weather report is calling for rain thursday so i want everything to be completed by then that way it isn't getting rained on. Im hoping to have the car ready for primer by next week. I have 19 days of vacation left and i think i'm going to be cutting it close considering i have to paint my dads monte carlo as well. My International's bed has become a great storage area, I think it has damn near two cars in it.

[kphimself]

Rust, rust rust and more rust. I was too tired to update last night. I got the car up in the air and removed the outer long on the drives side. The inside was much worse then what i had expected. The car had been restored in the past and new metal was added but when they did that they never welded or sealed the top portion of the replacement metal allowing water in. It seems the last person that did work on it didn't want to remove any of the quarter panel so they just didn't do anything with the upper portion of the repairs (for lack of a better term). It has become very difficult to find good metal to weld too. I began fabricating new pieces for the inner long today and welded in some patch panels in the forward section of the inner long. I should have the drivers side finished up tomorrow i hope. I got all of the really bad metal out and treated the remaining area with pro-15. It was quickly becoming one of those days where nothing goes the way you want it and i found myself feeling like this wasn't a hobby anymore and began making dumb mistakes so i decided to call it a day. I knew this was going to be a huge project but sometimes when you start screwing up too much its best to walk away and cool down rather then make a mistake that could cause injury or completely ruin the project. So i'm off to take a shower and head over to my mothers and see if she'll make me a pie or something (mom's love doing that stuff). Perhaps this evening i will give it another go.

[arkitect]

"...sometimes when you start screwing up too much its best to walk away and cool down rather then make a mistake that could cause injury or completely ruin the project."

I agree with you on this. I've been in this situation alot and you see more clearly with a new day and a fresh mind.

Making great progress, enjoy the picts, keep it going.

Dave (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beerchug.gif)

[kphimself]

Thanks Dave,
Today started off great. Got alot of the rusted inner long removed, fabricated some new replacement steel and got most of it in. I'm so worried about warping the car from the heat of the welder i've been doing a couple tack welds far apart from each other then i go and make a new panel or prep the next area ill be attacking. I'm very happy with how everything is fitting and my equipment it running great. I new taking an afternoon off was a good idea. I was starting to think my old international truck was messing with my equipment since I haven't given it any TLC lately. If anyone knows where i can find a transfer case and drive shafts for a 57 international 3/4 ton long bed let me know (sorry i know that was a little off topic). Back to the 914. I only have one panel left to make then i'll be ready to put the outer long back on. Well since i slacked on pictures the last day or two here are a few.

[kphimself]

The rest of the day i replaced some more rusted stuff as always. Not much to say about that. It seems to be the story of this car. My brother helped me prep the new outer long too. I hope to have the drivers side knocked out tomorrow and if i'm lucky i'll get to the passenger side, that might be a tall order considering i still have to weld up the section of the quarter panel i removed. I have exactly two weeks to have the car finished otherwise i will have to tow it home defeated. This is without a doubt the toughest restoration i have ever done. I have to give so much credit to all those that have gone before me. My dad called it last night, you've put so much work into this your going to be afraid to take it on the road. I highly doubt that. It will make a great addition to my collection however, i'll have my muscle car, my hotrod truck, my old 4x4 truck (still in progress), my sports car and if i'm really lucky i might be able to keep my girlfriend too so long as she is out of town when i'm working on these things. I might even have enough spare parts left to put together a rat rod???? Perhaps i'm getting ahead of myself. Well i need to wash the iron oxide off me.

[kphimself]

Got all the work inside the long finished, had to make a new bracket for the seat belt to bold into. I started to put the outer back on. Just have a small section to make for the rear portion. I seem to be feeling a bit under the weather and with the off and on showers i didn't get all that i set out to do done but i'm on vacation no need to work too hard. Perhaps this evening i'll try to get some more done.

[kphimself]

Well got a little motivated after dinner, im not going to let a cold slow me down too much. finished up the drivers side, just need to put the quarter panel back on. forgot to take a pic of the jack post and bracket installed. It seems like the welding takes forever since i dont wanna warp it i do a few welds, play around with something else, do a few more take care of something else ect... Its nice to be rust free on one side just one more to go. I will now have something to attach the new floor pan too. My jack stands are going to be so lonely next week.

[kphimself]

Well the car is back on the ground again and everything is square and true. Now i just need to turn it around and do the other side. I did a ton of work but it looks like nothing was done today. I made a lot of preps for paint got the front bumper off and got the mounts in for the fog lights, thought it was cool the factory put the wires in for me. I found out my horn doesn't work, it give me a reason to put on of those locomotive horns in a car hahahaha. I have always wanted to do that, besides who needs a spare tire, just kidding, kinda. A neighbor stopped by tonight to ask about the car he said he saw it on my car hauler the other week. Turns out he is a mechanic and use to have a bug with a type 4 in it. He said he always wanted a 914, i asked him if he liked tetanus, thats all i'm going to get from this thing. I asked him if he know anyone around her that has one he said no, haven't seen one on the road since the 70's, i think drivable 914 are all a myth. Took my head lights out, was happy that they opened, and it was so full of crap, the mud bugs took the housing over. I spent an hour chipping away at there little mud and dead bug nest. I took some pics of my mustang's interior and the color i'm going to be painting the car. I really love this color its called platinum silver.

[strawman]

Keep up the good work! I know that it can sometimes become frustrating when you believe that you've made some BIG progress, only to find more rust in a place you thought was solid. But it helps to post the work you've done so that you can look back at it someday in the future and admire the work you've done. Kudos!
Geoff

[kphimself]

Thanks Geoff,
Its starting to feel like a job so i really think i need to take a day off. My girlfriend called me and said she is in Jacksonville FL and will be there for a few days, i'm thinking about driving down in the morning and surprising her. I started putting the drivers side back together today but ran out of wire for my welder and nobody has any .023 in town so i might be screwed till monday. I knew i should of picked up a big spool last week when i was getting my gas bottle filled but i thought a small one would be good, opps. I used them clamps for sheet metal today and wow, they are great, i love when i find a new tool that works great. I also picked up a body saw, that thing is great, don't know how i lived without it. Well here are some Pics from today.

[kphimself]

Whoever said "hell have no fury like a woman scorned" never had to take the rust off a 914. Today i feel like i am being punished for something i did in a past life. I finished up the drivers side, the one i thought was the worse and turned the car around. After cutting off the section of the quarter panel i found that the PO did some work and replaced the hell hole but never welded behind the quarter panel. I don't know how this thing didn't fall apart. I went over the car a measured everything its all still within specs and true. I spend more time un&%*#ing what the last guy did then fixing the current issues. At the rate i'm going it would of been much easier and cheaper to just buy corvette. Well i'm going to wash the bad juju off me and call it a night. Crap i spent so much time in the garage i missed the steelers play today. I really need to hook up cable to the TV out there.

[kphimself]

Yesterday started off great, car bit me in the knee and god forbid the first aid kit have anything in it thanks to my brother. After making a bandage out of a shop rag and electrical tape i was back in business. Got the car back up in the air and ready to start on the other side. I got the really bad rust removed from the passenger side long and treated the inside with some (a lot) of pro-15. I then moved on to some body work. Got the drivers side quarter panel feathered out and the door jams looking pretty good. Some final touches will need to be made when i block sand it. I'm really trying to get the rust taken care of before i concern myself with the looks. Last night i thought the car might be mad at me so i bought it a present, something to remember its homeland. Today was more of the same, waiting for primer to dry and fixing some old bad repairs along with some more sanding. Got the drivers side fender stripped and reworked where the marker light was. The last owner just stuck a peice of aluminum behind it and filled it with a 1/4 inch of bondo. Now its welded up and damn near flush.

[bembry]

Jason--You're kickin' ass on this project!!!

very cool!

[Cupomeat]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/popcorn[1].gif)

Great thread, great commentary and impressed you have made it this far.

Someday soon you'll be driving this car and incredibly proud that you pushed through the crap and made it your own.

Most people just use cars, you have made this your own.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/first.gif)

[jonferns]

Awesome progress!

[silver74insocal]

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/cheer.gif) go go go!! lol great progress and great thread keep it up and dont let those jackstands get comfortable!! (IMG:style_emoticons/default/aktion035.gif)

[kphimself]

Today i got tricked, my dad told me it was going to be nice and cool out and we should put a new roof on his house today. It was cool and rained on an off all day. Roof is done so i can get back to work on the car in the morning. I can't wait for this vacation to end so i can go back to work and relax. Oh my dad asked if i got the sheet metal for his floor pan in his car, i pointed at the pile of scrap tin roofing. Told him i was going to pop rivet it down and call it a day. He didn't find any humor in that. I couldn't do that too him, i'll use a street sign.

Thanks for all the encouragement.

[kphimself]

It is one of those days where everything goes right. Got the passenger side just about finished about to weld on the new outer long, jack post and sill. I got lucky and didn't have to remove as much of the outer long on this side as it was in much better shape then the drivers side. If all goes well i may be putting in my new floor pan tomorrow and i will be rust free.